Lesson: Personal Power

Personal Power

Personal Power, What is it?

Personal power is one’s inner strength and will power.

Everyone has their own level of personal power, both mundane and magic(k)al. Some people have a natural strength that shows in everything they do. “Things” just always seem to come easy for them. Others feel they have the potential but have no idea how to access it.

Magic(k)al personal power can be seen in the same manner; some people just seem to know how to access their magic(k)al energies without a problem, while others struggle to even figure out what it “feels” like.

I’ll tell you right now, I fall into this last category. Accessing my personal power didn’t come easy, at least not as often as I would have liked. Sometimes in ritual and spellwork I am so overwhelmed by it that I have to hold on to the altar to keep from falling over. Usually though, its either a mild body rush or a “whooshing” of a light wind type of feeling. But once I found my true Path, I no longer have any struggle. It is there when needed and called upon.

But regardless of how it “feels”, I do always know that its there. How could it not be? Its part of me, part of who I am. As it is with you. Also, no religious belief system is necessary for it!

A person doesn’t have to be religious, or even believe in any specific Deity in order to speak with their Higher Self or the Divine, or to use visualization to make wonderful and beneficial things happen for you.

All you have to have is self-motivation and (above all else) BELIEF. You must know it to be true for you. Get inspired and full of faith in yourself and your own personal power. It is through this belief in yourself and your abilities that anything then becomes possible to manifest. But what is often not considered in this concept, is that it is the Divine Itself within you that makes all of this possible. The Divine (by any name you choose) is Omnipotent and a part of everything. We, through our working magic(k), access this Divine Energy - granted only a tiny portion of it. (My thoughts are that, if the Divine were to give us more than a small amount of that Energy, we frail humans, would probably explode! So, I'll use my little portion, knowing that Spirit is giving Its All!)

Anyway, back to the subject, I’m not talking about winning the lottery or other ridiculous things like that. What I am referring to are the things in life that make it easier and more pleasant. Bringing “good” things into your realm of existence is the benefit of building your personal power.

There are many ways to access one’s personal power; spells, rituals, prayer, meditation. And all of them are as old as the human species. Spell and ritual work are physical forms of using this personal power you possess to influence the Universe’s forces to help you control your own destiny. Prayer and meditation are the spiritual forms.

There are also many ways to build the energy of your personal power for spell and ritual work. Everyone has their preferred manner, some of which include: amulets or talismans, candle and/or incense burning, chanting, dancing, drums, invocations, mantras, offerings or sacrifices, secret names or words.

The key to all of it is that there is no “magic” (as in illusionary stage magic), only the magic that exists within the mind, and that which we truly believe and know deep within ourselves to be true. The mind is extremely powerful - so use it!

But how?

Hoodoos, rootworkers, Conjurers, Witches, and all those who understand the power of personal power, know that we are capable of manifesting our needs and our wants (i.e. dreams & wishes) when our subconscious mind is perfectly attuned to bring about these changes that we want. It usually manifests in such a way as to seem “coincidental” - but was it really? 

Think of something that you did a ritual or spellwork for. Then, think about how it manifested itself. After this, consider what sequence of events had to flow into perfect unison for this spellwork to manifest into reality. Sometimes its simple, other times it is obvious that it had to have begun days, weeks, even months or years in advance for it to have come about. And, to top it all off you had to do that spell exactly when you did so it could all come together on time! Imagine what could’ve happened if you’d put off doing the spell or decided against it altogether!

When your inner voice says, “Do that spell NOW!”, you had better do it or you’ll regret it, because the energies and your personal powers were “right” at exactly that moment. Procrastinating would’ve caused a loss, or a lessening, of the energy and it may not have manifest, or maybe not at that time, or not in the same manner.

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The Secret of Magic

The mistake many people start out making when they first begin their magical Path is that they want what they want when they want it, and that time is NOW. And to hell with the so-called consequences, which they don’t believe in anyway…..until it comes back to bite them in the ass!

Quite often they think that now that they’re “powerful” they can just "do" magick willy-nilly (ok, the language is dating me here, oh well). And one of the first things they’ll do is a spell to: 

1) make someone “love” them, 

2) make someone at work “go away”, or 

3) “win the lottery”.

What do all of these have in common? The “me-me-me-I-I-I” ego syndrome! There is no consideration for others. These are all purely selfish acts. To define “selfish” let me explain. There are actions which are aimed at acquiring things just for yourself “just because”. And then, there are actions which are aimed at acquiring things for yourself which will benefit your loved ones as well.

So, lets take that list above and turn them into selfish-loving acts so you can see the difference (not that you can’t, but for clarity’s sake I need to do this).

1) Make someone “love” them: A spell or ritual to bring love and/or a lover into their lives, but without naming anyone in particular. Leaving the “details” up to the Divine! I think They know better than we do, don’t you?

2) Make someone at work “go away”: A spell or ritual to present yourself or the other person with a new opportunity to better their situation, but one in which the two of you have no further contact with each other.

3) “Win the lottery”: A spell or ritual to earn (yes EARN) the finances necessary to meet all of your needs (NEEDS FIRST) and wants.

Magic brings power. And many people new to this very strong energy can become overwhelmed by it and begin to fool around with the idea of using it over others. The reality of magic is that it is power over yourself which is the true magic! By empowering yourself you will automatically begin drawing people to you, almost like a magnet. They feel your strength and gravitate towards it, they want part of what ever it is that you have. This has its pros & cons. 

The pros to this situation are that you can show others what they are capable of as well. The cons are that they may allow themselves to become enabled, thus refusing to do much for themselves, expecting your energies to carry them through. This becomes a drain on you and teaches them nothing. These are the ones to unload quickly, as they will bring you down by draining you, very quickly. Another aspect of this problem is that you could actually enjoy and/or become dependent upon their energies as well. Not good!

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Magic, like divination and alchemy are part of occult studies. Magic is the actions of causing change in your environment or self toward a desired end through symbolic means according to the will (personal power), such as ritual, spells, chanting, etc. These will vary from one system, and one culture, to another, but their commonality is that all of these systems use mental conditioning, concentration, psychic forces and a system of mind-triggers (symbols) in which to program the mind into action.

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Preparing for Magic by Using Your Personal Power

Everything that “breathes” is full of power. We, as humans, are the only ones cognizant of “self” and so able to consciously tap into that power. Animals (most, anyway) and plants are not cognizant and so don’t have to “tap” into it because they exist as one with it. Not consciously, and not for the specific reasons that we do so consciously, but this personal power of theirs is their innate willpower to survive. So, in a sense this is what we are striving for - to tap into and use our personal power automatically, unconsciously. I believe that at one time humans were capable of this, but over the millennia this has been slowly depleted to the point of being almost non-existent, except for those of us who work to re-build it.

Personal power, willpower, is an ethereal “muscle”. It strengthens with use and atrophy’s with neglect. As with all forms of “therapy” (mundane or magical) you have to start small and work your way up to heavier “weights”. Eventually, your personal power “muscle” will be very strong and there will be little you can’t accomplish that you don’t set your mind (and magical powers) to!

The best spells manifest because of the amount of emotion that is sent out through our personal power energies. The goal of your spell or ritual must have passionate emotion behind it for it to reach its maximum potential for manifestation. Love, peace, personal improvement, and other things such as these are good and beneficial. Both for the sender and the recipient. The only intense emotion that is detrimental in every way is “hate”. So obviously, if you’re angry it is best to evaluate your emotions to make sure that the intent behind the energies of your personal power is a good one, based on the right outcome and not one based in destruction of the recipient of the spell (for the single purpose of just being mean, but not if hexing or cursing them is just & deserved). If it makes you “feel good” to see the utter destruction of someone or something just for the pleasure of it, you need to do a severe self-evaluation, because the Path of a worker then, is NOT for you! 

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Summary

Personal power is there within you, always has been, always will be. How you use it is up to you. Knowing & believing that your potential is only as strong as your personal power “muscle” can lead to a great many beneficial improvements in your life. 

Without knowing & believing in yourself and what you are truly capable of, then all the magical spells & rituals in the world are useless!

If you have difficulty with truly believing in your abilities, then begin with a daily affirmation. Write it down. Memorize it. Say it to yourself several times per day. In time it will become a part of you. Twenty years ago I went through a horrible time and when I came out of it I used the affirmation “Failure is not an option”. I made this a part of myself. And over time I came to honestly know that there is no such thing as failure. You just learn from your mistake, take a step forward, and keep on going. “Failure” turned into mistakes which taught lessons. And lessons are things that teach you things. Thus, “failure is not an option”. Quitting was failure, and you can’t quit life! Well, this one, but not the next one, or the next one, or…..you WILL learn that lesson, so why procrastinate? Learn it now, get it over with and become that person that everyone is drawn to. The one they “see” something in, even if they don’t know what that “something” is. They, and you, will learn so much from the exchange.

So, build your personal power. Be strong. The Universe is waiting for you to access It’s energy. The Divine is waiting for you to just ask for assistance. We are all a part of it all, so why not claim our due share?!