Has Your Magic Failed Because of the Inconvenience Factor?

The inconvenience factor is something we definitely see students struggle with at some point as they start down a magical path and it often makes them think their magic failed. Being aware of this phenomena when you start practicing magic allows you to see that it is not that magic failed, what is really happening and be able to make an informed decision as to how you want to proceed. In our new Kindle book, LEARN HOW TO DO WITCHCRAFT RITUALS AND SPELLS WITH YOUR BARE HANDS, this is one of the principles we talk about.

Magic takes time and at some point you may find that taking the time to study and to do rituals and spells will be inconvenient. You may already have a busy life with work, family, school, social engagements and so forth and will need to make many small changes and possibly some radical ones in your life to make the time available for your new magical and spiritual practice.

When first starting a practice, most students are excited and are at a place in life where learning magic that works is a priority. Then life circumstances change. It may be that work hours become increased or unexpected travel pops up or maybe family obligations that need your attention intervene. Whatever comes up, suddenly it all becomes too much to do it all. This is the point where many students either drop classes or just start giving a minimal amount of time to their practice. As in anything else you want to be good at, magic needs to be practiced. Just giving a halfhearted attempt at a magical practice can often lead to procedures that don't work and that look like the magic failed.

For those students who push their way through the inconvenience factor and continue to make magic a priority in their lives, they find their lives benefit and are improved. Each person must make the choice for themselves whether their magical practice or convenience is the priority. These inconvenient conditions are temporary and will fade away over time. As magic is practiced and becomes more familiar, it is easier to integrate into one's life. Just like having a new baby at first can create massive change in one's life and make it seem like there isn't enough time in the day, a routine soon develops as the baby is integrated into the family and new routines are established. Adopting a magical way of life can become second nature after a period of time and fit smoothly into each day. Those who are able to reach this level find that magic can greatly reduce their struggles and increase the joy they experience in the long run.

Initially as you begin down the path towards becoming a magical practitioner you will be straddling two worlds – mundane and magical. Sometimes you will choose mundane convenience and sometimes you will choose your magical practice. As you continue, you will find your intention grows in strength and force which results in the two worlds diverging more and more. At some point you will have to make a choice between the two worlds by deciding which world is a priority for you.

When that point is reached, we have observed over the last 30 years of teaching that students who forge through the inconvenience factor and continue to devote the time to their magical practices are able to more easily integrate their new magical and spiritual practice into daily life than those who choose the convenience of ordinary life thinking they will come back to their magical practice later when life settles down or they have more time. There seems to be a small window of opportunity for students to make this decision. Those who choose to try to develop a practice after this window has closed can still do so, but find the resistance is much greater. So when you come to the point of deciding whether to continue on your magical path or stop to attend to mundane life issues, just remember the window of opportunity before choosing.

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Magic 2012: Good Enough is Great

We get a lot of questions about Magic 2012. People want to know what kinds of magic would be appropriate for this very important year, both for the planet and for their personal lives. So here's a very simple answer that we have for all those questions about Magic 2012:

"At whatever level, personal or global or anything in between, do the best you can with what you have and then count it good."

Magic 2012: What's Up with the Opposites?
If you have a regular magic practice, then you have probably realized that things are little hinky this year. On the one hand, some magic spells and rituals are manifesting things in the blink of an eye. Amazing, right? That's the neat and fun side of Magic 2012, especially if you have had a magical practice for quite some time. You're seeing a radical "speeding up" of the results of your magical practice.

And then we have the opposite end of the spectrum. This is where magical rituals start going wonky, there are all kinds of variants of the "inconvenience factor," and magical stuff that used to be simple is running into all kinds of interference. For instance, we recently launched a fairly simple spell to correct what seemed like a very simple and straightforward problem. Days passed and not much happened, so we did a Tarot reading to check up on the progress of the spell.

Can you say Magi reversed? Not to mention a lot of other reversed pairs of cards in our 12-card spread. All of these reversed cards indicated that our spell was running into all kinds of opposition and difficulty. Progressed readings showed that the spell wasn't likely to overcome the "inconvenience factors" that are simply part of 2012.

So on the one hand, we have some great Magic 2012 that is just working amazing miracles, and then we have some Magic 2012 that is running into brick wall after brick wall.

Magic 2012: What to Do About Those Brick Walls
Obviously those daily magical rituals that are working splendidly should be left alone to do their fabulous work, but what about those spells that are hitting a lot resistance?

What we have found works best is the magical principle of "as above, so below." In other words, should your spellwork, which is "exoteric" (meaning something that you have put out or is happening outside you), not be working well as Magic 2012, then the answer is to go inside. Sometimes we are the ones blocking our spells or daily rituals from bringing us what we want. And believe us when we say that we can stand in our own way better than anyone else on the planet! In some cases, innumerable Protection and Wisdom candles won't do squat. Why? Because we live in a free-will Universe, so if we choose to stand in the way of our own launched creations in this year of super-speedy reactions, our magic is going nowhere.

So what not? If "exoteric" magic isn't working, it's time to do a little "esoteric" magic ... that is, magic that is happening inside you. Just as healthcare providers are often told, "Healer, heal thyself," so too are magicians told, "Magicians, work magic on yourself." If you look inside, you will generally find that there is some giant brick wall or resentment inside you that is blocking parts of your magical practice from working.

What kind of brick walls? It could be anything from lack of compassion for self to selfishness to resentments about being jobless ... or resentments about having a job and working too hard. Whatever it is, this IS YOUR LESSON for 2012. And if you look inside it won't take you too long to find that brick wall, that resentment, that icky place that you don't want to acknowledge. Whatever you find, simply be aware of it. Don't try to change it right now. Simply see it and name it. For instance, you might say, "Oh look, that's the part of me that really resents having to work so hard!" Or you might say, "Yup, there's that part of me that really hates being taken for granted!"

Observe that part of yourself the way that a scientist would watch a lab rat. Have that kind of curiosity and objectivity. The more you shed conscious light on these dark parts of your magical soul, you'll find that it starts to change, shift, and eventually fade away. That's that magic of "esoteric Magic 2012." You don't actually "do" anything. You just have to see ... and watch ... and NOT JUDGE. Then the magic happens!

Suddenly, one day, unexpectedly, you will find the spell that's been stuck in park is moving along at the speed of light. Wow, cool!

Magic 2012: What's Up with Good Enough
So the title of this post is about Magic 2012 being good enough, and how good enough is really great. What's that all about?

If you read the literature about 2012, some of which was published as early as the 1970s, you will find that the predictions all point to this year being both wonderful ... and tough. Some predict that as many as 20 million people are going to leave the planet during this year before the "transition" into the Aquarian Age is going to possible. That's a lot of people, and if you are like the average person, you've probably watched people dropping like flies, or transitioning into an alternate reality, as it were.

Should you feel bad about this? Nope, this is a "free will and instant karma" Universe, so everyone gets to make a choice about whether to stay or leave. Those that have left their bodies either don't want to make the transition at all, or don't want to make the transition in their current bodies. Don't worry, most will be back after the transition has been made, somewhere around December 21, 2012.

Even those people who are not leaving their bodies are, for the most part, keeping their head above water. Whether they are struggling with emotions, careers, family, relationships, health, money, or constant chaos, 2012 can be quite challenging for many of us. And that's where the idea of that "good enough is great" comes in. If you can just survive this year, with your three major centers intact (Moving, Emotional, and Intellectual), then you are rockin' awesome. Not just surviving, but thriving. Not just awesome but rockin' awesome.

We know that it feels bad and it feels like the chaos will never end, but it will. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. And rely on daily magical rituals to keep you connected to the parts of Magic 2012 that are working and moving along at the speed of light. We've got tons of resources to help:

Online Magical Article Library
Daily Rituals Ebook
10 Magical Things You Can Do Right Now Email Short Course (no cost)

Sound good? Awesome! Go forth, be magical, and enjoy all that Magic 2012 has to give us!


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Why Bad Magic Happens to Good People

People who are new to the art and science of practicing magic are often surprised when they start doing magic rituals and discover that their lives get worse, not better, at least temporarily.

Tires go flat on their car, they get into fights with their spouse, or an unexpectedly large expense pops up. Then they wonder, "I'm a good person. Is this a warning from the universe that I shouldn't practice magic?"

Nope, it's not. I've seen it happen over and over again, and I have a name for it: the inconvenience factor.

Magic and the Inconvenience Factor
Anyone who starts practicing magic will undoubtedly run into the inconvenience factor ... it's a universal law. In fact, it's the universe's way of protecting esoteric material, and of testing whether someone's desire to learn this material is truly genuine or just a momentary wish in passing.

Whenever we start a new Basic Magic course or in-depth teleconference course, we warn students that the inconvenience factor is bound to occur. This factor tends to keep students from being able to attend class on a regular basis, at least at first. When the class is a teleconference course, the inconvenience factor turns up in a number of ways. One student may try to call into the teleconference only to get an "all circuits busy" signal. Another student may plan on using his cell phone only to find that the battery has suddenly died. A third student may have printed out his homework materials in readiness for class, and then discover that he can't find them anywhere.

Serious students, having been warned about the inconvenience factor, simply strive until they overcome the "all circuits busy signal" or dead cell phone battery. They may show up in class flustered and aggravated, but they do show up through sheer perseverance. This is the kind of effort the universe seeks to divide those who truly want to learn magic from those who just want to win the lottery tomorrow.

True desire is what separates a person capable of becoming a powerful magician from a dilettante. True desire is also what allows a person access to magical materials. The dilettantes always fall by the wayside, sidetracked by inconvenient life events, long before we get to the "really good stuff" in class.

Is the Inconvenience Factor a Form of Religious Warning or Vengenace?
This is a question that arises from time to time from students who have been raised with a strongly religious background that discourages the practice of magic. When these students are confronted by minor fender-benders or other inconvenient life events, they wonder whether these events are warnings from a jealous god to stay away from magical practice. That is, of course, one interpretation, and those who feel this interpretation to be true should stay away from magical practice.

However, we have worked with hundreds of students with this type of background who have successfully made it past the inconvenience factor with no further consequences. Life is as you believe it to be, and thus if you believe in a jealous god who discourages magical practice, the events of your life will bear out this belief. On the other hand, if you believe the universe is big enough to accommodate both magic and religion, then you will find that you can practice magic in harmony with the practice of your religion.

The Rules of the Road: Rules of Magical Practice
Magic, like all arts and sciences, has its own set of rules. We follow the Rules of the Road, as put forth by Reverend George Dew of the Church of Seven Arrows. We find, by our experience and observation, that these rules are true, immutable, and quite freeing. Check them out here and see if you agree:

Click here for Rules of the Road.

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