How to Self-Defend with Magick

As magicians, it’s important to study the area of self-defense carefully since we have considerable power and force. The inappropriate use of that power and force can cause Universal backlash. We must be especially careful to control our tempers and not use our abilities reactively. According to Western magical practice, “You have a right to be here and follow your own path so long as you hinder no one else in doing likewise.” This foundational principle asserts our right to exist and follow our own path and by extension, our right to defend ourselves against those who might seek to prevent us from walking our path. As you grow in magical ability, you will inevitably attract beings on different levels that seek to interfere with your path in some way. 

Here’s a good rule of thumb to use when it comes to self-defense: “In cases of direct and violent personal harm you are entitled to defend yourself by any means available, provided you did nothing to encourage or provoke the attack.” Let’s break that rule down into its component parts to study it in greater detail.

1. Direct: Upon your body, mind or spirit. A direct threat in a spiritual, magical and shamanic context includes attempts by any outside force or influence to drain your energy or impose their will upon you.
2. Violent: Anything that’s damaging to your physical, mental, emotional or spiritual well being. It doesn’t matter what the attacker’s intentions are, or whether he or she “means” to harm you. Remember, Rules of the Road states that the Universe does not care what a person intends to do, only what a person actually does.
3. Encourage: Creating or permitting unnecessary opportunities for a known hostile being to attack you.
4. Provoke: Being excessively pushy when you know someone has a sore spot or is under a lot of internal or external stress.
5. By Any Means Available: Using any means you choose to defend yourself when attacked. As long as the other parts of the above self-defense rule are met, the Universe does not care whether your response is excessive. In many spiritual systems, it is actually considered a crime to not defend yourself appropriately. In doing so, you are enabling the perpetrator to NOT learn spiritually appropriate behavior; therefore, prolonging his or her lack of growth. In general, any infringement on your sacred psychic or emotional space gives you the right to defend yourself.

We hope this helps you guys understand a little bit better when and where it is appropriate to use Magick to defend yourself. Learn how to defend yourself magickally by taking our Magickal Self Defense Course!

The Magick of Dayenu

    Today we will be teaching everyone the “Magick of Dayenu.” Roughly translated, Dayenu means "it would have been enough" or "it would have sufficed." This message opens the door to new blessings coming your way. People who are sincerely happy in spite of difficult situations are practicing the art of Dayenu. They look around at their world and say, "This is enough. This is good. We are happy." Or, to take Dayenu one step further, they say, "Not only is this enough, but the step before this would have been enough." Dayenu specifically says, "It would have been enough," not "it is enough." So the truly happy people who practice Dayenu look at their lives and accomplishments and say, "It would have been enough, and we can be happy, even if we did not get as far as we are now ... even if we had stopped at the achievement or happy moment before this one."

    Here is a real-life example of using the art of Dayenu. I have two friends who continually amaze me—they are married, so maybe that has something to do with why they are so happy. Both were hit one year with acute and chronic physical problems, which not only caused them a lot of pain, but also prevented them from doing a lot of work and earning the same income they usually do. The following year, they recovered somewhat from their physical problems, although they still had many doctor visits and healthcare bills. But they were incredibly, oddly, amazingly happy. I asked them, “What makes you so happy? So much has happened to you." They reply, "Yes, it has ... good, bad, ugly, and back to good. Look at where we live. It's a chunk of Heaven! That's enough. Just having this place to live is enough.” Explaining further, they tell me that their physical problems have forced them to have down time, which they would never normally take. They have spent this time with their horses, enjoying their land, and NOT working. They used to live in a big city and had to pay big bucks to relax with the help of massages and therapists, and so on. Now, living in the country, they can relax for free. If they had nothing else but this land, they said, it would have been enough. Do they have physical pain? Yes. Have they had to cut back on expenses? Yes. Do they still have bad days? Of course. But overall, they are living in the magick of Dayenu. On balance, they look for the happiness that comes from acceptance of current conditions, and appreciation of all that has come before that. They understand that even if nothing else good occurs in their life, all that has been in their life thus far “would have been enough.” This is the real definition of the word “Dayenu”. The beauty of Dayenu is that by living in appreciation of all that was good that has come before now, we always attract greater good into our future. Bumps in the road notwithstanding, appreciation of the past and acceptance of the present always (always!) leads to future good. It can be no other way.

If learning about The Magick of Dayenu interested you, feel free to check out the rest of these recipes in the B is for Blessing Magick book in our Kitchen Table Magick series. 

Walking Toward Your Goal

In honor of Goal Magick book finally being released on Kindle, here is a quick sneak peak of the amazing recipe and rituals that you can learn from purchasing our eBook here! Today you will learn about the Walking Meditation ritual. This ritual is perfect for those who find meditation too hard as they feel they can’t sit still in one place for a long time. The Walking Meditation is the perfect way to request help from the appropriate powers and beings, and receive feedback… all in a simple magickal walk.

The Walking Meditation Ritual

Time Required: 15 Minutes

Ingredients:

• At least 15 minutes when you can walk alone, without interruption from other people, cell phones, or other digital media
• Preferably a quiet nature path, but a good magickal practitioner can gain the benefits of the Walking Litany even on the busiest of streets

Recipe Instructions:

1. Choose an amount of time you will walk or a distance you will walk. Should be at least the distance of two city blocks. Be prepared to walk at least two city blocks or the equivalent distance on a nature path.
2. As you begin walking, talk to your totems, guides, angels, the Universe or any higher beings about whatever is on your mind, what you need, or what you want as related to your goal. Specifically, you may wish to inquire as to how your magickal personality type may be causing resistance in the manifestation of your goal. You will do the talking for the first half of the walk. Feel free to speak aloud or ask your questions silently in your mind.
3. After you have requested all the help and knowledge you wish to have from Higher Powers and Beings, give your thanks beforehand. Angels, totems, and all kinds of higher beings thrive on gratitude as their favorite form of energy exchange.
4. Halfway through the walk, stop talking and begin listening and watching for signs of feedback from the powers you have been talking to.

Conclusion:

After completing this Walking Meditation ritual, make sure to thank the higher beings for their help to show your appreciation and gratitude. Reflect on what you learned and implement your learnings in a helpful way to yourself. If you found this ritual helpful to you in reaching your goals, consider purchasing our Goal Magick eBook from our Kitchen Table Magick Series!

The World Needs a Little More Healing

Does anyone feel like the world needs more healing? Or feel like they themselves have a lot of healing to do. Whether it be from broken relationships or failure, you can use the Healing Exit Ritual to bring yourself some semblance of peace. If you find this simple Kitchen Table Magick Recipe helpful make sure to check out our Healing Magick book on Amazon!

The Healing Exit Ritual

Time Required: 15 Minutes

Ingredients:

• The willingness to use this recipe every time you step outside
• The openness to connecting with spiritual beings and accepting their help

Recipe Directions:

1. Every time you leave an enclosed space (i.e., your home, a building of any kind, a car, and other similar places), look up towards the sky once you are outside, extend your focus and out loud say, “Sky Above.”
2. Keep focusing awareness above you and now extend your focus into the Earth and say out loud, “And Earth Below.”
3. Keep awareness focused now both above and below, say out loud, “Embracing Your Healing Grace, I Greet You.”
4. Pause for a few moments longer and be aware of either some kind of change within yourself (change of attitude, new awareness), a change in the environment (sudden breeze, change in color of sky, animal or bird suddenly appearing, plant life becoming vividly visible), or a message from Sky or Earth heard like a voice in your head (answer to question, new direction, guidance).
5. You can also raise arms in a V toward Sky for step one and lower them in a V towards the Earth for step two.

Well there you have it! A simple yet effective magick ritual that can help you achieve a sense of peace and serenity. By performing this ritual, you are also establishing a deeper connection with higher beings that are there to help you channel your inner peace. In addition, if you find yourself in a public space too embarrassed to do the arm motions or chant out loud, feel free to do it in your head. It is all about doing what is better for you.

If you found this ritual helpful to you, make sure to check out our Healing Magick book, now newly available in eBook form, a part of our Kitchen Table Magick series.