[46] The Core Practice of Magick In our current confused magical culture, more often than not the actual magical techniques employed to achieve the goal of magick are presented in an overly complex and inaccessible fashion, if presented at all. This has encouraged magicians to appropriate or supplement their ritual work with the generally more convenient contemplative methods of the Eastern traditions, such as the various yogas or the insight practices of the Buddhists, often with a detrimental effect to the perception of magick as a valid tradition (consider the number of magicians who convert solely to an Eastern tradition as a result, or those who believe magick to be a purely ‘psychic’ activity, good for nothing beyond divination or sorcery). Magick has in the past been portrayed as the art of ceremony, the flip side of the coin to meditation, and more suited to the ‘Western mind’ than the more contemplative Eastern methods. However, a superficial investigation of the Eastern traditions reveals an inherent ritual element as complex as any found in the West, such as those found in Tibetan Buddhism, and those who promote the www.thebaptistshead.co.uk
Alan Chapman