When most people think of magic, they think of tricks... games and amusements and displays of power more appropriate to evening theatre or fantasy novels. These trappings of power are not magic, but the side effects of true knowledge. Once you understand how the world works, once you have opened your eyes to the endless possibilities of creation, this powers happen on their own, miracle by-products of something that has nothing to do with magic.

The study of magic is the seeking of your Right Place in harmony with the world -- the flow of being-with-what-is. This is the inner stillness of the Celtic people, the dance of the Native Americans or the Tao of Eastern philosophy. It is not forcing the world to conform to your will, but rather blending in with it, seducing reality so that you and all are willing allies in whatever you are trying to accomplish. Many people ask why mages are not rich and powerful if they can do so much. The answer is: we are. But we measure richness is the texture of the lives we lead, not the material trapping of this society. And we measure power in the ease which we move through life, not in how we can control the lives of others.

Paths of Magic

There are three or four paths of magic along the inner Way: the path of the Shaman, the path of the Priest, the path of the Bard and the path of the Druid. Regardless of your path, the essence of this inner course is the same. Though the names are changed and the symbols moved around, each describes your understanding of the world and how you move with it. Each path has its own method of initiation, of opening your eyes to the wonder of reality. But all share this common sense of Awakening, of seeing the world through different eyes and tasting it through other senses. It is just this perception, this awareness that extends beyond the norm, that sets the path of the mage apart from the lives that most people lead.

• The Shaman speaks with Great Mystery, setting this primal Void as the background for all existence. A Shaman must also take on the form-in-spirit of a Totem, some essential aspect of nature (plant, animal, elemental force, primal concept or emotion). Far more than just a guide or teacher, her Totem actually defines the style and content of the Shaman's path. In a sense, it is a form of voluntary possession which sets the tone for everything she does. All movement, each dance, every thought comes from the place of the Totem. Her purpose in life is the purpose of that Totem, and in keeping Its place (and thus hers) in balance throughout the world. This is not to say that the other spirits and forms of the world are less important in the grand scheme, but everyone has to start from one perspective.

• The path of the Priest is almost identical to that of the Shaman -- so much so that the two are perhaps really just facets of each other. Just as the Shaman speaks with the Great Mystery that is All, so the Priest speaks with his deity: a Divine form that is the Consciousness of the Universe. In pan-theistic cultures, each priest is called to serve one particular god or goddess, setting the tone and style for how he connects to that Divine essence. But like the Shaman, a true Priest understands that all aspects of creation are part and parcel of being -- you cannot have one without the others.

• The Bard lives her life as a song, each moment a note in the melody, each other person and thing an instrument in that orchestra. It is in seeking the harmony of this tune, in fitting herself into the chorus of the world, that the Bard finds her reasons for being. Each song is different, each soul unique, but all have a place within the All. Some cultures use dance (Sufi Dervishes) or moving meditation (Tai Chi) in place of music, but the rhythms and harmonies are the same.

• The path of the Druid is one of Life: past, present and future. The Druid holds ties to his ancestors, the spirits of the world and the living plants and animals that surround him. It is in balancing his place within the world, within the cycle of life and death, that defines his role. Just as the Sun and the Moon and the Sea each hold their place in the world, so each Druid has his own tasks before him. It is finding this place, and preserving not only his harmony with it, but that of all life and nature around him, that defines the path of the Druid.

There is another path -- often called the outer Way -- that is one of ritual and form. The symbols and meanings are held many in different systems, but the essence and schema of this course lies outside the mage. While the tricks and trappings are no less potent, this is not a path of self-discovery. It is simply a path to power. However, do not confuse this course with the rituals and external manifestations of the inner Ways. In those cases, the ceremonies and props are merely tools to help the mage focus on her inner essence. In this outer Way, the tools become and define the purpose -- the practitioner has no path without them.

Let me address one final concept, that of the Madwand. While many use this term to address any mage who seeks his own path, in truth its proper meaning is one who combines all the other Paths in his own way. The Madwand is not just a Bard or Shaman or Priest or Druid, but a blend of all of them. Dancing one moment, singing the next, listening to spirit and tree and silence all at the same time, the Madwand weaves a unique path out of pieces of the others. Many seekers start with this eclectic blend and eventually find their home along one path or another. But the Madwand never settles down, never fits within one way of being. It is the hardest path of all, for in truth, the Madwand must master all mindsets, all forms of expression, before mastering himself.

Because, of course, that is the true goal of a mage. Mastery of the outer world -- control, power, the visible manifestations of the arts -- these are never the end that we seek. Those who want that usually either fall by the wayside or revert to the simpler road of the outer forms. It is self-mastery, the true understand of who we are and why we are here, that drives a mage in her quest. And having started down it, you will never want to return to a life asleep. -coranth