Done? Okay, let’s begin. These last four lessons deal with spell work. Hopefully you have worked through the earlier lessons before you came here. If you haven’t, I would strongly caution you to do so. But I can’t make you do it as it is your choice.
For Wiccans, power is the ability to use magick, or rather to control the existing forces found within creation. It is used to bring about a desired action. But with power comes personal control, the need to restrain yourself - to not do something simply because you can but to ask yourself first if you should.
Every choice we make carries with it a consequence. As Wiccans, we recognize personal responsibility for our actions and inactions. Power is a tool; magick is a tool. To use it effectively, we must use it responsibly. And we must be ready to suffer to consequences of what we do. If we are not fully prepared, if we are sloppy and hasty in what we do, if we fail to take into consideration all possible outcomes, then the end result could come as a very nasty surprise - both to you and to who ever else you may have directed the spell at.
Responsibility is the quality or state of being responsible (moral, legal, or mental accountability). It is something for which one is responsible - a burden based upon action.
Power, on the other hand, is the ability to act or produce an effect. It is the capacity for acting upon something / someone or effect a change. It can also be defined as capacity, possession of control, influence over others, or as might (physical might, or mental or moral efficacy).
Power can be found in the physical being - sheer brute strength. Power can be found in the mental being - knowledge, wisdom, skill, and the assertion of will. And power can be found in the spiritual being - the ability to believe, the connection of one’s self with the greater consciousness.
There are many ways to use power. Have you ever met someone whose presence is so overwhelming that it seems to swallow you up? This person is projecting personal power in an attempt to influence you. Many politicians are very good at using power in this manner.
But power is also found in the strength of character, in the ability to command others without the need to be domineering. These are individuals of profound wisdom who do not force themselves upon others, but lead by quiet direction and by example.
For some, the ability to control and use power well is something inherent within them. But most of us need to learn to develop and use this ability. If you’ve been following the lessons, you have already begun to use this ability when you created your shields and circles. You, hopefully, have learned to control what you’ve created.
But the power used in spell work is a little different. It is an exerted effort (involving physical, mental and spiritual abilities) to transform a desire or need into existence. It works because of your belief in the action(s) taken.
But using power for spell work is something that should be done sparingly and with much forethought. The energies in this world are all connected, and when you take energy from one source to direct it to another, you lessen the first source.
This type of energy is not a depleting resource, like fossil fuels, or wood, or water. It is and has always been here. But it is used by everything from the rocks of the earth to the flora and fauna that exist with us; from the deepest seas to the heavenly bodies shining on the darkest of night skies. It isn’t just randomly floating about for us to tap into to bring about our heart’s desires.
Take this next week to reflect honestly about what it is you would use magick for. For spell work is magick. What is it your heart desires most. Once you know what you want most, reflect upon all possible outcomes. If it involves another, are you taking away the freedom(s) of that individual? And finally, ask yourself if the final price to pay, the worst of all possible consequences, is worth what you desire. If the answer is, "No," then do not pursue the desire.
© 2001 Mother
