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flexibeastOne of the things in pagandom that bemuses, annoys, and amuses me in turn are the 'warnings' that many pagan writers provide about the dangers of magickal practice, and their suggestions as to who is and is not 'ready' for such. The latest example of this i have come across is Scott Cunningham apparently suggesting that if you're sick and/or taking mind-altering medications, then you shouldn't be doing ritual.
Let us first put aside for the moment the question of whether magickal energies exist - whether in the form of deities, demons, generally unpleasant spirits or whatever - and assume, for the sake of argument, that they do. My prime observation in this regard is:
The sort of person who will heed warnings about the dangers of working with such energies is probably the sort of person who would be cautious anyway; and conversely, the sort of person who most needs to heed such warnings is probably the least likely to actually do so. The situation is analagous to telling a guy in his late teens not to drink and drive: the teenagers most likely to do so are the least likely to follow such advice.
Anyone who has had much experience with the pagan community will know that it's chock-full of people who don't meet the technical definition of 'mentally ill', but who have a severe lack of maturity. For example: people for whom power-over, and influence, seems to be the most important part of their spiritual lives; people who, whilst nominally being adults, spread malicious gossip like teenagers; and people who see paganism as a chance for self-aggrandizement and egotism1. Magickal texts may or may not say that this behaviour is inappropriate - in some systems, such behaviour is regarded as reasonable - but when they do, i would suggest that my prime observation applies.
So what about when someone is regarded as actually 'mentally ill' - someone such as myself, who has major depression and OCD?
Then we have the issue of whether one should attempt to practice magick whilst taking mind-altering substances. Apparently Cunningham knows something that shamans in various cultures around the world don't, because mind-altering substances are often an integral part of the spiritual and/or magickal life of such people. For me personally, there are two categories of mind-altering substances to consider: firstly, the meds i take for my depression and OCD2; and secondly, (semi-)hallucinogenic substances. In the first case, the meds actually alter my brain chemistry in such a way that it behaves much more like that of 'normal' people. On this basis, if it's inappropriate to engage in magickal practice in this 'state', then it's obviously inappropriate for 'normal' people to do so as well. :-P In the second case, i personally regard such substances as sacraments to be treated with much respect, regardless of whether i'm using them for recreational or spiritual reasons. And they can be used for spiritual purposes, despite many people in pagandom claiming otherwise, explicitly or implicitly - perhaps as a result of having taken on more of the Puritan aspects of Christian culture than they would care to admit? In any event, once again, the prime observation applies.
Finally, there's the issue of whether one should practice magick when physically ill. Sometimes this makes perfect sense to me: if you've got a severe cold, it's probably a good idea to rest up in general, and this will probably imply reducing the physical and/or mental exertion that can result from magickal practice. But what about when we're talking about long-term physical illness, such as my CFS (or whatever it's now called), fibromyalgia etc.? i think it's ludicrous to expect me to defer my magickal practice to that point in the indefinite future - which may never arrive! - where i've recovered from such illnesses. Particularly when magickal work has actually helped me to deal with these illnesses and in an increasingly useful way.
i sometimes get the feeling that some of these 'warnings' are more an attempt to boost the writer's ego than anything else: "I am a practitioner of Wild Magickes that only thee Powerful such as mine own selfe may Master". i do sincerely believe that when playing with one's psychology, which is what i ultimately believe magickal practice to be about, one does have to be cautious, proceed with care, take the time to consolidate, and so on. But to me, that's quite a different thing from suggesting that people with disabilities shouldn't be practising (or attempting to practise) magick.
1. The number of people who claim to be at the 'teacher' level of their system is laughable. If spiritual/magickal progress was that easy, i'd be at the level of Jesus or Buddha by now. :-P And i most assuredly am not; nor am i even close to nearing what i would regard as a 'teacher' level.
2. Specifically, paroxetine, known as Paxil in the US and Aropax here.
Let us first put aside for the moment the question of whether magickal energies exist - whether in the form of deities, demons, generally unpleasant spirits or whatever - and assume, for the sake of argument, that they do. My prime observation in this regard is:
The sort of person who will heed warnings about the dangers of working with such energies is probably the sort of person who would be cautious anyway; and conversely, the sort of person who most needs to heed such warnings is probably the least likely to actually do so. The situation is analagous to telling a guy in his late teens not to drink and drive: the teenagers most likely to do so are the least likely to follow such advice.
Anyone who has had much experience with the pagan community will know that it's chock-full of people who don't meet the technical definition of 'mentally ill', but who have a severe lack of maturity. For example: people for whom power-over, and influence, seems to be the most important part of their spiritual lives; people who, whilst nominally being adults, spread malicious gossip like teenagers; and people who see paganism as a chance for self-aggrandizement and egotism1. Magickal texts may or may not say that this behaviour is inappropriate - in some systems, such behaviour is regarded as reasonable - but when they do, i would suggest that my prime observation applies.
So what about when someone is regarded as actually 'mentally ill' - someone such as myself, who has major depression and OCD?
- Firstly, i actually think that one needs to treat each case on its merits - not all mental illnesses have the same effects / outcomes. So blanket imprecations against the mentally ill getting involved in magick are, to say the least, out of place.
- Secondly, some of the major negative outcomes that i can see from mentally ill people practising magick are the very ones that often appear amongst mentally 'healthy' magickal practitioners anyway: delusions of grandeur, attempts to control others, rampant egotism and so on.
- Thirdly, what about the possibility that magickal practice might actually help someone cope with and/or overcome their mental illness? This has actually been the case for me: i'm in a much better place, mentally, than i have been at any time of the last several years, and that's been since i've become increasingly focused on spiritual / magickal study and work.
Then we have the issue of whether one should attempt to practice magick whilst taking mind-altering substances. Apparently Cunningham knows something that shamans in various cultures around the world don't, because mind-altering substances are often an integral part of the spiritual and/or magickal life of such people. For me personally, there are two categories of mind-altering substances to consider: firstly, the meds i take for my depression and OCD2; and secondly, (semi-)hallucinogenic substances. In the first case, the meds actually alter my brain chemistry in such a way that it behaves much more like that of 'normal' people. On this basis, if it's inappropriate to engage in magickal practice in this 'state', then it's obviously inappropriate for 'normal' people to do so as well. :-P In the second case, i personally regard such substances as sacraments to be treated with much respect, regardless of whether i'm using them for recreational or spiritual reasons. And they can be used for spiritual purposes, despite many people in pagandom claiming otherwise, explicitly or implicitly - perhaps as a result of having taken on more of the Puritan aspects of Christian culture than they would care to admit? In any event, once again, the prime observation applies.
Finally, there's the issue of whether one should practice magick when physically ill. Sometimes this makes perfect sense to me: if you've got a severe cold, it's probably a good idea to rest up in general, and this will probably imply reducing the physical and/or mental exertion that can result from magickal practice. But what about when we're talking about long-term physical illness, such as my CFS (or whatever it's now called), fibromyalgia etc.? i think it's ludicrous to expect me to defer my magickal practice to that point in the indefinite future - which may never arrive! - where i've recovered from such illnesses. Particularly when magickal work has actually helped me to deal with these illnesses and in an increasingly useful way.
i sometimes get the feeling that some of these 'warnings' are more an attempt to boost the writer's ego than anything else: "I am a practitioner of Wild Magickes that only thee Powerful such as mine own selfe may Master". i do sincerely believe that when playing with one's psychology, which is what i ultimately believe magickal practice to be about, one does have to be cautious, proceed with care, take the time to consolidate, and so on. But to me, that's quite a different thing from suggesting that people with disabilities shouldn't be practising (or attempting to practise) magick.
1. The number of people who claim to be at the 'teacher' level of their system is laughable. If spiritual/magickal progress was that easy, i'd be at the level of Jesus or Buddha by now. :-P And i most assuredly am not; nor am i even close to nearing what i would regard as a 'teacher' level.
2. Specifically, paroxetine, known as Paxil in the US and Aropax here.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-04 05:30 (UTC)Well said Love,
Sacred Harlot XXX.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-04 08:21 (UTC)the idea that people shouldn't do ritual/magic when they're under the influence of drugs would surprise the hell out of the many cultures who's magical practitioners use drugs as their primary mode of reaching altered states of consciousness.
the idea that sick people shouldn't do ritual/magic under the influence of drugs would not sit well with cultures who use substances such as mescaline and ayahausca as medicine.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-05 00:09 (UTC)