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One of the basic concepts of magick (at least in the schools of hermeticism) is the Principle of Mentalism. This principle basically takes the Universe and the Mind and compares them to a hologram, with the Mind being only a smaller projection of the Universe.

This concept states that all things that exist in the Universe are a creation of "The All", which is a nonpantheistic, nongender form of creator. "The All" could be anything from "God" to "Goddess" and includes all aspects of many pantheons throughout history.

As such, we ourselves are thoughts of this divine mind and though we appear to be individuals, we are actually all pieces of the same. With this in mind, we may consider ourselves as mini-aspects of the divine ALL . Just as this divine ALL creates, so too do we, as smaller aspects, also create.

If it is possible to state that the Universe as a whole exists as the result of the thoughts of the divine mind, is it then possible for us, as a smaller portion of the whole, to change some of the aspects with only our mind?

This principle is behind many successes in magick. Where we feel that we might be too insignifcant to exact change upon the world around us, we actually have considerable access at our disposal to make the world around us bend to the power of the mind. We hack our way through the world, bringing about achievements with force of will, but what happens when you put all the faculties of the mind behind your intent?

Mind over matter.

As a side note: there is a whole brand of magick based off the principle of mentalism. Some older texts teach one the art of mentalism, which is the art of the street magician... a combination of sleight of hand, misdirection, and you guessed it, the ability to create mental feats and manifest universal change in the physical world. See: Criss Angel: Mindfreak and other artists like David Blaine (Blane??)

Yes i have heard of this Physcoal magik is been around since i can remeber. I have not done it but i know its real.

physical* excue my typos for im lagging ! eh

not heard of this but sounds facinating

The principles of Hermeticism are at the very core of the beliefs of several schools of magic that fall under the umbrella of "hermetic magic". They are a real endeavor to metaphysically understand *why* magic works, rather than just "it works".

Very well aquinted with it...... I dont think that much people will be able to keep up with this topic, in here.....

I agree, this is the first time I've heard of it, but then i don't practice magik. Perhaps those of you who do will be able to keep this thread going and enlighten some of us.

Let me put it this way. NOTHING is beyond me if I put my mind to it. To me the mind is a "control station" that dictates how energy flows through us, it can also channel this energy for the practice of magic. I don't know about hermetacism (If I misspelled this forgive me, if I go back to look I'll get messed up) but I have heard of mentalism. I do not believe in the "All" you described, that would take away my individuality to a degree, it would make sense though.
To me anything you do while manipulting energy is "mind over matter."

Also, I'd like to thank Jenove for bringing up the subject of magicians like David Blaine. Just because they don't do the same magic as those who say they practice it in wicca and other religions, does not mean it is not magic. Do they not also alter reality in a way? Illusion is a powerful art.

Before I get too much further into the principles/ magic/ laws of magic, I ought to reference some resources. ((because I know that Stabb is dying to know... *wink wink* No, Stabb, I didn't plagerize anything too much, but rather paraphrase what I am learning))

Christopher Penczak, "The Inner Temple of Witchcraft", is my primary source for this line of posts. He references a book I wish to find, "The Kybalion" which is written anonymously by "three initiates" circa 1912. Though the book is written anonymously, they supposedly refer to the original concepts by Hermes Trismegistus.