Being a magician is an endless journey. There are always things to experiment with and discover. Through these six pieces of advice, I hope you can better find your way in the occult. Let’s get right into it!
#1 Have a daily practice and stick to it.
Every day and I mean EVERY SINGLE DAY, perform magic. I’m not talking about magic affecting the external world, but more about a magical practice that is general in its form. For example, this daily practice could include banishing rituals, basic spiritual practices, and general improvement/empowerment magic. Nothing too fancy. The goal is to stay sharp and have a continual bond with magic. Do not make excuses, do it every day. The benefits will be present. No need for it to last a whole hour each day. I only do a few minutes of daily magical practice. Still, I do it *every* day, with often the same simple rituals, I change this set of practice when I feel I should do so, but most of the rituals stay the same, an easy practice that is well worth it. Even if your daily practice is a 30 seconds ritual, that’s a relevant practice!
#2 Perform results-driven magic even if everything is alright in your life.
Sometimes, you perform magic because you have problems to solve in your life, so it’s important to act upon them, but what if everything is alright? Well, do magic anyway. Enhance what you already have, and take on a new improvement in your life or yourself. Work magic to be even better, even if your life is already great. You will be a more consistent and skilled occultist and a more fulfilled person.
#3 Help others.
Do not hesitate to use your power to solve other people’s problems, especially if they know you do magic and are okay with it. Their gratitude will motivate you. You might encounter occult problems that you don’t know about since everyone lives differently. You will have to come up with good solutions that will make you more experienced and thorough. I love helping people with or without magic, but doing magic for others has a special taste. For example, I tasked Khamael to lead a friend to his lost keys, it worked, and I was so happy for him and me since it meant I had the skills to achieve this.
#4 Discover your specialty, and work on it continually
David Griffin, the leader of the world’s largest Golden Dawn order, once said that you should not practice a too huge amount of different magic and end up dividing your focus and mastering none of them. It’s better to know deeply one type of magic than thirty different traditions, but only on the surface.
Find a specialty, an area of magic that you will know well, and where you will direct most of your focus.
To give you an example, mine is planetary magic. Your specialty can be anything, but try to find something workable and has many applications. You should still practice different forms of magic to learn what else exists but in a balanced way. Your specialty should be the most important aspect of your work, your single area of expertise. That way, your focus will not be divided.
#5 Do a lot of research
You might find I’m contradicting myself with the previous point here, but I’m really not, bear with me:
Do a lot of research, buy books about magic, and browse the web to know more. Read old grimoires, which are the source of more recent work. (They are freely and legally available online since they are in the public domain) in a nutshell, try to discover all kinds of magic. The goal behind this is not to practice everything you’re reading about but to have a comprehensive overview of what exists in magic and pick what suits you. Even if you work with only 10% of what you researched, the more you know about different types of magic, the more likely you will find the magic interesting. If you don’t research, your options will be limited.
Beware: nobody finds value in armchair occultists, and rightly so. Research should not undermine actual practice, but still, a certain deal of research is important to evolve. Once again, balance is the key.
#6 Build a relationship with your spirits.
Try to make any spirit you work with a friend of yours commune with them. Find the ones you like most, build affinity, be grateful for what they bring you, and speak of them to your fellow magicians to have them recognized. You can also bless them. Just saying “Be blessed, (spirit name) In the name of EE-AH-OH-EH.” to thank them for a ritual, or just because you feel like it at random will benefit the spirit. They love being blessed and having gratitude directed at them. Thus, it will improve your relationship with them!
Here you go, apply these ideas as you will!