Using Spirits in Magick

I don't understand why People use Spirits in Magick and What they are good for. Can anyone give me tips on this? and tell me, why people use spirits in Magick.

Login or Signup to reply to this post.

People who work with spirits do so to accomplish tasks -- to help bring about magical results.

There are entire systems built around working with, commanding, controlling, and demanding results from spirits. There are also plenty of people who do not follow a particular tradition on the matter, but still work with spirits.

Of course, spirits are not factually real; they are a matter of belief. They can neither be proven to exist by means of a repeatable, testable result, nor can they be proven to not exist. Belief lies in the results and experiences of individual practitioners.

There are some entities which seem to be shared across traditions in description of behavior, but have different names. I find that fascinating, and that it leads at least some credence to many traditions, though placement of what seems to be the same entity may fall into very different places in different traditions. Some may be a god in one, a devil in another, for example.

Some people will read a few paragraphs on an entity and begin work with that spirit. Some people will study extensively before attempting a first contact.

I suggest caution and care in what you may choose to do.

I do not agree with prsona, that the spirits are only matter of belief and factually not real. Spirits might rarely assume any form that is substantially dense as our physical bodies, but they are very much factual and real with or without us believing in them. The form no longer serve the highest of them and the lowest are forced to learn using different means because they could not do so, while being in form. It is another case that some of them might be perceived differently by different individuals, but that is more due to not belief, but by the states of existence both communicating sides have assumed currently. This is mainly in name of facilitating the communication process, but most spirits have favourable form, which they use to present themselves. Lets call it their core form. If you have been chosen to work with certain group of spirits and have the natural knack to do so, the fact that you do not believe that they they exist and do not see your experiences as legit, will not make them disappear. In fact, they become more and more intense.

Spirits indeed can aid your magical work in many ways, but for me the most profound gain had to do with shifting my paradigm of consciousness and expanding my understanding about all levels of existence. When I host spirit of any kind from human to angelic to dark beings, I can experience reality through their senses on all levels. This expands my knowledge and horizon of perception to much more significant level. Because when you only live your own reality, that is all you are defined by and that is your law and your limit. When you are forced to leave it behind new perception is gained and limits become more fluid.

spirit as in ghosts, spirit as in a persons spirit or the element of spirit?

spirit as in a persons spiritual energy is just another way of saying 'magickal energy' imo. some people might focus on their own inner energy instead of pulling from the universe [which isn't a wise idea, but if someone found a way to make it work for them, fine, but you need to keep a close watch on it as you could get sick by draining the energy your body needs]

spirit as in the element, it comes down to your path, many people work with elements in their practice, but the specific ones can vary. the common is air, fire, water and earth, but many see a fifth element in spirit [or chaos. there's also wood and metal for common elements, but i've heard of lava, steam, mist, lightning, and a slew of 'mixed' elements] spirit is seen as an ethreal [or non-physical] element. i've never called on it in my spells, but i have included a spirit candle on my altar in rituals.

spirit as in ghosts, it's similar to working with Deities, faeries, Dragons, or any other higher power. they have more magickal/spiritual energy so some might work with them for extra energy in spells, but also for guidance on their path. it really depends on the path what exactly they would be doing. [i've dealt with spirits my whole life, but i've never asked for their assistance in spells/ritual]

The jist f the idea is that calling on spirits is a process of calling for assistance in reaching your goals. Ideally, such a working would begin with examining your goals and then connecting with a spirit, god/ess, or other entity that represents qualities or attitudes related to those goals, and asking them to help you with your task.

For example, Say a boxer wanted to draw inspiration and determination into himself before a bout. If he worked magic, he might make a plea to a god related to war, sports, or competition. For example Aeries, mars, or Thor. And so he would be in essence asking for inspiration and assistance by having them 'lend their expertise'.

Similarly, in a healing a person might ask for help from a spirit or force that would have knowledge and expertise in that area. or if casting away a negative energy one might ask for help from a guardian spirit to protect you. That sort of thing.

To expand upon other answers, at time spirits are what draws a person to magic to begin with.

For example, the most basic definition of shamanism comes from people who are believed to work with spirits, of various forms. It is highly rooted in nature and working with the spirits of nature for different things; often healing of some sort. Often times spirits are turned to for guidance, help with curing an ailment (or causing one at times), healing nature (or helping have successful crops in some traditions), etc. Because it incorporates a wide variety of practices, I won't get into it in too much detail. But my point is there are some paths that are heavily reliant on spirits and spirit workings.