When looking at spells and discussion on this site, a common factor i see is: the talk of prayer, deities, faith, and other things. And was wonder if that was magic is, just a form of worship? I'm not trying to put down other believes but i personally do not believe in god or that theirs a higher beings (the term is called atheism). My take on magic is that it's energy, which with enough believe and imagination, one can manipulated the energy to do certain task, weather it's making a psi ball or if one can master their own energy control can do stuff like move a cup (not lifting stuff like a truck just small things) it all depends on how strong the person mind is and their resolve. energy doesn't come form higher beings.
With this in mind, energy is all around us: in the air, in people, and in space, all resulting from the big bang which takes for as stardust. everyone and everything is made of stardust so we all have energy already and the potential to perform magic.
Is my thinking wrong? And i hope this was easy to read and easy to follow, i admit i didn't structure my words and sentence really well.
Hi.
Your thinking is not wrong at all.
Witchcraft is a practice that can be utilized alongside religion, or no religion at all.
One can be an atheist and practice witchcraft utilizing their own personal energy.
There are other practitioners whom have their own set of beliefs and whom may be a little more religious. This can look like anything from belief in and working with fae. Working with specific deities or other spirits etc.
Personally I practice Catholic Folk Magic. My grandmother was Catholic and as was her mother. They both read oracle cards and gave advice to neighbors or locals.
Today I practice this form of folk magic like my grandmother and her mother did. They had different tools for protection and other intentions. My grandmother used rose for love.
My point is I worship the Christian God while practicing witchcraft. I venerate local or family saints.
Someone else may work with deities and not worship them.
While another practitioner may worship Celtic deities.
I have heard of witches whom practice while being Buddhist.
It is a practice and not a religion.
One can be atheist and work magic via energy and one can worship or work with many Gods and Goddesses and work magic via energy.
Energy itself is something I believe as an animist can come from many different sources.
In the end, no you are not wrong for your beliefs, just as one whom believes energy can come from a plant isn't wrong for theirs.
Magick has no religion or spiritual beings attached to it. Magick is a neutral energy found in nature that brings change. That's it. Many practitioners include magick in their spiritual path, but magick isn't spiritual [meaning, you need a spiritual belief attached to it]
I feel it's a misconception you need a deity for a spell to work. You can turn your morning cup of coffee into a potion by drinking it while telling yourself you'll have a fantastic day. No divine force required. Yet, many people watch movies or read works of fiction and assume spells need to be in Latin, performed under a blood moon while calling on Hecate. Absolutely not. You could if you wish [nothing wrong with performing a spell in Latin calling on Hecate during a specific moon] but it doesn't mean the spell utilizing all the fancy stuff is better than the witch who greets the sunrise with a cup of tea and sets their intentions for the day.
Honestly, I feel the more you add to your craft, the more likely you'll lose your path. I work with deities and Dragons and spirits, but I feel people become reliant on their guides in spellcraft. When you begin to include "oh deity, help me with blank" in every spell, you can lose your center. It's not the deity that's making your magick work. It's the magickal energy you're conjuring. The deity is there to watch over and maybe help tip the scales, but ultimately, it's the witch doing the magick that matters in the spell.
As to your original query about atheism and magic, i would suggest a search of the internet for AtheoPaganism. It is a philosophy of paganism that is atheistic. They have a set of core beliefs, an understanding of the world and our purpose that is more science based.
