Everything You Need to Know About the Power of Magick (Yes, With a K)

Do you believe in magick?

We're not talking about magic tricks, but about shaping the world through the manifestation of your will. It may sound complicated, but artist, writer and magick practitioner Alex Kazemi doesn't think it is. He's the author of Pop Magick, an approachable guide to all things magic, and he filled us in on exactly what magick is, and how to make it happen.

Sweety High: How you define magick?

Alex Kazemi: I'd describe magick as the art and science of bending reality in accordance with your true will. Your true will is simply what you want to manifest into the material world—anything you want to create your life with or that you want to happen. You will it into existence, whether that's the right partner or the right job. When you identify your will, you're identifying what you want. Magick is a practice of using the moon phases, astrology and energy, and casting out energy through visualization. It's believing that what you can see in your mind, you can create.

 

SH: What do you say to people who think that all sounds improbable?

AK: I think sometimes the word "magick" and the limiting beliefs around it can make it seem improbable, but it's really about using a combination of work in the upper world—with moon phases and energy and communing with nature—while also doing the practical work. If you want that job, you have to send that email. It's really about becoming more confident and stepping into your power.

 

SH: What are some of the best practical applications of magick for someone who's just learning about it?

AK: Try downloading a moon phase app, or getting a witch's datebook at a metaphysical store, and starting to track the current astrological moon phase and planetary information and what it all means. To start out, I would recommend something very simple, like crystal magick or candle magick.

You can get any type of crystal that you feel called to when you go to a metaphysical store or anywhere crystals are sold. For candle magic, it's really about finding the candle that you like and that feels right for you. You can follow the rules by the book, or create your own. Visualize the end result of what you want while you use them. It should be simple and accessible to anyone.

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SH: When you talk about alchemy in magick, what do you mean? 

AK: Alchemy is when you start to view your emotional states and your feelings as energy. Identify your emotions as energy, and then figure out a way to convert that energy into something that might be better, even if it's a lower state. If you're feeling sad or full of grief or stress, assign that feeling an energy color. Then, imagine yourself as having the ability to change that color into something else. Grey might represent sitting in your room looking at your ex's Instagram, and then pink might be going outside and doing something productive, or positive, or something you love. Imagine that change from grey to pink, and change your emotional state and the outlet for your energy. You don't want to go on a YouTube binge when you have a bunch of homework to do, so utilize that desire and redirect it.

 

SH: How can magick be used as a form of self-care?

AK: I think our culture has kind of tried to destroy femininity and the femme and that pure root source of it. Women are powerful. They're the dominant sex, but society tries to take that power away from women. You can get back in touch with that through magick and honoring and defining your femininity, and creating your own definition of what it means to you. Use femininity as a form of glamour magick and as something beautiful.

It can be a kind of ritual to dress in a way that you want to dress, but people might disagree with, and having control over yourself. That in itself connects women back to the essence of magick and believing in themselves as magick, and tapping into that belief that women are powerful and strong and independent. Magick at its core is very feminist because mother nature is the earth archetype.

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SH: What would you say to new practitioners who are discouraged when they don't immediately get the results they want?

AK: If it's something possible that can be manifested in the material world, it might just be that right now, your reaction to the spell you didn't get is full of information about yourself. It's self-knowledge that you need to learn to grow. View it as a trial, or a glitch you have to move past. Stay focused and eventually you'll get to where you want to get.

You have to believe that everything happens for a reason, and when you practice magick you start to see the synchronicities and those types of beautiful connections. You shouldn't feel discouraged or like the magick isn't working. The timing might be off. Maybe there's more self-work that you need to do to open up for that light to come in.

 

SH: What types of self-work can we do to tap into our own magick?

AZ: Start by writing down all your limited beliefs from society or your negative thoughts about yourself, and then on the back, or beside it, write the positive version of those things. Challenge your negativity and transform the ideas to start thinking the positive thoughts. For example, you might think "nobody wants to date me," but the positive thought might be, "the world is full of billions of people, and someone I can date is out there—someone who's astrological compatible and in the same place as me." Get away from negative loopholes.

We also live in a culture where comparison is the thief of joy. We are constantly in a state of comparing ourselves in this social media competition, and sometimes it's good to remember that those people are also struggling in ways we don't see. They also didn't get to where they got overnight. We don't see the hard work—just the highlight reel. Think of yourself as a work in progress. Believe that you're your only competition, and don't get too hard on yourself. The amount of pressure from social media culture and the different social media career aspirations is very overwhelming.

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SH: What are the big don'ts when it comes to practicing magick?

AZ: Do not do love spells on people. They might become obsessed with you and it can get really dangerous. Affecting people's free will can be done, but it's never going to up well. You should never make someone like you or love you and control other people.

You should also avoid baneful magick, especially if you're in a bad mood and want to be revengeful or destructive. We don't know how the unseen worlds work, and if you light a candle when you're in a bad mood visualize someone being hurt, you don't know what you're tapping into and it can be very dangerous.

Try to keep it on self-advancement and positivity. Maybe the best type of magick is to help others. Ask for permission, and then grab a selenite crystal and visualize white light around your friend who's going through a hard time.

 

SH: Anything else we should know about magick?

AK: Remember that each individual is gifted and special. You have something to tap into within yourself. Don't compare yourself to anyone else, and if social media becomes too much, you always have the free will to walk away from it and to do some healing work on yourself. I really recommend Epsom salt baths and moon baths for that.

 

Want to learn more about astrology? Click HERE to find out about our favorite astrological apps for self-guidance.