By Alexander Zalepa
Magick in and of itself is the art of imagination. Any user of magick who claims to be anything but an artist is either suffering from internal denial or full of shit. At the same time, magick is a science, the science of Will. As we know, when Imagination and Will are combined through trance, funky stuff happens – magick.
Since this combination can be seen as the right and left hemispheres of the brain acting in perfect unison*, it can also be said that magick is a hybrid of artistic brain functions and scientific analytics. In layman‘s terms – it‘s pretty much what you‘d get if Steven Hawking were to mate with Salvador Dali, and somehow manage to have a child.
Because of this, to be truly successful as an occultist one must strive to find a balance between these two extremes. Magicians tend to align themselves with one polar entity or the other. Order and Chaos, objective and subjective reality.
An example of this extreme divide can be showcased by disparity between
movements such as Ultraculture and Thelema. You have those who embrace absolute chaos and discord, and those who revel in order and rigidity.
However, in order for the magician to reach her true potential she must
ultimately strive to straddle the line with one foot in each of these philosophical ponds. This is and of itself is a massive challenge. In fact, such a statement at first seems to philosophically contradict itself. The trick to success in this aspect of occultism is to strive embrace both ends of the philosophical spectrum simultaneously, instead of attempting to fall somewhere in between.
Order and Disorder working in unison is the essence of true magick. When combined, they form a force of unimaginable power.
Although they would be hard pressed to admit or even realize it, all magicians do this to a certain extent. Whichever end of the spectrum they put more weight on is the one they are going to notice and ultimately associate with. But in truth, without at least some ties to the things these magicians often abhor they would just be ordinary people – artists, scientists, or just some schmuck in between.
