The title of this article is a statement that was made to me by a very experienced, Wiccan High Priestess and Native American medicine woman. Especially given her background, her statement puzzled me for a long time. Eventually I came to understand it and that she was correct.
First, how is magic being defined? In this case it is defined as consciously affecting or controlling reality to achieve what is desired, such as a good relationship, good health, a good job, etcetera via ritual, ceremony, spells, or similar methods.
Incompetence relates to not being able to get what you desire by non-magical means (everyday living)
Competence relates to the underlying goals of Wicca and of many other religions. It can be seen as being the best person you can be, to live with awareness, understanding and in harmony with yourself and all around you. Living this way creates powerful and subtle magic around you that has little to do with doing magic but everything to do with being magical. The result can be putting your hand out for a glass of water, and someone gives you one without you saying anything. There is no action or effort required. I believe this is similar to the idea of Wu Wei in Taoism and to enlightenment in Buddhism. Few have achieved this ideal but the closer you come, the more effective and subtle any magic you do becomes.
The Buddhists and Hindus have known this for centuries. They view the powers you can get, known as Siddhas, as a distraction from the real goal of enlightenment. They can be useful but should not be sought for their own sake. If you attain these abilities without trying, they become a measure of how far you have come. However, you must be ready to let them go in order to go further. An amusing story about this is of the monk who had flowers raining down on him wherever he went and looked on this as a favor from heaven and a sign of how far he had come. His master saw this and told him you don’t understand at all, go back and meditate.
In Journey to Ixlan by Carlos Castaneda Don Juan says that there are four achievements. These are Clarity, Power, Wisdom and Old Age. To obtain each one, you must give up and leave behind everything you knew and wanted from the last one. This can be very hard for those who have sought power with much effort and training. For old age, I think this means to become childlike, open and flexible.
Gonzalez-Whippler in her book The Complete Book of Magic, Ceremonies and Spells made a similar comment where she noted that the more experienced a person was with magic, the less often they used it and the fewer external aids were needed.
The real measure of how far you have come is not what you can do or how much power you have. It lies in in how little you need to do, and how little power or external aides you need to do it.
The more magically you live Competently, (In harmony with all), The more the magic does itself and the less magic you need to do.
Related Posts:
The Way of the Spirit
I Need More Power
Psychic Protection (Avoidance Techniques)
This Post is Free, No Strings Attached but it does represent a lot of Hard Work, Study and Experience so a Donation via Zelle would be appreciated. 1-3$ Suggested. A list of other posts written by me is available on request to Samuelgabrams@gmail.com. For posts on Wicca or put up by me but not written by me no donation is requested.