...Is not an easy thing to achieve, by any means. As with balancing on a beam, when putting on a shoe, or walking around whilst tipsy, it challenges you in a great many ways. Doing so works muscles you never knew you had, at points, and while it can be terribly worthwhile to practice, its hard enough to be a bit discouraging.
The same holds true in magical work. We all are drawn towards one thing or another, and its easy to let our passion become our illness by way of overdependence.
Balance comes from holding two opposing forces in check through will. Magic is no different, though frequently the forces are much more diametrically opposed. The volatile nature of one influence is magnified exponentially when you hold the opposing influence in checl beside it.
Take fire and water as an example - one is bound to either extinguishes the other or force it to take on another shape. Thus, keeping the opposing forces in balance such that neither can overtake the other is no easy task. Since the phrase "as above, so below" holds true, the same can be said for magic.
Angelic and Demonic magic are one such example. Too frequently, people strictly want one or the other, based on what they think will best serve their needs. Rarely does anyone consider what happens when you get two like-minded spirits from opposing ends of the spectrum into the same room and get them to work together. The results, when the work is well-handled, is like the magical equivalent of a great orgasm....likewise, great results can only be achieved if everyone's doing their job.
To begin to successfully achieve such feats of balance, I recommend starting small. Hold both a triangle and a circle in your mind's eye for a while, and see what happens. When that becomes easy, focus on fire and water for a time and see how you respond. Later, do male and female energies and see how they interact. Continue this trend with opposing things until you feel as though you're ready to actually use what you've learned.
When you're ready, perform rites with both types of energy around and take note of your results. After you've become good at this, you can do the same with created spirits, and later living ones.
This will, with enough diligence, greatly improve your ability to create positive change in accordance with will.
Have fun, and good luck!
Chris/SE
The same holds true in magical work. We all are drawn towards one thing or another, and its easy to let our passion become our illness by way of overdependence.
Balance comes from holding two opposing forces in check through will. Magic is no different, though frequently the forces are much more diametrically opposed. The volatile nature of one influence is magnified exponentially when you hold the opposing influence in checl beside it.
Take fire and water as an example - one is bound to either extinguishes the other or force it to take on another shape. Thus, keeping the opposing forces in balance such that neither can overtake the other is no easy task. Since the phrase "as above, so below" holds true, the same can be said for magic.
Angelic and Demonic magic are one such example. Too frequently, people strictly want one or the other, based on what they think will best serve their needs. Rarely does anyone consider what happens when you get two like-minded spirits from opposing ends of the spectrum into the same room and get them to work together. The results, when the work is well-handled, is like the magical equivalent of a great orgasm....likewise, great results can only be achieved if everyone's doing their job.
To begin to successfully achieve such feats of balance, I recommend starting small. Hold both a triangle and a circle in your mind's eye for a while, and see what happens. When that becomes easy, focus on fire and water for a time and see how you respond. Later, do male and female energies and see how they interact. Continue this trend with opposing things until you feel as though you're ready to actually use what you've learned.
When you're ready, perform rites with both types of energy around and take note of your results. After you've become good at this, you can do the same with created spirits, and later living ones.
This will, with enough diligence, greatly improve your ability to create positive change in accordance with will.
Have fun, and good luck!
Chris/SE