Calling Cthulhu!
Be Our Facilitator!
By Donald Michael Kraig
One of the most common letters I receive goes something like this: Hi! I really like your book Modern Magick although I've only read the first chapter. Will you please give me some help? I would like a spell to win back my girlfriend, kill my boss and summon Cthulhu onto the physical plane. Please make the spells short and easy to do.
Well, yeah, this is an exaggeration. But I do get surprisingly similar letters. Obviously, killing someone is a form of black magick and I would never advise it. Winning back a girlfriend is forcing somebody to do something against her will. This, again, is a form of black magick and I would never advise it.
So how about summoning some beastie to the physical plane? Sorry, I have to give a no to this, too, but for different reasons.
First, bringing a non-physical entity to the physical plane is cruel. That would be like ripping you out of your nice, warm, comfortable bed and putting you into a cold, unfamiliar environment. How would you like that? You can use a device such as a crystal ball or magick mirror to look into the astral plane and communicate with non-physical entities that exist there. They're at home and you're safe.
Second, why would you want to waste your time? Being an effective magician does not mean that you have memorized a spell. It means that you know the meaning of the words and know how to work with the energies they—and you—create. Yes, you could practice for several years until you could make the door to your room fly open at will. But wouldn't it be easier to just go over and open the door?
Third, and most important, is the question, What is the purpose of magick? I believe that it was Crowley who said that the only purpose of magick was to reach toward the Divine, to achieve the Knowledge and Consciousness of your Holy Guardian Angel—also known as enlightenment or cosmic consciousness. Anything else was a type of black magick. Working on bringing a non-physical entity to the physical plane for no reason other than to see if it can be done is exactly that.
In fact, if you look at the section in my book on how to use a magick mirror and combine that with information about the entity you might wish to evoke from the grimoire describing the entity along with your years of experience, knowledge, practice and ability you should have no trouble dosing such an evocation. Simply replace the magick mirror with a substance that will allow for the formulation of the container (body) of the non-physical entity. Incense smoke is usually suggested.
I think, however, that going to this trouble shows two things: First that the magician is rather impractical and is willing to waste their time to try to accomplish something which could be accomplished through much easier means (i.e., by way of the magick mirror). Second, it also implies to me that the person doing the magick is interested in power over others (the non-physical entity) rather than over themself. This brings up another point altogether.
Many years ago there was a canard that Witches don't study and magicians don't do magick. Thankfully, that has all changed. Wiccans do study their craft—many quite deeply. More and more magicians are doing magick as well as talking about it. This latter fact seems to have upset some Pagans. They charge that ceremonial magicians are only interested in power. Simply put, this is untrue.
In any group there will be natural leaders and natural followers. This does not make one person better than another. They are merely aware of the strengths and weaknesses they have developed so far. Followers should learn to become leaders and leaders should learn to become followers. Some Pagans fear the idea of a leader and won't even use the term—they are merely facilitators. Yet, a facilitator does everything a leader does. Changing the name does not change the fact.
Leaders may appear to be after power, but the only real power they have is their power over themselves and the power others give them. Some leaders in the Pagan and ceremonial magical community are out for power over others. Those of you who read Mezlim may have read about one person who insist on developing a parental relationship with his students rather than teach them any information. This relationship gives him power, and I would make the conjecture that it may be due to his feelings of lack of personal power. These people are the exceptions, however, and not the rule.
In fact (and Fundamentalists, don't quote this out of context!), some people come to Wicca or ceremonial magick in order to gain power over others. To deny this would be foolish. However, they quickly learn that they will not learn a word or spell that will give them the power they seek. Instead they can look forward to a long period of study and practice leading to power over themselves, not others. As it says in the Golden Dawn Neophyte initiation ritual, Although the Magical virtues can indeed awaken into momentary life in wicked and foolish hearts, they cannot reign in any heart that has not the natural virtues to be their throne. In other words, magical abilities do not last long for those who seek only power. The small things they learn at the beginning are not enough to supply their monumental egos, and they look for another way to gain power over others while leaving the magical paths free for those looking toward self-mastery.
So rather than trying to evoke some beastie to come onto the physical plane, I would urge people to consider trying to invoke some of the strength, self-sufficiency, self-worth and power over yourself that some of these entities can provide. Using magical powers over ourselves is our birthright as humans. I encourage its discovery and use.
1992 Donald Michael Kraig | 
