Hello. Newbie to the board, but an avid enthusiast of esoteric knowledge.

I have a question. Actually, two to three questions. Have any of you practiced any rituals or rites that have consistently worked? If yes, were these practices learned from others or discovered from principles?

And, in your experience/opinion, where does esotericism and the occult end and theatrics and illusions start?

Edit: I really don't get all the downvotes. I'm just asking perfectly reasonable questions. And I'm even polite about it. Is it the thumbnail? Did people get offended by the greenscreen wizard? I hope that's not the case, I like the greenscreen wizard. He has much wisdom to share.

Magic isn't real.

I got a free Tarot reading today, and it was 100% accurate. How do you explain that.

On a more realistic note. You really expect me to believe we taught crystals how to do math with lightning and now we can talk to beings that don't exist physically, and NONE of that is magic? Can't fool me.

Also, a bit of a personal question. Do you go to Christmas parties where there are children and yell "Santa isn't real! Jesus wasn't born on Christmas!" or do you do these kinds of things online-only? Let me have a little whimsy, for fuck's sake. 🙃

There's a reason you start as neophyte, then graduate to next levels.

Magick is real, but not in the way most people think. Most people come craving worldly power, but aren't worthy of holding it. The rituals are to prepare the vessel. Not putting new wine into a five gallon Tupperware container and sealing the lid while you go off about your business.

Or to put it another way, it's not about painting roses red, it's about tilling the soil, picking out the weeds and larger stones, watering and composting the soil, planting the roses, finding non-toxic pest control, weeding the bed, pruning, learning that as blooms die, to cut them just before the first fifth leaf so they bloom again, what to graft to what to produce a new breed, etc. And by then, red may not be your objective, perhaps you like lime green roses.

So, basically tychokinesis, yes? I believe some call it "synchronicity" or "reverse causality"? have found it effective, but not nearly as esoteric and interesting as I'd hoped. When you really get down to it, it's just math and probability. Anyone can do it. Basically reverse-engineering an outcome.

Or are you talking about a different concept altogether?

How do you explain that.

Cold reading and you're gullible.

😶

Then why bring it up in the first place? There's no way to develop a field of study without discussing findings and having them peer-reviewed.

I get the "Esoteric" part of "Esoteric Knowledge", but why make it more secretive than it has to be? I don't think there should be any shame or stigma in discussing such things. So why not just talk about it plainly?

You're wrong on the former. Possibly not the latter.

How is a website supposed to cold-read me? It was fate. RNGesus' hand.

I think the Terry Pratchett approach to magik has been very fruitful for me since discovering it. Less work and more fun honestly. Nobody said it needed to be hard.

Can you clarify? The way Terry Pratchett did magic, or the way Terry Pratchett wrote magic?

Start with headology.

How is a website reading tarot cards?

I've not read it, but it seems legit.

Mirror, Mirror in my hand, who's the _____ in the land?

This is not my personal tradition, but it will do:

https://debrawakitsch.com/classes-on-healing/the-mirror-principle/

As a message for our Young_Gilgamesh (delightful magickal name),

🪞

https://spcdn.shortpixel.ai/spio/ret_img

Quote from the article you linked "You are never, ever a victim. You are 100% responsible for everything that happens to you." that is some problematic stuff right there. Wouldn't tell that to a rape victim or anyone who ACTUALLY suffered in their life. From that quote alone I can tell the mirror principle is bullshit. (no offense to you, just a bad source of a demonstrably bad practice)

And your AI image link doesn't work. You have to download the image first, then use "upload image" in the comment formatting. Like this:

Don't use AI BTW, it is evil. It does not follow the covenant. It's a Shoggoth. And it takes a lot of water to make an image. So if you do use it, be aware of the cost.

Oh, yeah, I'm familiar. But perception can only get you so far. I'm looking for ways of ascension, not controling the status quo. I'll leave that do demons and politicians.

Through RNG I assume. It randomly choses a card. I can do interpretation. I'm a newbie in the community, not to the practices.

While I regret our interactions, I have to correct this. Using the mirror principal (as above, so below, as within, so without) isn't necessarily victim-blaming, but I understand your misinterpretation. In your example, the sexual assault victim did not bring it on him or herself, but moving forward with life does require addressing the psychological and emotional wounding, to regain a sense of agency, reasonable safety, in the world and to be able to trust self and others again, as well as self-confidence.

As agent 488 said, "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."

I literally qoted the article. I get the essoteric talk, it's all fun and good, but the article you yourself linked is the one victim blaming. NOT everything operates like that, and stating that it does is disingenuous. It's lying. And if the lie is the premise of the article, what am I supposed to think about it but "It's bullshit"?

Also. If it's not too much of a bother. Would you be so kind as to explain why you regret our interactions? I thought the exchanges were at least a little productivie, in some way. So why do you regret talking to me?

I mean some things are inferential.

If you found them productive, that's what matters.

I found the exchange semi-produictive. I have learned things I did not know before. Mostly about people. People like you. And I've learned that they like being pandered to, even when the information is provably untrue.

Now, if you'd be so kind and generous. Would you answer my question. Why would yeou regret talking to me. And why would you say it. I don't say the mean things I think. I was taught its the polite thing to do. I really tried my best to be polite and open-minded, yet I am met with a dismissive attitude. Why is that? People are strange to me, and I'd like to learn why they act the way they do.

Please stop harassing me. I can't tell you anything because you already know it all.

Magic isn’t real, if it means something to you, then that’s something.

I think these are fine questions. People should ask such questions.

Anyway:
I can say a lot for these questions, but suffice to say yes and no lol. Yes, I have found some published works whose rituals were very useful. But I also have freely adjusted and amended some of these to better suit my purposes as well. Practice and study made it clear where I could do this, since while it's true that your practice should really be your own, reinventing the wheel is a waste of time and energy. It's only really important that your rituals help you focus and direct your energy and intent properly, and to allow you to exit that headspace and return to 'consensus reality' afterward. Reading very broadly (i.e. every approach you can find) can help since then you can compare and contrast various ideas.

Well, as far as theatrics and illusions... The problem is that the answer is yes/yes. You need the theatrics and self-delusion in the moment in order to get out of your head, to get into a light trance state. But like I said above, you also need to come down from that state and return to 'normal' afterward. A lot of people do not like that last part. Magick can feel good, and the mental state in the midst of ritual can feel like something you want to use all the time, but it's not healthy. I can't say for sure, but it does seem that the more a person uses emotions to fuel their magick, the more danger they're in of slipping into delusional states. Meditation tends to be an old mainstay practice within magick because it protects against that situation. If you get into a meditative state for trances, instead of winding up emotions, you should get better results on the whole, as well as find it easier to exit magick-mental space.
After that, don't allow someone else to do your thinking for you. Don't make membership in a tradition more important than understanding yourself. :V

Harassing you? I'm just asking a simple question. If you refuse to answer, I understand. But don't say you can't do that because I "already know it all", when I am explicitly saying that I do not. That is a lie. I don't like people who lie. I prefer being honest and saying "I don't know" or "I prefer not to answer". That is it.

Magic is a science we do not understand yet. Magic is definitely real. There is no casting fireballs and raising skeletons to do your bidding. But manipulating forces we do not understand through esoteric means? That is a thing. Would you agree?

Could you give me an example of something measurable that you think is possible?

Or are you talking about like “The Secret?”

Thank you for an honest, comprehensive answer.

I have also found that a temporary state of delusion or altered perception can actually be a tool allowing to see the truth.

Thank you for being the first person to genuinely provide their perspective and answer the questions posed in the post.

Something measurable that is possible? I'm not sure I understand the question. Electricity is measurable and I think it is definitely possible.

If that doesn't answer the qustion, please specify what are you asking about.

I am literally saying that magic is science we do not understand yet. Example: Communing with demons. What if they are actually extradimensional entities? That could be a thing. Possibly. Maybe. What if they can see in 4D and certain space-time anomalies can attract their attention?

Edit: And BTW what is "The Secret"? You mean the book? I haven't read it. Or are you talking about some other "The Secret". I know Victoria's Secret, but I'm not sharing that one. Sorry, you'll have to ask her yourself like I did.