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A magical working is unique. That may seem like an odd claim to make, but recently I was reading The Process of Life (affiliate link) and the author made a very interesting point(s). He makes the point that all order and from is derived from repetition and shares examples ranging from galaxies to atoms to demonstrate how repetition plays a role the formation of various structures. This organized repetition is found in all forms. We see it in nature and we see it in our own efforts. Yet the author makes the point that if a process is a living process this changes the nature of the repetition. There may be repetition, but within the repetition is context which changes structure of each atom and particle.
The author goes on to explain that a living process creates a geometrical order in which every part is whole, unified, but also unique, according to the conditions that part brings to the geometrical structure. What creates this uniqueness is life itself. Life is not the same. It may be similar, but it brings variation and that variation plays a role in the process that utilizes repetition but also draws on the uniqueness inherent within life.
What does any of this have to do with magic?
Magic is also a process, as I have shared elsewhere. It’s a living process. There is certainly some repetition that can be found in the techniques and rituals a person works, but what the person/people as well as the magic itself brings to those techniques and rituals is a sense of life that brings uniqueness with it. This is worth appreciating because what is brought to a process is what allows that process to work.
It may seem a bit of a stretch to explore how books on architecture could influence magical workings, but it is in such perspectives that we get a different look at what we are doing and a result gain some awareness that can help us with our magical work. For instance, when I design a magical working, one of the questions I now ask myself is what is most important about that working. It’s not always the result. Sometimes its something else and so from that awareness I’ll build the working out, allowing it to naturally unfold around what is most important. Would I have thought this way before about designing a magical working? Probably not, which is why its good to take on fresh perspectives that change your understanding of magic, or for that matter any other discipline you explore.
