Iterative magic is a form of space/time magic which employs the cyclical rhythm of time and space in order to create consistent results. One of the cyclical rhythms that iterative magic draws on are found in the astrological cycles and currents that all of us experience in our lives. In iterative magic, we purposely draw upon these cycles to empower and inform our magical work. Each iteration of a cycle refers to the previous and future cycles. When we understand this we can draw on the past, present, and future cycles of a given cycle to enhance the magical work we are doing.
For example Mercury going retrograde would be an example of an astrological cycle that all of us experience. While this cycle is notorious for bad communication, it can also be treated as an opportunity to apply iterative magic to our lives. We recognize that Mercury is going retrograde and instead of hoping that we’ll somehow avoid miscommunication we do iterative magic to either help us improve our communication skills or apply the mercurian cycle in other ways that are related to its influence. We can also apply this same approach to when Mercury is going direct.
We can actually apply iterative magic to any retrograde/direct cycle for any of the planets. Being able to do this doesn’t even necessarily require that you become well versed in astrology either. It may require working with an astrologer or learning some basic knowledge, but once you have that knowledge you can develop iterative magic workings for specific cycles and use that to help you tap into the deeper energies that are present and utilize them for your magical work.
Another approach I’ve taken to astrological influences is to do iterative magic around sun and moon cycles. The moon cycles every 28 days and sometimes there are eclipses which can also be factored in for this work. The sun has its own cycle which we experience through the progression of a year. Each of these can also be used as examples of astrological cycles we can work with iteratively. For instance you can choose to work with the sun at different times of the year (we see this with the wheel of the year) and have each time of the year reference the next and previous times. The same understanding can be applied to moon cycles.
We don’t need to limit iterative magic to astrological cycles, but they are one of the more obvious examples of this work and can be helpful for understanding how iterative magic works and how it can be applied to ongoing magical practices.
