Low Magick and High Magick

As Aleister Crowley defined Magick - "The Scienceenergy toward any material object will equally affect
and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity withthe individual who was once in contact with or
Will."possessed this object. This explains why practitioners
Low or Natural Magick evolved out of the lowlandsof Applied Occult Metaphysics often use the personal
where farmers grew crops. Many Solitary Witcheseffects of whom they are performing spellwork for;
and Wiccans practice Low Magick as well as manysome of these personal items might include articles of
ancient Pagan (i.e., from L. paganus meaning "aclothing, hair, nail clippings, bodily fluids, photographs, or
countryman or country dweller") cultures did. Loweven jewelry. These items assist in empowering the
Magick utilizes natural objects such as crystals, herbs,spell and its potential outcome.
rocks, fire, air, earth, water, animal parts (i.e., not fromAlso note, Sympathetic Magick is the foundation for
sacrificial means but from the use of feathers, pelts,most divinatory systems and practices where healing
skins, horns, entrails, or bones found by a practitioner inis concerned.
the forest, fields, or grasslands), the weather, seasonalHigh Magick seeks to enhance your spiritual growth
changes, or anything found within our environment andand development transcendentally and bring you closer
nature. It can be looked at as taking care of yourto the deities; and has been claimed to have evolved
physical earthly wants, needs, and desires such asfrom scholars and higher societies of people. This form
love and relationships, money, health, personalof magick is highly used by practitioners of Kemeticism
protection and is generally short term.(Ancient Egyptian religion), Qabalism (Kabbalism),
Sympathetic Magick (a.k.a. Primitive or Imitative Magick)Enochian Magick, Tenebrae Artes (Dark Arts, Black
is a centuries old form of Low Magick based uponMagick, or Infernal Sorcery), Hermetic Order of the
imitation and/or correspondence, practical experiences,Golden Dawn, and Thelema (founded and further
and observations within the natural world of the past,developed by Aleister Crowley) just to name a few.
present, and future. Imitation and correspondence areHigh Magick, in general, invokes great spiritual energy
two key elements of this type of magick andand power and usually does not concern itself with
represent a cause-and-effect relationship:Nature. It uses complex rituals and symbolic invocations
Imitation - refers to "like attracts or produces like"of deities, dramatic ceremonial wardrobe, and complex
based upon the Law of Similarity where a spiritualist,concoctions such as those used within Alchemy.
for example, is able to produce any effect that she orCeremonial or Ritual Magick is a good example of high
he desires just by imitating the material object; i.e., themagick and concerns itself with the conscious
concept of an effect resembling its cause.application of willpower to achieve one's individual or a
Correspondence - refers to objects having been ingroup's spiritual objectives.
possession or contact with each other continue toBoth forms of magick can be quite useful, effective,
react upon one another no matter the distance; thisand almost "equal" in their strength and purpose in
concept is based upon the Law of Contagionorder to achieve the intended results of the practitioner
(Contact). A priestess, for instance, knows that(e.g., a priest, priestess, shaman, magickian / magician,
whatever actions she performs upon or directsor alternative spiritualist).