In the Woods

What Is Magic?

What Is magic? is the title of a book by Bob Makransky that I reviewed some years ago. It’s a very good book, and I recommend it warmly. What is magic? is also a general question that any publisher of an alternative and spiritual magazine has to ask themselves on a regular basis, trying to remember why on earth you’re doing what you’re doing. Cause let me tell you, it’s not because of the easy-reaping fame, glory and fortune, that’s for sure. So, I do – ask myself this question ongoingly. What is magic?

Many years ago, one of my first witch teachers – her name is Oona Ingasdotter – asked this particular question in a class I was attending. I do not remember any of the other participants’ answers. I don’t even remember my own answer. What I do remember, after having blurted out something I thought was half intelligent, is that Oona looked at me with her wise eyes and said, “Yes, I’m sure that is what magic is for you.” I mention this because, since then, I have made a point of always starting any magic or spiritual pondering with – this is what magic is for me.

For me magic is the most natural thing in the world. I have realized over the years that quite many people associate this word with crones muttering spells over a steaming cauldron in the moonlight, trying to pull the powers of fate in this direction or the other. And while I have nothing against a little cauldron spell casting every now and then, for me, magic is the absolute opposite to trying to bend fate and life your way with will and tricks. For me, magic is rather to dive into the natural forces of the world, and to communicate with them as clearly and respectfully as I can. Then to gently move the threads of the weave in directions that are good for spirits, gods, nature, plants, animals and humans, alike. The benefits of doing it this way is that when you communicate with the weave and its myriad of life form, your own energy becomes enhanced, life deepens and becomes … let’s say, more magical.

I use the word magic, but you may just as well use a word such as spiritual. I like the word magic because it binds together the material and spirit world, on all levels. There is always something you can do to change a mood set or a situation. For example, when I wake up in the morning not really feeling up to snuff for the challenges of the day, I take a moment doing candle and incense magic on the porch, moving myself gently towards a state of being that will serve me better. The effects usually stay with me all day. Or, when Michael and I have gone through a week with setbacks, we may end the week with a bonfire by the creek, throwing in sticks and written notes, and even issues of our own magazine to symbolically burn away any stagnant energies that stand in our way. For whatever reason, it always works. The words in themselves are not as important as what they mean to us. This is what The Echo World is all about – giving voices to what we mean when we talk about spiritual, and even alternative. And, as the answers are as many as there are threads in a spiderweb, it takes many writers and many different voices to just start answering it. Every month.

Just as magic, any creative act with any kind of worth to it is done in isolation. And even if I sometimes feel a little isolated and chained to my computer the days before deadline (and often the days after deadline when online publication and website updates are falling in my lap at the same time as the upcoming issue’s contributions starts pouring in, and even sometimes in between the most recent issue and the upcoming issue when Michael and I are having planning meetings on the porch … ) The Echo World is nothing but the result of one big web of threads of collaborations. The magic of The Echo World lies in all the contributors and readers of the magazine. And quite an intricate web it is. Now, throwing its threads towards the beaming, glowing, beautiful South. I’m exited about that. Not for the sake of the South, which I’m sure does just fine either way. But totally egocentrically for my own and Michael’s sake. We will have the opportunity to weave this web into new territory for us, and thus, connect new exiting threads back to us. We are opening new phonelines of communication and wait anxiously, listening closely, for the weave-of-life call backs and voice messages.

To put it more concisely, The Echo World is the result of a multitude of collaborations and intense communications. It is the result of weaving together unexpected visions, wisdoms and creative efforts from all over. Now, Michael and I are in the process of expanding these efforts. This is going to be a lot of fun. Let’s create some magic together!

This was first published as the editorial in the March issue of The Echo World