Magic is, “…the ability to influence reality in accordance with the laws of nature…” ~Kate West
What are the laws of nature….has anyone ever written them down? The Bible has one reference, albeit a slight one, to the law of nature. At best it only alluded to…”For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me prisoner on the law of sin at work within me”. ~Romans 7:22-24.
The ‘law’ refers to ‘how’ life works, how humanity defines our relationship with nature, as a part of nature.
Sir Issac Newton calculated that every object in the universe attracts every other object with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.’ Whew! This may be magic explained, but it’s still magic. If the apple falls from the tree with a force that is proportional to resistance, all we know is that that apple was presented to us and it’s sweet and crunchy and we are thankful. It’s difficult to resist the nay-sayers of believability, and knowing the actual fact of magic as a life force and its play upon its existence in nature is reality but doesn’t change the magic.
Some wonder if magic is a miracle, and there have been many miracles noted through history, although there are more that are never recorded. Is a miracle a violation of the law of nature, an intervention of a deity, a loss of the natural order of things? Magic as a miracle would be set outside the laws of nature, outside the boundaries that we understand as natural.
Fortunately, those who use magic every day see the value in keeping natural order; Pagans more than others. And since natural order is the pattern used by magic, it is important to follow that pattern, compiling energy to keep forward motion. When the stress level in life has gotten to an almost breaking point, I like to remember that I have tools, like magic, to help cope. Ritual, ceremony, spells, meditation, visualization are important tools I use to help melt the pressure of everyday life. To dare; take the chance and believe anything is possible. To will; fire up the intent and put energy into it. To know; be confident that everything will work out and be okay. To keep still; be calm within yourself and the world will be at peace around you. These natural forces as described as a Pagan axiom, show that they cannot be controlled by anyone except the one who makes the effort.