Breathing Exercises for Stress, Anxiety & PTSD

So yesterday the topic of meditation came up. This, as most of you know is something that I recommend highly and talk about in every book and course I have written. Clearly I value it highly, but is it necessary for magic?

The first problem we have in answering this is that the word meditation is an English word that can be stretched to mean at all. The terms in other languages that it get translated as meditation are vast and varied. What I mean by it, and what most other people mean by it these days is single-pointed concentration. This is linked to the practice of contemplation which both Theresa of Avila and Namkhai Norbu refer to as more formless resting in the natural state. Other activities like tai-chi, ice-skating, prayer, long walks by the beach, and baths where Calgon takes you away  can technically be considered meditation, and are certainly relaxing, but are not what I and most people mean by it these days. Single pointed concentration is different and develops other muscles than just relaxation.

So sticking with this definition: Can you be a wizard without meditation?

The answer clearly is

Magic can be done without meditation. There is no evidence that the writers of the Grimoires meditated other than in prayer. No evidence that the conjurors who penned the PGM had a practice of silent meditation. There is no meditation like this in Hoodoo or European Folk magic.

So you can do Magic without meditation. And if you are one of those people who automatically reject everything brought into magic in the last 150 years, you will probably consider it some modern poison polluting your pure approach from whatever time and place pitches your tent.

It’s also worth noting that there are some people that react badly to meditation. This is not the “I am bad at meditation” argument, which I have dealt with elsewhere, but a distinctly negative reaction like a panic attack or overwhelming sense of ennui. This is most often caused by a sense of boundary deteriorating. As blood flows from the parietal lobe (controling sense of self and other) and into the frontal lobe (bring increased analysis of everything happening) it can be jarring. If people want to continue meditation after episodes like this, I strongly recommend a VERY qualified teacher who can help you one on one, in person. Otherwise I recommend another discipline. Not many meditation teachers talk about this possibility, but I bring it up in my first class of my This applies to probably less than 1% of the population, but it does happen.

Like just about every other technique and method in the corpus of magic, you can do magic without it. But why would you?

The argument not to do it because its not traditional in western magic or written about in the Grimoires doesn’t really hold water. There are lots of things that these very same people do that is not written in the grimoires: training in scrying, yogic practices (which often have WAY less historical basis than meditation), inner heat, and all sorts of other supplimental practices that are not in the Grimoires. And besides, shunning all innovation is as silly as thinking anything written before 1904 is “Old Aeon”.

So, no, you don’t need to meditate to do magic. But it helps a whole lot.