The title above may seem like a no brainer. Who
wouldn’t choose prosperity? But look around you. How many people do you see whom
you would consider prosperous?
You see, most of us are not programmed for prosperity; we
are programmed by society, religion, and even our own families for a life of
mediocrity.
Society programs the masses to be workers as opposed to
leaders. From an early age most of us learn that in order to fit in with our
peers we need to do the minimum required. Breaking away from the herd is
discouraged, and if you do dare to
step outside the accepted norm you may find yourself an object of ridicule.
Think back on your early school experiences, students were
expected to work hard to achieve good grades and yet when a fellow student
excelled, what was the reaction of his or her fellow classmates? How many of us
either hurled, or had hurled at us, names like “egg-head”, “teacher’s pet”,
“nerd”, or “suck up”? The masses don’t like it when someone breaks from the
herd and does something different.
The same was true for the students who had trouble obtaining
the average grade. These students
were also labeled as “stupid”, “idiots” or “losers.” So people at both ends of
the spectrum were ridiculed, only those who achieved mediocrity were left alone
to float through school relatively unmolested.
Why does this happen? It happens because the individual
differentiated himself or herself from the accepted mediocre norm by excelling
or failing.
This type of pack mentality extends to how individuals
dress, social economic background, race, and even in which groups they participate.
Another way society can control the masses is through
religion. The majority of today’s religions eschew the material world for the
afterlife. They teach that the pursuit of material, or earthly, concerns is
undesirable and that one must focus on the spirit to the exclusion of all else
in order to reach a divine state.
Few of us modern day pagans were raised in pagan households and
so we carry this mindset, that poverty equals spirituality, forward with us
into our adult lives. I address the myth of pagan poverty in more depth in the
next chapter.
Speaking of how we were raised, think back on your
childhood. Did you receive mixed messages about what you could do versus what
you should do with your life? Were you encouraged to excel and yet were directed
toward mediocrity? For example, did your parents expect you to do well in
school but encouraged you to tailor your studies toward a “safe” profession? Did
your parents encourage your natural talents and yet expect you to abandon them
for a more “realistic” career? Your family didn’t do this to harm you; they did
it from a place of love. You see, they too were taught the message of
mediocrity, and so in order to protect you they passed that same message on to
you.
If you were luckily enough to have avoided the above
situations then you will have fewer hurdles to overcome on your way to a
prosperous life. But no matter what your background is, I think it is safe to
assume that you have begun to break away from the accepted norms, otherwise you
wouldn’t be reading this book. In fact, the act of choosing to be a pagan has
set you apart from the masses and placed you on a very different path. Congratulations.
As you begin to work toward your personal prosperity, and
rise above the masses, you may again find yourself singled out.
To help with this let’s look into the teaching of the Four Powers of the Magus.
The Four Powers of the Magus is a list of four axioms
that constitute the four cornerstones of magick. In this case, an axiom is a short
sentence that describes a more complex concept. Let’s examine each of these
axioms and what role they play in our magickal workings.
The first step in a magickal working is to truly know
with what, or for what, you are working. This type of knowing moves beyond the
intellect and into the gut.
This means that you don’t think that it would be good to possess something but that you know, on a deeply emotional level, that
you must possess something.
A key component in successful magick is desire, and you cannot
desire something that you think you
want. You must know you want it and
know exactly what it is.
An unformed concept of prosperity is
unlikely to bring you what you desire. In a later chapter you will explore
exactly what prosperity means to you and begin to form a concise picture of
what you desire.
In order to create something you need to will it into existence. You do this by
taking what you created through your knowing and feeding it energy through visualization
and magick to give it life. This book includes exercises and magick that will
help you breathe life into your creation.
As discussed earlier, in order to improve your life
you must dare to do something beyond the minimum required. You must dare to take
responsibility for your personal prosperity and dare to continue to work toward
your goals even when the masses react negatively and try to coerce you back
into mediocrity.
This statement works on many levels. First of all, in
order to do effective magick, you must make your mind silent. You must block
out all intrusions, whether they are errant thoughts or external stimuli. At
the moment that magick occurs, there is nothing but your focused intent.
Secondly, after your spell working has been completed, you
still need to observe both internal and external silence. Magick happens in
your subconscious and talking requires your conscious mind. In order to let the
magick go, so that it can speed toward your goal, you need to stop thinking
about it.
Speaking to others dispels the energy of your working by
engaging your conscious mind and by allowing another’s energy to influence you
and your spell. A non-believer may cause you to doubt your abilities or even
the reality of magick. A believer may have post-spell suggestions that have the
same effect. Post spell suggestions can make you question your magickal choices
and doubt the power of your spell work.
So how do the Four Powers of the Magus impact your journey
toward prosperity?
TO KNOW - You are moving your concept of personal
prosperity from the intellectual to the emotional as you focus on your desire
to be prosperous. You know in your
gut and your heart that you desire personal prosperity.
TO WILL - You are beginning to will your energy
toward manifesting your prosperity.
TO DARE - You are going to dare to change as you
begin exercises and magick to obtain your prosperity.
TO KEEP SILENT - You will keep silent about your progress because you know that this work is a
deep internal work and not to be shared with the masses.
As you progress down the path toward prosperity, keep
in mind the Four Powers of the Magus.
One of the challenges with any conversation is understanding each other’s vocabulary. When
I teach this concept in class I’ll say, “Think of a dog.” Then I’ll ask students
what they saw in their minds when I said, “Think of a dog.” The images vary
greatly. My students will say they saw a puppy, a German Sheppard, a mutt, a
cartoon. What type of dog did you see when you read those words?
So when you say the word prosperity it can mean a wide
variety of things to different people. For many the word prosperity means only
one thing, money. But the Miriam Webster dictionary defines prosperity as “the
condition of being successful or thriving; especially: economic well-being.”
So yes, prosperity can be about finances, but it can also be
about being successful and thriving.
You can be prosperous in many areas of your life. For
example, you can be prosperous in love. This can be the love of one special
person, many individuals, or even yourself.
Prosperity can also be about enjoying many deep supportive
relationships. Be they friends, relatives, lovers or family.
You can be prosperous in material goods, a home, food,
transportation and entertainment. There is no shame in wanting the material
things that make life not only livable but also enjoyable.
So as you work your way toward a prosperous future try and
expand your definition of prosperity to encompass all facets of your life. Because
if money was all it took to thrive, many people we see in the news would be
living a perfect life instead of one of despair and drama.
I’d like you
to perform a short meditation.
You can
purchase a copy of The Prosperous Pagan from the following vendors.
Paperback
edition: Amazon
eBook edition: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Google Play, Smashwords
Copyright 2014 © Kathy Cybele. All rights reserved.