On Imagination and Possibilities

What is the hidden option/possibility?

The purpose of this blog is to document my journey as a magical author and serve as a medium through which I can express the various thoughts, musings, and insights I have as I undergo this journey. Since writing and magic are both arts, I want to begin by discussing a subject that is central to art but rarely discussed in the magical community. This subject is imagination.

Now, you are probably thinking to yourself “What is this guy talking about? The magical community is filled with discussions on imagination.” Well, if by imagination you mean the plastic imagination, then yes, you are correct. The visual plastic imagination, or “visualization” as it is often called, is viewed as one of the fundamental skills of magic, and therefore, writings on the subject are many. The auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory plastic imaginations are not discussed or written about nearly as often, but they’re still discussed and written about.

The imagination I am speaking of is rarely discussed or written about in magical circles. This is strange because, as I've already mentioned, magic is an art and the imagination I am speaking of is central to art. By imagination, I refer to the ability to perceive possibilities.

When a sculptor looks at a block of marble, he sees several possible statues he can carve from it. This is his imagination working. If his imagination is good, he will see many fascinating possible statues. If his imagination is poor, he will see only a few boring possible statues. Note that by “imagination,” I am not referring to the ability to visualize. Of course that is also a useful skill in art, but a different skill. You can visualize a possibility, but only if your imagination can grasp that possibility. Otherwise, some greater artist will grasp that possibility and manifest it through his art. Some artists imagine great possibilities but are not skilled enough to manifest them in their works. Thus, we see that imagination is not the entirety of art, but just one important part. The exercises of IIH will provide you with magical skills, but if you don't have a good imagination, you won't be able to imagine the wonderful things you can do with those skills. As a result, you won't ever do anything wonderful with those skills.

The magician carves his future the way a sculptor carves a block of marble. A good magician can imagine many wonderful possible futures. This gives him a variety of options when it comes to using his art to actually manifest the possible futures as a life the same way a novelist manifests a possible plot as a story or a sculptor manifests a possible figure as a statue. Without imagination, there is no art. This applies to sculpture, painting, magic, etc.

Look at the four of cups. This card is all about imagination. The man in the card does not have a good imagination. He sees three possibilities. He is not satisfied with any of them, but must choose one of these unsatisfactory possibilities. If he had a better imagination, he would see the much better fourth possibility. The universe is offering it to him, but he cannot see it so he does not take it.

The lesson magicians should take from this card is as follows.

“When you feel you must choose between shitty option A, shitty option B, and shitty option C, look for option D.” 

This blog is a new project of mine. Whenever you start a new project, you never know how it will end, but if your imagination is good, you can imagine some of the possibilities. As of now, I imagine that this blog will be a convenient way for me to share the lessons I learn as I undertake the journey of being a magical author, express my own unique views on various esoteric subjects, and bounce ideas off my readers and supporters as I prepare each new book.