Introduction
Most of us grew up in the age of cartoons and video games, where we are brought into fantasy worlds of castles and dragons, princesses and monsters, brave knights and magicians. Ah yes, those people that dress mysteriously with their pointy hats and can make miracles happen with a swish of a wand or with just a few words.
Source How many of us are still waiting for our letter from Hogwarts?
But what if I tell you magic is real? No, we won't be able to throw fireballs or call down lightning from the sky. But with just the utterance of a few words, miracles happen, you can put a curse on someone, you can start a fight, you can warm the heart and so much more!
We don't think much about it, but every time we use our words, we are basically casting powerful spells. Don't believe me? Read on for examples!
Words are Magical
Have you ever heard of the Placebo effect?
A placebo is anything that seems to be a "real" medical treatment -- but isn't. It could be a pill, a shot, or some other type of "fake" treatment. What all placebos have in common is that they do not contain an active substance meant to affect health. - WebMD
Words can also cause this Placebo effect. Imagine a doctor telling you
"You are very ill! My doctor equipment here tells me that you are about to get sick and that you need to take plenty of rest!"
although you are completely healthy (Yes, he is also an asshole). He gives you some pills to take and he even gives you doctors letter to take sick leave from school/work! He tells you to get plenty of rest. So, thinking you are sick, you don't leave your house, you lay in bed all day and you really think you are sick! In the end, you actually do get sick from the lack of any activity.
In your mind, you were thinking, he's the doctor! Of course he's right! I trust him! And because of that, the doctor just gave you a disease with only his words!
Words can be so powerful, that even these simple words, "Yes" or "No" could be the difference between Joy or Sadness. Excitement or Disappointment. Even, Life or Death.
Now I want you to imagine in your head the scenes I will describe
Person A will ask a question, and Person B will answer either Yes or No. How would Person A react to each answer?
Scene 1
Person A: We've been together for a long time. I've given everything to you, and I believe you have too. Will you marry me?
Scene 2
Person A: Doctor, how is my son?! Will he make it?
How did those scenes play out in your head? How different were those scenes? Words are magical!
Now, let me teach you more powerful magical spells. Curses, Blessings, Protection Magic and Cataclysm/Plague Spells!
Casting Curses and Black Magic
Now that you believe me in that words are spells, it's time to teach you more advanced spells. Just like how the Avada Kadavra curse or Crucio curse are a able to kill and torment people, curses and blessings are a lot more potent than your average spell.
Many of us don't realise this, but we are casting these curses and blessings everyday, one more than the other.
You just had a long day at work, your boss just gave you a lot of work but denied you your promotion, you come home to a leak in the roof. You sit down in your chair wanting to relax. Then....your kid, wanting to cheer you up, starts singing AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS in front of you. You tell him to quiet, but he doesn't hear you, he's too loud.
"KEEP QUIET, GO TO YOUR ROOM!"
What you don't realise is, you've just casted a very powerful curse on him. A curse that will follow him for the rest of his life. Your kid goes back to his room, not knowing why you shouted at him when he tried to cheer you up.
"Why was dad angry at me? I was trying to make him happy"
"Dad doesn't love me."
"I have a horrible voice, dad doesn't love my singing"
"It's my fault dad is angry."
You may forget that moment the next day. But that child, may not sing anymore for the rest of his life. You have just given him the Curse of Silence and the Curse of Shame.
Blessings and Protection Charms
Thankfully though, just as curses can be powerful, blessings can be just as powerful.
Taking the same scenario from before. Imagine now, 5 minutes after you screamed at your child. You go into the room and say to your child.
"I'm so sorry for shouting at you. I'm just very tired. Could you please sing for me again, but softer this time?"
Your child now, understanding that it wasn't his fault, but that you were just being very tired. He sings for you, with more love and care this time. You then tell him what an amazing voice he has. Just like that, you've blessed your child, with the Blessing of Confidence and the Blessing of Love
These are powerful blessings. They don't only work at that one moment, but for the rest of your child's life! Someone else, someone evil, may insult your child's singing in the future, but your blessing has protected him! "My dad thinks my singing is amazing, that's all that matters".
Protection and Self-Defence
This is a different type of spell you can cast, and probably the most important one - protection spells. You may not be fortunate enough to have someone cast blessings on you forever. They may not be with you all your life, or maybe they ran out of mana. It's important for you to learn spells to protect yourself!
There's one thing that you need to understand about these spells. Spells can't harm others, not even curses. Spells can only hurt yourself. Whether you curse or bless someone, it is only as effective as that person chooses to accept the spell.
A curse is not effective if I choose to ignore it.
Some asshole: "You are the biggest weirdo I know".
Me: "Great! Being weird means I'm unique and not like everybody else!
But it works both ways as well.
Someone who loves me: "You're a great dancer, you're the most confident person I know!"
Me: "She's just saying that, I'm a horrible dancer. Everyone is going to laugh at me"
Your best protection spells are learning how to take the curses and blessings others throw at you and turning that into something powerful for yourself.
Cataclysm / Plagues
These are the worst kind of spells. They're horrible because once casted, can't be recalled back by the caster, and take on a life of its own and can spread to the ends of the world.
There's another name for these spells, gossip. Imagine now this scenario, you're going out with a bunch of friends. There's a new guy joining that your other friends don't really know. He cut you off in line for the toilet once. So, before he arrives, you start telling everyone "Hey, I don't really know this guy, but he gives me this asshole-ish vibe".
When this guy arrives, all your friends will just be thinking "Ok...this guy is a bit of an asshole." whether he was or not! But because they think he is, anything he does no matter how small or irrelevant would just reinforce that "this guy is an asshole" thought.
You guys go out for a meal. He insist on everyone paying for their own dish, instead of just splitting the bill evenly between everyone. He could be thinking "Oh, I ordered the most expensive dish, it wouldn't be fair for everyone to split evenly". But in everyone else's mind, because of the plague you casted, will be thinking "Oh, this guy is just being an asshole making it troublesome for everyone". They project this asshole persona on him because of the spell you casted.
There is one thing you need to keep in mind, if you ever decide to cast such a powerfully evil spell. It also has an effect on you. Just like how the dark side made Palpatine a dried up scrotum and Voldemort without a nose. Each time you cast this class of spells, you run the risk of disfiguring yourself as well.
One day, people will discover the truth. "Hey, this guy is nice after all. Why did you tell everyone he's an asshole? You're the real dick!"
Conclusion
Congratulations! Not only have you just learned why Magic is real, but you've also learned the fundamentals of Magic and how it works. I have entrusted you with this knowledge. How you choose to use it is now up to you!
My last lesson to you with this post is, learn to use your words effectively with yourself first. Now that you are aware of Magic, you're being thrown into a dangerous world where everyone could be a good like Gandalf the White, a snake in disguise like Saruman, or just pure evil like Voldemort.
Learn the self-protection spells first. Learn how to use words to protect yourself so that you can deflect curses and cast blessings on yourself. This is like, the most basic thing to do whenever you play a healer in games. Noob.
Once you've mastered that, learn how to use it effectively on others. A true master of the magical arts will only use his magic powers for good! So, go forth and spread good spells only!
This post was inspired by the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
