my take on magick, briefly

published on 2026-04-12 at 07:09:05 UTC

my magickal practice is a great passion of mine, and I'm really glad to get to share it with others. it's definitely a topic I wanted to bring up here on my gemlog as well, and contribute to the occult and spiritual scene here on geminispace :3 on this post, I wanna share a bit about what magick means to me. I've already written about a lot of the main points here over on my blog[1][2], but as a seeker I'm always refining my understanding of these topics, and writing is a powerful way of doing that, for me. through constructing a new post, reflecting, and sharing, there's always something new to be discovered. I'm keeping it short here this time, but you can expect more posts on the topic soon! ^^

before I get into it, just to be clear, my craft is my own, and I don't intend on explaining specific traditions of magick here. I'm very fond of and apply many ideas from crowley's thelema, shamanism, satanism, chaos magick, zen buddhism, witchcraft, and more, and combine them with my own perspective and direct experience for my personal practice - that's what I'm gonna share on this post. Here's hoping it can resonate with peeps that may come across it! just keep in mind I don't preach dogma, only share ideas c; with that out of the way, let's get into it!

the way that I've come to find it easier to explain my spiritual approach is in three steps. I'm organizing the post around those.

1. recognition of the illusory nature of existence

as a first step, an epistemological reflection: why do we believe what we believe? why do some things "make sense" to us, while others don't? how can we really claim to be certain of anything? and to flip those questions on their head... what is it about those experiences that feel more true than truth itself, but can't ever be proven, scientifically tested, or otherwise explained as a logical, reasonable argument?

the way I've come to see it, while limited by our senses, our biases and our ego, there's no way to use rationality - itself produced within that limited framework - to reach deeply into "reality". we're instead surrounded by pointers to reality, representations of it, symbols. ways of appeasing our need for rational explanations. means to stop our otherwise endless questioning, because for some reason we need things to "make sense". so it's easy enough to look at constructs within those systems we built - explanations, arguments, science... - and being satisfied with it, continuing with our day while accepting that as the truth.

at this point, I can see how one could take a nihilistic view. if nothing can be known for sure, if nothing actually "makes sense", why should anything even matter? I've taken a different path, though, thanks to particular kinds of experiences... those powerful, deeply impactful ones we can have despite all of that. things that when felt, manage to bypass our filters and be as real as it gets without having to explain themselves. they just... are. that's the realm of the aesthetic, the irrational, the emotional - and to me, that's where the real deal is. which leads us to the next step.

2. admitting the power of symbols

illusory as it may be, our existence is still shaped by the symbols around us. as common place as the words, characters and conventions I'm using to write this post with, and as deeply unique as a personal connection to a piece of art. in its incompleteness, the world of symbols leaves an interesting breathing space for us to interface it. by bringing our personal perspectives into it, the symbol itself is in constant transformation. it signifies entirely different things for different people in different circumstances. it's never "just" a symbol. and, the way I see it, their value lies on how they can help or hinder our ability to be more deeply connected with reality.

in that way, they can be both positive or negative. oppressive constructs like capitalism, racism and queerphobia, for example, are rooted in collections of symbols that create more barriers between us and perpetuate suffering. by elevating the ego and creating hierarchy, these assumptions hinder connection. freedom of expression, community building and art making, on the other hand, allow for those deeply positive, transforming experiences that defy explanation and break down barriers.

with that in mind, by being vulnerable, open minded and adventurous, there's an incredible potential for symbols to completely alter our perspective in a positive way. powerful works of art, social movements for a common cause, community gatherings, a hangout with a good friend, a walk on the park: all of these experiences are what we make of it. by being present and allowing ourselves to live them fully, we can actually tap into that truth, that ineffable reality. I call it the DARKNESS - the realm of the imagination, chaos and infinite possibilities. what lies in the DARK can be anything and everything. it's reality unimpaired by our desire to shine light into it.

and when you realize how those symbols shape our experiences while still being subject to how we interpret them, when you decide you want to play with the symbols and venture into the DARK, well... then you become a magician c:

3. going off script

alan watts, in his lecture titled "the joker"[3], uses the metaphor of life as theater, with each of us as actors playing a role in a play. to me, within this metaphor, magick is when we do some improv. when, by recognizing both that the play is not reality itself but a representation of it, and that despite that it still has power, we stay in the play, but don't take the script so seriously. it's not a collection of absolute truths, just some ideas, some perspectives. no need to bow down to it - we can manipulate and play with it instead! ;3

in that rebellion, that punk attitude, there's freedom. freedom to explore on our own and call bullshit on the negative symbols that try to hold us back, and freedom to have fun with the ones that actually speak to us. the same way the rules or programming in games we like to play are not "the rules of reality" but can still help us have some good fun, the steps in a ritual can make it more powerful - while still being at the whims of the practitioner, who may perform the ritual in whichever way suits their needs.

established systems that want reality to fit perfectly in the boxes they have already accepted as the whole truth usually don't like when others don't "follow the rules", since their power is rooted on people's acceptance of those. they don't appreciate the improv, if you will. but shaking things up is always needed to bring actual change, to advance forward. and I propose magick as one of the practices we can incorporate in our lives to do that.

and that's it! magick in three easy steps. lol

I really hope this was a good read! if you want some more in depth reflections on the topic from me, below you'll find links to a couple of relevant blog posts I've written before. and of course, I hope to keep writing new stuff to share soon. I definitely want to share some practical tips and share how I integrate magick into my daily life, but thought it'd be best to start with this overview of my attitude towards it as a basis. anyway, see you on the next one!

~dessholiday

[1] "spirituality as a reclaiming of fun" on my blog (2026-02-28)

[2] "an introduction to magick" on my blog (2026-03-16)

[3] "the joker" lecture by alan watts (audio only), on youtube

all contents licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0