The Magick of No Turns into the Magick of Yes

Last Thursday night, I spoke at Fresno State University on the topic of the Golden Dawn. The prior speaker was WitchDoctorJoe. The third speaker was a no show. I think it is safe to say that Joe and I had a blast tag teaming a list of questions the professor had for just such an eventuality.

Joe discussed his magick word. NO. "No, I will not drive the get away car," would have kept a lot of the folks Joe works with out of prison. Being able to say no to some things in my past may have made my life easier as well. This is one of those lessons I learned by osmosis. I heard Joe’s “No” speech before but never applied it. I started applying it without realizing it was Joe’s teaching. It was during Joe’s talk that I realized where that came from.

We are taught to please, to share, and to take another piece of cake after you've been offered for the fifth time. Sometimes no is very appropriate.

I have some people I care about very much that I will no longer spend time with. Their long term behavior is just intolerable to my spirit. This is a form of the magick of no. I gave some a chance to grow past things. They refuse. I can only assume that the behavior would be repeated. These types of decisions are difficult, especially when you know the pain it causes the other party(s). I do not seek to cause pain to others. I used to be afraid to live in order to avoid doing so and caused pain anyway. No longer. That doesn’t mean that I will allow myself every selfish moment. Those things cause pain to others and are unacceptable. I mean that I will not deny myself merely because someone else may experience some emotional pain.

The trick to this sort of thing is revealed by the 3 of Wands. The three's exist in Binah which is Understanding, Form and Receptivity. The wands are about creative force. When we combine these meanings we find that we can create our soul-intended life by Understanding the Form we are given, being receptive to things that fall within that form and rejecting that which does not.

These leaves us with the question of what form is. Form is the natural virtue of the soul. We know those virtues through our emotional reactions to our own behavior and how our behavior is reflected back to us. If someone accuses me of something and I have no reaction, chances are that I’m on the right track. If I become defensive, chances are that I may be at least partially off-base. Simple.

I have learned to live within the acceptable parameters of my soul. This has turned the magick of no into the magick of yes. Yes, I can accept the joy of activity A. Yes, I can accept people into my life. Yes, I can adapt with them. Yes, I can grow past things. Yes, I can accept the past. Yes is so much more fun than no. It is healthier. Still, I will say no again someday I am sure. But when you’re on the right track, you don’t have to say no very often. You don’t hear it much either.