QUESTION - Is it possible to cast spells without noticing you are casting, like subconsciously casting? I find when I get intensely angry bad things I can't explain happen. I'm not intentionally casting though I don't try to wish harm on anyone but people who I've become intensely angry with seem to have weird things happen, like the last 3 shops where the vendor either tried taking advantage of me because of my circumstances, or lied to me point blank, have closed next time I saw them. Or when my father through forgetfulness locked me out of the house, for the 3rd time in the month suddenly felt like cold water was in his eyes followed by a headache despite no water being there, or the guy who robbed my client, (an old deaf woman was arrested on a completely different set of charges). I'm concerned if I subconsciously cast without trying when in highly charged emotional state, I might do harm to others, or myself, frankly a loose cannon is somewhat dangerous, and it’s not like I raise my voice or throw things, many people describe me as the kindest person they know and almost never angry, and even civil, and polite when explaining why I am disappointed with their actions.
My girlfriend (also Wiccan but in the closet with her family) also has an intense rage and swears that a couple days ago after her boss called her in to work on her day off, the papers on her desk caught fire by themselves, and she swatted them out.
I'm somewhat concerned and am wondering if there is some way I can inhibit unintentional casting if that's even possible.
ANSWER – I’m a big believer in the art of subconscious casting. I know too many witches who are honest about the spells they have pulled off with no deliberately channelled intent to question whether it can be done or not. In fact I would go further and suggest that a lot of what we attribute to “luck” is actually a subconscious manipulation of events. I have certainly noticed that my own life kind of falls into place even when I haven’t put any specific organised effort into spell work.
If you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. Magic at its grass roots is the application of intent to bring about change. The stronger the intent, the more likely the magic is to succeed. That’s not to say a structured focus doesn’t play a part but I would certainly agree that a powerful undirected intent can bring about tangible results without needing the structure of formal spell work.
A lot of witches comment that their spell work is at its most powerful when bringing about changes in their own lives and I would agree with this. You are always going to have more of a vested interest in your own life than you are in the lives of others and this is naturally reflected in the results that spell work brings about. This falls in with the concept of subconscious casting and the idea that day to day emotions and intentions can play a part in shaping the life of the witch.
However I also think it important to have a balanced approach to what is and is not subconscious casting. Too many witches go down the route that everything in life is magically influenced but this is equally as daft as the cynics who don’t believe in magic at all. The balance is the understanding that many things that happen genuinely are down to coincidence. It would be dangerous to assume the belief that everything that happens in life is in some way influenced by yourself as a witch. Chances are you get your fair share of coincidence the same as anyone else. And also, looking at the example you give in your question, the results you seem to obtain tend to be against people who aren’t very nice to start with. My point being that if a shop keeper screws you over, chances are he has screwed a lot of other people over too so it is unsurprising that his business has gone bust. Same with the bloke who robbed your client – he’s hurting other people so chances are that at some time somebody is going to turn round and hurt him. I’m not saying I’d discount subconscious casting but I am saying it is important to view it with perspective and not make the assumption that everything results from it. It’s important not to discount the rational explanation for the sake of the magical explanation. Try applying the law of Occam’s Razor (The simplest explanation is usually the right one….)
You seem worried about the results of subconscious casting and I agree that a certain amount of caution is advisable. However to me the biggest danger is being unable to perceive the balance I discussed above and falling into the trap of seeing everything around you as the result of magical influence. Firstly this has the obvious danger that a person would start to believe themselves omnipotent (and that wouldn’t end well) and secondly it would bring about a lot of unwarranted guilt which would be very self destructive.
Having said I believe in subconscious casting I’ll explain further that I actually believe it would only be effective to a certain degree. To pull off big results you’d need to be focusing the intent. Any force is at its most powerful when directed to a point and magic is no different. So although subconscious casting will bring about some results it won’t bring about results that you should fear. By that I mean you won’t accidentally kill or maim someone!
I also think it is important to remember the nature of magic and how it works. I always like the analogy of the Web of Wyrd. Your intent touches one point of the web and then moves along many strands and threads before the final influence of that intent is known. It is a myth that magic has a linear effect, it doesn’t. It has subtle and sometimes hard to perceive consequences. In the example of your girlfriend’s boss’s papers catching fire, I would personally say this is too linear a reaction to be magically influenced. I’m not saying not possible as a result of magic but I am saying unlikely.
In terms of what you can do to prevent negative subconscious casting, well I think you are already doing some of it. You describe yourself as a kind and polite person so I think it very unlikely that your nature would bring about results totally at odds with the kind of person you are. You are also aware that it appears to be the emotion of anger that inspires subconscious casting so my advice would be to defuse this anger when you feel it starting. Equally try to look at things from other people’s perspective. It is a lot harder to be angry with someone when you have put yourself in their shoes and looked at life the way they see it. Basic relaxation meditation may also help to calm you. But most of all learn to walk away from situations and people that generate an angry response in you.
Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/Magic-52120974
My girlfriend (also Wiccan but in the closet with her family) also has an intense rage and swears that a couple days ago after her boss called her in to work on her day off, the papers on her desk caught fire by themselves, and she swatted them out.
I'm somewhat concerned and am wondering if there is some way I can inhibit unintentional casting if that's even possible.
ANSWER – I’m a big believer in the art of subconscious casting. I know too many witches who are honest about the spells they have pulled off with no deliberately channelled intent to question whether it can be done or not. In fact I would go further and suggest that a lot of what we attribute to “luck” is actually a subconscious manipulation of events. I have certainly noticed that my own life kind of falls into place even when I haven’t put any specific organised effort into spell work.
If you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. Magic at its grass roots is the application of intent to bring about change. The stronger the intent, the more likely the magic is to succeed. That’s not to say a structured focus doesn’t play a part but I would certainly agree that a powerful undirected intent can bring about tangible results without needing the structure of formal spell work.
A lot of witches comment that their spell work is at its most powerful when bringing about changes in their own lives and I would agree with this. You are always going to have more of a vested interest in your own life than you are in the lives of others and this is naturally reflected in the results that spell work brings about. This falls in with the concept of subconscious casting and the idea that day to day emotions and intentions can play a part in shaping the life of the witch.
However I also think it important to have a balanced approach to what is and is not subconscious casting. Too many witches go down the route that everything in life is magically influenced but this is equally as daft as the cynics who don’t believe in magic at all. The balance is the understanding that many things that happen genuinely are down to coincidence. It would be dangerous to assume the belief that everything that happens in life is in some way influenced by yourself as a witch. Chances are you get your fair share of coincidence the same as anyone else. And also, looking at the example you give in your question, the results you seem to obtain tend to be against people who aren’t very nice to start with. My point being that if a shop keeper screws you over, chances are he has screwed a lot of other people over too so it is unsurprising that his business has gone bust. Same with the bloke who robbed your client – he’s hurting other people so chances are that at some time somebody is going to turn round and hurt him. I’m not saying I’d discount subconscious casting but I am saying it is important to view it with perspective and not make the assumption that everything results from it. It’s important not to discount the rational explanation for the sake of the magical explanation. Try applying the law of Occam’s Razor (The simplest explanation is usually the right one….)
You seem worried about the results of subconscious casting and I agree that a certain amount of caution is advisable. However to me the biggest danger is being unable to perceive the balance I discussed above and falling into the trap of seeing everything around you as the result of magical influence. Firstly this has the obvious danger that a person would start to believe themselves omnipotent (and that wouldn’t end well) and secondly it would bring about a lot of unwarranted guilt which would be very self destructive.
Having said I believe in subconscious casting I’ll explain further that I actually believe it would only be effective to a certain degree. To pull off big results you’d need to be focusing the intent. Any force is at its most powerful when directed to a point and magic is no different. So although subconscious casting will bring about some results it won’t bring about results that you should fear. By that I mean you won’t accidentally kill or maim someone!
I also think it is important to remember the nature of magic and how it works. I always like the analogy of the Web of Wyrd. Your intent touches one point of the web and then moves along many strands and threads before the final influence of that intent is known. It is a myth that magic has a linear effect, it doesn’t. It has subtle and sometimes hard to perceive consequences. In the example of your girlfriend’s boss’s papers catching fire, I would personally say this is too linear a reaction to be magically influenced. I’m not saying not possible as a result of magic but I am saying unlikely.
In terms of what you can do to prevent negative subconscious casting, well I think you are already doing some of it. You describe yourself as a kind and polite person so I think it very unlikely that your nature would bring about results totally at odds with the kind of person you are. You are also aware that it appears to be the emotion of anger that inspires subconscious casting so my advice would be to defuse this anger when you feel it starting. Equally try to look at things from other people’s perspective. It is a lot harder to be angry with someone when you have put yourself in their shoes and looked at life the way they see it. Basic relaxation meditation may also help to calm you. But most of all learn to walk away from situations and people that generate an angry response in you.
Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/Magic-52120974
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