The fact is the majority of the people interested in occultism got into it because they thought they were being targeted by some bad mojo or because they wanted to use bad mojo on people. Or, because they wanted, as that song goes "money, cash, hoes".
To which Scream responded by asking the following:
If people shouldn't get involved with the occult because of their need for revenge,clearing spells casted onto them, money, hoes,(sometimes health) etc. then why should they?
The problems with the situational or circumstantial approach to magick are many and I will indicate some of them in the following paragraph or two.
1) Desperation: The fact is that many people seek out magick as a last resort when a particular aspect of their lives is going up in flames. There's usually a lot invested (physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually) in the particular aspect under consideration so it becomes the cause of affliction. This state of mind, if perpetuated long enough, causes instability and irrationality which in the end sends most people off to the nearest Botanica, New Age or Hoodoo shop to get a hexing! But (yes, there's a ‘but’) what happens? Most often that not nothing happens. The question of why things happen or not with magick exceeds the scope of this post and is the subject of many books, forums, posts and threads and I'm sure many folks here have their own, sometimes if not always, diverse, opinions. To continue, imagine then the frustration and stress added to a system already extremely stressed and frustrated when, after performing a wide array of actions from buying so many baths to lighting so many candles, results fail to materialize! Now when nothing happens that either creates more doubt as to the efficacy of magick and/or sends one off to another Botanica, New Age or Hoodoo shop for even more oils, candles, baths, bells...the whole lot!*
2) Lust of result: While everyone can fall prey to Lust of Result (or LoR) the novice (and maybe the particularly advanced magician) is prone having little or no experience usually fits the bill. Now mostly everyone here is aware of what is meant by LoR so I won't go into details and it will suffice merely to indicate the concept especially in relation to no.1. Most folks here prolly have a handle on themselves so that when they cast spells or conjure Goetics they can go about their business without thinking about the result they worked magick for every five seconds. While some people aren't aware of the fact that dwelling on problems or results actually hinders more then it helps most people prolly are and choose to refuse to acknowledge that stance for many reasons. This refusal blinds them to a vicious cycle that further deteriorates their already dwindling health and state of mind. So the odds are they will continue wasting more money, investing more time and energy, both of which are already suffering depletion, and ultimately get so little for so much or nothing at all.
3) My enemy myself: Earlier I used the same phrase in another post and no I am still not trying to sound like the magical equivalent of Dr. Phil! I think this is pretty self-explanatory so I’ll just leave it at that.
Overall, what I’m getting at is that we can’t swim in the deep end until we’ve worked our way their through the shallow end of the pool. Of course that doesn’t stop people from trying and sometimes they do fare well however usually most don’t and sinking at the deep end of the pool is not cool at all (I should know as I almost drowned years ago when I was in my early to mid teens). It takes doctors, psychologists, teachers, etc. many years to learn their profession and while I won’t go so far as to say that it’ll take years for a person to learn how to cast one spell I’d settle at least for several weeks if there’s enough dedication and application involved. I sure as hell wouldn’t try to cut anyone open and play around with their insides (thank God for doctors!) and sure as hell wouldn’t let some random Joe that doesn’t have that spiffy doctor look cut me open and play around with my insides. At the end of the day magick is a discipline just like any other and nothing, not even Hollywood, is going to change that. Just because you wake up one day and want to do magick doesn’t mean that you will bother to find some reliable sources to read and learn from and also, it most definitely doesn’t mean you will succeed right away. So enough with the damn Harry Potter and Skeleton Key wannabes!!!! RAWR!
*It has been said before and will prolly be said in the future: the Occult, Magick, is, in some places, a festering sore because many people use it to cast a cloak, a shadow over their own delusions and inadequacies. In such instances one understands why, from time to time, magick has been vilified and scorned as a degenerative practice.*