The Wizard or The Wand

 

Where Does The Power Lie 

This is an age-old conundrum: is the magic in the wizard or in the wand?  If it is in the wizard then why does he need a wand?  If it is in the wand, then you don't have to be a wizard to cause mayhem (think The Sorcerer's Apprentice).  The answer is -- neither.  

 

The power flows through the Wizard and is focused by the Wand.  In the same way we focus our power through significant objects, such as a sacred text, a string of beads or wearing religious iconography.    

  

 

 

The power lies in GDW and hence is part of all life.  Accessing that power requires some directed connection to GDW.  We call it faith. but it is more like trust.  That is why there are so many comparisons to the innocence of children, because of their perfect trust leading to innate faith.  Of course, life quickly robs children of that innocence, but that is the level of faith that Jesus means when he says it can move mountains.

 

Religion tries to create that level of faith in a binary-minded world by appealing to people's fears and hatred rather than to their love and compassion.  Sadly, it has worked for millennia.   Buddha sought to end this cycle and in many ways he succeeded where Jesus did not.   This is because Buddhism is a philosophy rather than a religion.  Buddhism has made me into a better Christian.

 

So when a priest consecrates the Host what is happening?  He is using his inner connection to GDW -- supported by the faith of millions of adherents for centuries -- to manipulate the energy into the wafer turning it into an object of spiritual power.  And this is true of every book deemed sacred, every religious building, every icon, every person who claims a spiritual lineage back to a revered figure.

 

If you were in a cage match with a demonically possessed child what would you choose as your best weapon?  The Bible?  But what if you are a Muslim?  A Thor's Hammer?  Not if you are a Shinto.  Perhaps you would fare better if the cage were in a different location.  If you are Wiccan you want to be in an oak grove within a sacred circle.  

 

The power is just simply there in the objects and spaces we revere.  GDW is what powers all those beliefs. GDW is everywhere, vast enough to encompass all of the gods we humans have worshiped.  No Christian revived after death has reported seeing Krisna and no Hindu has reported seeing Jesus.

As we move away from religious orthodoxy we can open ourselves to the possibilities of a world in which we move in concert with the divine rather than fighting against it in an effort to cling to ancient tales.