Sources of Power in Magic
I have recently been educated on this topic, so I thought I would share. I am familiar with three basic sources of power when it comes to magic.
This power comes from the witch themselves. It is when you make things happen by adjusting the threads that weave the world around us. An example of this is casting mental magic, doing a spell with no plant-spirits or earth-spirits (herbs and crystals), or the creation of amulets and talismans which you charge yourself. The ‘pros’ of thaumaturgy is that you just need yourself, and nothing else to rely on. A thaumaturgist improves themselves first. The 'cons’ of pure thaumaturgy is that you are left alone, without allies to help you if the going gets rough; in addition, some people just don’t have much power and can’t work up a good storm if they need to. Another important 'con’ is that some people do not believe their magic will work without the aid of gods or spirits, which sort of stunts the DIY ideal of thaumaturgy.
This power comes from mighty spirits, such as gods. Theurgic magic can be impersonal – for example, you just select a god that rules over what you need to change. Other times, witches will have a deep and personal connection with the god they petition for magical change. The god is petitioned, sometimes with gifts and offerings, and their presence is often evoked in spells. It is hoped that the god will take notice of the witch and choose to act on their behalf. The 'pros’ of this system, from a magical standpoint, is that if you succeed you have a god working on your side. There is not a whole lot that can beat that. The 'cons’ of this system is that gods are not so easy to rouse. Even people with a highly personal connection with a god may not be able to attract their attention or benevolence on demand. Of course, experiences vary – it is not my place to say if a god will or will not help someone. Another big 'con’ to this system is that some people, such as myself, feel uncomfortable petitioning gods for things unless it’s really, really important.
Familiar power could go by many names. We could call it 'relationship power’, 'ally power’, 'spirit power’, or 'friendship power’. This is the power a witch accumulates by having positive relationships with familiar spirits – including the classical witch’s 'familiar’, but also spirits which are familiar to the witch. Examples of such spirits would be plant and mineral allies, animal spirits, land-wights, the dead, fey, and sometimes saints, angels, demons, and other religiously affiliated beings.
We can differentiate 'familiar power’ from 'theurgic power’ by considering the familiar spirits to be our neighbors and friends, while gods may be considered as vast and powerful beings which are disconnected, to a degree, from our worldly concerns. A familiar spirit may understand and appreciate our needs in a way that gods do not.
Relationships with familiar spirits are build on mutual respect and trust. If you ask the basil plant to help you with a money spell, and in return use some of that money to buy plant food for your basil, you have established a two-way relationship of giving and taking care of each other. A witch who works with familiar power is necessarily a spirit worker, although he or she may not realize it at the start. I was granted gifts by the plant spirits I worked with long before I realized they were spirits at all. These spirits, while they may eagerly aid in spellwork, can also aid in other aspects of our lives, such as teaching us divination or herbalism, helping us write spells, giving warnings of danger, watching over us during soul flight, aiding in attack or defense, and even taking care of situations for us before we realize there is a problem at all. The 'pros’ of this system is that familiar spirits – if the relationship is properly tended – are willing and ready to act on our behalf for any of our human needs, and they can certainly perform amazing feats. In addition, a witch with many familiar spirits is no longer 'alone’ and forced to face issues on their own. The cons to this system is that it does take a great deal of work to maintain all your spirit relationships, and for those with 'spirit anxiety’ it would probably be very stressful to have a house full of spirits, even friendly ones.
The good news is that we don’t have to choose between one or more 'types’ of power. A successful magician could be able to wield all three of the varieties listed here, even together in a single spell. This does not mean you need to worship or petition gods, or use spirits, to be successful. But if your primary goal is powerful sorcery, you may wish to broaden your sources of power.
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