Can you practice magick if you are fat?

Right controversial I know.  These days you are not meant to say things which seem to be saying that someone is excluded from something on the basis of anything, its not PC baby, is it?  Well the thing is, you can be a 5foot high, 20 stone person wanting to run the 100m at the next Olympics.  No one is going exclude you because your a overweight, they are going to exclude you because it is unlikely that you will be able to run a qualifying time.  If you can run a 100m in less than 9 or 10 seconds, no one is going to care if you are overweight.  You are able to prove yourself as being capable of being a qualifying athlete.  However, this is very unlikely to happen.  If you are that much overweight, it is just not something which is likely to happen, is it?  We are all realistic about this.  Yet, apply the same logic to magick and we are not.

To be able to manipulate energy effectively a reasonable level of personal fitness and health is required.  Anyone who tried to direct energy when they have a terrible flu will know that it is not that easy to do, even if you are usually quite good at it.  If you have a stuffy head and runny nose, it takes a great deal more determination and concentration to achieve the same results.  Even basic tasks such as typing an email can take longer.

So, if you are very overweight and unfit, can you effectively perform ceremonial magick?  Would the regular practice of ceremonial magick affect your psyche to the extend that you will loose weight or at least reach a balanced weight?

A few years back I gained a few too many pounds whilst going through some emotional trauma.  For a period of time I found it more difficult to perform things such as the LBRP, it seemed to be less effective and also more difficult to do.  Once I lost the weight again and gained a better level of fitness the energy seemed to flow again more easily and the ritual seemed less of a punishment to perform, more of a pleasure.  To work on the smaller perfections thereof, the intonations and the movements, became part of my daily routine.  It the fitter I was, the better the results not only of the LBRP, but also other rituals I performed.  It did make me wonder if anyone else has had similar results?

The Women of the Golden Dawn

I am very interested in the contribution of women to the world of magick.  It is more often obvious in traditions like Wicca, but less so in things like the Golden Dawn.  Anyway, it was with great excitement that I discovered the book “Women of the Golden Dawn” and promptly ordered it as part of my May book buying.  I had heard someone at Treadwells in London give a talk about the women of the GD a few months back and thought that this book would be an interesting read to supplement the bits of information the lady who gave the talk shared (her lecture was almost entirely based on information in this book).

Women of the Golden Dawn is an amazing work, credit to the author Mary Greer!  Great reading and a fantastic inspiration to the rest of us.