Spiritual Forum. Org

Magic spells might work if you believe they will and cause whatever you believe will happen to happen, but they have no power themselves to do anything. People sometimes get better when they are given a placebo, because they believe it is a real medication and that it will help them. I was once told by a doctor after surgery, when the bone wasn't healing as it should have, that he had done all he could and I had to do the rest. He told me he had seen miracles. It did heal, but I can't say whether my attitude had anything to do with it.

I believe it was Starhawk who, when asked "Do you believe in magic?" answered "Do you believe in rocks?"

Magic is a natural force which we can interact with and use to our advantage.  But the efficacy of a spell depends very much on the practitioner. And I would recommend against casting spells to harm others; that never turns out well for the magic user.

To those of us in magic-using religious traditions, magic spells indeed work. They *always* work--which is to say, they always have an effect. How strong that effect is, and whether it's the hoped-for effect, and whether it's a *good* effect, that's another story and entirely dependent on the practitioner: how much energy they channel into the spell to make it work, and how much they sabotage the magic with their attitudes.

A person who lights a green candle and recites a quick rhyme, but who then sits around the house drinking beer and watching TV, will probably not see much effect from the spell, because they are not putting much effort or energy into it. Or while they're waiting to win the lottery they'll totally miss the perfect job opportunity the spell created for them.

Also, a spell performed to test whether magic even exists in the first place is likely not to work, since the practitioner will be sabotaging the spell with a lot more mental energy than that they invested in the spell itself. The effect of the spell will likely be to reinforce their disbelief. "Magic will not live in an unwilling heart." -D. Duane, who writes in her fiction abotu magic very wise things.

Magic is effectively the same thing as prayer, or whatever else you want to call it.  It is a way of focusing your will on something, and keeping yourself engaged in the pursuit of what you want.  The power of positive thinking is well documented.  So if you pray/cast a spell/focus your energy on something like losing weight or finding a job or something like that, you probably have an excellent chance of achieving your aim, since you are now open to opportunities that may come your way, or exercising more, or whatever the case may be.  Using Latin (which I have to say I associate with either the Christian churches and Harry Potter, and not with witchcraft) may add something for an individual to make it feel part of the focus, in the same way that someone would use some part of the lunar cycle, or a particular coloured candle.  The effect is purely mental.  But this is the power of the mind over itself.  If someone casts a malevolent spell on me, it can have no effect on me, unless I know about it.  And even then I'll be immune to its effects if I don't take them seriously.  And if you he cuts my brake cables, it's not magic!

I think all of life is magical, and spells can alter our attitude and make them work!  Magic Spells can be found in all languages, just Latin is the one most westerners are exposed to because it is a base language that has been maintained.

They most certainly do - it is all about manipulating the energy. Some may say they don't and those are the people who have invested their energy elsewhere instead of on the spell.

For me, magic works if person will believe with this. Do you think magicians studied those tricks which they perform when they are having some magic?

If you are more specific about a particular magic then only you can get the answer. If you are talking in general, the answer will be "no", because I believe that in todays world only divination exists and that too is a very rare case.