Magic is a journey with the purpose of return
Magic is a journey with the purpose of return. Having won, we return to the Spirit, descending into hell. And from hell we bring trophies. One of such trophies is understanding.
С. Castaneda
The ancient Roman Stoics defined Knowledge as the highest Good of man. Evil for the Stoics was ignorance.
The path of the magician, according to the teachings described in the books of Castaneda, is not exciting but exhausting rituals, not work with "effective" practices of leaving the body and searching for inorganics, the abstract voice of dreams or attractive hallucinations that supposedly liberate, but at the same time lead a person by the hand to the prison doors of self-importance and self-reflection, where they leave a whining poor child under the murderous guardianship of stupidity.
The path of magic is the path of Understanding and elevated Feelings, which act as a gift when a person interacts with Knowledge during their training. Understanding and Knowledge are able to free a person from the captivity of Evil and the only devil on Earth - human stupidity.
Understanding and Knowledge lead a person to the only fact that liberates his entire essence: a person is a magical and mysterious creature, as incomprehensible and diverse as the world around him.
The gift of a person lies in the ability to learn and interact with Knowledge. The teacher and prompter of a person is his immortal Spirit. The compass is the Heart of a person, filled with warmth, love and reverent attitude towards the Earth and people. The path of the magician is the Path with the Heart and the Path of the Feat, which consists in overcoming the hell of narrow-mindedness and cowardice, stupidity and self-reflection.
The magician goes every day through adversity and pain towards the Spirit. He leaves a trail along which people can escape from hell. He is true to the Spirit and his Path of liberation.
In the name of Knowledge, Power and the great Good for himself and all mankind through the joys and sorrows of ordinary everyday life.
That is what magic is.