Chapter 7.
The Adversity Of Magical Training
understanding. This starts to change you, first on the fixed mentality still exists in the world of magical training,
surface, then deeper at an inner level. It prepares you for and it is important for students to be aware of it so they
all the different sorts of inner contact that you will have, can look out for each other. They must know that such
and to respond to those contacts on their own merits rather attitudes are not okay, and are not a part of magic.
than by your preconceived notions or prejudices. This is In terms of gender identity, if a student is fluid with
particularly important for magicians who have grown up their gender identity, then they should approach their
as Jews, Christians, or Muslims, as the polarized view of magical work with the same fluidity. However, in general
good and evil in the three Abrahamic religions will be a you should not be approaching your magic in terms of
filter through which you view inner contacts. Inner contact your sexual identity, but in terms of what each of your
and inner beings are not grouped into nice identifiable individual magical workings needs. Magic is always rooted
bundles of ‘angels’ and ‘demons,’ so it is important, and in necessity, and each magical act should be approached as
especially so when you become Adept, to be prepared to an individual unit of action. What does this pattern need
see into the depths of a situation or contact, and use logic to function? How do I fit within it?
to assess its merits. Your subconscious, then your inner A lot of magic works from you as an individual, so
self, will start to shift from its tribal affiliation with what is it really does not matter what gender you are or how
familiar to what is necessary for balance. you identify. You just plug in and get to work. Issues can
Being prejudiced is as unbalanced and unhealthy as arise, however, when a magical pattern, usually in ritual,
being ‘all accepting,’ which is the other end of the scale. involves polarity power dynamics. It is important for all
The more you work on your preconceived ideas and dig magicians to learn how to work with polarized power,
for their reasoning and logic, the more you will develop even if you as an individual are anything but polarized.
as a bridge that allows communication with any ‘being’
The key is to approach each such working individually
that is necessary, and that blocks whatever is unbalanced
and decide for yourself where you fit in the pattern and
and unnecessary. So you begin to see how important it
polarity of that particular working. If you are gender fluid,
is to move away from your cultural programming and
or have a complex gender identity, then you are far luckier
towards logical thought, so that you mind can start to learn
than most: you will be flexible enough to fit anywhere
flexibility. (As an aside, it also teaches you to look beyond
on the pattern according to its needs and the intention
the surface appearance of a thing, which is extremely
of the magic. Just remember that each magical working
important in magic.)
is different, even if it appears superficially the same as
Adversity is the first path to truth. a previous one. Don’t take anything for granted, and be
flexible with how you approach the work.
— Lord Byron (a.d. 1788–1824)
Gender fluidity has not been much explored in Western
magic, so if you are a Quareia student and your gender
7.9 Gender and identity
or sexual identity is complex or not polarized, then take
Gender and sexuality can be a major issue for people going notes. Keep records of your workings, their effects, and
into magic, as a lot of magic, particularly western magic, so forth. Your experiences and development will help the
is seemingly geared towards the white straight male. next generation, and if you make it through the Adept
The overall structure of many western magical schools is training and become a mentor then you will be invaluable
one that was put in place during the late 19th century to the next generation not only as a mentor those going
where the world and people were viewed through a very through the same identity development, but also in
polarized lens: white and not white, male and female, educating those who have no knowledge, understanding,
good and bad. A gay man was considered an abomination, or experience of such issues.
and a woman doing anything other than producing babies Women and gender is still, sadly a major issue in magic.
and running households was scandalous. If you were not We women in magic still have to work twice as hard to
white Anglo Saxon then you were considered inferior. get any sort of respect, and in some areas of magic we
To give the magical schools at the time some credit, they are still relegated to a pseudo-sexual role, for instance as a
tried hard to step away from such closed mentalities, but ‘Scarlet Woman,’ which is nothing more than a male sexual
the aroma of discrimination still lingered. A lot of that fantasy.
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The Quareia Apprentice Study Guide
In Quareia there are no gender defined roles, as in When my energy levels suddenly dip right down, or
classical magic there are no such things. Polarity workings everything I try to do is blocked or unworkable, I step back
form a small part of the more advanced work, but they are and look at what I am doing in every aspect of my life,
not as gender defined as they appear, and their purpose why I am doing it, and where it could potentially lead.
is to force the magician to think beyond the stereotypes Once I have done as much thinking as I can muster, I will
and to work out, in each particular working, whether they then use divination to see if the blockage, loss of energy,
are outputting or receiving energy. This can change from or adversity is there to hold me back for my own good, or
working to working depending on how the person and whether something I am doing is blocking off my future
their body are functioning at the time, and what the flow path.
of energy is: what it is doing and where it is going. Often our present actions—or lack of action—can close
The advice I would give to women is this: do not allow down future fate patterns. That closing down will drag on
anyone to sideline your work simply because you are your energy or cause everything around you to become
a woman, and do not allow any magical group, lodge, unworkable. Often the culprit of the energy drain is a
or school to keep you down or relegate you to a role simple little thing, akin to a grain of sand grinding away in
simply because of your gender. Ability and hard work is your shoe, eventually giving you blisters. Use divination to
everything in magic, not gender; and I can say that as a see what you are doing, or not doing, that is affecting your
postmenopausal woman who has excelled in her field of future fate pattern. When you go off course in a way that
magic. affects your future, your energy will really start to drag on
When a woman hits menopause (as I did, at high speed) you, to force you to step back into the stream of fate and
her power does change. It goes through a flux for a time that will lead you to your greatest potential.
few short years, but if you understand not to try and Now you will begin to see why divination is such
hold on to what you were before menopause, but step an important tool in magic, as it helps you navigate
forward into a new and often quite different pattern of these challenges and bring in necessary change. These
working, then you will do just fine. Your power and skill adversities are there as warnings, so once you are past
set shifts, and it is important not to fight to stay as you the first half of your Apprentice training and you suspect
were, but to step forward with the understanding that that one of these warning adversities has activated, use
you are morphing into something far more profound. The divination to figure out what is happening. First get an
changes menopause brings to your magic are wonderful: overview of where your path is taking you with the
your magic becomes deeper and far more mystical, and Landscape layout; then use a simple Tree of Life layout to
once you are over the two or three years of feeling ask if you are indeed on the right path in everything that
like a madwoman—swinging hormones can do that to you do. If you are not, then it will show in the last card.
you—then you will find a level of stillness that you did not You then have to look at where the adversity is striking.
have before. As a female magician I can say that now, on Is it your health or energy? Or is it your work? Your family?
the other side of menopause, is the best time of my magical Something else? Finding the root cause of the adversity
life. is not easy and can take some time, but often inspiration
will come from the readings, or dreams will highlight
the problem for you if it is getting important enough.
7.10 The Challenge of the Gods
Pay attention, dodge the bullets, and make the necessary
Once you have divested yourself of things holding you changes. Never get to thinking that you must not make
back, the way adversity comes at you changes. It can often changes: magic itself triggers change. Make changes when
present when something is wrong: you may have taken they are necessary, and hold your course steady in a storm
a wrong turn in your life or magical work, or you may when that is necessary.
need to change but are clinging to a mentality of ‘keep To summarize, we all approach adversity in different
on the same path of action, don’t keep changing.’ Such a ways, and it is important for you to find your own coping
mentality comes from the need for security, which is often mechanisms, and to meet each challenge with a brave
drilled into people from a young age. But magic is all about heart and a clear mind. My method is to expect and
change, constant change, and development. plan for plague, then celebrate when it is simply a cold.
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Chapter 7. The Adversity Of Magical Training
Your approach may be different. Find out what works for
you. As you are challenged more and more, your coping
mechanisms will develop and mature if you do not run
away from difficulties, but step up to them and treat each
one as a chance for development and learning.
When you fail to overcome an obstacle in your path, pick
yourself up, dust yourself off, learn whatever you need to
from the experience, and be truthful with yourself. Then
step out again with more determination. The more you
engage with obstacles that block your path and solve the
problems or dodge around them, the stronger and wiser
you will get. If you run away or give in, the same obstacle
will keep coming back in different guises until you get the
message.
The more you learn from adversities, the less harsh
and more subtle the adversities will eventually become.
You will increasingly pay attention to what may lie
ahead (divination is a good tool) and find the path at
each crossroads which bears the best fruit for you. The
magical pattern will increasingly fit itself more perfectly
to you, ensuring that you have exactly what you need, and
removing what you do not.
A real adept has generally been through many
adversities and learned many lessons, and has extracted
knowledge and wisdom from each one. When they stand
before you their adepthood is revealed in their eyes and
their actions, not by a certificate on their wall or a fancy
badge on their lapel. Life is one of the major trainers in
magic, so engage with it in all its dysfunctional glory!
March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move
toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns,
or the sharp stones on life’s path.
— Kahlil Gibran (a.d. 1883–1931)
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Chapter Eight
Religions
Beware of confining yourself to a particular belief that has a defined influence on how the culture works,
and denying all else, for much good would elude what laws are enacted, and what the social norms are.
you—indeed, the knowledge of reality would elude In magic the same happens, even today. There is often
you. Be in yourself a matter for all forms of belief, for an overarching religious pattern at the bedrock of a
God is too vast and tremendous to be restricted to one magical system (though parts of other religions may also
belief rather than another. be included to add spice). This limits the scope of the
system’s magic and its inner contact, and it can entrench
— Shayhk Myhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi
in the system any latent suppressions or imbalances that
run through the religion or the system’s magicians.
Since writing the course I have been getting a lot However, in any magic that reaches beyond petty spells
of questions about religion, and especially about what and role playing, there is a strong presence of the Divine.
religion a magician should be, and whether you can still do In magic you are working with the powers of the universe,
the course while practising certain ones. Because religion the consciousness of creation. As such, you bump up
can so strongly influence both individuals and cultures, against the Divine pretty early on. The key is to understand
I think it would be useful for people to have a better that the Divine—God, Allah, the Unknowable One—is not
overview of how religions can intersect with magic, and in religious: the Divine and religion are two different things.
particular with Quareia’s magic. If you have no religion, or Religion is man-made, and as such has all the flaws and
have left behind a religious family, then then this chapter weaknesses of humans. Divine consciousness, on the other
will give you insight into various workings within the hand, is all around us and within us, regardless of our
course, why they are there, and how to approach them. religion and regardless of humanity. When we eventually
The foundation and basis of Quareia training is that become extinct as a species, the Divine will continue, but
it covers knowledge, skills and techniques that are not our religions will not.
specific to any particular system, but are often found in
many different magical systems: it gets to the core of magic
8.1 Why does a magician need to learn about
without being hobbled by one specific religious pattern.
religions?
Most magical systems today have one religion at its core
– it is usually because that system grew out of a group of This is the most common question I get from Quareia
people who were all from one religion, which in turn was students, and though this is discussed briefly in the course,
the overarching religion of that country/culture. But why people tend to glaze over it or miss it. So an in-depth
does religion appear in magic at all? answer here would probably be useful.
To answer that question, you have to step back from the As a magician, you do not work in isolation. You are
religious mindset—which is harder than it sounds—and surrounded by people and communities, and a lot of
look from the outside in. What actually is a religion? A your magic, both as a student and as an adept, will
religion is a cultural framework that provides a method be about service and helping. You cannot help someone
for communicating and connecting with the Divine. Its or something (a landmass, for example), if you do not
dogmas and rules are often rooted in the culture it grew understand the deeper workings behind a religion that
from, and they generally include whatever civil traditions is prominent in a culture, or understand where and why
are necessary for a harmonious community. things go wrong within a religion, and how that affects
Before the twentieth century, most countries generally everything around them. When a person goes to see a
had one overarching religion dominating their culture, doctor, the doctor will ask about their symptoms, but
though they may also have had some minority religions he will also ask (depending on the issue) about their
brought in by immigration. Even in secular countries diet, their job, and so forth. Getting a wider perspective
today there is generally one especially prominent religion gives the doctor clues about what could be causing
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