Messy Magic
photography by Renate Koßmann, 2019
Where do we even start on magic?! A massive gap continues to grow the matter and mystery over this past/current chapter of our human history. On the one side - we have normalized and internalized a social rejection of magic as valid, and on the other - we find all sorts of tall and complicated thresholds to spiritual systems and practices.
Somewhere in between - resides the Messy Magic. The weird, untrained, chaotic, intuitive, felt sense Mystery. Between the vacuum of no information and the noise of way too much information - may lay a dusty path to flirt with it. Beam a well intended wink of curiosity its way, invite it out for a little play time.
I offer here some observations, ideas and wishes - around engaging with Mystery, Magic and the Unknown thorugh curiosity, playfulness and abundant accessibility.
Not claimimg or owning any truths here - just playing with possibilities.
Between Energy & Consciousness
Remember how everything is made of energy?
Our bodies, inner worlds, thoughts, emotions, perspectives, desires, contractions, choices, escapes and dreams - all energy wanting to be experienced…
When we see everything in existence as an expression of consciousness, what we may also observe is that everything also carries a piece of consciousness in it, ready to unfold. Every moment is full of potential.
So… how can we get a taste?
How do we tap into the endless potential without getting lost in it, yet still feel some sort of choice and agency? How do we make magic with it?
Here’s an idea: what about tapping into what we’re already creating and amplifying the magic that’s already there?
Boosting the Signal
At the abstract level of a thought or an idea - energy is already moving. The mere fact that we have a thought and notice it, points to something emerging, already in existence.
When we become aware and witness this emergence, we anchor it further into being. When we embody it, we give it a vessel.
When we share this aliveness of musings and imaginations, when we convert abstract concepts into words, and use the tools of our bodies, minds and culture - we amplify the energy of an idea by inviting someone else to witness it.
photography by Renate Koßmann, 2019
When we share a desire, a curiosity, even a boundary or a nonverbal flirty look in a conscious (play) space - with someone attuned and ready to witness - the energy extends through “more” consciousness, amplified and propelled towards possibility.
Are you still with me?
just add play
We don't need to wait for some mystical, perfect moment. It’s already here, already happening, in the way we move with desire, our gaze towards one another, our choices, our challenges, our moment to moment awareness.
We make messy magic everywhere we go, by shaping the world in our perception.
Getting playful with possibilities, trying new things, daring, saying what we want, joining someone in fulfilling their desire, co creating something weird, wild, emergent… A field of abundant potential opens up in front of us when we gather as conscious play creatures without expectations, without scripts, where things can unfold any which way because we don’t force any strict format on them.
A play space, if you ask me, provides a juicy and robust grounds for magic making, especially through our knowing and believing its unpredictability.
Every choice we make in a play space opens up a pathway for emergence, where anything can happen.
photography by Renate Koßmann, 2019
DIY Chaos Magick Ritual
Made it Here's a little something from the loose and playful framework of Chaos Magick: a simple to understand and execute ritual for you to try out.
Disclaimer: you’re invited to approach this work playfully, yet I suggest you also practice humility and honoring of the possibilities you’re working with. If nothing else, use it as a tool to support your magic - believing its seriousness.
Clear Beginning and End - Decide these before you start and don't change them. Light a candle to begin, blow it out to end. Ring a bell. Take three deep breaths. Make a silly (specific) little dance. Masturbate. Literally any beginning and end point you decide on, and commit to. No changing as you go once you’ve started.
Clear, Solid and Consistent Intention - Get clear on what you're working with before you begin. Write it down if it helps. Even if other things arise during the ritual, this specific intention remains the focus.
Vessel for Movement - an activity to move your intention through - a play scene or an interaction, a practice you perform, an action you repeat (for example, every time you say “would you like to play?” to someone, regardness of the outcome, or, every time you say “No”).
Means of Manifestation - crucial, often missed component - create the conditions for the magic to happen. Show up for those scenes, speak out those invitations, be active about your availability to receive.
That's it. Clear intention, authentic action, and openness to whatever wants to emerge.
Messy Magic at Conscious Play Temple
At Conscious Play Temple we offer a means of manifestation through the speaking of desires and the movement of connection. We open a play field rich with opportunity and encourage a detachment from outcome through spacious curiosity. We create as much possiblity and freedom as possible through minimal constriction and a Space of Permission where one can always opt out or choose something different.
At our Messy Magic events we playfully invite our participants to “decolonize the sacred” in the sense of shaking off whatever belieft we might hold about magic that shape our own reality. In the space that unfolds, every interaction can serve as a ritual - in its own way.
