Magical practice to me is different then spiritual practice, however in a way they are somewhat one in the same. There are many people that I know who view magic work as spiritual practice and I do not discount that but I have a different opinion on the matter. Magical practice in my opinion is the use of spells as in a form of prayer to attain a means to an end. Where spiritual practice is living what you believe daily and working toward achieving higher enlightenment. The enlightenment I am still debating on whether any of us will actually reach in our lifetimes. That being said, here is my suggestion…

I usually tell anyone who asks me about becoming involved in magical practice is to be prepared. Prepared for anything and everything that could and most likely will possibly happen. You have to be willing to accept full responsibility for yourself and your actions when you are working magic. Sure, many people will tell you that spells and magic are just like prayers and I agree to an extent but when we send our prayers out we are sending them out with an intent to change something in ourselves with the help of the divine spirit on our side. This is not to say that not all people who pray aren’t trying to attain this, but from what I have seen with other forms of prayer there are a lot that are just asking for some form of divine intervention and not really willing to work toward the ultimate attainment of the goal. Being prepared is all about knowing yourself and your limitations, knowing what you are willing to do and what you are not. If someone ever asks you to do something you do not feel is right or makes you uncomfortable, then it is not right for you. You also have to be prepared to know when to walk away and leave something be. No one gets what they want by trying to force their will on others; whether those others are people, animal, energy, etc.

You also have to be prepared to study and to actually learn from that studying. I do not advocate going out getting one book, reading one website, etc and thinking you are ready to be a “master” at performing magical works. Magical practice is not something that one can master overnight. Sure, there are people out there who have the innate quality to perform magic works with ease but for many people it does take time. I like the saying "practice, practice, practice," which I read in one of the Buddhist books I have when I was studying that path. Practice I do not think makes us perfect but it brings us closer to a divine reasoning and understanding of the workings of the universe around us.