Understanding Magic as Decision-Making

At its most basic Magic is a Decision. You decide that an action you take is a message to the universe. The hot sauce is going to heat somewhat up. The freezer is going to cool somewhat off. The Pentagram drawn a certain way is going to call forth and element. The Epithet of a deity is going to call a certain aspect of them. The degree to which the universe responds is the degree to which your message was successful.

Of course most of us don’t just make these decisions based on nothing. We engage with traditions and teachings that help guide our decisions. But what are these Traditions at their most basic? Decisions made in the past and validated by others. So when you use that technique or symbol set to work magic you are repeating that decision, which has already been validated and given weight by others.

This isn’t just how magic works. It’s how most things work. Money, companies, laws. etc. None of is inherent. Its a decision someone made, and that others validated. Eventually enough people gave enough weight to the decision that it could be enforced. So while gravity is a natural law and the speed limit is a legal fiction: the consequence for violating either one might be well beyond your control.

In magic, its not just humans that are involved in these decisions. It’s spirits as well. Do the spirits agree with the decision? Did they influence or even originate the decision? Do they agree with these decisions? If they did 500 years ago do they still? Are they enforcing decisions on us? Do we enforce decisions on them?

So many people are caught up in thinking that magic is either natural laws set in stone, or completely subjective to the individual. Looking at it through the lens of decisions and how they play out gives a much clearer view of the art.