Existentialism in Magic

What even is magic?

Defining magic is hard. A lot of people, especially when they first approach magic, try to understand how it works. In one of the most astute observations about magic ever made, Terry Pratchett famously said, “Just because you understand how something works doesn’t make it any less magic.” If understanding how magic works doesn’t help us define it, understanding when or why magic occurs won’t help us much either. In fact, the only truth I’ve been able to pin down about magic is that magic imitates the creation of everything, which can be encapsulated in one word: “otherwise”.

Everything else I have to say in this video is sourced in my own meandering experience.

For me, magic goes beyond casting spells and conjuring spirits—it’s a dialogue with the cosmos, and a plea for otherwise. When we embark on a spiritual path, we're not just reaching for change; we engage with existence, the void, and ourselves—questioning, challenging, and sometimes defining things along the way. Magic is a few things: an articulation of some of our deepest questions—who are we? What is this world we’ve been thrown into? How should we navigate it?—sometimes a request or even demand for otherwise; and the universe’s response.

As between existence and the void, magic is our ongoing conversation with the cosmos.

This conversation isn't passive, however. Every ritual and symbol demands our full presence and creativity; otherwise, the discussion loses its meaning, and we lose ourselves in existence.

True magic starts with acknowledging our ignorance—not so we can resign to it, but so we’re in a position to be curious and explore. We aren’t born knowing how to speak, but we’re born with the tools to learn how. To newborns, words are just meaningless sounds. To the existentialist and to the magician, the universe is meaningless until we discover and decide otherwise.

Engaging in a magical practice allows us to experiment with our realities, which is how we can learn to converse with existence. As we grow, our interpretations of symbols and meanings do too. Through magic, we may fill the void with the very meaning it denies. Maturity in this language comes when you can speak to the void and hear your own echo.