The Statement of Intent/Will
Most magical operations can be traced back to a desire; a living situation that you want to change, a disaster you wish to prevent, sex you want to manifest, etc. Or even better you are looking to make an adjustment to yourself. It’s all the same, it begins with a desire.
From there a statement is then formulated to express that desire. For example in traditional sigil magic, you write out your desire and use the letters to create your sigil. Formal ritual operations often begin by stating your desire out loud. Your environment is carefully constructed to support a singular focus for your Will, all implements are prepared, and you have (hopefully) memorized any conjurations that will be used, as well as the ritual itself. The time has come to begin your operation. The first order of business is to confidently state your reason for the performance of the working. You announce to the powers that be, the is-to-be, and anything creeping in the shadows, the change that you are about to effect: you make your declaration of the magical changes in the offing.
Literally called your Statement of Desire or Statement of Will. Which is (as stated) declared aloud to announce your Will and your intention to impose that Will upon the Universe. This is a pivotal step in the transformation that you will undergo throughout your operation. The transformation from mundane to magical consciousness. What is sometimes thought of as the assumption of divine authority. It is the activation of those parts of you that interact with the magical universe and it is essential to the success of your working.
Despite the importance of this foundational step in the process of thaumaturgy, very little attention has been given to this process. Which is amazing as your statement of desire can have a profound impact on the results of your magic. And yet most magical instructions treat the creation of your statement almost in passing.
“Insert purpose of ritual here”
That’s it. Lame.
The Secret of Effective Statements of Will?
It has been my experience, and that of others, that the specific wording used to express your desire can be vitally important to the outcome of your magic and even the overall success of your operation.
In no way am I claiming to have discovered some magic bullet or arcane secret for statements of will. I have not, and I doubt such exists, at least not something universal. I do however have allot of experiments under my belt, and the meticulous records of my magical operations over the last three decades. Additionally I’ve been able to get some great input from other members of the group** I’m involved with.
I have arrived at a few guidelines that may prove useful as you craft your own Statements of Will.
Adam's Guidelines for a Statement of Will that Fucking Rocks (and works)
Every Word Should be Carefully Selected for its Personal Impact
Your personal relationship to language and the specific words you use for your statement of will, will have an influence on the outcome of your magical working. Therefore a thorough exploration of your own culture, education, and resulting relationship to language can provide priceless insight into your own magical explorations. For example let’s take the word “want”. To me “want” is a lukewarm declaration of intent. Especially when compared to a word like “desire”. Others however, have a strong positive association between their intent and its verbal expression using the word” want”. For these people “desire” could have entirely different associations. The point is to pick apart every individual word of your statement of desire, evaluating its place in context. Pay special attention to the physical reactions and feelings evoked by individual words. These reactions are guiding you towards powerful statements of will.
You Get What You Ask For
I was presented with multiple instances where it appears that parts of the self that actualize magic, were very literal in their interpretation of the Statement of Will. For example: You are performing a magical operation to make yourself generally more attractive to strangers. You formulate the following statement of will:
“I will be more attractive to all who are near me!” – This might have the desired effect, it might also manifest a state where you will be more attractive to all who are near you. At some point. In the future. Like a perpetual “almost there sport”. Which brings us to:
Tense and Temporality Are Huge
Past tense or reflective statements seem to generate the most consistent results that match your actual desire. This is especially true in magical operations for material results. For example: “It is my Will to receive a huge sum of cash” may manifest a stronger desire for money and not the actual cash. You would be better served using: “I received a huge sum of money this month”. It may sound strange at first, but it works, and in practice it is less distracting than you might think.
For workings of illumination/insight/illustration this is still true, but you may need to be a little more tricky with the wording. For example: “I possess tremendous insight into how my childhood affects my magical practice” is better than “I now receive tremendous insight…”.
Or “I received the spirit of Tehuti” is better than “I invoke Tehuti”. My only caveat is to avoid a situation where there is some distraction from an internal conflict due to strange wording. If following this guideline becomes a distraction, work out something smoother for yourself.
Imagine it Is one year later and you are reflecting on a successful operation. How would you describe it with the greatest simplicity and elegance?
Example Statement of Will: Get that Rotten Bastard of a Neighbor
“I hope that neighbor has a heart attack” = Will manifest a stronger state of hoping.
“I want my neighbor to have a heart attack” = Will manifest a stronger state of wanting.
“My neighbor had a heart attack” = Will iron out your rotten neighbor problem.
Developing a Statement of Intent - The Process:
- Contemplation: Really think about what you are trying to do. Why you are seeking this result, and what that will mean for your life.
- Initial Draft: Write down your first concept. Imagine that you are tasked with presenting your desired result to the gods, who will then determine its value based on your ability to encapsulate your desire concisely and accurately (Ok, this is actually pretty close to what’s going on here, so get it right).
- Examine: each individual word alone and in context
- Revisions: Refine, reduce, repeat.
- Speak It: Out loud. Take if for a test drive. Verbal contemplation of word sounds, flow, context.
- Revisions: More refinement.
- Speak It: Out loud.
- Final Adjustments: A little polish here and there.
- Write It Out: Physically write out your final draft on a clean piece of paper in your best handwriting.
The goal is to create a flow of individual sounds and words that are emotionally evocative and descriptive of the desired results that play well together as a coherent statement. The final sound of the statement should play like a symphony when spoken aloud.
Take some time. This is important. Sleep on it if time is on your side. This is important.
Other Notes for Your Statement of Intent
• Encoding words or phrases as spoken-symbols can give greater flexibility in making beautiful word combos for your statement.
• Brevity. Brevity. Brevity.
• Avoid describing the way that a result will manifest unless those details are the desired result.
• Words are attached to emotions AND vice versa.
• Use the minimal required words to express your desire and hit your emotional triggers.
Closing Thoughts on Magical Statements
Statement of Will is a summary of desire. You are writing the story of your future state regarding one specific thing.
Statements of fact are very coherent symbols to represent desires: for example “I paid all my debts”, is a very solid statement of fact and a great Statement of Will.
Bad: “I worked hard for all that money I earned.” This is an example of an enchantment for hard work!
Don’t forget: Avoid describing the way that a result will manifest unless those details are the desired result. A much better approach is to describe the end result that you desire: “I took a perfect vacation”
I hope you enjoyed this entry. I encourage your comments, questions, feedback. Thank you for your time.
-Adam
**The Order of Sorcerous Intrusions
A fellowship of black magicians dedicated to the Transcendental Left-Hand Path. We work cooperatively on a variety of projects related to the Black Arts, furthering our individual and collective ascent through:
• Magical and Initiatory Training
• Focused Collaboration
• Mutual Support
• Magical Exploration
• Innovation
• Initiatory Recognition
