"Many, perhaps most, come to sorcery because they feel disempowered, hopeless and/or helpless to deal with this or that situation or with life itself.  Unfotunately as the word "disimpowered" suggests these folks lack the inner connections to their own resource base to allow much magic to happen.  On the other hand, folks who are fully empowered are often out there fully engaged in their life and have little or no time or interest in pursuing magic.  they tend to look at magic as something weak, foolish people try to do because they lack the tools to succeed."

I've seen this attitude expressed a hundred different ways by folks in our culture.  Any comments or responses?  Thanks, Dennis

Hi!  Perhaps the difference is that you do associate with an emerging vigorous community of those working in the renewal of the Northern Mysteries.  Brings to mind the brief hayday of the emerging Chaos Magick community in England or the Core Shamanism movement here in the US.  On the other hand, many of the flatlining disempowered seem to be solitary, eclectics who eventually give up and go on to the next thing.  Dennis

For me the key is to be able to alter my state of consciousness, most commonly nowadays in meditation, and then to be able to reach out to share with powerful friends in non-ordinary reality.  Dennis

Yes!  See thread on working with gods and goddesses although amazingly you often get both. Thanks, Dennis

[QUOTE=Bearsky;639856]On the other hand, many of the flatlining disempowered seem to be solitary, eclectics who eventually give up and go on to the next thing.  Dennis[/QUOTE]

Huh? As a (mostly) solitary eclectic who hasn't given up, isn't flatlining, and certainly isn't disempowered, I'm not certain I agree with this statement.  In fact, in my working group, most of us consider ourselves solitaries who get together every so often with like-minded others for the Sabbats and the occasional Esbat, but we're all very eclectic and diverse in our traditions and beliefs.  The reason I refer to this group as such and not a coven is none of us would stay if there was a declared High Priest or High Priestess, or a certain way rituals must be conducted because someone or some book declared it so.  Also, the group itself is thriving and growing, just having doubled in size in the last month specifically because we are eclectic and diverse.

sfatula