Thaumaturgy 101 - First Period, Thursday 1/29

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

As her students came in, she stood up from her seat at her desk and walked around to lean at the front of it. She watched them, curious as to how each one of them was even if the practicalities of the classroom wouldn't allow for a meet-and-greet and even that made her silently wonder if perhaps teaching was as fulfilling as what she normally did back in New Amsterdam. A lot of things lately were making her wonder about that.

"Today, we'll be covering a very well-known maxim: To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silent."

"Some of you might be aware of this phrase, but I've always thought that it was one of the best things to cover, a guideline of practicality in some ways.

"To Know is to know what in the hell you're doing, intellectually and practically. To know what you can handle, what you can't; to know whatever magic you plan to do inside and out. If you don't 'know' than you shouldn't be fiddling with it in the first place. You should also know your limits, what you're capable of doing: certain goals are out of your scope and attempting them will just result in trouble and frustration. You should also know exactly what you want: an unfocused piece of spellwork is no one's friend.

"To Will is your desire and ability to actually get things done. To Will is, in some ways, the most important part of spellwork in that no working will actually do anything without a will behind it, but it's also the one that can cause the most trouble. An erratic will can cause more damage than good, and a lack of will can see things fail when they need to succeed. The will is the burning drive that powers a ritual and without it, you will fail.

"To Dare is to, well, to do it. Whether it means working up the courage or finding the time and place, putting in the work itself is, of course, paramount to having a bit of magic work. Just as it's easier to speak about, say, losing a little weight or to stop biting your nails when you're nervous, putting that into practice is another thing entirely. It also means to do it properly, not skimp on any corners, really put yourself into the work. Be focused in mind and body."

She was quiet for a moment as she looked around.

"The last is To Keep Silent and this one is both one of the most difficult and the one that is hardest to understand. Why keep silent, after all? You've already done the spell, the effect is going out into the world. Why? Why silence?"

She leaned back.

"You've done your spell, you've planned it, wanted it, and done it... and you go tell someone else. If you have to tell someone else, you haven't really let it go, have you? It hooks the energy to you, like a nagging mother, restricts it. Further, the world is not a nice place. Tell others and they might try to sabotage your efforts with anything from undermining your faith in yourself to active counter-charms. And even if they don't, a spell can work more subtly, better if no one is looking out for it. Speaking about a spell is like sounding out an alarm to the thing you're trying to change. Consider this island especially, all the things that go out on the radio and how they can damage someone's efforts. So all in all, silence is your best bet."

[ocd up!]

Comments

Sign In

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

Knowing, Willing, Daring, or Silent as you please.

Re: Sign In

[fantastic-torch.livejournal.com]

Johnny Storm

Re: Sign In

[likethegun]

Sam Winchester

Chat Amongst Yourselves/ Listen to the Lecture

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

You know the drill.

Re: Chat Amongst Yourselves/ Listen to the Lecture

[fantastic-torch.livejournal.com]

Johnny slouched in his chair, listening to the lecture. If he was stealing certain glances over at a certain someone, well, that was to be expected, wasn't it?

Re: Chat Amongst Yourselves/ Listen to the Lecture

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Savannah was taking notes, well, when she wasn't looking at a certain someone.

Re: Chat Amongst Yourselves/ Listen to the Lecture

[neurotic-witch.livejournal.com]

Chris was taking lots of notes.

Discussion

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"Just a few questions. Either discuss it with me, or go into groups, but I'd like you all to go over this a little..."

Question 1

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"Which one of these do you think would be easiest for you? Which one would be hardest?"

Re: Question 1

[fantastic-torch.livejournal.com]

"To dare would be the easiest, definitely. To keep silent? By far the hardest." Johnny wasn't the silent type.

Re: Question 1

[likethegun]

"The hardest would be knowing, I think," Sam said. "Making sure everything is right and safe...that takes a lot of effort, and I wouldn't go through the effort if I didn't have the will and the dare. Staying silent would probably be the easiest though."

Re: Question 1

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Dōjima grinned slightly. "I don't have a problem with will or dare," she answered. "I'll do or try anything, and I'm stubborn enough to back it up. It's knowing exactly what I'm doing that's usually the problem."

Re: Question 1

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

"To Dare usually is what seems the easiest for me. Keeping Silent... well, I'm known for not being very good at that unless I'm trying to hide what I'm working on."

Which wasn't as often lately.

Re: Question 1

[finding-x-dream.livejournal.com]

"For me?" Agnes asked. "I think to dare would be the hardest, and to will, the easiest. I know that kind of sounds... funny."

Re: Question 1

[harrydresden.livejournal.com]

"Willing has never been much of a problem," Harry said. Because let's face it...being a wizard is COOL. "Knowing is harder, I think. Or at least it takes more effort."

Question 2

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"Which one do YOU think is the most important? And why?"

Re: Question 2

[fantastic-torch.livejournal.com]

"To know is the most important. You can't do jack if you don't know jack in the first place."

Re: Question 2

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Will," Dōjima stated authoritatively. "If you don't have the will to see something through, it doesn't matter what you do or don't know. It won't get done."

Re: Question 2

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

"Having the Will to actually do what you need to do is the most important," she said decisively. "You have the knowledge and the daring to do the spell, but if your will isn't behind it completely, so many things could go wrong."

Re: Question 2

[finding-x-dream.livejournal.com]

"I think they're all pretty much equally important," Agnes answered. "Or, at least, knowing, willing, and daring. Keeping silent doesn't seem at all related to the other three, to me. Especially since if you DON'T keep silent, you might not need to do the other three at all."

TAs

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

When they sign in.

Re: TAs

[likethegun]

Sam was there if anyone needed him for anything.

Re: TAs

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Savannah was here, looking more comfortable than she had last week.

Abby Irene

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

Who was around.

OOC

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

Which is useful for stuff ^_^