Starfire: The Only True Magic?
A response to Nicholas de Vere's claim that the magic of the Draconic Bloodlines is the "Only True Magic."
Which is ridiculous, 'cause witches they were persecuted
Wicca good, and love the earth, and women power
and I'll be over here..."
"Once More, With Feeling."
Within the subculture of Pagans and other Magical Practitioners, there any many who claim to be "Hereditary Witches" or who follow "Family Traditions." It's important to note that the more modern form of Witchcraft known as Wicca as created by Gerald Gardner is a product of the magical "revival" that began in the earlier part of the last century, though the roots of this "renaissance" go back much further than that.
Modern Ceremonial Magicians owe a lot to medieval scholars such as Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Edward Kelley and John Dee. A more recent resurgance occured in the 20th century that came about mostly due to the efforts of Aleister Crowley, MacGregor Mathers, and their respective Magickal Orders (The golden Dawn, A.A., OTO, etc.) Wicca as we know it today was introduced in 1934 by one Gerald Gardner. (no relation to Laurence!) The Practice of Chaos Magick (which has been greatly influenced by the works of Austin Osman Spare) is very much a modern one - but I can attest to both its existence and effects, having had a personal experience of it.
Not all Magic(k)al practices as we know them today are products of the past century, however. Though my own background is steeped in the methods developed by Aleister Crowley and other magicians of the previous century, I have since learned of true forms of "Traditional Witchcraft" that can be traced back much further than that. The practices of Voudou and Lukumi can be traced back to a synthesis/syncretisis of Catholicism with traditional West African religions, and the Magic of Pennsylvania Dutch (who were actually German) can in fact be traced back to folk practices of ancient and medieval Europe, though its notable written works emerged during the nineteenth century. And the Modern practice of Neo-Druidism has its roots in the works of Henry Hurle, perhaps better known (to some) as Iolo_Morganwg, centuries after most of the true Druids of antiquity were wiped out by the Romans.
Paganism and modern Magick/Magic seems to draw more believers every year. Nicholas de Vere states that all modern forms of Magick and witchcraft are corruptions of the sacred Traditions of the Royal Elven Bloodlines, and that "Pagan Fertility Religions" like Wicca and other forms of Neopaganism bear no resemblance to Witchcraft as it was actually practiced in ancient times. Furthermore, he claims that all modern forms of magick and witchcraft are all so much snake-oil, poppycock being peddled by scam-artists who are only seeking to make a fast buck off of the gullible. I feel that this accusation can certainly be made about some of the fake "spiritual leaders" and phony gurus out there, who do little more than recycle and re-print the same practices that were invented by many of the folks I mentioned above. However, I do think that de Vere is "throwing out the baby with the bath water," so to speak, when he condemns the practice of all modern magic.
Of course it makes perfect sense that the type of Magic (the Starfire Rituals) developed and practiced by the Draconic Bloodlines would only work for the people within those Bloodlines. However, Nicholas de Vere's biography at http://www.nicholasdevere.com states that he has had experience with "the works of Crowley" and that he "studied the Black Arts" giving him a "degree of competency in Ritual Magick." (I recently discovered that the original links are now dead, so these articles can now only be found at the wayback machine and here, respectively. If the text doesn't show up for you on the first one, you may have to use your mouse to highlight it.)
So it appears that he at least considers modern Thelemic/Ceremonial Magick worthy of study. Yet in his book The Dragon Legacy, Nicholas de Vere relates an anecdote that he attributes to a work called The Marshmallow Papers, (which is probably actually The Pickingill Papers under another name) about the Royal Coven of Windsor's refusal to admit Aleister Crowley on the basis that he was not a hereditary Witch. And according to Nicholas de Vere, only hereditary Witches of the Draconic/Elven bloodlines are capable of practicing "True Magic."
Like a lot of people who have a background in Modern Ceremonial Magick, I rankled at first when I read Nicholas de Vere's statement that the "only True Magic" is practiced by the Dragon Court and Grail families, and everything else is an ineffectual imitation. At the time I found de Vere's assertion reminiscent of a lot of the other groups who like to claim "our way is the ONLY way," since those groups are usually desperately trying to sell something. And I knew his statement to be untrue, since I'd seen some of my own spells "work," and I'm sure many fellow Practitioners have also experienced success in their endeavors. As impractical and as backward as people can sometimes be, it still follows that if something that someone does with an intention to produce a desired result doesn't eventually produce that result, after a while even the most stubborn soul will typically abandon it.
And there's no reason to go depleting one's bank account on trinkets and books from the New Age section of one's local bookstore at the mall, either. As the Hacker's Credo goes, "Information Wants to Be Free..." And in this age of the Internet, more of it is free and available than ever before. All that remains is to seperate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. According to de Vere, all of the eldritch and arcane lore in the world won't make you an Elf if you aren't descended from those Bloodlines - but a little more knowledge is always a good thing, and it's always helpful to know what's out there.
Having said that, I have noticed that sites such as this one have begun popping up, with the owners/maintainers claiming to be able to teach "The Sovereign Ways of the Dragon."(TM) My response to this would be that people should take a look at as many styles as they can, and to use what works best for them/feels right to them - and to beware of anyone who claims to be able to provide "The Ultimate Truth" for monetary gain. Especially when most of the information has already been made freely available anyway, for those who know where and how to look.
In any case, the "Rite of the Vampire," which was once published on the old www.dragoncourt.org website, as well as in Nicholas de Vere and Tracy Twyman's book The Dragon Legacy can also be found here.
EDIT: 12/04/2007 - I recently discovered this article, "A Magical Education" on www.necronomi.com. It is quite lengthy, but I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Occult Arts. In my opinion, it also addresses the issue of "Ancient Works" vs. "New Magick" very well indeed.
"Years later, in another place, he steps out of the dark and speaks to me. He whispers: 'I'll tell you the ultimate secret of magic. Any c**t could do it."
---Writer Alan Moore, allegedly quoting the "real" John Constantine (and also an ironic double entendre when used in context with the Starfire Ritual, methinks. I'm just sayin'.)
"In one sense, the poseurs in the magical community - the folks whose magical practice is limited to dressing in black, wearing 23 pounds of assorted silver jewelry, and leaving books by Aleister Crowley on the coffee table to impress dates - are the most effective mages among us. They know what they want to accomplish, and they accomplish it."
---John Michael Greer.
(This article was updated on 12/13/07.)