“Never tell me the odds.” – Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back

67 years ago, Wile E. Coyote first ran off a cliff into empty air, kept running until he looked down and realized there was no road under him, and promptly fell. He does it to this very day, and in all that time, he has never learned to stop looking down.

After a fashion, our humble and long-suffering friend was the victim of an untimely collapse of the Quantum Wave Function. Erwin’s Schrodinger’s thought experiment concerning quantum mechanics states that the cat inside the box, prior to observation, is either alive or dead. Observation of the cat would naturally show conclusively which state the cat is in, but in the absence of observation Schrodinger’s theory states that the cat would be both dead and alive at the same time.

This illustrates the theory of quantum dynamics that electrons are either waves or particles, but that it can’t be determined which specifically, because observing the electron settles the electron as either a wave or a particle. The upshot is that the act of observation itself actually has an effect on the subject being observed. This goes back to the ancient philosophical notion that observation creates reality. The excellent but chewy film “What the Bleep Do We Know?” goes into exhaustive detail on this, illustrating all the various realities forming and collapsing around us at all times, and how it is our directed attention that chooses which reality manifests for us. For magicians, I cannot recommend this movie strongly enough.

How do we use this to our advantage magically? Well, for starters, when you find yourself running across questionable terrain DON’T LOOK DOWN.

In practical terms, this means that there are times when uncertainty is valuable. Normally truth is all-powerful, especially in terms of having a “handle” to manipulate a situation. However, there’s no value in establishing an unwanted status quo in your mind. If the object of your affections may or may not be seeing someone, don’t bother finding out while you’re applying your magic. There’s nothing to be gained from finding out the truth, because if she’s seeing someone it adds an additional mental hurdle, while if she’s not seeing someone it adds nothing to your work. So, go without it. When attempting to obtain favorable weather conditions on a particular date, don’t check the forecast, pretty much for the same reason.

This principal operates in reverse as well. Leaving things unmanifest in your own mind allows you to circumvent them to a certain degree, but it also means that they themselves cannot be directly affected by your efforts. To identify something is to be able to grapple with it directly, and there is a power in this which you can take for yourself. As I recently noted, the Occupy Wall Street movement has managed to make a great success of using this power for themselves, resisting every attempt by the establishment to get them to incorporate*.

So how do you use this principle on a grander scale? Suppose you’re just completing your Apprenticeship and beginning work on your Abramelin working – your True Will is currently a mystery to you, so while you’re not able to call on that force to lend momentum to your workings, neither are you bound by it. The signs and qualities of your True Will are certainly manifest within you, but without recognition. Proceed forward without looking down! Any attempts to guess or second-guess what you might discover won’t add to your power, and will certainly distract or limit your effectiveness.

In the world at large, remain a mystery – you can tell the whole world who you are and what you’re doing, and it won’t make you the least bit more effective. In fact, by giving people details about your Work, you’ve given them a handle on your magic which can easily sink you but rarely help you. One notable exception to this rule is in Crowley’s Liber Collegii Sancti, in which the Initiate is to announce everywhere his connection to the Order A.’. A.’. This serves a double purpose – it gives the opportunity for the magician to educate his associates about magical philosophy, and it also forces the edification of the magician himself, by overcoming the logical resistance to his beliefs by others.

Crowley orders this of new Initiates “as mystery is the enemy of Truth”, but in reality he may have done it to temper the magician’s ego, by eliminating the main avenue by which frauds gain leverage over their acquaintances. Throughout the ages, those possessed (or claiming to be possessed) of magical abilities have been held in a certain degree of awe by those around them, and this is in and of itself a form of power. Without that air of mystery, the magician is forced to ground himself in reality and is much less tempted to prostitute his magic by swindling others, which tends straightaway to eliminate most if not all momentum toward accomplishing the Great Work.

-TAKE HOME-

In any given situation, if a piece of information directly related to your objective isn’t vital to your effort, do your best to work without it. If you don’t know whether a job’s been filled, go for it. If the amount of money you want isn’t likely to come from any source known to you, don’t conjure it from a source you know. Figure out what you want out of life, and take it. Don’t seek out information that will only slow you down. Keep your world soft and malleable, except the parts you need to stand on.

After all, what would Han Solo do?

*This original post was 10 years ago, and the newer example is Antifa. The White House has designated Antifa as “a terrorist organization” but there’s no organization. Antifa is not a single entity, and therefore cannot be stopped by a single piece of legislation……. and is therefore impossible to defeat.