Magical Link

From Thelemapedia

Categories: Magick

Part of the Magick in Theory & Practice series.

The Magical Link is the connection made in a magical operation between the Will of the magician and the desired object to be affected. The Link can take almost any form, but is commonly described in terms of a talisman (e.g. "To impose one's Will on a nation, for instance, one's talisman may be a newspaper, one's triangle a church, or one's circle a Club."—Magick, Ch 14).

Aleister Crowley divided it into three main categories: (1) one plane and one person, (2) one plane and two or more persons, and (3) two planes. In the first case, the Link is between the self and something about the self to be changed, such as learning a skill or ridding one's self of a habit. In the second, it is between the magician and objects outside his immediate control, such as gaining information or seducing someone. In the third case, the Link is between the magician and something that is independent of or indifferent to mankind, such as the weather.

Crowley believed the proper formation of the Magical Link to be so important, in Magick Without Tears he wrote:

"You must lay to heart Magick Chapter XIV ["The Magical Link"] and never forget one detail. More failure comes from neglect of this than from all other causes put together. Most of the qualities that you need are inborn; all the material is to your hand; and to develop them is a natural process, equally your birthright. But the making of the Link is an intellectual, even mechanical, task; success depends on purely objective considerations." (Ch.LXIV "Magical Power")

The Magical Link is also the name of the O.T.O. International newsletter.