I was flipping around the internet and stumbled onto a discussion between a couple gals who were looking to start working with their young (4-6) children on spell craft.
While this is a pretty common happening as pagan parents go, it got me thinking of some things.
Magic is the art and science of causing change in conformity with will.
We as adults and young adults go through huge amounts of background work to get our will and our visualization on track to increase our possibilities and effectiveness.
With this in mind, is is recommendable, or even possible to teach a child spellwork without a solid background in associations, and the process of raising energy?
I've considered and in the past have let the boys (4/6) participate in some minor workings one was a banishing, and the other a cleansing; but for the most part don't feel that they have the ability to focus for the time frame that I see as required for magical intent. (ten-15 minutes or more of intense purpose related focus)
Is it ethical then, to direct their energy in your own workings that you choose for them? For example one of the suggestions that the gals were going to make use of was making a dream catcher as a spell against bad dreams, or a wish spell that involved the releasing of a balloon.
For me, without putting intention into each stitch, the dream catcher would not be a spell. It would be a craft masquerading as a spell. Same with the balloon. There is no 'process' being taught.
While I believe in starting small, and breaking things down into simple concepts, I don't see much of a break down of concepts at all. Just 'ask' and 'get'.
What parts of spell work would you see as necessary before starting to teach a child? What kinds of checks and balances would you put in place to give a child a feeling of security against others who might use magical thought against them, or times when they have used their words or directed energy in anger or haste?
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