Mid Summer, also called Litha, gives us an opportunity to celebrate joy, vitality, and power. And “Power for the Will” is a cardinal aspiration that we develop in Reform Pagan practice through the Element of Fire, which corresponds to ritual observances of common and special occasions over the course of human life in Nature. Mid Summer is, therefore, a fitting occasion for Reform Pagans to reflect on what we might call our “magickal physics of Power”.
In the mundane field of physics, power multiplied by time equals work; likewise, by exerting the Power of our Will over time in our ritual observances, we accomplish the Great Work of spiritual development. Thus we make magick, causing transformative change in our lives and in our world over time in accordance with our Will.
The greater the Power of Will we exert and the longer the time over which we exert it, the more magickal work we accomplish. By aligning our ritual observances with themes of common and special occasions and focusing our Will on those themes, we not only increase our instantaneous Power on each occasion but also naturally link our workings together over time. As the time integral of instantaneous power applied along the trajectory of the point of application yields work, so this alignment of our rituals with the trajectory of the common and special occasions in our human life in Nature increases the magickal work we accomplish.
Our Will is associated with the Element of Fire partly because it is like fire: our Will can be scattered, like the light and heat of a candle, or it can be focused, like a laser. Our Will is more powerful when it is focused. But the work we accomplish through our ritual observances is, like all magick, also play. Our rituals should, therefore, ultimately strike a balance between focused concentration and playful celebration, combining joy and power to maximize the transformative effects of our magickal work.
With much love and many bright blessings always,
And particularly on this occasion of Mid Summer,
Your kindred spirits at ReformPagan.org and PaganRenewal.org