The Witches' Pyramid (also called the Witch's Pyramid, Witch Pyramid, and even sometimes the Wiccan Pyramid) isn't necessarily Wiccan; rather, the concept applies to the proper use of magick. So, what is the Witches' Pyramid, then?
Long before Wicca and Modern Witchcraft came on the scene, magickal practitioners (such as the Magi) and the later ceremonial magicians inspired by them, created philosophical teachings to guide effective magickal practice. The Witches' Pyramid is one such philosophy survived to this day and continues to prove valuable to the spellcraft as found in Wicca, Modern Witchcraft, and similar paths.
The pyramid breaks down into steps or sections, which are the components necessary to achieve effective magick. Although created for magickal practice specifically, the same concepts are applicable to much of life aside from magick as well. Thus, the Witches' Pyramid isn't only a vital magickal concept, but also a useful spiritual tool in navigating life.
Originally, the Witches' Pyramid consisted of only four components. However, it's common today for the Witches' Pyramid to be presented with a fifth component, though this component seems to change depending upon path, tradition, and experience.
Presented here are the original four components To Know, To Will, To Dare, To Keep Silent, and a fifth component, To Imagine.
To know is perhaps the easiest of steps to understand. The phrase that sums up this part of the pyramid is Conscious Awareness. The Witch must know what they want to do and consider all consequences of the action.
Being aware of multiple perceptions is key. Viewing a situation through multiple perspectives assists in creating awareness, knowledge, and understanding of your desires and the desires of others. Likewise, grasping different perceptions of the same situation allows you to clear the way of deceptions and illusions which may cloud judgement.
When you're casting a spell, crafting an art, taking an action, be certain you're consciously aware. In Cunningham's 13 Goals of a Witch, he added "Know Yourself" and "Know Your Craft." Aside from looking at all perspectives of the issue at hand, make sure you're balanced in your thoughts and actions.
To be effective, magick requires you know yourself and your craft on a deeper level than simply the surface. Study, research, practice, and repeat as often as necessary until magick becomes second nature to you.
Use these questions to help you To Know:
What are you going to do? What is the purpose or intent of the working?
What tools do you need?
Knowledge-wise, are you ready to do this working?
What will be the result of the working?
Apply the Rede of "Harm none" to the working. Will the result of the working bring harm to none?
If harm is possible, would the resulting harm outweigh the benefit of the working? Will more harm come from not casting the spell?
Are you willing to accept the risk of negative consequences if there are any?
To Will is very closely related to the last concept as without knowing your Will, you can't apply it. The Witch must bring together their thoughts, passions, emotions, and energies to direct them toward their goal.
This step requires a significant amount of self-discipline because you must be able to act on what you want most, not what is wanted right now. Thus, your Will must have unwavering purpose. The Witch must stand ready to put the required energy into making their Will manifest.
Areas of New Age and Metaphysical thinking today actually tap into this step. Books, oracle cards, presentations, and so forth delve into discussing matters of life purpose and Ultimate Will.
Some of these sources remind us to consider our wants, desires, plans, and goals and then break them down. We have to determine which are simply on the surface and what our deeper, truer desires are.
Once we've stripped away the layers, we then have to consider whether or not these goals and desires are for instant gratification or if they serve a higher need or Will.
I personally love these constant reminders as that's what we as Witches are meant to do. Our Will is individual to us, but we're individuals within a larger community always. Our every wish and desire won't always be in line with our True Will.
Meditate with your Higher Self if needed to help discover your Will.
Consider these questions to hone your focus and intent:
Have you clearly defined your objective?
Is this truly in sync with your Will? Or is this just a passing fancy?
Is this but one step on the way to accomplishing your ultimate goal or dream?
Are you prepared to move ahead with action now?
Will this working be in conflict with future goals?
How passionate are you in ensuring the outcome comes to pass?
Is this something you can take it or leave it without too much concern?
Are you ready for the desired outcome at this point in time?
Can you focus your intent into a cone of power?
To dare is to put your Will into action. It's not enough having a strong intention if the Witch isn't willing to follow through on it.
To dare involves faith in your abilities, the power of the universe, and that we can all shape our own realities. Here, the Witch must possess personal courage.
To know your Will is great, but putting it into action is what matters. It takes courage to live your dreams, goals, aspirations, and desires.
The Witch must believe that their Will can become manifest and have the courage to make it so. You can't let the fear of failure hinder progress. Rather, you must willingly accept failure as a learning process.
Changes in life are guaranteed. The Witch takes responsibility and makes those changes intentional.
This step is integral in determining the effectiveness of your magick.
Consider this example:
You wish to rise above financial failure and into financial success.
You know you have a negative attitude toward money and finances, so you Know that changing your attitude and thoughts is the first step to building a healthy relationship with what you're trying to bring into your life (money).
You also Will that you change your attitude.
Before you can move forward, you have To Dare this first.
With this out of the way, you then Know what you need for spell supplies, how you intend to perform your spell, and how to work it. You then Will that you will perform this spell and the outcome will be successful.
Even when individuals manage to get the first To Know, To Will, To Dare steps done in cases like this, they stop here. They falsely believe they've Dared by performing the spell.
However, that isn't To Dare. You can go through the motions and cast a money spell, but you have To Dare the rest of it.
If you Know what outcomes will be there and are truly Willing to grasp the opportunities the spell brings in, you'll Dare when a new job opportunity opens up, a friend asks for help, a stranger approaches you with a question or asks if you provide a service they need, and anything else life seems to be throwing at you.
All these little things are that spell in motion. To Dare requires you not only do the magick but that you follow through when the results are in.
To Dare involves practice, experience, and growth as well as confidence. Ask yourself these questions to ensure you Dare:
Do you believe you are are capable of taking the actions required to make your will manifest?
Do you have faith in your ability to successfully cast spells?
Can you let go of the limitations and doubts that hold you back?
Do you have the courage to live your dream?
Are you truly ready to take action to reach your desired outcome?
Will you put in the time, energy, and effort required?
To keep silent at first sounds restrictive.
Why not talk about our experiences? Wouldn't this assist in learning? Aren't we past the Dark Ages by now?
Keeping silent isn't about never discussing magick or other areas of life. To Keep Silent protects privacy, avoids the dilution of your magick by the thoughts and emotions of others, and provides opportunity to hear deity.
When working with others, magickally or otherwise, the Witch keeps the privacy of others in mind. The Witch who's open and willing to discuss workings with others should respect the privacy of others.
Consider this concept from a medical field perspective. It's much like HIPPA; you can talk about medical cases, situations, ways to treat them, but you can't disclose a patient's identity or speak about a case in a way that would allow others to guess who the patient is.
On an individual level, the Witch ought to use caution when discussing a spell that was just cast and hasn't had time to manifest. If they speak to someone who doubts it or otherwise harbors negative feelings this could, unintentionally, dilute the positive energy the Witch used in the spell.
For example, it's thought that by declaring "I just cast a spell to heal [insert name]" can cause others who don't believe magick will help in the individual's case to send doubt and negative energy toward the person instead of helping the spell along.
Allow time for the spell to work before discussing it with others. There's no harm in talking about past spells and teaching others how to use magick the way you have in the past.
Aside from magick alone, keeping silent provides a stillness inside. It allows focused meditation, patience, and an understanding that magick and forces of nature take time to manifest.
Magickally, this skill provides a strong foundation to the others. Consider these questions before you decide to talk about your magick:
When you discuss magick you've done, are you bragging?
Do the people you're talking to want to hear about it?
Will telling your co-worker about the promotion spell you did last night boost the spell? Or is it more likely to backfire because your co-worker is also seeking promotion?
Are you aware of the length of time the spell will take to manifest?
Are you grounded and centered? Or has discussing your workings muddled your focus?
To imagine involves flexibility and creativity. Before we can send out energy effectively, we must be able to draw it in. The Witch must be inspired.
Kerr Cuhulain in Full Contact Magick explains imagination as a key factor in determining traditions that aren't necessary. Traditions may be good to have, but if they're outdated or don't work, they aren't necessary.
Think of the daughter cutting off and throwing away a piece of meat because her mother and mother's mother did it before her just to find out that the grandmother's pan was too small for the meat!
To imagine, then, is about being inspired to change when routines are no longer effective. It's about being innovative when confronted with a difficult problem with no prior solution.
This step's more of an ongoing approach to your magick. It's an accumulation of To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silent along with past experiences, outside influences, and creative thinking. Mastering this step is a simple matter of keeping an open mind throughout your life and letting go of any fears of change.
If you want to keep your magick alive and effective, use To Imagine as your way of breaking through stagnation. Like with To Know, To Imagine requires that we are continuously learning, researching, and putting our knowledge into practice.
Ask these questions to help you Imagine:
Can you visualize what needs to be done?
Did this spell work the last time?
Will it need to be altered to suit this new purpose?
Will you need to write a whole new spell?
Do you get uptight or closed-minded when presented with other ways to do magick?
If you follow correspondences, such as the phase of the moon, can you be flexible enough if the phase isn't right for the magick that's needed now?
If you find you're inflexible in any area, does it hamper your ability to Dare? Does your inflexibility serve a purpose? Or is it hindering your magick or spirituality?
Are you creative enough to see the differences as new learning that may or may not be implemented into your current routines?
© 2010-2018 by Evylyn Rose