I don't know what ritual magick as a system is all about, but I've always had an interest in it. Obviously, the allure and the mysterious of the system sold me on the idea but like a lot of people, I wasn't sure where to start.In the Oak Cliff area, near a church my family and I used to go to, there was an occult book store. That's what it had as the name outside over the doorway. It was just some little place, in a run down part of 'The Cliff' that grabbed my interest.
Then one day, when I had a car, some time and a quick reminder, I drove to that store. I walked in, and here in the middle of a predominantly Hispanic part of Dallas were occult books in the English language and other ritual magick supplies. The one I got was '777' by Aleister Crowley, which I figured would be as good of a start as any, on learning the art of ritual magick.As I was standing at the counter, behind another dude (there was only me, a customer and the shopkeeper), the shopkeeper had taken the customer's request and disappeared around the back to do something. After some ten minutes or so, the guy came back with a vile of something black. It was some potion that he sold to the guy.I remember thinking how ridiculous it all was. That people still believed in that stuff, but I had seen it right there before my eyes. It never occurred to me that the Wiccan store shopkeeper was a con-man, but that he was a believer too. A legitimate witch doctor, in a dress shirt and slacks. I made my purchase and left.The book was cryptic as fuck, hard to follow and over the years that I had it, I would flip through the pages eager to learn only to end up putting it down. I like that stuff, but I was back at the beginning, not knowing where to start.A few years ago, I started considering Hinduism as a new interest for me mostly because I want to learn the ins and outs of Eastern philosophy and rituals. It generates a real excitement about life where living is worshiped rather than an actual god. These days, I'm starting to think more about rituals and how important they are to us. We have them everyday. Maybe it's how we get up in the morning, the shows we watch and all of that.I'm pretty aware that the entire process is made up by the same people who claim to have 'found' the text. Isn't everything that we discover entirely made up? This became more evident to me when I checked out 'The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor' from my local library. It had some valuable information about a short lived group, to at least show as proof that it existed. 
The book was hard to find at the time and so I felt that I was close to some rare information that very few had. During the late 1800's, people could get away with crime easier and the tone was such that it couldn't convince me otherwise.As I've gotten older, I've learned that people are naturally possessed to take advantage of situations and opportunities. They do things for their own gain. Nothing is entirely democratic, so you might have a person who has a better understanding of the principles of ritual magick than I do, so I would go to them before learning it myself. It's just easier that way -- Just put a program together or a school that I can go to and I'll pay for it!It's harder to learn this stuff on your own and to stay away from these large groups. I can go over to the OSOGD, and learn the text and rituals myself, but would still like the benefit of acceptance, to a group with some style, right?[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsun5J1jSSk&w=560&h=315]So now, I'm more interested in learning about these rituals myself. I feel more confident that I'm in the right place to start.
Then one day, when I had a car, some time and a quick reminder, I drove to that store. I walked in, and here in the middle of a predominantly Hispanic part of Dallas were occult books in the English language and other ritual magick supplies. The one I got was '777' by Aleister Crowley, which I figured would be as good of a start as any, on learning the art of ritual magick.As I was standing at the counter, behind another dude (there was only me, a customer and the shopkeeper), the shopkeeper had taken the customer's request and disappeared around the back to do something. After some ten minutes or so, the guy came back with a vile of something black. It was some potion that he sold to the guy.I remember thinking how ridiculous it all was. That people still believed in that stuff, but I had seen it right there before my eyes. It never occurred to me that the Wiccan store shopkeeper was a con-man, but that he was a believer too. A legitimate witch doctor, in a dress shirt and slacks. I made my purchase and left.The book was cryptic as fuck, hard to follow and over the years that I had it, I would flip through the pages eager to learn only to end up putting it down. I like that stuff, but I was back at the beginning, not knowing where to start.A few years ago, I started considering Hinduism as a new interest for me mostly because I want to learn the ins and outs of Eastern philosophy and rituals. It generates a real excitement about life where living is worshiped rather than an actual god. These days, I'm starting to think more about rituals and how important they are to us. We have them everyday. Maybe it's how we get up in the morning, the shows we watch and all of that.I'm pretty aware that the entire process is made up by the same people who claim to have 'found' the text. Isn't everything that we discover entirely made up? This became more evident to me when I checked out 'The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor' from my local library. It had some valuable information about a short lived group, to at least show as proof that it existed. 
The book was hard to find at the time and so I felt that I was close to some rare information that very few had. During the late 1800's, people could get away with crime easier and the tone was such that it couldn't convince me otherwise.As I've gotten older, I've learned that people are naturally possessed to take advantage of situations and opportunities. They do things for their own gain. Nothing is entirely democratic, so you might have a person who has a better understanding of the principles of ritual magick than I do, so I would go to them before learning it myself. It's just easier that way -- Just put a program together or a school that I can go to and I'll pay for it!It's harder to learn this stuff on your own and to stay away from these large groups. I can go over to the OSOGD, and learn the text and rituals myself, but would still like the benefit of acceptance, to a group with some style, right?[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsun5J1jSSk&w=560&h=315]So now, I'm more interested in learning about these rituals myself. I feel more confident that I'm in the right place to start.