The normal way of thinking is that there are power words out there that you must discover. Words that will bring you power, if not control over the Cosmos. These words are out there, and you use them every day. Arcane script is just another way of writing. To cast a spell in an ancient language is impressive to the audience but adds nothing to the spell.
One of many reasons not to cast a spell in an unknown language is you don’t know all the emotional ramifications of the word. Take the word love, a beautiful word with many meanings, depending on who you say it to. In five hundred years will its meaning be the same? Language evolves and meanings change. There in lies the danger; your intent may not have been the intent of the caster five hundred or a thousand years ago. The name of an ancient god or demon cannot install the same emotions in me as it did to a person contemporary to that belief. So the emotional intent and what is expected from the deities may be different. That in my opinion makes these ancient spells far too complicated and should be avoided by most practitioners of The Art.
I have come to the conclusion that spells work, and you can and should make your own. The specifics are all too personal to relate acutely to anyone else. It all goes back to emotion. If you believe in your spell, and that it will achieve the desired results, It will. Anyone can use your spell if they can reproduce your emotion and intent. That is why you must write down not only the words of the spell. You have to explain the ritual you used and the state of mind you were in, and how you achieved it. It will take trial and error for someone else to achieve the desired results.
To cast a spell first you have to set your frame of mind to the fact that you are going to perform a magical act. This should be accomplished with a ritual. The ritual can be as simple as what I call the word or words of meaning, or as elaborate as you wish.
The casting of the spell is best described by using prayer as an example. After all prayer is only a benevolent spell. First is the evoking of your power, be it your Deity or your own personal power. Second is the historeola or purpose of the spell and sets the parameters you wish to use. Third is the closing: this is the giving over of the task to the power you invoked.
If you chose to evoke a demon or something else you must be able to control it, because it doesn’t want to be there and will turn on you if it can. This is not to say you can’t cast a good spell, but with a spell you don’t have to. It can be as mean, damaging or self - serving as you like.
That fact is what brings far too many to the art of magic; they only want power over other people, not power over themselves. They don’t seek power to better themselves so they can help and protect their friends and love ones, or to feel the unbelievable joy the power can bring. They use the power to try and fill a hole in themselves that cannot be filled. Some have no natural abilities and turn to the dark side to gain the power they seek, ether way they are doomed. Their own lust for power will make them vulnerable to the dark side and they will run head long into the abyss.
If you are called, the power is waiting for you to release it, to nurture it, and it will guide you. It loves spiritual knowledge, feed it as you would a child and it will grow. You need only to learn the art of control and focus, control over your emotions and to focus your thoughts. The more emotional control you have the more power you control. The more focus you have the better you can project that power. Most people never achieve true control of their thoughts and they scatter them in the general direction of the objective. This approach will work for most but not all.
To achieve true power you must be able to shut the world out, nothing can exist in your world but you and the objective. The emotion must be controlled (don’t let it consume you) and turned into focused intent. When you get it right you will know, because you will become an empty vessel void of all emotions.
I hope this short primer on The Arts will be helpful to someone that feels the calling but doesn’t know how or they are afraid to embrace what God gave them. All abilities come from God. How it is used is up to you, but He reserved the right to judge your fruits.
Thomas
Remember in all your endeavors stay true to yourself. If it seems wrong to you, it is wrong for you, but not necessarily wrong for everyone.