In many ways this is the nadir of IB's Real Magic, contradicting much
of the introduction. Fortunately, the book does improve again.

However, on we go. IB continues his narrative that science had mined
deeper into occultism over time. Starting with stuff like maths and
chemistry science established newer disciplines such as psychology and
parapsychology. IB sees parapsychology as an opportunity to recast the
vocabulary of occultism, continuing his efforts to simplify magic.

This leads us to something akin to the 'scrapbook of superstition'
derided in the introduction. IB starts with clairvoyance, going on to
speculate about the other clair-senses, both human and animal.

Now in contrast to the tone on most of the chapter IB does suggest
that sometimes the source of clair-sense may be the crytalisation of a
'hunch', in the nature of hunches sometimes right and sometimes wrong.

Now moving onto mind over matter we take a surreal turn into pseudo-
science. Secret experiments where animals are teleported by mediums
only for the animals to arrive dead.....

IB claims there is a philosophical basis for this in Buddhism.
"The Buddhist term for "instant" is the ksana, which also means "the
favorable moment". Any instant may become the ksana; illumination is
instantaneous (eka-ksana) and usually symbolised as a lighting flash.
Thus the difference between "moment" and ksana is qualitative. The
ksana is coexistant with every instant of time past-present-future. By
jumping into ksana from the present, you should be able to jump off
again into any point of past or future."

Uh-huh.

IB then groups a range of alleged phenomena as Atomic psychokinesis
(APK). *If* one can perform psychokinesis on such a small scale then
magic fire starting, water into wine, magic lights, healing and so on
may in fact all have the same basic cause.

Now concentrate, here comes the pseudoscience bit: In the form of
scientific looking figures to 'Prove'

a)poltergeists are APK from pissed off people.

b)we're all transceivers of mysterious powers.

c)People tend to piss each other off, and so should be generally be
avoided.

As I've said already, this chapter contradicts the introduction in the
worst ways. Not only it's credulous nature and superstition scrap
booking but it's sometimes fearful rather than hopeful tone 'Those
Ruskies are way ahead of us' (at a time when the cold war was in full
swing). Are appeals to secret 'results' from secrete scientists really
that different to secret chiefs?

(I note that as an 'update' in the later edition IB backtracks on some
of this stuff, but also retreats to that catch-all quantum mechanics).

So is there anything we can salvage?

Well, IB does play around with the idea that magic can be bound up
with the information or ques we have unconsciously manifesting in
various ways. Most commonly as feelings. Although IB uses the term
empathy extensively.

Rick has been doing some thinking along these lines, especially that
we can prime ourselves to be more response to certain types of que.

http://neuromagick.com/

I'm disappointed not to be able to include an excellent link from the
alt.magick archive to one of Tom's posts on TAT cards and the light
they cast on Tarot. I'll continue looking for it, but if anyone has a
link I'd urge them to post it.

People;

To what extent do you consider the terms feeling, power and energy to
be interchangeable when talking about magick?

What other pieces of magical jargon do you believe there are synonyms
for that would be clearer for beginners?