Every endeavor in life has a base, a path, and a fruit.

Magick is no different, and so we must start by

examining our base, the point at which we start. Most books on magick suggest the base or starting
point is the same for everyone, that we are all, more or less, equally talented, and that everyone can
accomplish every task with enough effort. Books promising that “anyone can do it” are as common
in the magick section of the store as they are on the self-help and home-repairs shelves. Sadly this
isn’t necessarily the case. We are an egalitarian society and like to think that we are all created
equal. Although I agree that all life has equal inherent value, that doesn’t mean that we are all
equally gifted at all things. Just as some people are born with innate talent in music, mathematics, or
art, some people are born with innate talent for magick. If you are not particularly gifted in
something, you can usually make up for it with hard work and practice, but sadly, just as there are
tone deaf people who would like to make music or numerically challenged people who would love to
be scientists, there are also people with almost no gift for magick. Some of you won’t like to hear
that, but it’s true.