What is the Real Difference between Magick and Spirituality?

Hetepu (Peace & Blessings) Family.
You know, I remember when I first started on this spiritual path, like many people from a Christian background, I was immediately attracted to religious practices that my parents and other Christians frowned upon. For instance, I went out my way to visit the brightly colored candle shop in Detroit on 7 Mile that my parents discouraged me from doing, as we drove to and from church. I went out of my way to talk to actual authentic rootworkers whom I was told by religious people were either strange and/or evil.  I went out of my way to talk to practitioners in Lukumi (Santeria) and Palo Mayombe because Christians told me that they worshipped the devil. I have even learned from people who practice both the Brazilian Candomble and Macumba.  But, I followed the Kemetic path because my spirit inspired me to do so and informed me that the Ancient Egyptians were not idol worshippers. Basically, a large portion of my spiritual understanding simply was the result of me rebelling against my conditioned upbringing.

But, I remember there were a few families whom I met on this path that turned their back on traditional/spiritual way.  For instance, I remember I met a priestesses whom after years of struggle, returned to the church to save her marriage and unite her family.  In another family I knew where the children were raised in the spiritual tradition, two of the children when they got older did not want to have anything to do with the tradition.  The youngest child converting to Christianity, condemned the practice altogether and as far as I know, is actively persecuting his parents for their involvement in the African derived tradition.

All of this really made me wonder why would people leave our traditional way for the religion of our oppressor.  At first I thought that maybe it was because they were not serious about the tradition and saw it as a fad, but that didn’t explain why the family that was raised in an African tradition would turn their back on it.  Then, I thought that maybe it was because these people do not know their history but, that response did not explain why the priestess I knew converted back to the religion to save her marriage and family. Then, I met my godfather, a practicing spiritist, and a member of the Abakua Society who had been practicing Lukumi all of his life in Cuba before migrating to the States.
I remember asking him a very serious, yet silly question based upon all that I had read about African religions and traditions.  I asked him, “Why is it that all they do in Santeria is do magic?”
And, he told me something (in Spanish) that I would never forget, which was that “Lukumi es muy espiritual pero debes conocer tu Manera,” which translates to “Lukumi is very spiritual but you have to know your Way.”
I have spent a lot of time writing about La Manera or the Way because it is what the Kemetic sages called Maa, which is not simply about the law, the truth, balance, etc.  It is about your Law, your Truth, what Balances you, etc.
It came to me some time later that my question was silly but a good one because the reason people convert back to the religion of their oppressor is because they do not have Knowledge of Self.
Knowledge of Self is not just knowing that you are god and a goddess and running around saying “Peace God/Goddess!”
Knowledge of Self is about knowing that your lower self or your ego-self is dominating your life, dominating the way you think, and controlling the way you talk and behave.  If you are having any problems in your life, it can be traced back to your lower self because you have been conditioned to follow it.  In other words, you are in the habit of listening to this part of your being. Things seem gloom in this world because people are controlled by their lower self but, there is an alternative way.
We do not have to follow our lower self. We can have a better life. We can have a healthy life. We can have a loving marriage and healthy children. We can have a prosperous business.  We do not have to live in tyranny of our lower self.  We can reach out and connect with our Higher Self with the understanding that we have to put whatever we want in the Higher Self’s hands.
This is where the magick comes into play. It is magical and mysterious how our Higher Self or Superconscious works, which is the reason the old biblical writers called it God, then later these Christians called it Jesus.  But, they got the idea from our Kemetic Ancestors who personified the Higher Self or Superconscious as Osar.  They did not worship Osar.  They realized that it was our Higher Self, which is an individual’s True God.

So, if I declare “Thank you for perfect health” over and over before I go to sleep, when I wake, when I am driving, when I am taking a shower, and basically every time I get a chance. Eventually, my lower (subconscious) self is going to hand this declaration to my Higher (Superconscious) Self. And, as soon as I forget that I made the declaration, that’s when my miracle or magic will manifest in the physical.
That’s it! I know it seems to easy and good to be true, but magick is simply programming your entire Spirit (Higher and Lower Self). Now, for some people repeating declarations does not get it for them, so they prefer to chant a mantra, while others may choose to inscribe it on a candle.  Still others might find it better to create a sigil, which are all methods discussed in the The Kamta Primer.  It does not matter what method you use because they are all techniques used to program your Spirit or do magic.
But, most people come into this based upon a warped understanding. As a result, we spend a whole lot of time focusing on the technique or the tools, instead of on the nuts and bolts, which is all about our Higher Self.
Family. This is what “they” want us to do. “They” want us to argue back and forth about on what technique is best.  “They” want us to see all of this hell occurring in the streets and be discouraged by it and/or think we are powerless.  When all we have to do is declare it and allow our Spirit(s) to deal with it.
“They” want us to be confused about who we are. “They” want us to convert back to their social control but it is not working, which is the reason you are reading this post and others like it.

Don’t get caught up in the trap of thinking it is all about magick.  It is all about staying connected to our Higher Self, our Osar.
Hetepu.