Magic and Social Media

Well that went well. It was lovely to see people on Twitter picking up the authentic Birmingham spirit in the welcome we gave the Conservative Party.

Meanwhile the battle for justice continues on social media and I have to say I find many aspects of social media fascinating from a magical point of view.

Glamours

The first is the one that people aren't necessarily who they present themselves as on social media. I mean, you didn't really think I was a dog did you?

Magically the new persona created to give someone a different impression is called a glamour. It's not that different from what actors do on a daily basis, or even from dressing the right way for an interview. It is also exactly what we do on social media when we create a profile and a persona.

The wise magical person will of course be wary of who they're talking to, be aware that people may not be who they present themselves as, and use discernment.

Disinformation

Where online glamoury differs from acting or preparing for an interview is that a LOT of the information on the internet is disinformation designed to manipulate other people. For example as the Tories drop even further in the polls Twitter fills with disinformation about Keir Starmer, etc.

The trick is to identify what the information is designed to do. To stay with the same example this disinformation is intended to stop people voting Labour. In our first past the post system, that would help a Conservative win and so attempts to stop voting Labour should be considered propaganda by the 'Let the bodies pile high' party and treated as such. Possibly it's people who don't understand FPTP but most likely to be Tory lies.

Magically you shouldn't engage with it. What should be done is a statement indicating what they are doing and then block them.

Thoughts are Things

This way people influence other people's behaviour on social media is nothing else than an embodiment of the occult principle that thoughts are things and have a reality. 'Influencers' are doing just that by influencing the way people think because that's where change starts.

I'm not a great one for loads of actual wards and shit. I think bad thoughts coming your way are far better grabbed hold of and used in whatever way you want.

The important thing about thinking on social media, though, is to be aware of what is bullshit and just recognize it immediately. The classic examples are the people who say vaccines cause autism. They don't, and anyone saying that should automatically be treated with suspicion.

Servitors

Blocking people before pointing out what they are doing may seem counterproductive but it isn't for two reasons. A real dyed in the wool Tory will not change their mind, and the main reason is the profile you're engaging with is quite likely not to be a real person.

The magical entities created to do things for the magician are called servitors and they are exactly the same as the 'bots' responsible for so much shit online. There are whole farms of these things so the best thing to do is a simple comment pointing out what they're doing and the truth, then block block blockety block.

An example of some bot posts illustrates this post.

Banishing

Blocking, of course, is the equivalent of banishing. 

Personally I have thousands of accounts blocked on my Twitter and only follow something like 12. It's more like antisocial media, the way I go at it.

There is a very easy banishing technique which comes out of chaos magic, which is just to laugh at something. Much better to leave a humorous comment pointing out some facts (to reduce their power and help strengthen other people) then banish, or rather block, the account, than try to engage with them in any way. They don't want a debate, trust me.

The other thing is that the intention of a lot of social media posts is to clog things up and discourage people. Blocking does clean things up and helps you take control.

Words of Power

There's no point being a witch if nobody knows, so it's as well to aim to influence the people trolls or bots are aimed at. The evidence is strongly that their audience will be influenced, and even if the troll is a real person they won't be.

The words should be aimed at performing a major witch action: giving people power and letting them disconnect from trolls' power. Ideally, funny.

For example I posted an unexpectedly popular comment that every time anyone says on Twitter that Labour is the nasty party, another lifelong Conservative voter makes their mind up to vote Labour.

I wonder if they realize it's also a spell?

Have a soundtrack: Soho Road Utte by Sardara Gill, a classic bhangra hit about a road in Birmingham.