Many occultists, especially those on the darker left hand side often shy away from the term "faith" believing that it implies knee-bending and servitude of a higher power. But one could just as easily say that it refers not to the service of a higher power, but simply whether or not you believe that supernatural beings exist and whether or not they are relevant to your magickal practice. In the end magick is really just quantum physics. Do you really need a higher power to practice quantum physics? Absolutely not. Nevertheless magico-religious traditions are were abundant throughout the ancient world, and they remain so even today. Is there anything wrong with them? Well, that depends on the specific case in point. Many of these traditions do a very good job of keeping the practice highly personal and keep organization and attempts to gain influence on outsiders to a minimum. In this case I can see very little wrong with a such a practice. The times when religion (and indeed magick) become most dangerous is when they organize in attempts to gain power and control over events outside of their immediate necessity, such as with the Jehova's Witnesses which I have metioned before who bang on my door early on a Saturday morning when I'm trying to catch up on my sleep. In which case I recommend answering the door immediately after placing an alka selter tab under your tongue (it will begin to foam quickly), then begin screaming jibberish and convulsing wildly toward them. Their visit will be short lived and you will most likely be marked off their missions list. If the followers of such practices are able to resist such arrogance then I really can't find much fault with them other than the inevitable disagreements I may have with their practices or systems of belief.
On a personal note I should say that I am a pantheist, and faith really comes in to play on a quite infrequent basis. Pantheism states in it's basic concept that God/dess is equivalent to the forces of nature, both light and dark, good and evil (should one bother with such fluid concepts), known and unknown; as well as it's tangible objects, Earth, Air, Fire, Water...the rivers, oceans, streams, trees, grass, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the planets etc. Some see this as a copout. A way of a avoiding the ultimate question of whether or not God/dess exists. But for myself, it is also a sincerely held belief. I have no need for a literal higher power. The personas given to the forces of nature; the god/esses of any given pantheon throughout the world I see as archetypes, another term that has gained a dirty reputation in recent years (though usually not from darker sided practices). In my mind archetypes do NOT degrade the standing of any specific entity in question, but rather lend a more realistic nature to them. Most rational people would agree that literal beings with the head of an aligator, the breasts of a woman, the genitals of a man, and the legs of an octopus are highly unlikely. I'm not aware of any such being that is actually claimed to exist, I say this only to make a point while not disparaging any specfically indentifiable deity. There are many deities known throughout the world with animalistic as well as humanoid traits and their literal existences are highly doubtful. But the energies, emotions, and events that they represent are very real. I believe that these deities ARE REAL, yes I said it, THEY ARE REAL. The only difference I have with the hard theists in this regard is the existence of their mythological appearance.
So then what of the apparitions that many members of the occult claim to have had? Whether many wish to admit it or not the occult is a highly psychological game and if you have a deep-seeded investment in a certain being appearing a certain way they will most likely take that form. Even those of us who do not believe in the literal existence of anthropomorphic beings have this attachment and have experienced these same apparitions. It's not so much that they really do exist in that form as it is that in our own mind they do and this is the most sympathetic way to assure the sorcerer/ess that they are indeed present. As an example I will say this...in my own practice, I have called upon magickal forces with the idea of an upright of reversed pentagram in mind depending on the working at hand. Without fail that pentagram always appears in the crystal ball as soon as I begin to scry it. The same can be said for the dead. In general terms I always see the dead in my mind as old victorian style photos, and without fail they appear to me in such a manner. To practice magick is to implement the powers of your own mind, and if your mind has a certain dispoistion you will most likely see the powers you call upon in this way whatever that may be.
AVE SATANAS!
AVE HECATE!
AMBROGIO
