I have reason to believe that a wizard has the people behind him. What the wizard says is important. If a question must be answered and it is important, than we must stand in line to ask a wizard.

Hello everybody! There are all kinds of Wizards.....I see them as very Creative people who are also very learned, both in the ways of the Word and Wordless Magics, Mythologies, Histories, Alchemies and any other study that catches their interest. They are Resources, repositories of knowledge, and sometimes, wisdom. ;-)

Here is a site of Paris Soulier, one of my favorite Wizard-people:

www.wizardrealm.com/wizards/

There, you will see his take on:

Types of Wizards
Wizards in History
Wizards Today
etc.

He breaks down the "Types of Wizards" like this:

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What Are Wizards?
Before embarking on a detailed discussion of the practice of wizardry, it is best to define, as accurately as possible, what it means to be a wizard.

A wizard is a person who, through the intentional practice of true magic, seeks to make manifest the Divine Plan for Humanity on earth. This Divine Plan is simply that every human being has the potential for becoming a conscious co-creator of his or her own reality, in allegiance with the Divine Creator, in whatever aspect the person may envision through the right application of Free Will. In doing so, the wizard seeks to become a Conscious Soul Incarnate; that is, to manifest the energies of his or her soul through the mental, astral, and physical bodies and render conscious creation in his or her world.

The word "wizard" simply meant "wise one" in olden times. The root word can be traced through the Indo-Aryan word "Vizier" and the Arabic "Waz-ir", who were at one time valued advisors to those who ruled, taking the role of the now modern-day prime minister of a nation. In the Nordic tradition, the word for wizard was "Vitki", again, meaning, "the wise one." The words "advise" and "advice", as well as the prefix "vice" in "vice-president" or "viceroy" derive from the same root as does "wizard." The ancient roots of all these words meant "burden-bearer," "carrier," or "he who assists." Throughout history, the role of the wizard was as an ancillary; a power behind the throne. In the game of chess, the Persians still refer to the queen piece as "Wazir".

Types of Wizards

There are many different branches and practices of wizardry. One may think of these as "career-paths", although the spiritual sense of "calling" may be a better description; one less confusing at least, lest one think of these practices as resulting in monetary remuneration.

1. Adepts

The Adept is the wizard that is most concerned with outward manifestation of magical energy. Most textbook wizards (the "pointed hat and wand" variety) tend to fall into this category, although it is not the predominant wizard type.

Adepts tend to work consciously with the manipulation of magic through the use of ritual and ceremonial evocation. Adepts pull energy from the outer world through their instruments, and relay it back to the outer world in their manifestations. They are concerned with the form and style of magical expression, and they glean their powers through focused study and active ritual meditation. Adepts actively seek to bring the unmanifest into physical expression, and are interested in the mechanical process by which the unmanifest may be evoked.

Adepts are rarely solitary practitioners and seek the protection of a ritual organization or lodge. Many such lodges exist to this day, including Freemasonry, Argenteum Astrum, and the Rosicrucians. Those who practice solitary adeptship tend to be drawn towards the darker manifestations of the energy.

Types of adept magic include theurgy, goetia, and qabbala.

2. Alchemists

Unlike the medieval alchemists, who sought the Philosopher's Stone to transmute base metals into gold, the modern Alchemist is concerned with refining the human Soul in order to achieve divine status. The goal of the modern day alchemist is to achieve ultimate wisdom and knowledge. Like the Adept, the Alchemist relies heavily on ceremonial order and ritual magic, but rather to draw Divine energy into the physical; that is to say, to bring God unto Man. Alchemists tend to be healers rather than teachers, although they do a fair amount of teaching as well. They also tend to be highly skilled craftspeople and can imbue amulets and charms with powerful healing energies to be used by others.

Types of alchemical magic today include modern psychology, gnosticism, qabbala, and metachemistry.

3. Bards

The bardic tradition is a long and varied one. The bardic practitioner seeks to evoke magical energy by use of creative techniques such as music, art, literary or dramatic expression, scientific exploration, dance, structural design, sexual expression, and education. In short, the Bard is most likely to work with "Muse-ic" energy, and the Bard is most closely associated with music and poetry. Bards pull energy from within themselves and relay it into outer manifestation.

Quite often, a bard will devote an entire lifetime to the study and mastery of one particular manifestation of their energy through a particular medium; for example, mastery of the piano, or mastery of the written word. Others, however, may go for a holistic approach and seek to learn as much as they can about as many forms of expression possible, rather than seeking mastery in one.

Johann Sebastian Bach was a master Bard who sought spiritual perfection through music. Both a musician and mathematician, he sought to channel Divine Energy through his compositions, comprised of mathematical and magical formulae embedded within the music itself.

Bardic magic is not relegated to any one form, as in other types of magical practice. Poetry, dance, artistry, and musical composition are all manifestations of bardic energy.

4. Druids

Although "Druid" is a term germane to the Celtic tradition of magic, the practice of Druidry can be embarked upon by anyone.

The Druid is most interested in working with the existing, natural energies of Earth and the Universe, rather than evoking new manifestations such as the Bard and Adept do. Druids are much less hung up on a particular process and are focused on obtaining end results and solutions to existing problems. Thus, the Druid is the most versatile of all the various wizard types.

Druids are predominantly schooled in practical magic. They employ magical herbalism on a regular basis, as well as work with magical symbols such as runes and oghams (pronounced OY-ams), carved on wood or stone. The oghams and runes function as alphabets as well, because druids' practice of magic is carried by the word; the essence of thought transmitted through language. Each one of the oghams represented a tree energy, which could be tapped upon by the druid by the use of focused concentration.

Druids love all true natural manifestations, including mineral, plant, and animal Life, and work diligently to embody the natural process within their own invocations. Druids pull energy from the outer world of form through their own equipment and embody it in their own internal structure, generally for healing themselves, others, or the natural world. Druids tend to be both healers and teachers, both in a practical (Earthy) sense or in a spiritual (Soul-oriented) sense.

Types of druidic magic include herbalism, runic studies, divination, geomancy, aromatherapy, and channeling. The proper use of modern-day "white witchcraft", Wicca, or other neo-pagan studies draw heavily from druidic tradition.

5. Mystics

The mystical tradition of magic relies heavily on meditation, intuition, and insight. Like the Druid, the mystic performs as a healer and teacher. Unlike the Druid, though, the Mystic is less inclined toward practical manifestations and seeks spiritual perfection through union with the Divine. Eastern traditions of magic, including Taoism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, are more inclined toward mystical practices and the intention to transcend physical boundaries to achieve spiritual union.

The mystic pulls inner meaning from his or her own equipment, and embodies it within themselves. Mystics tend to be the quietest and most introspective of the wizards, as they tap into and help create the vast repositories of information available to all of humanity.

Types of mystical magic include all forms of yoga, transcendental meditation, Taoism, Buddhism, empathy, clairvoyance, faith-healing, EST, and theosophy.

6. Shamans

Many people equate shamanism with the spiritual practices of the Native Americans, and it is true that they tend to manifest their energies in the shamanic tradition of healing practices. However, Shamanism has its roots in Siberia, in the Altai region, where it was practiced in neolithic times.

Shamans are intermediaries between the physical and spiritual planes. They are both healers and diviners. Shamans work directly with discarnate beings (spirits), either allowing them to manifest through his or her physical equipment to work out prior karma, or to glean information from them about the spiritual realms and to provide healing or answers to problems of others. Spiritual healing is predominantly a Shamanic art; the Lakota term for "magic" and "medicine" are the same word.

Shamans tend to be the most predominant of all the wizard types, being found in many ethnic cultures. Types of shamanic magic include native American shamanism, voudoun, curanderia, psychopompos (those who assist the dying with their transition to the spiritual plane), spirit work, vision questing, and divination.

Darker forms of shamanism, associated with lower energies and older magical practices, include shapeshifting, demonology, and necromancy. Such practices are no longer needed in the higher energy vibrations.

7. Thaumaturgists

Thaumaturgy, in many ways, is an integration of all other forms of magic. Literally meaning "miracle-workers", thaumaturgists transcend physical reality through the practices of their art. The goal of the thaumaturge is to abrogate or bend physical laws to bring about conscious creation. Next to adepts, thaumaturgists are what most people think of when they think about the concept of "wizard."

One of the most famous examples of thaumaturgy is in the Biblical story of the Wedding at Cana, where Christ changes water into wine. Most of Christ's miracles were thaumaturgical in nature, including the ability to walk on water, curing of lepers, healing the deaf and blind, multiplying the loaves and fish to feed the multitude, and bringing Lazarus back from the dead. Earlier in the Bible, Elisha evidences similar thaumaturgical practice in performing miracles of multiplication (creating more oil for the widow in debt), raising of the dead (as in Jared's daughter), and the neutralization of poisoned well water. Levitation is another thaumaturgical practice, practiced by many saints, as is illusion (the ability to seemingly dematerialize; to become invisible, or to project images into others minds).

Of all the magical arts, thaumaturgy is the most difficult to master. Those who do are considered to be of a very high origin; saintly or holy, in that Divine energies of manifestation are working directly through them.

Types of thaumaturgical practice include conjuration, telekinesis, illusion, and transformation of matter.

More from Paris Soulier:

Wizards



Of the four soul groups, no one is as misunderstood as that of the Wizard. In antiquity, people feared Wizards because of the power they wielded, not understanding their true purpose. The Wizard Soul seeks to manifest conscious creation in the world of affairs. While this is true to some extent of all the four soul groups, it is the Wizard that has specialized in this task. A wizard seeks to create, and to create consciously.

All four soul groups work with magic to some degree. While warriors use magic to defend, thieves to entertain and enlighten, and priests to inspire, Wizards work intensely with magic in what is known as the creative process. Wizards are the builders; the carpenters if you will, of reality. In their early stages of development, Wizards tend to create haphazardly, sometimes with seemingly little regard for the consequences of their creations, reaping karma for their later lessons along their path. As a wizard evolves into a mature soul, s/he seeks to clean up his or her own vessel of expression so as to manifest clearly his or her intent.

Much of a wizard's time during the middle stage is spent in laborious studies and ritual practices, not to learn "spells" but to purify their own bodies (physical, astral, and mental) to better align them with their Soul. Because of this time-consuming effort, many Wizards along their path pick up the erroneous idea that they must be solitary; unable to work with or interact strongly with others. This erroneous concept has led to many a lonely Wizard who became disgusted with their life's work and chucked it right before they were about to make a breakthrough. In truth, Wizards need human companionship and interaction far more than do some of the other Soul groups; they thrive on human interaction. When they are isolated, they tend to numb their pain with alcohol and other chemical substances, or revert to destructive behavior patterns and vengeful actions. Thus you see the rising of the "black adept," the wizard who creates solely out of the separative will aspect, usually to get revenge upon his or her "enemies" or to garner a degree of power that they feel they have given up or lost. Such wizards must repeat these lessons until they have concluded that the path to evolution stems from conscious co-creation using the Divine Will aspect.

Highly polarized in the Astral and Mental Planes, Wizards are naturally drawn to mental rather than menial activity. The fields of art and music are rife with Wizard souls, who find outlets for their immense creative potential there. There are many wizard inventors as well as teachers and healers. Wizards in general do not seek to become leaders; they leave such tasks to warriors and priests. A Wizard will become a great leader only under dire circumstances or when others need his or her aid in creating consciously via a group dynamic. However, because of their dynamic natures, Wizards quite often achieve positions of fame.

Wizards have throughout history tended to be the dominant force in the field of Music. Both composers and lyricists, they understand intrinsically the relationship of music, vibration, and creation. A wizard musician is not interested in getting a point across like a warrior, or entertaining like a thief, or delving deep into philosophy like a priest. Wizards use music to alter their surroundings and the level of consciousness of the beings around them. If this is accomplished by the instrumental portion, fine; if by the lyrics, that's fine as well. A Wizard is less concerned about musical statements as s/he is by technique; using music to transcend ordinary reality and thus raise the level of consciousness of their surroundings higher and higher. You will recognize music created by highly evolved Wizards because of its transcendent quality; seeming to reach beyond the boundaries of time and space.

There are far too many Wizard musicians to list all here. The most noteworthy of them are: Beethoven, Pachelbel, Paganinni, Mozart, Rachmanninov, Tchaikovsky, Jenny Lind, Cole Porter, Bobby Darin, Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), Dennis Wilson (Beach Boys), John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, Phil Collins, Sting, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Keith Richards, Leon Russell, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Roger Daltrey, Siouxie Sioux (the Banshees), Bono (U2), Kenny Loggins, Jim Croce, Jimmy Buffett, Basia, Neil Diamond, Ella Fitzgerald, Robert Plant, Jim Morrison, Jerry Garcia, Bruce Springsteen, Marshall Tucker, Toni Braxton, Gordon Lightfoot, Carly Simon, Luciano Pavarotti, Melissa Manchester, Cher, MC Hammer, Tone Loc, Krist Novocelik (Nirvana), and Yoko Ono. Wizard-based bands include Tangerine Dream, Jethro Tull, Blue Oyster Cult, the Guess Who, Alan Parsons Project, Crosby/Stills/Nash/Young, Hall & Oates, Manhattan Transfer, the Grateful Dead, The Beach Boys, The Moody Blues, Cheap Trick, The Doors, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Talk Talk, The Bellamy Brothers, The Human League. Tears for Fears, INXS, En Vogue, The Spin Doctors, and, more recently, Fastball and Sugar Ray.

As performing artists in other media, Wizards tend to prefer back-seat roles. Often taking the role of the supporting actress or actor that everyone loves, a Wizard shines in his or her ability to fit several different characters. Noteworthy actors include: Johnny Depp, Molly Ringwald, Robert Redford, Angela Lansbury, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Duvall, Graham Chapman (Monty Python), Terry Gilliam (Monty Python), Whoopie Goldberg, Bonnie Franklin, Marina Sirtis, Leonard Nimoy, Orson Welles, Vincent Price, Rod Serling, Mel Gibson, Paul Newman, Jack Lemmon, Tony Randall, Tony Curtis, Doris Day, Judy Garland, Nicholas Cage, Goldie Hawn, Shelley Long, Mary Steenbergen, Jennifer Jason-Leigh, Martin Richards, Steve Martin, Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, and Tommy Lee Jones.

Wizard artists abound. Ever pushing the envelope of reality, many of them introduced artistic movements that redefined their particular genres. Examples of famous Wizard artists include Picasso, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Monet, Warhol, Dali, and El Greco. Wizards tend to be liberal with using both color, form, and ideas, and prefer art forms that evoke intense emotional responses from their audiences.

As leaders, Wizards will manifest for specific situations only. A Wizard leader is likely to be noteworthy because of the situation surrounding their leadership rather than internal qualities of the wizards themselves. Famous Wizard leaders include: Moses, Solomon, Abraham, Julius Caesar, Caligula, Cleopatra, Jesus Christ, Charles Martel, Queen Elizabeth I, Charles II of England, King Edward IV (abdicated), Queen Beatrix of Holland, Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Disraeli, Woodrow Wilson, and John F. Kennedy. In the worst case, they may manifest to wreak havoc or to shock humanity into a higher understanding of a situation, as with the infamous Wizard Adolf Hitler.

Wizards thrive in the areas of science and invention. However, they must learn to assess the consequences of their creations before loosing them onto humanity. Mary Shelley's story of Frankenstein details the horrific results of creation run amuck; a veritable parable of this lesson. Some noteworthy Wizard inventors and scientists include: Orville and Wilbur Wright, Eli Whitney, Galileo, Nikolas Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Robert Oppenheimer, Frank Lloyd Wright, Marie Curie, Maria Mitchell, and Steven Hawking.

As authors, Wizards tend to write both about fantasy and reality; bridging the gap easily between that which is real and that which is unreal. Much of Wizard writing can be quite cerebral; however, Wizards also know how to recount a good tale and, after mastering the forms of words, can be excellent at the art of the pen. Famous Wizard authors include: Eudora Welty, Vladmir Nabokov, J. R. Tolkien, Eugene O'Neill, Neil Simon, Isaac Asimov, Gertrude Stein, Susan Sondheim, Alan Ginsberg, William Faulkner, Margaret Mitchell, Harper Lee, Maurice Sendak, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Blake, Geoffrey Chaucer, Oscar Wilde, Ray Bradbury, William B. Yeats, Marcel Proust, Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen, William Inge, and Emily Dickenson.

In their later cycles, Wizards are often drawn to the healing professions. Rather than surgeons, Wizards are found as general practitioners of medicine and may even become involved in alternative or holistic practicies. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is an example of a highly evolved Wizard healer, as was Aesclepius in Greek mythology.

Wizards must overcome two different challenges: that of arrogance and of self-deprecation. Arrogance is used in the early cycles of Wizard evolution as a karma-engendering device. As the soul matures, Wizards must guard against falling into the opposite trap of self-deprecation, or the tendency to beat themselves up over the tiniest failing.

Wizards tend to get along best with Warriors, as Warriors provide the needed protection for Wizards to be able to create. Both of them have common goals and methods of serving. Wizards also get along well with Priests because Priests, like Wizards, manipulate magic for the sake of service to the Divine Plan. Wizards may find Priests to be too fanatical or devoted to the status quo, however. Wizards and Thieves both challenge the structures of reality, which is a common ground. However, Thieves are overly ready to destroy the creations of Wizards in order to bring in something new, which may cause considerable friction between these two factions.

Wizard archetypes in mythology include: Merlin, Odin, Gandalf (Lord of the Rings), Vulcan, King Arthur of Camelot, Lord Krishna, and Freyr.

Other famous wizards include: Dion Fortune, Rudolf Steiner, H. P. Blavatsky, Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), Alice A. Bailey, Katheryn Kuhlman (faith healer), Isaiah, Daniel, Nefertari of Egypt, Pythagoras, Sophocles (greek playwrite), Aristotle, and Oprah Winfrey.

Keyword of the Wizard: I CREATE.

www.wizardrealm.com/metaphys...zard.html