As you continue to join us on this journey exploring Spirituality through the Feminine Divine, you will find us using the word Mana more often than we use the word Magic(k). As we began creating the Goddess Project, we spoke a lot about what our vision would be, who are we, what we wanted to share and most importantly, how would we define our spirituality.
…. So we asked ourselves, who are we and what do we believe?
We are not practitioners of any specific belief system. We are not initiated into any one practice, we are not in a place to read your tarot cards (right now) and we don’t really look like a “witch”…. So we asked ourselves, who are we and what do we believe?
We are eclectic mystics who follow that which connects and speaks to our heart. That is when the word Mana was brought up. It is the Polynesian word for Life Force Energy. As we learned the meaning of the word we realized instantly that it represented everything we felt but didn’t know how to describe, until now. We believe in Mana and we decided that would be the word we used (over Magick) when talking about our Spirituality.
What is Mana?
Mana is the foundation of Polynesian spirituality. It is described as person’s spirit and spiritual energy; an essence that we all possess. This supernatural energy is like a muscle, it can be weakened or strengthened depending on what you do or how you live your life. Mana is not a Deity in itself. It is never spoken of as a separate entity but always in connection with people, objects or places. Mana is said to originate in the domain of Feminine Energy. Woman is the creator of life and in being so, she brings out life force energy.
The mother Goddess Uli (pictured to the left) is called the birther of self, and it is through her self creation that we are able to create ourselves exactly as we desire to be. It is said that a man without the Goddess Energy (Mana) is unmotivated.
Mana is Shakti.
In Hinduism, Shakti is translated as Cosmic Energy. It is also the title of the Great Goddess Kali Ma; the creator and destroyer Goddess, who birthed herself out of anger. It is said that every Man and God needed his Shakti or he was helpless.
Mana is Shekina
The Jewish-Kabbalistic version of Shakti was Shekinah. In Hebrew, Sh’kina meant “dwelling place” insinuating that God had no “home” without her. She is the female soul of God.
Mana is the Holy Spirit.
In Christianity, the Holy Spirit is a supernatural entity that provides you with better understanding and reverence for God and life. When you receive the Holy Spirit you are receiving the Love of God as well as the power of God “to help and heal your life and to help and heal others” Luke 24.29. And to throw a little Goddess info in there; in Aramaic (the language Jesus most likely spoke) the noun for spirit is feminine.
Mana is Karma.
In Sanskrit Karma means action or deed. In Eastern Religion and Philosophy it is a spiritual principle that says all of our thoughts and actions creates a force that will react accordingly. It can almost be described as an energy force. Doing bad deeds creates bad Karma and will show itself in your life. It is deeply similar to Newtons 3rd law of Motion.
And speaking of Newtons 3rd Law of Motion……
Mana is Newtons 3rd Law
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Mana is Magic
Magic can be defined as having the power to use supernatural forces to affect the course of actions or events.
Mana is all of the above.
Mana is Magic
Magic can be defined as having the power to use supernatural forces to affect the course of actions or events.
So, now that we know what Mana is….. What is Magick?
The type of Magic(k) we speak about, is never of the illusion type. It’s the kind the Eagles sang about in their song “Witchy Woman”. It is the attempt to create or change ones own life. This is usually done through actions and rituals.
The word Magic has a kind of a mysterious origin. The word most likely comes from the Persian word Magus (Magi plural) who were Persian Priests and most likely the same as the biblical magi who were mysterious traveling priests from the East. You may know them as The 3 Wise Men who brought gifts to Mary when Jesus was born.
Magick was made popular by Aleister Crowley who is associated with occultism in the 20th Century. He considered magick to be “anything that moves a person close to fulfilling their ultimate destiny”. It is typically presumed that the K was added to differentiate from illusion Magic (card tricks and rabbits out the hat). There are also ancient texts showing the word spelled with a K in numerous ways. It was possibly a way for Crowley to bring the word back to its original meaning.
It is the Mana in a flower that makes you reach out and touch it. It is the Mana in the mountains that bring tears to your eyes without asking permission. Mana is what resides in your lucky socks or your go to outfit. Mana is that je ne sais quoi that you can feel in your soul.
Mana is also what is being drained from you when you’re an asshole to someone just because YOU are having a bad day and then come home feeling depleted. (and its okay, all us have those moments)
So this is why we use the word. For us, Mana is the main ingredient to our Spirituality. The rituals we perform are like a recipe we follow to increase and strengthen our Mana. Magic(k), is the miracle that our Mana creates. It is an expression of our Mana..
Written By: Amanda Sanchez