Conversation Pit 004: Creatives as Magicians
What does it mean to make magic?
I feel like magic is treated as some vague, 'woo woo' term. I think it’s more productive to approach it through a Jungian lens.
The practice of magic consists in making what is not understood understandable in an incomprehensible manner. ~Carl Jung, The Red Book, Page 314.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea of creatives being modern-day magicians. It’s our job to manifest the obscure and unknown into something understandable.
I recently re-read King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. I wanted to brush up on my knowledge of the various archetypes and, more importantly, their ‘Shadows’.
The Magician archetype is “an initiate of secret and hidden knowledge of all kinds … All knowledge that takes special training to acquire is the province of the Magician energy.”
Isn’t that what we do? We learn art direction, interior design, pottery, DJing, styling, etc.
Once we get to a certain level of prowess, the “uninitiated” stare at us in wonder.
How do we make magic? Is there a process to bringing ideas to life?
The answer is yes—through alchemy. Creative alchemy.
Like magic, alchemy is typically seen as 'woo woo' and not practical. But let’s be honest with ourselves here. When has creativity ever been practical?
Alchemists wanted to transform everyday things into gold—aren’t we trying to do the same? We take base ideas, work our ‘magic,’ and turn them into experiences, objects, or feelings that make people feel special.
This skill isn’t gained overnight.
Like the magicians of old, we go through our own ‘initiation.’ We often start as apprentices, either literally or figuratively. We learn the fundamental “spells” of our craft(s). We study the basic principles of design, study under masters (directly or indirectly), and gradually develop our own taste, voice, and capability.
This journey often entails periods of frustration, ‘eureka’ type moments that feel like inspiration from a divine power, and countless hours of practice.
And like these magicians, we find ourselves developing rituals—specific practices to enter altered states of consciousness (flow state).
It could be a certain playlist that tells our brain it’s time to create, or perhaps Morning Pages that clear our brains of gunk. These aren’t just habits. They’re modern incarnations of ancient practices that help us access deeper states of consciousness and creativity.
Through these rituals and practices, we tap into something larger than ourselves – what Jung called the collective unconscious. When we create, we're not just expressing personal visions; we're channeling universal symbols and archetypes that resonate across cultures and time.
Maybe this is why art doesn’t need to be in the same language for one to resonate with it. Art has soul—something that transcends any human-made meaning.
I think this is what it means to make magic. It’s not about turning copper into gold or casting spells. It’s about the alchemy of human experience.
When we create, we’re not just making things. We’re participating in an ancient tradition of transformation, one that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary and makes the invisible visible. That's not 'woo woo'—that's real magic.