[quote=Francis Melville]Getting involved is easy; you just have to say "I'm in." It's a choice, an act of will, a statement of intent. Involvement is the first key to magic. Once you are involved in something, you become a necessary part of it - it includes you. The more you involve yourself, the greater the reciproval effect. It is, therefore, wise to acquaint yourself with the basic rules of the game before leaping into the fray.
Once you reach a certain stage of involvement, there can be no return to a state of blissful ignorance. High magic reveals awsome dimensions to life that cannot be safely aprehended by weak or fearful individuals - not because these dimensions are of themselves frightening or malign, but because they deman a great deal of self-mastery and the capacity to accept profound truth. Dabblers who paddle in the waters of magic can find themselves getting deeper than they had planned, sucked under by chimerical quicksand or swept along by powerful hidden currents. The aspiring mage should know how to swim before risking these deep and potentially treacherous waters.
High magic is both a science and an art. Its roots are ancient, but its techniques continue to evolve and adapt to the conditions of all ages. The aim of magic is to effect changes in both inner and outer reality through the awareness and manipulation of unseen - therefore occult - but powerful forces.[/quote]