Agni Yoga on magic

233. One should not seek afar that which is near. What irreparable harm to humanity results from the extensive searches into magic! Instead of working to improve their consciousness, seekers limit themselves to repeating formulas of others, without any knowledge of their meaning and rhythm.

What is so inimical to evolution as the petrified formulas of magic? The astral world has been separated from the physical world most of all by the ways of magic. Of course, possession is often the result of magical invocations. Mediumism is the bedfellow of magic. The magic formulas that have been given out to the public are intentional distortions. In them some things are missing that were reserved for oral transmission.

Certainly a yogi is the very opposite of a magician. A magician stands on petrified formulas. A yogi constantly inhales the fresh new breath of Cosmos. The one is old at birth; the other is always young, throughout all changes in his life. The one attempts to strike with words not of his own making; the other smites with his free thought. The one defends himself with pitiful pinpricks; the other is shielded just by the armor of his glance. Yoga has nothing in common with magic.

-Agni Yoga