The Tool User

We have already seen that intelligences besides man's are everywhere. We have also seen that some of these intelligences have powers quite beyond that of man's. Thoughtforms that can cause disease, herbs that can give luck, and animal spirits that seem to be master's of their respective spheres.

But what of man? Are we alone devoid of these extraordinary powers, doomed forever to be at the mercy of the universe. Just looking at the amazing abilities the things of this world and any others have almost can convince some that everything good and bad is totally due to some external force, that we are no more then puppets, without purpose besides what we ourselves are being used for.

But this is a falsity, a retreat by the mind close to Illumination.

For it is Man who has been given the greatest gift of all: the ability to use the powers of others in the direction of his will. For while the Devil's Bit root is said to put a stop to any evil, it is the Hoodoo man who directs it. Is it not we who summon the spirits, we who journey to commune with the Totems?

Man is not a director, but rather a conductor, guiding the forces around him to either make beautiful music or a cacophony of terror, but always relying on the musicians to make his dream reality. There is mutual respect between the conductor and the musicians, for the sound they seek to create is not possibly without their unity. But not only do we use the intelligent "tools" of this world, we can create our own, shaping the things around us into new and never before seen forms.

How else has man survived these millions of years? We are not particularly strong, nor fast, nor fearsome. We cannot fly, nor live in the water, or even in the bowels of the earth. And yet, we have some driving force, some key ingredient within our very souls that looked out upon creation and said "Yes. I can work with this." Whether with his hands, his words, or his mind, Man shall always continue to use everything at his disposal to better his own condition, but he becomes more then Man when he does this with not only the self in mind.