I manipulate the cosmos to improve my life.

That is the common application of so-called magick. It is a regard for spirituality you will find apparent from Tibetan Monks to Native Americans. Influencing others' lives without their permission carries serious ethical implications and can be extremely dangerous to the wielder, therefore it is seldom practised in such a manner with more enlightened cultures.

Satanists and the like are not recognised by the magick community; they are often nothing more than disgruntled, confused, and repressed Christians with a penchant for Heavy Metal, Goth, and the desire to rebel.

I believe "religion" consists of recognising where we come from, what we're here for, what happens beyond that, and paying homage to the wonders of existence. Ultimately, this belief is unique to each of us, regardless of what we have been told to follow by others; nobody actually sees the profound the same way.

To deal with the concept - as a safety mechanism - humans attribute this profundity in terms they can comprehend: something sentient like a form of being or animal. Witches will relate the various aspects of the seasons and natural phenomena with metaphorical beings of mythology; they are pagan practitioners.

I am not a witch. What I am has no real name. I am not a fan of organised religion, and I do not subscribe to this need to identify the profound with anything tangible. Rather, I believe that our lives consist of bioelectric impulses, which are contained in these bodies to gather information and to apply what we've learned. Using catalysts such as colour may affect deliberate applications, hopefully for the better. There's nothing mysterious about what I do in this era of humanity.

However, electricity is all around us, and as porous beings of mostly water, we may extend our influence and allow our energy to mingle with others and the atmosphere. When enough people focus close to a certain way, the energy can manifest into a powerful force, which might become identified as "god."

Likewise, if enough people believe in something as "Satan," then they're transferring their negativity into a single, powerful force, which - out of their own faith in it - they may fearfully welcome its radiating influence on their performance. So you see, you can blame something else on your actions, but it'll come back to haunt you anyway.

I live in a community which accepts all manner of faiths, most notably Jews, Christians, Hindi, Muslim, Buddhists, Santeria, and something I call Novena Catholic.

My friends and family respect my life as my own to lead, as it should be with everybody. We all have our paths, and part of our test is to respect peoples' beliefs and judge them by their performance in this life and how they treat others.

This is the short version, of course.