I think a lot of this will be personal perspective. I've had the same job for 20 years, and in my mind for me, wealth is based on how hard I work, and what financial decisions I make. So for me, wealth doesn't really come into play with magick (not that I'm rich, FAR from it, but most of my financial problems were my own creation). Same as I would never wish for telekinesis to move a cup sitting on the kitchen counter. I have muscles and bones that can do that. That's not to say I look down on anyone who is interested in wealth magick. I only have a negative view of lazy people who think they're going to say a few words and a demon (or jinn or whatever) will pop up and vomit money bags into their laps. That's so unrealistic (tho if someone gets that to work, HOOK US UP).
This has all made me think about my original answer more. I would still say "knowledge", but how to define that is tricky because I keep falling back on subjective terms. I want to know "secrets", I want to know what the fabric of reality truly is, what other beings are out there, etc. What is the spark that turns us into thinking beings, rather than just being bags of meat. Are there other types of entities in other dimensions? If so, what are their lives like? Steve Savedow said in an interview that he thinks the demons that are evoked into the triangle has real physical bodies in their own dimension and that we essentially, forcefully whisk their soul out of their body into our own plane of existence. That is such an intriguing thought. That changes "demons" from vague forms of energy we can maybe manipulate into actual beings which may have their own wants and desires. I want to peak behind the curtain, so to speak.
Some of this for me came about due to experimenting with psychedelics. SWIM (for those not familiar, that means Someone Who Isn't Me, wink wink) did a 12 hour DMT trip many years ago. There were ... things, beings, whatever. Is that just a brain on chemicals? I dunno. It's possible, or maybe psychedelics open doors for some people they can't open by other means. All I know is, people talk about god like beings, etc. Not in my trip! I heard a vaguely female entity get very exasperated with me and tell me to STOP going there. It called me an idiot, even! Was that my own brain or was that something else? If something else, why wasn't I supposed to be there? More importantly, are there other ways to converse with those beings, if they exist?!
I suspect I know the answer (these beings are real), but maybe they are self manifested due to our own personal "energy" or whatever you want to call it. I just want to know "the truth", even tho that "truth" might only be relevant to me.
Oh yeah, while I'm no occult expert, I've definitely "been around the block" enough to know that no matter how bad I want it, money bags aren't gonna be falling into my lap. Whether it's a friend doing it for me, or me working on it myself, I use magick to secure jobs, business opportunities etc. I'm still fairly young, so seeking a higher paying job is always an option for me. As is moving abroad, and other such "improving my station" options. So it's definitely going to require my skill, patience and (begrudgingly) some hard work, but there's always opportunity for magick to help. Even if I was in a job for 20 years, I think I'd be using magick to have my work noticed and appreciated, open up space for promotions etc.
Though to be fair, in the next 5-7 years I want to transition from working to other sources of passive income (developing apps, starting a hot sauce business
) and I know road opening, money drawing, and wealth and success magick in general is definitely going to help me. It won't get me the money by itself, but it will help me have an easier time getting the money, which I am more than capable of.
Like, I have no issue with anyone thinking they can do it by themselves and therefore have no use of magick in that regard. Heck, I even understand why people put it below the pursuit of divine power/enlightenment. Who needs money when you're a God. But for me, while I'm young and still concerned with material comforts, it's valuable to me.
I fully agree with the notion that these types of material pursuits are within the "lower" realms of magick. But fuck man, it's been working alright for me, and if I can be a little more comfortable and also have the ability to work on my hobbies and projects that help others by being financially secure, then I'm definitely not gonna say no.
Because for me, my opinion is that once I'm dead, if there's existence beyond that... I'll have all the time I need to work on approaching divinity, enlightenment, and knowledge... haha.
I think I've dreamt of machine elves before (before I even knew what the occult, psychedelics, DMT etc were) and I'm really quite interested in having a DMT trip to see what the fuss is all about. I can definitely believe what people say about it, I just want to experience it for myself, because (maybe naively) I feel like I would be able to make some sense/assign some meaning/answer some of my personal philosophical mysteries through that type of experience.
I like to believe there's more to life and conciousness than just the material reality... but while material reality is all I know, I'd like it to be comfortable...
