Magic is the art (not the science) of causing change in conformity with will.
How does it work?
A practitioner of magic works on two levels, psychological and metaphysical.
On the psychological level, magic works because the person who is the object of a spell believes in its efficacy. The witch's conscious mind and and will act upon her own unconscious mind or that of another, using the symbolic language that the unconcious mind best understands.
The unconscious mind is selective in its attention, and liguistically unsophisticated.
To tell yourself, as you go into a difficult situation, that "there is nothing to be afraid of" may have no effect at the unconscious level where your fears are rooted. In fact, there is even a possibilty that your unconscious mind will notice the word "afraid," and nothing more, so that your fear is compounded rather than diminished.
However, if instead you find a way to construct an image of courage and confidence, using non-linguistic symbols that the unconscious mind will notice and comprehend, your conscious will can exercise more power over your unconconscious sources of your emotions and behavior.
On the metaphysical level, we who practice magic believe that it works because of the way material and spiritual realities co-exist and interact.
When we cast a spell, we go between the worlds to effect changes on a spiritual place that transcends the individual personality.
This change is then be "brought through," or manifest on the physical plane, by an operation that we call "binding the spell."
A witch generally works on the psychological and metaphysical levels simultaneously. For the purposes of practical magical work, there is usually no need to belabor the distinction.
