Lord of Illusions:

One of the most basic tenants of my spell crafting is illusion. In fact, the reason why I refuse to use a “k” whenever spelling the term magic, besides the fact that it's pretentious and stupid, is because regardless of whether it is staged, or crafted, magic is all about manipulating your target audience into believing that you are capable of great feats. It’s a trick, a con in order to make your target fear you based on nothing more than the day-to-day mishaps that would otherwise be ignored, but when fueled by paranoia, are instead credited to the Crafter. 

In this philosophy, Anton LaVey and I are in accord. Magic is a show, it’s as much of a charade as it is a legitimate manipulation of energy in order to inflict your will on a target.

That is not to say that I have not cast baneful spells against others in the past, or that I wasn’t successful in these endeavors, as I have, and I was, only that if I can make a target believe that I’m responsible for their misfortunes, then eventually they’ll grow fearful enough that I won’t even need to lift a finger against them, as they’ll psych themselves out and cause their own calamity for me.

Magic is at it’s root a manipulation, of either the energy you summon or the mind of your targets. Put on a convincing enough show, and in their eyes, you are capable of anything.

It is in this, the control of others through nothing more than a effectively convincing facade, that we become Gods.