Half Magic

Today I re-read a favorite novel from my childhood, HALF MAGIC by Edward Eager (I had totally forgotten his name, but now I totally love it.)
I didn’t remember much about HALF MAGIC except its premise –– children find a magical coin that grants all their wishes, except only by half.
What I loved about the book now, and why it has clearly stuck with me and  a few generations of readers (it’s been in print for 50 some years + “HALF MAGIC is a funny, charming, timeless book” says even The New York Times Book Review), is that one of its central theme is “you’ve got to find out the rules of your magic.”
On page 15, Jane –– who has cast the first 1/2 wish and nobody quite gets what’s happening –– is upset.  Here’s what the book says:
“if you ever had magic powers descend on you suddenly out of the blue, you’ll know how Jane felt.  … When you have magic powers and know it, it can be a fine feeling, like a pleasant tingling inside.  but in order to enjoy that tingling, you have to know just how much magic you have and what the rules are for using it.”
Reading the book at the outstanding Mary Cheney Public Library when I was old enough for a library card, something resonated inside me that’s still reverbing to this day …
What are the rules of my magic?
The children figure it out in HALF MAGIC pretty quickly –– although they get into countless shenanigans throughout with half-granted wishes –– but then (this is not a spoiler) when they decide they’ve used up their share of the magic, they leave the coin for someone else to find.  They watch as a young girl stumbles upon it ––
“Oughtn’t we to tell her the secret?” said Jane.  “About saying two times everything?”
“Nobody told us, did they?” said Mark.  “I don’t think anyone’s supposed to.”
The lesson is more than “be careful what you wish for” –– it’s “you’ve got to discover the entirely proper way of wishing as well” –– and as a hard-core, leading-edge crackpot that’s basically how I spent 90% of my time.
Both Every-Day Ordinary Magic and Extraordinary Magic is happening constantly for me (on the way to the UPS Store to mail an energy-clearing letter and gift, I got another cruise line inquiry about another DVD bulk sales).   I increasingly enjoy the Universe’s sense of humor and comic delivery.
And I really do firmly believe there ARE rules –– even if we don’t know or understand them.  [It’s called LAW of attraction after all, not “strong suggestion.”]
The better you know me, the more intimately aware you would be of the staggering number of extraordinary events that are beyond anyone’s standard for pure coincidence in my life.
And I do think I am getting increasingly better at figuring out the Operating Principals of My Magic (or just Magic in general).
If only, however, it was something as simple as wishing twice to make a thing so –– although maybe it’s so entirely simple that it’s impossible to really believe it could be so.
In any case, as I continue to crack the code, I promise to keep you posted.