why dont you start with a culture(s) your interested in.
asian, african, european,jewish,native american etc...
find out what their magickal pratices are and try them out.
i also recommend liber MMM in pete carrols book liber null and psychonauts.

i personally reccomened my favorite paradighms-toltec and norse

I found that I didn't really "get" magick until I joined a mystery school. First-hand instruction can really help you establish a foundation for magick that you don't really get so much from books. Now that I have that foundation, I'm looking to books and understanding them better.

lol

"Most people are compoundably stupid, weak, and militantly ignorant. "

That similar to my personal philsophy, although the words I use are lazy, ignorant and selfish. Even myself. which I work constantly at not to be. woo!!!

hey Rodan...some of the links in the margins of that page a pretty interesting too!

Tango Victor Mike bro....

(thank you very much)

Thanks for all you're help. I really appriciate it.
Sean, I personally don't use the word 'magickian.' I always find that it attracts the wrong sort of crowd, and people who simply think I'm trying to be an illusionist. While I've not found a term to use yet, I just refer to myself as a chaosist, if that makes ANY sense. It's simple, understandable, and completely confusing to those who I'd rather not talk to anyway.
I've learned that I enjoy the freedom of chaos majik, and the knowledge it requires me to study. While deciding on chaos majik, I studied other paths--such as druidism--and found that I disliked all the extra bits they added, and that their methods simply didn't work for me. I prefer to go with the flow, and follow the natural currents of the universe. I find that such things as wands, athames, cauldrons and all those things aren't needed to preform anything. The crystals, herbs and other ingredients used in other things are needed because they produce a certain energy good for certain workings. Besides that, they also have certain desired effects on the body when used properly.
I find that I enjoy working with my mind---alot--and grounding my own workings in simple everyday things. For an example, I worked a simple 'invisibility' spell and grounded it in the air around me.
When I say 'invisibility,' it's more like people simply don't notice me. I'm not acutally invisible, but it's as good as invisible, because people fail to notice I'm there in the first place. They'll cut a wide berth around me, but don't really notice that they're doing so. It's fun in crowds, because it makes it easier to maneuver.
The problem? I've only been able to work it on myself and one other person. It also grants a tremendous headache if I don't anchor it in something.
I've tried divination with water--by gazing into it. I simply filled a large metal bowl with water, and gazed into it with all of me--not just my eyes. I get an array of colors, like a thick fluffy cloud, and images cutting through the mass, but it's hard to understand, and the images arn't always clear.
I'm not sure what it is I do, but I've seemed to have created my own little method of majik. *shrugs*
=) You all really helped.