In many traditions (Hawaiian Huna, Faery Wicca, and others, including Starhawk's (the Spiral dance)) the mind is viewed as having three parts.These three parts are the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, and the divine.
The conscious mind is that portion of your mind that you are using right now, and throughout most of your waking hours, it is often called the Talking Self.
The subconscious mind is your your dreaming mind, in charge of emotion, your memories, and sensation. It is often called the Younger Self.
Lastly there is the divine. This aspect of self is difficult to explain using psychological concepts. Often called the High Self, this is our spirit, the Divine spark within. It is seperate from physical reality, from time, and from space. The High Self is neither male nor femal, but both. The High Self is not just our sould, but our life, that part of us which is tied to the underlying powers of the universe, it literally IS the Goddess and God, just as they are present in all things. Hard concept to grasp, yet I feel it is the truth that underlies all.

Now the importance of this is that the three aspects of self must work together in order to work magick. The Talking Self is not capable of communicating effectively with the High Self, the Younger Self must be used as an intermediary.This is the reason why most would be workers of magick fail, and why most prayer is ineffective. There is no direct link from the Talking Self to the High Self. often aspiring workers of magick fail to even include the High Self, or divine in their workings, attempting to use the unaided power of intellect, this fails basically because it is simply ego talking to itself, achieving nothing.

Ideally, magick works like this: the Talking Self chooses a magick that will fulfill a need. Then the Talking Self gathers energy and communicates the need fulfilled with Younger Self via visualizations. The whole point of rituals and spells is to communicate with the Younger Self in terms it understands. The Younger Self does not communicate in terms of words, but rather in emotions, images, and memories, hence the need for ritual to aid the Talking Self in visualizing the need fulfilled. The Younger Self then 'boosts' the power and sends it along with a clear image of the need fulfilled to the High Self. The High Self then chooses how to fulfill the need and uses the power to manifest the result.