Magic Intention: How do I Choose the Right One?

When beginning a magical practice, much is made of your “spell intentions.”  And yet, when performing spell work, it is often the beginning witch’s last priority.

New practitioners often get hung up on the particulars of a spell.  “What if I don’t have mugwort?”  or “Oops, I said the incantation wrong!”  But modern witchcraft generally regards these tiny details as meaningless when compared to your spell intentions.

(In fact, worrying about spell particulars is perhaps the most common mistake beginners make).

So why are spell intentions so important?  And how do you get them “right”?  What happens if you don’t?

Let’s get into all that today.

(And if you’re new to spell craft, check out Magickal Spot’s School of Metaphysical Arts class, Witchcraft 101: Discover the Magic in You).

Introduction

The mind has a massive influence on reality – that’s a fact. An intention is nothing but a thought that leads us to action. It is a conscious impulse directed within which the seed of reality is present.

The intention, in itself, is a thought that is filled with all its power when it is realized through the associated emotional charge.

The thought associated with emotion gives power to your intention, which we can imagine as a very precise laser beam that centers its objective with a negligible margin of error.

The thought filled with a desire also gives rise to an intense dispersive light that illuminates evenly so much; the intention, instead, through the emotion is a directed, precise light.

What is the magic intention?

An intention is a declaration of intent, a prayer, a purpose. It is all that gives meaning to a given experience; “What are we doing with a given thing?”. It answers the question, “What do I want to achieve”.

My example: “I’m studying witchcraft because I can learn topics that interest me, from spiritualism to white magic spells and rituals.”

With what intention? Deepen self-knowledge and gain awareness of the limiting programs and beliefs found in my unconscious. If I realize it, I can get rid of it by allowing free will to really express itself. This would be the “what I want to achieve”.

Types of magic intentions

The psychology behind the intention. How does it work?

To sum up – our thoughts can influence our lives. If we no longer want to live a certain experience or if we want to start living a new kind of experience, we must “intentionally” send our thoughts in a new direction.

The intention is to direct a thought towards the desired direction. Thoughts have power. Learning to be careful is essential.

Learn not to be driven by the mind and river of thoughts that flow into it, but to use the mind to think and think when we need it. During the day, thousands of ideas pass through our minds.

When similar thoughts are repeated, they manifest themselves in the form of a feeling, which in turn becomes an emotion and manifests itself with an initially unconscious physiological reaction and then with a conscious one.

The result can be an impact on physical and emotional health.

This is the point of arrival. A thought that becomes matter.

A good example of working with an intention is when you create a sigil.

Below is an example of a sigil for power, I’ve created.

Directing your energy.

The reason there is so much emphasis placed on the concept of spell intentions is that these intentions direct your energy.  Theoretically (at least according to modern magical philosophy) this energy impacts or shifts the fabric of your reality.  

In this understanding of “magical mechanics,” the tools you use to cast the spell are really just solid, consensus-reality objects that represent these intentions, thereby connecting your spiritual, non-physical efforts to your current plane of existence.   

Deep stuff!

But it’s the mental imagining of the outcome that moves spiritual “mountains” and clears obstacles that stand in the way of your highest goals.

In fact, for this reason, many experienced practitioners see no need for tools at all.  (Although that doesn’t stop me from amassing an ungodly collection of them myself).

Setting clear spell intentions.

For all the reasons listed above, setting clear intentions is the best way to shape your life with your magic.

So, before you design a spell (or select a pre-written spell), consider the following things?

-What do I hope the outcome of this spell will be?

-How will I feel if I actually get what I want?  Will this really make my life and the lives of the people around me better?  

-Am I trying to shortcut?  In other words, are there mundane, real-world efforts I need to make to get what I want/need?

-What spiritual obstacles stand in the way of my goal?  Do I need to clear negative energy that is messing with my confidence?  Find a job that better aligns with my spiritual needs?  Find more like-minded friends to keep me motivated and engaged with my goals?

It’s common sense, but we often forget:

In order to fill a gap in your life, you first have to figure out what’s missing.

What to do when the universe makes a joke at your expense.

So here’s the funny thing about magic:  It’s not actually about the outcome of the spell you cast.

That’s my personal opinion, and it’s a controversial one.  But I stand by it, and here’s why:

The universe, or godhead, or whatever you want to call the underlying forces that direct our destiny, isn’t here to do your bidding.  It’s not your minion, and you are not its taskmaster.  (And thank goodness for that—imagine if you got exactly what you thought you wanted when you were 17).

You’re here to learn.  And when used wisely, magic is a sagacious teacher.

More often than not, what you’ll find is that when a spell hits the mark, it usually manifests in an unexpected way. 

Cast a money spell, and you may find yourself with 20 hours of overtime you hadn’t planned on. 

Cast a healing spell and you’ll get better just in time to do that big presentation at school that you were trying to avoid. 

Cast a spell for psychic awareness and you may quickly discover that you don’t actually want to know what people are thinking.

The universe is a big, mysterious place.  But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about it, it’s this: 

When it comes to your spell intentions, the universe likes nothing more than a good joke.

Final Thoughts

Thousands of thoughts pass through our minds every day, some become words, or they become something tangible and material – with which we influence the world we live in.

However, we are not aware of most of the words we say.

We are so used to talking so much, that most of the thoughts that our unconscious projects onto the screen of our mind, we transform it into words (and actions) without a filter.

A good exercise is practicing the vow of silence, even if only for one day.

Not being able to transform thought into words, with a little practice, we end up paying attention to the stream of our thoughts, our stream of consciousness realizing that most of these come to us without having been called, they are already within us, and we just need to release them.

That’s the best way to explore your inner world and your intentions and finally find the right one to make some magic happen!