Why Your Intention Matters

Whether you are working with a spirit companion or performing a ritual by yourself, your intention matters. Here’s why.

As I say in all my ritual guides, you must have an intention before performing ANY ritual.

If you have done anything in life, from Magick to having a relationship to going to the grocery store, you have made an intention. Even if you are not cognizant of it, the intent to do something precedes your action.

Even though there is scientific evidence contrary to this, when performing a task, such as a ritual, thought comes before action. For example, if you decide to perform a complex ceremonial ritual, you must think through the steps beforehand, otherwise you’ll end up somewhere you did not intend to go in your ritual. Small reactions, like clicking a blip on a computer screen, can be unintentional. In other words, we are not so different than the moths that fly into lamps over and over.

For the big stuff, though, we must have intent before action.

If you have been following my blog for any amount of time, you know that I try to use science to back up anything I claim. This is not because science is needed to “prove” Magick exists. It doesn’t. The reason I cite studies is because it makes the information palatable for people who do not necessarily buy into Witchcraft and the Magickal practice.

What Are Intentions?

Intentions are a lot like goals. Goals can be defined as “a place or a thing that takes a process to get to or achieve.” That is a simplified explanation, but it works.

Where goals differ from intentions is that intentions are energetic. You can write down goals, like I want to vacation in Maui before I’m 40. That is a fine enough goal, and even one I had for myself once upon a time.

But, intentions are lived actions.

Intentions are felt. Intentions are forethought. Intentions are energy. An intention is not something you say and leave for the future to decide for you. Intentions are thought-energy brought to the reality in front of you.

One of my favorite things to say about Magick is that it is the unconscious made conscious. Through Magick, we bring the inner thoughts and desires of our spirit and articulate them through action. And what did I say preceded action in Magick?

That’s right; intention.

Your intention will dictate the way your energy flows. Through spells and rituals, we open channels for Magick to flow through. And with our intention, we aim that energy through those channels so that it will impact the change that we are after.

Think of it this way: the spell or ritual you perform is the barrel of the gun. The bullet inside the chamber is the action you are articulating from your subconscious. The target at your shooting range is the destination.

So what’s left? The intention.

In this metaphor, your intention is the process of aiming your bullet through the barrel of the gun and at the bullseye of your target. Without the intention, nothing else works. Sure, you can shoot your gun without aiming. But, what are the odds you will actually hit the bullseye? Practically zero.

How Do You Craft an Intention?

There is no Magick formula for crafting the perfect intention. Nor is there a perfect intention. What makes an intention work is specificity.

Going back to goals for a second, it was found that setting specific goals set people up in a way that gave them a higher chance of success in those goals.

So, since goals and intentions are similar, as previously established, why wouldn’t work for intentions, too?

When you are writing your intentions (which I hope you do, especially if you have not been practicing long), you need to be specific. And I will give you one right example and one wrong example, starting with the negative.

Say you want to perform a wealth ritual. Everyone needs more money, right? You sit down at your little altar, you light some candles, you organize your crystals—you be a good little Witch with all his/her Witchy fixings. And now you are ready for your intention. And you say, “I want more money.”

That is about the most vague and, simultaneously, wrong way to state your intention. First off, you give no pathway for the energy to help you in your pursuit of more money. How would you take action to achieve this intention. You want more money, but you do not give a way for yourself to make or earn that money.

Secondly, why do you want this money? Do you have a good reason? Will your home be repossessed without it? Obviously, you do not need to be in such dire straits for a Wealth Magick spell to work, but you need a reason. This is because Magick requires energy. And when you have a reason, you are most likely emotional about said reason. Thus, the energy can go into your channel and propel you to your desired goal of “more money”.

Lastly, you give no limit on how much money you want. Sure, we’d all like an infinite amount of cash at our fingertips. But, how could you possibly craft a spell with that much power? Odds are, you cannot. So, you need to have a sum in mind.

So, let’s end this with a well-crafted intention that corrects all the mistakes of our vague one.

You are at your altar. You are ready. Your candles are flickering and glinting off your crystals. You have Magick in your mind, body, and soul. You feel clear, calm, and motivated. Now, you are ready for your good intention.

So, you say, “I want to earn $20,000 more this year by getting a promotion at my job through hard work and extra hours because I want to move my children into a private school because that will set them up for success later in life.”

That’s a good intention. You have your amount ($20,000). You have your pathway for action (promotion through hard work and picking up extra shifts). And you have your reasoning (affording private school and the success of your children).

It’s all there. Everything you need for a ritual to work in a single-sentence intention.

I hope you learned something about intention. And about Magick, and how we can back-up Magick with science. So, go forth, write your intention, do your Magick, and, last of all, discover your spirit.

Love + Blessings

Laci

If you are practicing alone, I urge you to look into the Mysticmagicks Facebook Group. It is full of practicing witches and spirit keepers looking to help others.

If you would like to try working with a spirit companion, you should look at my stores. I have everything you need to begin.