Learn Your Magic Before You Need It

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I get messages from people on various social platforms who need some sort of magical assistance, and the conversation always goes something like this:

• Them: Can you please help me I’m having a problem with [insert crisis thing here]
• Me: I’d be happy to offer some suggestions, what’s going on?
• Them: [lots of really big details that tell me this is something major]
• Me: Wow, ok. You could try [X, Y, or Z magical solutions]
• Them: How do I do that?
• Me: Well, before you [X, Y, or Z] I’d recommend first you need to [beginner-level magical stuff]
• Them: How do I do that?
• Me: Um, what magical stuff have you done so far?
• Them: Nothing
• Me: I mean, what’s your experience level with spellwork
• Them: None
• Me: …

And that’s where things generally derail, because as helpful as I try to be, I can’t (and won’t) attempt to teach someone everything I’ve learned – especially when that involves some not-beginner level principles – over nearly four decades in a 20-minute DM conversation. Often, people wait until things get really, really bad… and then when they don’t know how to fix the problem, that’s when they turn to spellwork.

A somewhat similar analogy: you’re hosting a birthday party in two hours, it’s your job to bake a cake from scratch, and not only do you not know what ingredients to use, you also aren’t even sure how to turn on the oven. You can call your mom, sure… but if you’ve never baked anything, she’s going to have a hell of a time explaining to you how to fold batter, whisk eggs into peaks, and all the other things that involve more than just “dump shit in a bowl.”

So rather than wait until Crisis Mode is Activated, I’d suggest that you want to start learning some of the general principles of your particular flavor of magic now, instead of waiting until you need them. Study basic concepts and fundamentals, like the idea of the Doctrine of Signatures, basic correspondences, and the four elements, and how these things play into magic. Learn about the different phases of the moon and what they mean, brush up on some key herbs and crystals you might find useful in the future, and the concepts behind ritual and spell construction. Read about things like grounding, centering, and shielding, as well as various divination methods. Brush up on how to meditate, how to focus your intention and find your purpose, and understand the difference between manifestation and wishing. Work on honing your intuition through practices like journaling, dream analysis, and paying attention to synchronicities. And then…

Practice. You don’t have to wait for a big crisis moment to happen to practice magic – and that’s the mistake many people make. Think about some fairly routine things you’d like to have in your life right now: abundance, healthy relationships, professional success, good health, prosperity, safety at home, vibrant energy. All of these are things you can use as simple practice targets to get yourself started. Start with easy spells and rituals to build your confidence and experience, such as protection spells or healing blessings or financial stability. Make it a part of your regular routine to think of non-magical things in a magically-focused way.

And then, when you do have that big awful thing you need to deal with, and spellwork is the method you turn to for resolution, you’ll already have all those foundational principles down, and you’ll be far better equipped to take on the harder stuff and come out swinging.