Intent Is Everything

Intent is important but is an often misused word. Intent and intentions are not the same thing. The road to hell is paved with good intentions after all. Intentions are about what you mean to do; intent is more focused. Intent is what you have when you’ve followed “to know” to its logical conclusion. When all your research is complete and your Will, your Divine True Will is completely clear.

A clear intent is important in any working. If there are muddy areas, parts that are not well thought out and planned for or darker motivations that perhaps you haven’t been entirely honest with yourself about, your working will become a mess of confusion. Personally, it means nothing to me if you have those darker motivations, a balanced person will acknowledge and work with them after all. Just know that if you’re ashamed of them or try to repress them, they’ll have power over you. Your spell workings are yours and yours alone, you do not need anyone else’s approval or good opinion (unless you are initiated into a Traditional Wiccan coven which will make a difference, although, you should be talking to your High Priestess and High Priest before you cast any spells). Be completely and brutally honest with yourself before you begin anything.

Someone once said to me “If your intent is pure then that’s the best you can do”. It struck me then as incredibly naive and terribly fluffy. What we were talking about was dealing with spirits of another culture and the strongest person present was adamant that they had to conform to her personal rules of conduct. Pure intent or not, this was going to end badly without some serious understanding of what those spirits considered to be good and bad manners, forms of address and making an effort to know how they operated in the world. But unfortunately, this type of thinking still seems to prevail. Many of the lighter Wiccan 101 books suggest and some even state this silly idea. If your intent is pure that’s fine, but it is not justification for plain arrogance or laziness. It is not the best you can do, it is a beginning. Do your homework. Do some research. Find out what is required and what you need to know before you begin.

Debbie Dawson, The Common Sense Spell Book

Be Careful What You Wish For Because You Just Might Get It.

When you decide you want to cast a spell you need to know what your purpose is. “Oh,” I hear you say. “That’s easy, I want more money, or a job, or the perfect lover.”

Easy is it? Really? So how much money are you wanting? Where do you want it to come from? Are you prepared to pay it back later on? Do you need it or just want it? Have you tried all the mundane channels first?

What seems straight-forward and simple on the surface is usually very different in reality. A successful spell needs to be specific. All points covered. All true motivations for the spell uncovered. And there’s the rub. How often do you know what your true, deep down motivations really are?

To Know of the Four Pillars of Magic is extremely important at this stage of your spell planning. There are many questions that you need to be sure you can answer truthfully.

What is my desired outcome? Exactly what is it that you are casting this spell for? Be specific, you need to be able to clearly visualise the end result. Half-baked, spur of the moment spells have a tendency to turn out differently from what you hoped or expected. Be realistic too, don’t go aiming for something that is ridiculously impossible. You will never sprout physical wings and fly to the moon, but you can travel there in pathworkings.

How will my desired outcome happen? Again, be specific. If you’re wanting money, will that come from a pay rise? Will it come from a gambling win? Will it come from a favourite wealthy old aunt who unexpectedly dies for no apparent reason? All of these things need to be considered, planned for and taken into account. Just like electricity or water, the magic takes the path of least resistance, so the path must be clear and ready for it. A disclaimer tacked on the end of it isn’t going to make up for a lack of research and forethought. How much do you want? Do you have any unpaid bills that you’ve forgotten about that may turn up just after you get your money?

How will I know if my spell is successful? Some results are clear and obvious, but others are not. When you are considering how you want your outcome to occur, it pays to also set a clear indication of success or failure. With a money spell, receiving money from a pay rise or gambling win is a clear result, but what about something like protection or cleansing? How will you know?

What are my true motivations for this? Deep down, where we tend to hide stuff even from ourselves, are you sure of the real reasons behind wanting or feeling you need this outcome? Are you sure that there isn’t some selfish, childish, whiny little voice saying “I want” or perhaps you’re wanting revenge for a slight against you? I’m not saying this needs to stop you from doing the spell but you need to know your true motivations before starting.

If this goes ahead, what are the long-term implications or consequences? The smallest stone thrown into a pond creates ripples that extend outwards from the initial point of impact. You need to consider, very carefully, how achieving your outcome will affect your life and the lives of those around you.

I cast a spell in a moment of anger. I wanted my (then) husband to understand the value of money. He was the stay-at-home parent who seemed to go through all the money I earned faster than I earned it. What I hadn’t considered was that the only way for him to learn the value of money was to have to be responsible for it all himself. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me when I left him 3 weeks later, but it was. He had to learn it after that— he didn’t have me to pay for everything. It was a foolish spell, cast without thought for the implications. I’m not blaming my marriage breakup on it, that had been coming for a while, but I believe that it gave me the final push to go.

Think of the butterfly effect— the theory that a butterfly flapping its wings can create a tropical storm half a world away. Will your spell have that same effect? It sounds like a bit of an exaggeration, but you never know how big the snowball will get when you start it down the hill.

The intention here amongst my mixed metaphors isn’t to frighten you away from casting spells. My intention is for you to be sure that this spell is what you want and that you’re prepared for any consequences before you begin. Too many times I’ve heard stories from those who’ve made a huge magical mistake. There was the lady who performed a love spell. She’d fallen madly in love with a chap who didn’t know she existed. She did a love spell to make him love her and the immediate result was that they were married. Unfortunately, it took 13 years of physical, mental and verbal abuse before she was finally able to tear herself away from him. This kind of thing is one of the many reasons people will tell you to be careful of love spells. Many spells from books or the internet will have some kind of disclaimer on the end. Something like “should my spell cause harm to any, let it dissipate without effect”. Or worse still, “in no way will this spell reverse, or place upon me any curse!”
I find these disclaimers tacked on like an afterthought to be a waste of time. They set you up for failure. If you have done your homework and been specific in all the aforementioned areas there is no need for them. They create the doubt or disbelief that will cause failure.

If your spell is able to reverse or curse you, then again, you haven’t done the work. It’s your own fault and the price you pay for a half-baked planning session. Saying these words will not have any effect on the ‘Powers that Be’ who decide such things (be it natural laws of cause and effect or a Karmic Court).

Debbie Dawson, The Common Sense Spell Book