A Magickal Use For Anger

Anger. Let it go, right? A lot of modern, spiritual practices (Witchcraft and Pagan included) focus on letting anger go. But when we rush to let go of anger, we miss out on the information it’s giving us. In talking with our anger, we can find its Magickal purpose. This furthers our work and helps our own growth.

“Anger is toxic.” “Anger is useless.” “Just let it go….”

Most of the time, I agree. I was a very angry young adult–furious at the world after experiencing decades of abuse (as well as watching George Dubya steal an election). Anger was my default setting. I deliberately stayed mad at people who wronged me, thinking that letting it go meant letting them off. Eventually, all that anger left me sad and lonely as people couldn’t get close to me. Through Magickal work and plain old maturity, anger stopped being a main player in my life.

But it still happens.

Anger isn’t inherently negative. Anger is also information. It lets us know when something isn’t right. It calls attention to what needs changing or fixing. Always rushing immediately to “letting it go” denies anger the chance to do its work.

Over the weekend, I got angry. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so enraged. It was an anger that distracted me to the point that I couldn’t work. I couldn’t even sleep. The emotion wasn’t only unproductive–it was counter-productive.

I should just “let the anger go,” I thought. But how? I didn’t feel like I had the anger. I felt like the anger had me.

What was I to do with it?

1.) I acknowledged the information my anger offered.

Clearly, I still have healing to do around some past events. A LOT of healing. I added that to my task list for this upcoming eclipse.

2.) I thanked anger for appearing in the way that it did.

My need to heal would have manifested eventually. The injury in need of healing could have come through depression or illness (either spiritual or physical). Instead, it came through a series of text messages. Getting those text messages weren’t comfortable, but the person I was angry with wasn’t in the room and they wouldn’t pick up their phone when I called. I couldn’t say anything that I would later regret.

3.) I took control of the anger.

In the past, I would have held onto the anger until the other person apologized to me in the manner that I felt was appropriate. But that time may never come. And that person may never apologize in the way I think they “should.” I embraced the start and end of my anger, on my own terms–not putting it in someone else’s hands.

4.) I asked anger what I could do with it that would be productive. And I immediately got a vision of 45’s wall.

I am angry at this shutdown, this president, this idea of a physical monument to racism and classism ruining communities and natural areas.

5.) I seized my tool–my Altar wand.

I channeled every piece of that anger through the wand and faced it south–envisioning that white-hot anger knocking down the wall, brick by brick. Most of that wall is not built yet, so I was focusing on tearing down the idea of the wall.