This Is Why You Did All That Spellwork

None of us wanted to be here, but here we are.

We’re responding in different ways. Some of us are planning to actively resist. Some are working on political organization, to do better in the next election. I’m not alone in working to change the culture so that electing someone like Trump becomes unthinkable (a tall order, but it’s what I’m called to do, so it’s what I’m doing). And some of us are just trying to survive.

It’s not what we wanted, but it is what we prepared for. This is why we did all that spellwork. This is why we’ve been working magic every full moon for the past several years, even if we didn’t have a need that was so great it required magic to fill.

And so we’re ready.

Working magic is like riding a bike

I’ve been practicing magic in various forms for over 30 years (and longer than that if you include some magic I didn’t realize was magic at the time). A few years ago I had an urgent need pop up. But when I tried to improve the situation with magic, I got very weak results.

I was out of practice. I was busy with writing and leading a CUUPS group and working a paying job and trying to have a life. I hadn’t forgotten about magic, but it was pretty much restricted to that line from “The Charge of the Goddess”: “whenever you have need of anything…” I hadn’t had any great needs – and when I had, I mainly addressed them with mundane action plus prayer, not with spellcasting.

Working magic is like riding a bike. You can not do it for years and years and then when you hop back on, off you go.

Except you’re not as fast. You can’t take the curves as sharply. Hit a pebble in the road and you struggle to maintain your balance. And threading your bike around obstacles and barely slowing down? Forget it. You’re on the brakes early and often and sometimes you have to get off and walk.

I remembered how to do magic. I just couldn’t do it very well.

The need for regular magical practice

And so I started working magic at every full moon.

Sometimes I had a pressing need. Most times I didn’t and so I worked a spell to enhance one of my long term goals, or occasionally, something I just wanted. I learned a painful lesson early on my magical journey about using magic for trivial matters, but if you really want something it’s not trivial.

Occasionally I did a major ritual, but most months I didn’t spend a ton of time on this. I can cast a batch of sigils in well under an hour. I’ll be honest – a few months I forgot about it until the night of the full moon and I ended up doing some impromptu visualizations.

But I’ve been working magic at every full moon consistently for the past several years. I still occasionaly struggle to thread my metaphorical bike through metaphysical obstacles, but I have much more confidence and my results are demonstrably better. And I’ve been encouraging everyone else to do the same.

Which is a good thing, because we need magic right now.

Select a target and make it as precise as possible

The first step in solving a problem is to define the problem. Most times, simply defining the problem honestly and precisely will show you what needs to be done. You still have to do the work to fix it, but at least you know what to do.

It’s the same thing with magic. The first step is selecting the proper target – what are you going to work magic for? The more precise your target, the better odds you have of getting what you actually want and not something that meets your literal specification but doesn’t fill your need.

Political magic is up there with weather magic for the most difficult to do well. Most political goals are rather vague. In my last post I talked about “building a compassionate and multicultural society” – what exactly does that mean? What laws need to be passed? What enforcement mechanisms need to be changed? What hearts and minds need to be changed? “Building a compassionate and multicultural society” is a wonderful vision to inspire us to keep working and moving forward, but that vision has to be supported with concrete goals and actions.

In 2017 many people started a magical working to “bind Trump.” I supported their goals but declined to participate, because I thought it was doomed to fail – I wanted to put my time and effort on things I thought had a better chance of succeeding.

As bad as Trump’s first presidency was, it could have been much worse. When he was convicted on 34 felony charges earlier this year I thought I might have been wrong about the binding. But now he’s back in power, with all his harmful ideas, policies, and minions intent on carrying them out. Whatever the “bind Trump” magic accomplished, it wasn’t enough.

Combine magic with tangible action

So if big political magic is unlikely to be successful, what should we do?

We should do what we need to do to take care of ourselves, our families, and our communities. What do you need to make sure you have a steady income, a solid home, and decent medical care? If you aren’t safe where you live, what do you need to be able to move somewhere better?

I’m in strong agreement with Jason Miller here: make a plan that doesn’t require magic to work, then use magic to improve the odds that it will work. That problem at work I wrote about in September? As recently as two weeks ago it looked like it was going to come back, despite the tangible things I did to fix it. But the magic worked, and now it’s permanently solved.

Politically, “binding Trump” may have some benefits, but it’s not going to change his heart or drive him out of office (and if he leaves for whatever reason, we get Vance, who will be worse). But magic to overturn illegal executive orders? That stands a reasonable chance of working. Magic to block the worst of his cabinet appointments? It didn’t work the last time, but it came close with DeVos, and could be successful this time.

How about some magic to identify and promote good and effective progressive candidates for 2026 and 2028?

Whatever your goals, whatever your targets, this is the time to use your magic to protect yourself and to make the world a better place.

This is why you worked all those spells month after month after month.

What if you haven’t been doing all that spellwork?

I know not everybody has been practicing regularly. If you haven’t done all that spellwork, what can you do now?

A quote of uncertain origins says “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago – the second best time to plant a tree is now.”

You don’t have to spend hours and hours before every full moon trying to figure out something to work magic for – your needs are right in front of you. You don’t have to wonder if you have enough passion around your target to raise the necessary energy – you just have to channel what you’re feeling right now into a productive working.

The next full moon is this coming Friday, November 15, at 3:28 PM CST. Using the traditional “three nights of the full moon” that makes tomorrow, Friday, or Saturday nights perfect for whatever you want to do.

And of course, you don’t have to wait for a full moon to work magic – that’s just when it’s easiest.

The main thing is to do something – ideally something tangible supported by something magical. And then keep doing it. Learn from your mistakes and learn from your successes. Make necessary adjustments. Stay with it – your magic will improve, just like your bicycling skills will improve when you ride several times a week instead of several times a decade.

Because we are not helpless and we are not hopeless. We are magical beings, and if we use that magic wisely, we can do great things.

Including living well over the next four years, and beyond.