The Law of Attraction is a Dangerous Lie

This month’s moon rituals are focused on abundance and prosperity. I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the Law of Attraction in relation to this month’s theme, since the LOA is featured most prominently when it comes to abundance and prosperity work specifically.

The law of attraction is a popular concept, with celebrity endorsements and all kinds of seminars that are built upon using the principle of the LOA to make your life more fulfilling in whatever capacity you feel you are lacking. But is this philosophy true, and is it truly helpful?

Examining the Law of Attraction

I wrote a post a little while ago about the importance of critical thinking in the intuitive arts, and how there are many half-truths being peddled that end up doing more harm than good. The law of attraction in its popular form is one of those half-truth pieces of poo. I feel it deserves its own post. So, here’s the deal.

It’s said that if you want something and set the intention that you will have it, and visualize and work hard and make sure to think positively all the time, you will get that thing you want. In nature, like attracts like, they say.

When I was really little there was this stuffed animal raffle at an away basketball game that my sister was in. I wanted this stuffed lion so bad. I visualized having it, I thought positively about it the whole game, I got my mom to enter me into the raffle, and waited as patiently as a little girl can for the raffle winners to be announced. And I was sure it was mine. Someone else won. Did I do something wrong? No. You can work hard for something, believe in it, visualize it, and still not obtain it.

This is experientially true. The purpose of this post isn’t to rationalize the reason you don’t get what you want, so I won’t go into that, but it’s important to remember that we do not always get what we want regardless of what any guru or celebrity promises and regardless of how badly we want it.

The Law of Attraction Victim Blames

For a universal law to be a law it has to be true all the time. The LOA as it is popularly understood is, demonstrably, not true all the time. The law of attraction (popularly) states that if you focus on positive thinking, positive things will happen to you, and if you focus on negative thinking, negative things will happen to you. I’m about to be very blunt, so brace yourselves. Did a crack baby not think positively enough in the womb? Did an abused child invite the abuser into their life? Did Jewish people invite the holocaust with negative thinking? Did women invite the patriarchy, did minorities invite racism?

Of course not. In this context you can see how this philosophy is at worst victim blaming, gaslighting, and atrocious. Or conversely, how would a proponent of this butchered principle explain the good things that happen to chronically pessimistic people, or depressed people, or anxious people who spend all day focused on the worst possible outcomes?

How Victim-Blaming Keeps You Hooked into the Philosophy

The blame cycle of the LOA exists to make sure that you don’t question the validity of its claims. If you don’t get what you want or if something awful happens to you, you get blamed for not practicing the LOA fully or the right way. And it’s worth considering who that really serves. It really serves the people who are doing horrible things, because it absolves them of any responsibility if the LOA is true.

This is nefarious pseudo-spirituality and pseudo-metaphysics. This is what makes it such a dangerous rabbit hole. It is the root of toxic love and light culture.

Positive Thinking vs The Law of Attraction

Positive thinking (or as I would like to consider it, having some measure of good faith in the ability to experience good things) for an individual is helpful because it is what leads to taking action. Taking action is what leads to changes and results. The faith bit is helpful because it’s the basis of hope. Results are never guaranteed. 

Ditch the shame game that is the LOA and work your will by actively committing to and going after what you want without the excess concern about whether or not you’re thinking positively enough. Make the efforts in good faith and forget the outcome. Have confidence in yourself. You can’t control outcomes, but you can influence them. You don’t need to believe in fake science or take on the baggage that comes with it. Believing in yourself, taking action, and accepting life for the crapshoot it is will get you much further with a lot less shame and oppressor-positive baggage than clinging to the false principles of the law of attraction will.

About the Author

Jessica Jascha is a Clinical Herbalist, Intuitive Consultant and writer in Minnesota. She also writes for Witch Way Magazine. She owns Jascha Botanicals and Owl in the Oak Tarot where she gives readings, teaches ritual, and provides holistic consultations. You can find her on Facebook.

featured image via pixabay.