Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash
When I first started studying magic, I started like most in the late 80s, early 90s, with Scott Cunningham’s books on Wicca. (Note: I had the opportunity to work with his sister Christine, and she is delightful and wrote a wonderful book about her brother and their lives.) Granted it’s been a few years since I began learning and a whole lot more books, but it interests me how much the concept of manifestation has changed over the years.
What is manifestation?
In witchcraft, manifestation is bringing something to fruition though spell work utilizing focused intention, tools, and often tradition. And with modern magic, mundane activities are often required to help the magic along.
For example, I can do all the spells ever created to make me a better skier, but unless I get my ass on that mountain, I’m never going to improve.
Manifestation today
Today when people talk about manifestation, they often mean positive thinking and visualizing something into existence.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe in the power of positive thinking, at least sometimes. It’s great for building confidence and motivation, and that’s been scientifically proven.
But if all it took to manifest desires was thinking good thoughts, I would have, among other things:
- millions of dollars
- a penthouse in New York City
- expert skiing ability
- peace on earth
- a flat stomach
If only, right?
Manifestation for self-care
I also don’t remember self-care as being a huge focus in magical studies. I’m not at all opposed to it; it just seems like a relatively new concept. Am I wrong?
It’s possible my memory sucks, or I wasn’t reading specific books, and while I’m very concerned with my physical wellbeing (see my list of doctors, meds, and gym schedule), emotional wellbeing isn’t something I’ve put much thought into— in witchcraft or otherwise.
Now that I say that I realize how unhealthy that may be.
But hey, I’m Gen-X and based on our unsupervised childhood and disaffection from life, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Maybe someday . . .
I’ll try magical self-care as a way to manifest personal wellbeing. There are certainly some great resources out there to help, and people I respect swear by it.
In the meantime, I’ll use magic for other things. I’ll also keep visualizing my penthouse and peace on earth. Who knows, maybe it will work after all!
Hi, I'm Gia. 