Money Magic Without the Law of Attraction
Explore some of the basic principles of successful money magic without the law of attraction and other unnecessary ideologies.
Note: this post is geared toward witches and magical practitioners.
I’ve been thinking about how to write this essay because money magic has all kinds of gross ideology attached to it from a variety of perspectives. Whether in popular witchcraft, or in new age circles (which are not the same as witchcraft), or in Christian prosperity gospel circles, the law of attraction is pervasive. Where this ideology is not pervasive, the pendulum has often swung the opposite direction and money or the pursuit of it is demonized and put down as a moral or character failure. There tends to be a dogmatic view from both ends of the spectrum, and neither are good or helpful.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to write this essay but my spirits say it’s important to talk about because the law of attraction is one of the most popular lenses through which money magic is viewed and practiced. In dismantling an ideology like the law of attraction, people are left wondering what to do now because they still need money, and they still want magical or spiritual help increasing their personal financial prosperity. Some folks have condemned using money magic alongside of condemning law of attraction ideology, and not only does this indicate a privileged position which would deny individuals access to their own power on some false moral standing, it’s throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
The reality is that we live in a world that uses money as currency, and money is required in order to live well. No matter how we may feel about it, this is the truth of our world right now. Money as a currency is neutral. It is a means to an end. Shame for wanting it, shame for having it, shame for not having it, shame for doing what you can to obtain it, are not helpful in any circumstances. There is nothing wrong with wanting more money especially when money is the main vehicle through which we can tangibly improve our lived experience and the lives of those around us.
There is a spiritual rot in hoarding excessive amounts of money, but that’s not the topic for today, nor does it apply to anyone most likely reading with me.
To put this into perspective so that you know where I’m coming from in what follows, I’m a folk witch and an animist and I am not against money magic, or love spells, or hexing. I practice my own form of folk magic which the spirits and select teachers have taught me over time and I believe in our right to improve our lives and live as well as possible.
Money magic is absolutely part of my personal practice, and I have worked it to improve my lot at various times over the years. I worked it to get raises when traditionally employed. I worked it to make bonuses, and for emergency funds. I worked it to help those around me improve their money situations.
And I’ve done all of these successful workings without the law of attraction.
I didn’t have to constantly remain positive. I didn’t have to grapple with shame when things took longer than I wanted them to take and I had doubts (patience is a skill, not an inherent trait, for me). When some of my workings failed, I didn’t see this as a personal indictment of my faith or worthiness. Eventually I had the hindsight to see how failure was a protection for me. And I tried other workings, and they were successful. It had nothing to do with being on a “frequency of attraction” or maintaining a mindset, and everything to do with believing in myself, in the validity of my working, and in doing the work both magical and mundane.
Ideological Blockages Around Money
It’s easy for ideology and moralizing to get in the way of magical workings especially regarding money. Money is incredibly personal, and everyone seems to have an idea of what it means morally. We can slam doors in our own faces by refusing to receive when what we’ve asked for is offered to us in an unexpected way. We need to be aware of what we believe about money, about our ability to make it or receive it, and why, because if we aren’t, that kind of self-sabotage will ensue. This is not because the universe is responding to beliefs. This is because there is an inner conflict that requires resolution before we can move forward in the direction we desire.
Some people are afraid that the spirits are wicked and will only give them what they want by taking something significant away (like money through inheritance or from totaling your car). This is a fear-based Faustian ideology. I won’t tell you either of those things aren’t possible, because they are. But I will tell you that it’s not a karmic issue, or a moral indictment, or an issue of wicked spirits. You can work money magic that avoids the possibility of those particular consequences, too. It’s an issue of available channels for the working to flow through.
Channels Are Needed For the Flow of Money
I did a spell to get rid of debt, and things got very uncomfortable for a while because the channels needed for making that happen weren’t yet open. It would take a large sum of money to clear the debt, so regular paychecks were not the right channels. The channels were there, but they were closed. A cascade of changes had to occur to make those channels available, and while those changes were in progress I was increasingly pinched because many other smaller debts I wasn’t even aware of were suddenly showing up in my mailbox. I had the opportunity to pay those off with my regular income, so I did, but I was irritated at how my money was flowing out of my pockets.
When the changes finally came to a head, it was like the floodgates opened, and I was able to follow through and use that money for what I wanted (to get rid of a car loan, specifically, and fund our savings account). The changes made way for this, and also for better regular financial flow. There was a cascade of positive effects from this working that not only helped me get rid of my debt, but improved the overall quality of my life. For a while though, in the interim of having done that spell and the spell manifesting, things sucked a little bit more.
If you do a working for more money and your only channel for money to flow is through your job, and your boss gives you overtime, that is a natural way for your spell to manifest. You may groan about the overtime, but you’re also getting what you requested. You could do a more specific spell asking for a raise, or one for new and lucrative opportunities, and so on. It’s useful to consider what other groundwork needs to be laid if you want more channels for financial increase. But also, think about what you’re asking for and what channels the spell can manifest through for you, and do your workings accordingly.
Tending the Mundane and Respecting the Spirits
In money magic, financial literacy is just as important as the spell to increase your wealth. Money is responsibility. A good plan for saving and growing your money, even if you don’t have the money to grow yet, is ideal. And the spirits may test you in this kind of working by giving you what you want, and then seeing how you use it, before they give you more. In my debt-relief spell, I had multiple opportunities to prove that I would pay off the debt I was asking for help with, and I showed that I was trustworthy by paying those smaller debts that cropped up in the interim.
If you do a debt-release spell and then get the money to pay off the debt, but spend it on something you want instead, the spirits are paying attention to that, especially if you petitioned any of them for this particular need. This will not only piss off the spirits, it can affect any workings you do in the future.
A Note on Why More Witches Aren’t Billionaires
In some circles, there’s been talk of why witches and other magical practitioners aren’t wildly, financially rich (billionaires) if we have these means of gain available to us. Most witches and magical practitioners don’t deify money, and for many of us, what it takes in the mundane world to become that rich is not aligned with our values in how we live our lives. We understand that the money doesn’t appear out of no where. Most of us don’t want to get rich at the expense of everyone and everything else. In other words, it’s not all we care about.
Still, those of us who do money magic workings aren’t blind to the needs of everyday life. There are a lot of reasons why people experience financial hardship, most of them aren’t their own fault. There’s not space here to get into the intricacies of this. But I will repeat that there is nothing wrong with using magic to make your life better, and this includes money magic, especially in the face of hardship. Disentangling from all the moralizing around money, and disentangling from ideologies that equate material wealth with personal worth or moral worth or quality of faith is a great place to start.