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Episode 208: Intentions Surrounding Spellwork- Listener Request
191 Plays8 hours ago
Welcome back, Witches! This week we're tackling a listener-requested topic: intention surrounding spellwork. From setting clear goals to directing energy and navigating magical ethics, we're exploring the role intention plays in our practice and whether it's really the foundation of successful spellwork. If you've ever wondered how much intention matters, how to strengthen it, or whether you're "doing it right," this episode is for you. So get in, Loser — because this week we're getting intentional.
If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Patreon, Supercast, & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft, or email us at weredoingwitchcraft@gmail.com. You can support our show through our links below. Patreon: patreon.com/GetinWitches Supercast: https://getinloserweredoingwitchcraft.supercast.com Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/getinwitches
Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
Resources
- Enodian, River. More than Just Intention: What Makes Magic Work. (2018) Patheos. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/teaaddictedwitch/2018/03/more-than-just-intention-magic/
- Lytle, Lori. Intention Setting to Kickstart Your Magic & Manifestation. (2025) Inner Goddess Tarot. https://innergoddesstarot.com/learn-tarot/intention-setting-for-magic-and-manifestation/
- Haseman, Maggie. How to Set a Magickal Intention. (2026) Mumbles & Things. https://www.mumblesandthings.com/blog/magical-intention
- The Craft Shoppe (January 5th). Intention Setting: The Heart of Magical Practices. The Craft Shoppe. https://www.thecraftshoppe.org/magical-principals/intention-setting-the-heart-of-magical-practice
- The Realms Seer (April 2025). How Desperation and Anxiety can block your spell results: Insights from a 29-year practitioner. The Realm Seer. https://therealmsseer.com/how-desperation-and-anxiety-can-block-your-spell-results-insights-from-a-29-year-practitioner/
- Kat Ophelia Starfire (February 2025). 10 Signs You’re Doing Magick That’s Wrong for You. The Moon School. https://www.themoonschool.org/magick/10-signs-doing-wrong-magick/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft and Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In Loser, where you're doing witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey.
00:00:11
Speaker
Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about the craft. So get in, witches, for another listener-requested episode, this time on intentions surrounding spellwork.
Health Etiquette Humor and Intentions in Magic
00:00:47
Speaker
so spoiler alert i am sick again ah if you are one of those people that is sick all the time and you still go to work i hate you and Stay home or wear a mask. Please, I love. But if you can't stay home, wear a goddamn mask.
00:01:07
Speaker
And look, if you're like, wow, it's allergies, it's not. Okay? but Yeah. Because this particular person always says, oh, my allergies are really bad. And then I work with them for the day. And then I wake up the next morning and I don't have allergies. I have illness.
00:01:24
Speaker
and It's very frustrating. Allergies are not contagious. No. No. If you're getting other people around you sick, maybe, maybe that is a sign to fucking stay home.
00:01:36
Speaker
Yeah. Maybe take some immune boosters, you know. Mm-hmm. Work that immune system. but Something. Anything. but Please, for the love of God, we're begging you. Don't come to work, though.
00:01:47
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, because then you have very frustrated people that work with you who are so sick of getting your colds. Yeah. So, you know...
00:01:58
Speaker
About like what? Five episodes ago you were sick then sick again. I got sick less working in a clinic. That speaks volumes.
00:02:10
Speaker
Yeah. Like I worked in a clinic for four and a half years and was rarely ever sick. Cut out the sniffles. Right.
00:02:22
Speaker
We'll try. We'll try our best. We can't – ah but We can't promise all sniffles will be cut out, but we will try. Yeah. But we are not talking about my 457th time being sick in a matter of a year.
00:02:37
Speaker
No, we are not. What are we talking about today? We're talking about intentions surrounding spell work, which is a great episode request that we got, right? so Yeah. Yeah.
00:02:50
Speaker
This, yeah, this is a listener request from bri from Spotify. So thank you so much for the request. And I hope you like this episode. I hope this is exactly what you were asking for. if not, let us know. We did our best based on what you wrote. so yes To get us started, intentions can be defined as what you want to do or bring about. They're not just wishes, but rather they shape the direction, ethics, emotional charge, and outcome of spell work.
00:03:22
Speaker
It's the conscious choice behind an action. And I was reading an article by The Craft Shop that I think summarized it really beautifully. They said that in magical practices, an intention acts as a compass to direct energy toward a desired outcome. Intention is rooted in presence and it should reflect the awareness of what is desired and why, allowing you to ground your working with responsibility and clarity.
00:03:45
Speaker
Intention is discussed constantly in magical spaces, but it's often oversimplified, so we're hoping that in this episode, it will give you a deeper understanding of intention setting as a whole, the practicalities, the ethics, the mindset, and the emotional and spiritual aspects of intention setting.
Intention Setting and Emotional Impact in Spellwork
00:04:02
Speaker
So let's look at the time before spell work. Intention is the foundation of the whole working. The spell itself is almost like a container or a direction for energy, but intention is what actually gives it purpose.
00:04:17
Speaker
People sometimes treat spell work like following a recipe in the sense that they believe if you get the exact like right color candle, crystal, herb, etc. and you say the exact right words, then the results are guaranteed.
00:04:32
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But two people can do the exact same spell and have completely different experiences because their internal state is completely different. Spell work can amplify focus, meaning whatever you're feeding into it emotionally, mentally, or spiritually gets carried into the working.
00:04:50
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So if your intention is clear, grounded, and honest, the energy tends to move in a cleaner direction. But if you're conflicted, panicking, obsessing, or secretly wanting there to be different outcomes at once, that gets amplified too.
00:05:06
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So having mixed intentions are way more common than people realize. You might think you're doing a love spell because you want reconciliation, but underneath it maybe there's fear of abandonment or loneliness or wanting control over the situation that feels unstable. And that's not a moral judgment. That's just something worth being honest about before you start working.
00:05:30
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Magic doesn't always respond to the words that you're saying out loud. Sometimes it responds to the deeper emotional current underneath those words. So if you're saying, I want peace, but internally you're thinking with anger and revenge the entire time, those signals are competing with each other.
00:05:48
Speaker
This is why emotional state matters so much more than having perfect tools. People stress themselves out trying to build this social media worthy altar or buy everything like all the ingredients imaginable when some of the strongest workings happen with very simple tools and a very focused mind. A tea light candle and a clear intention will usually take you further than a table full of expensive supplies you don't feel connected to.
00:06:16
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Sometimes the most magical thing that you can do before a spell is pause and ask, am I grounded enough to do this right now? Because desperation, rage, grief, and jealousy aren't necessarily bad emotions, but they can make it harder to understand what you actually want.
00:06:34
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There's a difference between emotional energy fueling a spell and an emotional chaos steering it. Some important questions that you should ask yourself before you start working a spell are, what do I actually want?
00:06:48
Speaker
Why do I want it? Am I trying to control someone else? Am I acting from fear, desperation, ego, grief, revenge, loneliness? And what outcome am I truly ready for?
00:07:00
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and I think this is a good time to talk about Intention versus desire. So wanting something and understanding why you want it are not always the same thing. And there's a difference between surface level intentions and deeper motivations.
00:07:15
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Desire most often comes from a lack of something. You're wanting something because it feels missing in your life, whereas intention comes from alignment. It's acknowledging your current reality and choosing a direction forward that is clear.
00:07:28
Speaker
And an important thing to note here is that magic is supposed to feel like an extension of your will. It should feel natural and not forced. If it feels like you're forcing it, it's probably shit as the saying goes. And and it means that it is time to listen.
00:07:42
Speaker
Spell work can expose unmet emotional needs that we are not fully conscious of when we begin working. We may even think that we understand an intention clearly only to sit down and do a ritual and realize that there are stronger emotions under the surface. Focusing intensely on a desire can expose fears, wounds, and insecurities, and it's important to know what to do with that when it happens.
00:08:05
Speaker
So looking at the emotion of fear, there's a difference between trying to move toward something and escaping something. And a lot of people believe they are casting from intention when they're actually casting from fear. And so an example of this is like, if you want to do a prosperity spell, it may not be just about abundance. It can be rooted in survival anxiety and stability or a fear of losing out on financial security. Also for the act of control, sometimes people seek magical control because they feel emotionally powerless and they might cast workings that try to force a specific outcome. And these workings can reflect more anxiety than intention. And you see this a lot in love workings because there is a fine line between wanting connection and wanting certainty.
00:08:51
Speaker
And then lastly, with a loneliness and grief. So this goes hand in hand with control. Loneliness and grief are powerful emotional states that are present in a lot of spell workings because of the longing that is present when trying to cast these sort of spells. Whether the person is grieving a relationship, a version of themselves, a life transition, rejection, whatever, all of these things can cause issues with intention setting because it unintentionally brings grief into the magic without fully processing it first.
00:09:22
Speaker
And these are just some examples of how desire can influence your intention setting. And the most important thing here is to really self-reflect and have that self-awareness. I'm not saying that emotions are bad or that someone has to be fully healed before practicing magic. However, you need to practice self-awareness so that you can have clarity in what you're actually intentionally bringing forward.
00:09:43
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And then moving into during your spell work, it's important that you stay mentally
Focus, Words, and Silence in Magic
00:09:48
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present. So spell work tends to feel strongest when there is full mental and emotional presence behind it. A distracted mind can scatter the energy and focus of a working, making it feel disconnected or even hollow. And many people have had the experience of finishing a ritual and realizing they were thinking more about Whether they were doing it correctly, than about like the intention itself.
00:10:13
Speaker
I read that in like a lot of articles. And I don't know if you came across that a lot too, where people were like, especially when they first started out, they're like, I i don't know if I'm doing it right. It's like, really, there's no right or wrong way. Yeah.
00:10:25
Speaker
no Then there's the role of attention and embodiment. So attention acts like a directing force in spell work. Where focus goes, energy follows. If the mind is jumping between worries outside distraction, self-criticism, or unrelated thoughts, it becomes harder to stay connected to the purpose of the spell.
00:10:48
Speaker
Embodiment also plays an important role. Spell work is not only intellectual or symbolic, it is physical and emotional. The body can become part of the ritual through breathing, ah movement, touch, posture, voice, and other sensory awarenesses.
00:11:06
Speaker
Feeling grounded and present in the body often creates a stronger sense of connection than simply reciting steps from memory. And then let's talk about intention versus performance. So modern witchcraft spaces, especially online, can sometimes blur the line between genuine practice and performance.
00:11:27
Speaker
Social media style witchcraft often emphasizes visuals, aesthetics, and perfectly curated rituals, while beautiful spaces and tools exist. can absolutely enhance practice. Problems can arise when the appearance becomes more important than connection.
00:11:44
Speaker
a spell does not become more powerful because it looks impressive on camera. Expensive candles, rare herbs, elaborate altars, and highly stylized rituals do not automatically create stronger results.
00:11:56
Speaker
Substance matters more than presentation. There's also this growing anxiety around doing it right. Many practitioners worry they are pronouncing something incorrectly or using the wrong moon phase, choosing the wrong ingredient, or failing to follow someone else's system perfectly.
00:12:14
Speaker
And that pressure can pull attention away from the actual intention behind the work. Most traditions throughout history were deeply personal and adaptive. People worked with what they had available and what felt meaningful to them.
00:12:27
Speaker
authentic connection tends to create more powerful experiences than rigid perfectionism. The goal of small work is not performance. It is alignment, focus, and intentional action.
00:12:41
Speaker
And i I think like an important thing here to think about is like, and we've talked about this on the podcast before, using what you have available to you is perfectly fine. Like you don't have to go out and buy all these expensive things. If you think about our ancestors, like They didn't have Amazon in like same day delivery.
00:13:01
Speaker
So they used what was available to them. So, and then next I want to talk about words in general. Words matter. So words can hold power in spell work because they help shape focus and intention.
00:13:15
Speaker
Spoken or written language can clarify desire, direct energy, and create emotional resonance within a ritual. Some practitioners prefer improvised spell work because it feels emotionally honest and intuitive.
00:13:28
Speaker
Speaking naturally in the moment can create a stronger personal connection than memorizing something formal. Improvised words often reflect the practitioner's genuine emotional state and immediate intention.
00:13:42
Speaker
Others prefer written incantations or prepared scripts because repetition and structure can help maintain focus. Carefully chosen wording may also create rhythm, symbolism, and a sense of sacred space within the ritual.
00:13:57
Speaker
Symbolic actions can function as language as well. So lighting a candle, bearing an object, tying knots, washing hands, opening a window, or burning written words can communicate intention without speaking at all.
00:14:11
Speaker
The action itself becomes the message. Silence can also be intentional. Some of the most meaningful moments in spell work happen without words. So sitting quietly with an intention, visualizing an outcome, focusing on breath, or simply holding emotional awareness can be just as powerful as spoken ritual.
00:14:32
Speaker
In some practices, silence creates space for deeper reflection, intuition, or connection. And sometimes the best outcome of a spell worked through intention isn't just the external manifestation of a spell, but the internal changes that it brings, whether this be through a shift in perspective, emotional change, or a change in your behavior.
00:14:54
Speaker
Tiffany already mentioned earlier how a spell itself is a container for energy, and I also agree that this container metaphor can be applied to emotions as well, where the ritual itself creates a container for emotion.
00:15:05
Speaker
Because often in spell work, we can gain clarity, acceptance, or sometimes even emotional release. Performing a spell based on an intention can allow us to name an emotion maybe we couldn't identify.
00:15:17
Speaker
or it can allow us to create structure or focus around something that was uncertain or maybe perhaps chaotic. And the spell itself might not be changing anything in reality yet, but it could be working on the person experiencing the reality if that makes sense.
00:15:32
Speaker
So take for instance, a cord cutting spell. This intention setting in ritual is an example of how an external action can create an internal transformation. Cord cutting at its heart is a way to sever energetic ties. However, it is a way to process grief and emotional detachment as well. It helps us to receive closure in a situation where we feel we desperately need it But psychologically, cord cutting ritual allows us to change rumination patterns. It removes the emotional dependency on another person and any internal narratives that we have about a particular relationship.
00:16:07
Speaker
Even if the complex emotion still exists outside of the cord cutting, the ritual aspect in itself of cutting the cord and separating can create a very powerful emotional change in a person.
00:16:20
Speaker
And another perfect example of this is glamour magic to influence self-perception. Glamour magic influences our self-image, confidence, how we present to other people, and how we interpret our own attractiveness or power. Glamour magic doesn't immediately change the world around you. There's not like a shallow howl situation happening for everybody in the world. However, glamour magic allows us to inhabit ourselves differently, which then and influences our social interactions and how we show up in the world.
00:16:49
Speaker
g Glamour magic isn't necessarily about illusion. It's allowing us to create our own identity, which is really powerful.
Releasing Control and Balancing with Practicality
00:16:56
Speaker
And then looking at after spell work, there's this importance of letting go. So one of the hardest parts of spell work is knowing when to release it After a ritual, many people immediately begin searching for proof that it worked.
00:17:10
Speaker
They look for signs constantly, overanalyze every interaction, and mentally revisit the spell over and over again. This is sometimes called spell babysitting. Instead of allowing the intention to move naturally, the person becomes consumed by anxiety impatience, or obsession. And that constant grasping can create emotional tension that keeps someone stuck in the same mindset that they were trying to move beyond. So letting go does not mean forgetting the spell entirely, but it does mean trusting the process enough to stop forcing, chasing, or controlling every possible outcome.
00:17:48
Speaker
Yes. And going deeper on this topic of trying to control a situation, I would argue that this is one of the hardest things for many practitioners to learn. There is a difference between setting an intention and becoming emotionally attached to that exact outcome.
00:18:02
Speaker
Setting intention involves clarity, openness, direction, trust, and a willingness to engage with possibility. Attachment to an outcome relies on fixation, anxiety, desperation, control, and an emotional dependence on a specific result.
00:18:18
Speaker
There's a difference between this is what I hope for or intend for that aligns with my life and this must happen exactly this way or my life will fall apart. a healthy intention leaves room for the unknown. It allows for movement and growth within the working, but obsession and attachment to the outcome tries to control every detail from the timing, the person, then the exact wording, or the exact path. And this obsession can cause a practitioner to constantly search for signs of confirmation. And because of that, the more emotionally desperate a person becomes, the harder it is to distinguish intuition from anxiety.
00:18:53
Speaker
This makes it even harder if you're feeling these feelings of desperation and you're also dependent on social media because there is this belief on social media in these magical spaces that if you think about something hard enough, visualize it constantly, or refuse to accept no, then you can force reality to your will. And this mindset only causes disappointment, compulsion, and anxiety.
00:19:15
Speaker
There's also something called the paradox of release, and it's something that many practitioners are aware of. And it's when you notice that a spell or working moves more naturally once you stop obsessing over the spell. This doesn't mean forget the spell or that they no longer care about it or that you know you're never going to think of the working again. but it means releasing the desperate need to control every outcome of the working. And a grounded working rooted in intention keeps a working from obsessive pitfalls.
00:19:44
Speaker
Obsession keeps a practitioner emotionally locked into the same state that created a problem in the first place. So for example, a love spell fueled by panic can keep someone emotionally trapped in fear of abandonment. Or maybe a reconciliation spell fueled by obsession can prevent emotional healing and acceptance. Letting go creates space for you to heal and grow, whether that be emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically.
00:20:10
Speaker
Desperation, on the other hand, narrows your perspective and creates tunnel vision. It keeps you from noticing alternative options that might be more aligned for you. Healthier options, warning signs, personal growth, and any sort of redirection. The quote, I want love leaves room for alternative options and for healing. But the quote, it must be this exact person, comes from fear, attachment, or the inability to see another path forward.
00:20:38
Speaker
And then with post-spell reflection, after spell work, it can be useful to pause and honestly reflect on the experience. Sometimes the ritual itself reveals emotions, fears, or desires that were not obvious beforehand.
00:20:52
Speaker
Questions worth considering here include, what do I feel now? Do I feel calmer, clearer, lighter, or more overwhelmed? Did anything unexpected come up emotionally during the working?
00:21:06
Speaker
Has my perspective shifted at all? Reflection can also help identify what practical actions still need to happen outside the ritual itself. Spell work may create momentum, clarity, or emotional alignment,
00:21:21
Speaker
but it does not replace personal responsibility or real-world effort. And then looking at magic and mundane action, spell work is often strongest when it's paired with practical action. So a prosperity spell will not do much if someone refuses to apply for jobs or manage money responsibly or pursue opportunities.
00:21:43
Speaker
A reconciliation spell cannot repair a relationship if communication never happens. A protection spell loses effectiveness if obvious warning signs and unsafe situations are ignored. So magic and mundane effort tend to work together rather than separately. Spell work can support confidence, awareness, focus, opportunity, and emotional clarity, but there usually still needs to be action in the physical world as well.
00:22:11
Speaker
And we already discussed how intention is the conscious choice behind an action. And it's important to understand how symbolism helps an intention setting. The symbols we use provide the structure in a working, and it can act as a sort of bridge between your intention and action.
00:22:27
Speaker
Psychologically, symbolic action can help the mind process abstract emotions. So when we burn an intention, bury an object, tie a knot, or even light a candle, we're doing more than just representing an intention. We're externalizing internal states because our body is participating in the process. We aren't just thinking about it. So within many magical traditions, symbolic action helps to direct energy and symbolism and symbolic action are important to anchor change into reality. And so I'm not going to go over every bit of symbolism that we can use in magical workings when setting intentions. We've covered a lot of symbolism over the last five seasons of this podcast. However, I am going to briefly touch on some of the most common. And so for elements, we have earth, air, fire, and water.
00:23:13
Speaker
For earth, this corresponds to spell workings related to stability, grounding, containment, and endings. For fire, this corresponds to workings for transformation, release, and activation or movement. For water, this corresponds with emotions, cleansing, and release. And for air, this corresponds with messages, mental clarity, intention, and unseen movement.
00:23:37
Speaker
And for symbolic actions, This can be knots for binding, focus, and containment, burials for releasing, completion, or ending a cycle and accepting closure, mirrors often used for reflection, awareness, protection, and truth-seeking, and lastly, crossroads for decisions, liminal space, and transition between paths.
00:23:58
Speaker
I think it's also important to talk about a little bit about like what happens when you don't get the results that you were hoping for because it's not always like this magical wish is going to come true kind of thing. so we need to be like cognizant of that and not get upset.
Learning from Outcomes and Ethical Responsibilities
00:24:14
Speaker
So not every spell produces the exact outcome that someone expected. Sometimes the timing's off. Sometimes the intention was unclear or emotionally conflicted. and sometimes the goal itself may not have been realistic, healthy, or aligned with the situation.
00:24:31
Speaker
Emotional interference can also affect the experience. So again, those things like fear, desperation, and obsession or doubt may make it difficult to stay grounded in the intention behind the work.
00:24:45
Speaker
In some cases, the result of a spell is not a manifestation, but a lesson. So working may reveal hidden emotions, unhealthy attachments, difficult truths, or paths that no longer fit. And that can still be meaningful even if it was not the outcome that was originally desired.
00:25:05
Speaker
And then some ethical responsibility to consider. Spell work also carries personal responsibility. It is important to think critically about motivations, boundaries, and the possible impact of a spell on both yourself and on others.
00:25:21
Speaker
Ethics and magic can look different depending on personal beliefs and traditions, but self-awareness matters in every practice. It's worth asking whether a spell is rooted in healing, growth, clarity, and protection, or whether it's being driven by control, manipulation, revenge, or fear.
00:25:41
Speaker
Ethical responsibilities also mean accepting that not every difficult experience is a magical attack, a curse, or like something backfiring. Maintaining perspective and accountability is just as important as maintaining spiritual practice.
00:25:58
Speaker
We hope this gives you a better understanding of attention setting surrounding spell work. So we'll see you guys next week.
00:26:17
Speaker
That's a wrap on this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. We hope you had as much fun as we did. If you loved this episode, we'd be eternally grateful if you left us a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts. It helps more witches, seekers, and magical misfits find our show.
00:26:32
Speaker
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00:26:45
Speaker
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00:26:59
Speaker
Join us next week for part one of our series on Appalachian folk practices. Until then, stay magical, stay curious, and as always, blessed be witches.