In our ever-volatile world, it can often be difficult to feel in tune with the craft. Our world is so different from the world that we envision as a “witches world”. The hustle, the business, the disconnection from nature, the distractions and interruptions. How is a witch even supposed to find time for the craft? Despite this, all of us have found ourselves in the flow of the craft at some point or another. Each of us has found that place where enthusiasm and action meet each other to make learning and practicing the craft a joy.
This is truly what most witches are trying to achieve in their craft. Why so many of us feel out of synch with the craft. We get a taste of this inspired state, and it keeps us coming back for more. Unfortunately, flow is often a tricky and fickle state. There one day and replaced by an aching apathy the next. How are we supposed to keep ourselves in touch with this state of being so that the craft feels like a calling and a joy rather than a chore?
What Is “Flow” In The Craft?
“Flow” is something all people recognize, even if they don’t experience it very often. It’s the state of free-flowing energy that begets action from a place of inspiration and alignment. It’s like everything in you is in agreement and is excited to move toward your goals. In this state, learning, effort, and work feel like a breeze, it’s actually energizing to work when you’re in flow. It feels amazing, like you could work forever and not even feel it. Reading about the craft doesn’t feel like a chore, keeping up with your daily practice is effortless, inspiration for new spells and rituals comes daily. This is truly a peak witchcraft experience!
On top of how good it feels and how effortless it makes keeping up with your practice, the flow state actually makes your witchcraft work better. When we’re in the flow state, we’re in a state of non-resistance. All parts of us are ready to pour ourselves into the craft, and this internal alignment is a powerful source of magic. Spells begin working faster and become more effective. Not only are you in the flow state, but your magic is in the flow state too.
Unfortunately, the joys of the flow state are fickle. Some days the craft feels effortless, and the next it can feel like pulling teeth to do anything at all. Why is it so difficult to stay in this flow state?
What Kicks Us Out Of Flow?
The mercurial nature of the flow state leads a lot of people to assume that we are at the mercy of its whims. They think that because it comes and goes seemingly at random that it’s impossible to harness or control this state. While they can be forgiven for thinking this, it’s simply not true. The flow state is your right as a witch, and it is something you can attain often and regularly.
To learn to control this state of being, we have to first understand it. Flow is the lack of resistance to an idea, action, or goal. Hang on, you might be thinking, I’m not in resistance to witchcraft! That may seem to be the case but if you often find yourself with no energy or motivation to practice your craft, then you absolutely are in resistance to your witchcraft. And that’s ok! It happens to everyone.
We all have splits within ourselves that have contradictory wants, needs, and desires. One part of you might want to excel at school or work, while another part is worn out and wants to rest rather than work. One part of you may love your family while another part can’t stomach the idea of dealing with Thanksgiving dinner drama. One part of you may love witchcraft while another part feels like it’s silly and not worth your effort.
These splits are a natural part of being a human, but they can cause a hell of a lot of stress. You end up constantly fighting yourself, feeling like your work and studying is a drag, wanting to see your family and then fighting the urge to run for the hills the whole time, looking forward to practicing your craft and then feeling completely deflated when the time comes.
The flow state happens when all parts of you are in agreement. When you can address this internal resistance, it suddenly becomes effortless to practice the craft.
How To Get Back Into Flow
Obviously, we want to get rid of this internal resistance and get back into the flow state ASAP. It’s important to note that this is not a one and done process, it’s a process that you will have to do consistently, every time you encounter resistance. This will need to be a practice that you return to over and over and over, but the result will be the ability to live your life from a space of inspiration and joy.
I’ll be putting all of the following steps into the context of witchcraft, but you can use them for anything that you want to bring more flow to. Whether that’s your magic, your work, studying, relationships, or hobbies, you can use this process to get yourself in alignment with whatever it is you want to do so that it runs smoothly and painlessly.
1. Get Present
Being present is necessary for the flow state. If you’re distracted, thinking about something else, or worrying about the other items on your to-do list, you’re never going to be able to get into the flow state. Flow is a state of non-resistance. If part of you is thinking about witchcraft and part of you is thinking about what to make for dinner, you have internal resistance. Two parts of you are not in agreement about what you should be focusing on and so you feel split and nothing seems as easy as it should be. Getting present can be done in many ways. Maybe you need to stop and jot down what you’re going to make for dinner so you can stop thinking about it. Maybe you need to take a few minutes to unwind after work, take a bath, or meet some other need so that it isn’t nagging at you.
One of my favorite ways to get present with myself is by doing a body scan. Beginning with your head, notice every part of your body, piece by piece, slowly down your body until you reach your toes. This practice should take 5-10 minutes and at the end, you’ll likely feel far more grounded and focused. If during your body scan, you notice a nagging need or discomfort, then it’s time to meet that need before you move on. Take a short nap, eat something, do a little yoga, whatever it is that your body is asking for.
2. Meditate
This is one area of the craft where meditation is an amazing help. Now, I’m not talking about the “close your eyes and think of nothing” kind of meditation. Rather, this should be a practice of awareness. Use your meditation to observe yourself. Where are you holding onto resistance? What are you feeling? What do you need right now? The goal is to align your actions with your state of being. This is a free pass to just sit down and feel your feelings. You will be amazed at what comes up.
3. Identify Your Resistance
Resistance can be an incredibly frustrating thing, especially when you can’t tell where the hell it’s coming from. Some resistance is simple to identify, you’re hungry, you’re thinking about errands that you need to run, etc. Other resistance keeps itself hidden so that you think you’re all hands on deck when you’re really not. How can you tell when you have hidden resistance? Easy, you aren’t in flow. Flow is a natural state of being that arises any time we get all parts of ourselves into alignment. If you’re not in the flow, then you’re in a state of resistance.
To identify your resistance, sit down with a piece of paper and a pen. At the top of the page, write “I don’t want to practice witchcraft because…”. Now list off any reason you can think of why you might NOT want to practice witchcraft right now. Don’t censor yourself, just write down whatever comes to you. When you’re done, take a look at your list. First, identify all of the easy fixes. Things like being hungry, needing a shower, needing to write down an idea before you forget, etc. Identify which ones you need to do now and which you can put down as a to-do list for when you’re done practicing witchcraft.
Now, out of the items you have left on the list, one or two should jump out at you. They may be things like “I don’t know if witchcraft is real, so it feels weird to practice”, “I had a bad experience and now I’m scared”, “I feel selfish trying to make my life better with magic”. Pick these out and write the most important one on its own page or section of the page. Begin to have a conversation with this part of yourself on the page, ask it about why it feels the way it does, what it needs to feel better about practicing witchcraft, and how you can help it. Remember, you need to get this part of yourself on board with practicing witchcraft! Bullying it into silence or telling it that it’s stupid for feeling that way is going to just make the resistance worse. You have to understand, empathize, and find constructive solutions for this resistant part of yourself.
Do this with every major resistance that you have. Usually, there are only one or two but be aware that there may be more. Find resolution for each resistance so those parts can come into alignment with your desire to practice magic.
4. Be Flexible
The flow state demands flexibility. You cannot be in a flow state if you are rigidly trying to force the situation to be a certain way. This means that sometimes you will need to change your plans to resolve resistance, whether that’s working on something different within your craft like extra magical hygiene or some feel-good magic rather than something serious or whether that means not doing witchcraft at all because you’re not in a good place for it. It’s ok to let yourself be flexible with these needs! Some evenings you may be able to get yourself into a flow state easily and others you may find that what you really need is just a night to take a bath, read a book, and rest. Be responsive to those needs!
Remember, you cannot force a flow state. Flow is like a river, you can’t make a river flow with force, you have to focus on removing obstacles to the flow of the water. Once the obstacles are gone, the water flows because flow is its natural state.
5. Prioritize How You Feel
Your feelings are the most important indicator that you have for the flow state. You must make them your #1 priority if you want to harness the flow state regularly. If you don’t feel like doing witchcraft, honor that. Look into the feeling, see what it’s rooted in. Is it a fixable roadblock, or is it something that you need to change your plans around? If you are constantly steamrolling your own emotions, you will end up in such an awful state of resistance that you will wind up NEVER practicing witchcraft at all, despite your every intention, plan, and attempt to do otherwise. The resistance will only grow and become more and more insistent until you are frustrated beyond words.
The flow state is a wonderful tool and it is a natural state of being that you are entitled to. If you can prioritize your feelings, learn to listen to these emotions and what they’re telling you, and develop the ability to be present with yourself, the flow state can become a regular part of your life and craft!
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