Crafting Your Writing Magick Ritual

Follow the Formula and Do the Work

In this post:

• My Writing Magick ritual

• Applying the Writing Magick equation

• How to craft your own Writing Magick ritual

• Imbuing YOU with Writing Magick

When you believe in magick, you subscribe to the understanding that it happens through an intuitive connection shared with [your Muses, the Universe, God, Source, whatever your belief]. Because I believe my writing practice has been elevated by knowing and trusting that my words carry power and can bring about my wildest desires, I do the work. Consistently and with persistence. When I experience results, it feels like magick. As such, for many years I’ve leaned into writing magick as a core aspect of my storytelling practice, and throughout that time I’ve adapted a ritual to initiate my mindset, clearing the cobwebs and oiling the cogs.

My Writing Magick Ritual

My writing routine starts before sunrise, during that liminal slice of time between night and dawn.

I’m an early bird, rising naturally, without the help of an alarm, between 4 and 5 AM. As soon as I wake, my brain feels like centrifuge, a dense, spinning orb pulsing with thoughts, ideas, and words. I slide into my house shoes, slip into my robe (or, as we call it here in the South, my “housecoat”), drink water, and make my coffee. While the water is heating, I set my intentions for the session, recalling whether I’d dreamed about what I want to write (I plan projects in my dreams... it’s wild and deserves a post of its own...), and deciding what I will accomplish that day. I stir in honey and cinnamon, clockwise (deosil), and express gratitude for being alive another day. After my coffee is ready, I walk to my office.

Much like the tarot’s Magician, I stand before my desk, raise it to my chest, and set my coffee to the right of my little candle cauldron (it’s surrounded with gemstones that invite prosperity and clarity of voice). I light the candle with a match, and then blow it out, swirling the stick clockwise three times and letting the smoke tendril open my circle. I close my eyes and whisper my incantation:

Fire and Water, Air and Earth

Connect my Spirit with my Muses

who help me shape my words.

The High Priestess card by Haint Blue Creative® rests atop an open notebook with an incantation and an ink pen.

While my eyes are closed, I envision myself in a situation where I am able to perceive each of the five elements—Fire, Water, Air, Earth, and Spirit. For me, the image that comes to mind is me standing on a beach. My hair is down, and I’m wearing a white linen dress—imagine something Stevie Nicks would wear. Sometimes, I’m wearing a gauzy robe over my dress—either black or red. The wind rushes through my hair and the tide washes over my feet, pulling at the sand as the water retreats. My toes dig into the sand as my feet sink a little. A fire blazes behind me, a little to my left, warming my left arm, which is pointed toward the beach. My right arm is raised and pointing toward the cloudy sky. As above, so below. I breathe deeply three times, opening my eyes on the third exhale.

I unwrap my favorite everyday tarot deck from its velveteen pouch and riffle shuffle the cards three times. While shuffling, I imagine the question: What do I need to know right now?

Next, I overhand shuffle until a card jumps from the deck. I like to let the cards decide which one is for me; however, I’m always conscious of which cards slip out because of messy shuffling and which leap from the deck. There’s a significant difference. Some mornings, one card is enough. Other times, I need clarification, so I ask for another. I set the card(s) on my display so I can look at them throughout my day, and then I use a purple pen to write in my journal the very first thoughts that come to mind.

Finally, I blow out my candle, whispering “Thank you” as I swirl the smoke clockwise over my desktop to close the circle, I put away my deck, and I start writing.

Applying the Writing Magick Equation

In case you missed my last post in this series, The Writing Magick Equation, I’ll add the formula here:

belief + will + intention × action (writing) ^ persistence = writing magick (B + W + I) A^P

Now, if you go back and reread my writing magick ritual, you’ll notice that it follows this equation.

I believe in myself (B), I muster my will (W), I set my intentions (I), and then I do the work (A). As often as I can. Rinse and Repeat (P).

Craft Your Own Writing Magick Ritual

If establishing a writing magick ritual sounds like a move in the right direction for you, here’s a simple process for getting started, and it directly follows the equation.

1. Explore your interests/desires. Do you want to write a novel? Is blogging and/or journalism more your speed? Are you a poet? Exploring your interests can invite your writing goals to make themselves known. I know that’s what happened to me!

2. Draft a plan for when to write. Are you a night owl or an early bird? Is there time in your day when you could swap doing other not-so-important things (like doomscrolling and cleaning the floors. I promise they can wait.) for writing, or do you have to write when opportunities present themselves? Decide on a time and lock it in.

3. Make a pact with yourself. Do it. Write it down where you can see it. I will write [when and where]. Need more motivation than merely this list? I highly recommend reading Atomic Habits, by James Clear.

4. Do the work. Get writing. Need an activity to help exercise and/or resuscitate your writing routine? Try The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron.

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An analog and a digital clock show 5:55 AM.

Imbuing YOU, my Dear Fellow Writer, with Writing Magick

If you are a subscriber to my Haint Blue Creative® Substack (THANK YOU), then you’ll notice I send out posts on Mondays and sometimes on Thursdays. Those days are intentional, astrologically, and the timing I choose to schedule each post is especially important: 5:55 AM.

Why 5:55 AM? Well, yes, emails are more likely to be opened in the mornings, but 5:55 is specifically related to the angel number 555. When you see this number, it’s symbolic of intelligence, opportunity, adventure, and transformational changes that are inviting you to align your path in the direction of what’s best for you, and release what’s no longer serving you.

In choosing 5:55 AM, I’m intentionally asking the Universe to carry my message to the readers who need it most. Always, always, my goal is to help others though kindness, education, stories, and a little magick.

That is my intention for all my work, and especially in this series. I hope what I write resonates with you and brings value to your own practice.

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What does your writing routine look like?

Pretty please share! If it weren’t creepy to pop some popcorn, climb a tree, and peek into the windows of other writers’ dens just so I can see how they go about their practice, I would absolutely do it. On the contrary, I’m a sensible nosey person, so asking for your stories also works.

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In case you missed it...

You can find previously published posts in this Writing Magick series here:

Writing Magick: A New Series

Initiation of Writing Magick

The Writing Magick Equation

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About Mandy

Amanda "Mandy" Hughes is an author and instructional designer who uses the tarot to inspire storytelling. Her book Mystic Storyteller: A Writer’s Guide to Using the Tarot for Creative Inspiration and companion tarot deck are helping her peers do exactly that. She also writes fiction under pen name A. Lee Hughes. Mandy lives in Georgia with her husband and four sons, two of whom are furrier than the others (but not by much). Visit her website at www.haintbluecreative.com and find her on Substack @HaintBlueCreative.