The Writing Magick Equation
A Formula for Storytelling Sorcery
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In this post:
Writing magick is a science
The Writing Magick equation
A summary of the formula
Mapping the equation
A story of how it has worked for me
In my previous post, Initiation of Writing Magick, I shared how a single fictional character and her tarot cards changed the way I write, and inevitably, the way I live. As I explored the tarot, learning about the cards, their history, and conducting my own comprehensive analysis of their employment for storytelling, I became a better writer. This education initiated a transformation, and writing became more than merely something I was doing as a creative outlet.
While conceptualizing this Writing Magick Substack series,
I considered the transformation of my writing practice, and how I’ve leaned into writing magick during my creative sessions. As I began making notes, an idea siphoned through my left brain that I might describe writing magick through a mathematical formula, not a single word of power like Abracadabra! but an equation to represent the process. My right brain lit up with this idea, and I was reminded of what Benebell Wen said about the tarot in the first paragraph of her prolific tome Holistic Tarot. “[Tarot] is a science of the mind.”
Referring to her tarot practice as “tarot analytics,” Wen goes on to explain (in depth—the book is 875 pages) her approach of using the tarot’s symbolism to retrieve information from the unconscious realm and transfer it through the conscious mind in order to problem-solve and/or mine creative solutions.
Writing magick is a science of the mind, heart, and hand.
While sketching my notes, I understood that were I to propose an equation, it needed to be tested, and then I realized my own experiences might be considered proof that it works. My fingers flicked wildly through the pages of my writing journals as I explored their record of my journey, marking moments where magick coursed through my practice and helped me manifest my publishing desires.
That’s when I crafted the equation.
Bear with me, because I’m about to nerd out for a glorious moment...
Belief + Will + Intention × Action (Writing) ^ Persistence = Writing Magick
(B + W + I) AP
First, I’ll summarize this equation into a sentence.
If I believe (B) I can achieve my writing desires, I muster every ounce of will (W) and I set my intention (I). When I put all those things into action (A), doing the work/writing, and repeating, over and over again with persistence (^P), I can make what I desire actually happen. That is how writing magick works.
Next, I’ll map the equation, defining each aspect:
(B + W + I) A^P – All these letters are variables, meaning they can change, depending on the circumstances. When considering writing, circumstances that might change the author include mood, life experiences, time, distractions, etc.
(B + W + I) – Belief + will + intention is an expression.
A^P or AP – This is also an expression, an exponential expression.
In math, an expression represents value. In writing, expression is the process of conveying one’s ideas through words. Therefore, in essence, this particular equation is one expression after another... expression after expression. Words after words.
How did Margaret Atwood express this idea? “A word after a word after a word is power.”
In conclusion, I’ll share an example of how writing magick has worked for me.
In 2020, I set a goal to get published. To that point, I’d self-published and had not yet attracted a traditional publishing contract. But I wanted one so fiercely, and I knew my work was good enough to gain and grow my readership. I began making notes for a new novel, a work of Southern Gothic fiction. During this process, I’d been working with the tarot for insight, and documenting my process along the way, but for this next fiction project, I wanted to work with a deck whose illustrations and messaging related more closely to the setting for my story: the rural American South.
I’ll speed up the story because it’s long but the rest happened so fast.
I found the Southern Gothic Oracle, immediately connected with the art and messages, and pulled a card a day for inspiration. I wrote and wrote and wrote, draft after draft, until Only the Rocks That Float was ready for publishing. I queried agents, but after no luck, I self-published and began marketing the book through my email list and Instagram. I posted a photo of one of the Southern Gothic Oracle cards (the photo of the Horseshoe card you see above, to be exact), sharing a version of this very story, and the creator saw it, ordered my book, read it, loved it, and contacted me to publish a book through her indie publishing company, La Panthère. You can read the entire story here, but in the end, my belief, will, action, and persistence attracted a contract, gained faithful patrons, and Mystic Storyteller releases this spring.
My next goal? Make a million bucks from book sales, which will kickstart me leaving my Muggle career and living by my pen. I fully believe I can make it, and I have a writing magick equation to keep me motivated along my way.
What are your wildest writing dreams?
Do you believe you can and will achieve your writing goals? Are you doing the work to attract your wildest dreams? Share in a comment so I can champion you along your journey. I want to lift you up as you rise as a Storytelling Magician!
In case you missed it...
You can find previously published posts in this Writing Magick series here:
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.
