What is magical activism?

Feel called to use witchcraft to have a greater impact on the world? Magical activism bridges the gap between personal practice and collective change.

Feeling fed up and furious? Me too.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. Not just from lack of sleep (though that might be a part of it), but from… everything. I’m tired of watching the world become more broken every day. I’m tired of feeling powerless when I see injustice happen repeatedly without consequences. And I’m tired (and frustrated!) of working hard, doing all the right things, and trying over and over again, only to never get ahead. 

We’re all expected to pay our bills, smile at our coworkers, ignore what’s happening in our government, and pretend like everything is fine. But inside, we’re screaming. 

Turning disconnection into redirection

And this kind of tiredness affects every area of your life. It contributes to your physical, mental, and emotional health. It even affects your spiritual practice. Because when everything seems awful, your belief in magic, manifestation, and even hope, can feel pointless. 

It all feels like too much to take and that can lead to us disconnecting, from our magic and from others, at a time when both of those connections are needed the most. 

But that disconnection doesn’t have to be the end of the story. The very frustration and rage you’re feeling can actually be the thing that reconnects you - to your magic AND to your community. 

Expanding from individual practice to magical activism

Your spiritual practice and political activism don’t need to be separate things. They can support each other and, when they do, they become what’s called magical activism.

Magical activism is the practice of applying intention, ritual, and spell work to everyday actions, all for the greater good.

It’s a way of setting intentions and manifesting positive change - for yourself, your community, and the world. It’s using magic as a tool to make things better for everyone overall.

Bringing them together makes both feel more sustainable. Your magic gets grounded in real-world action and your activism gets fueled by intention and purpose, instead of just exhaustion and outrage.

A closer look at magical activism

Magical activism can also be called:

• revolutionary magic

• magical resistance

• spiritual activism

• or service magic. 

It’s most often associated with fighting corrupt governments and oppression and it’s often utilized to create progressive movements. Magical activism creates change that works for everyone, not just a select few. Overall, it’s a practice that honors personal empowerment and sovereignty and the collective good.

Examples of magical activism

What if we could take care of ourselves AND work for change on a smaller scale? What if personal healing and collective action weren't opposites and could be done simultaneously? What if your morning coffee could include both gratitude for what you have and an intention for everyone else to also have what they need? 

Magical activism offers that third path. One that honors both personal wellbeing and collective liberation. That's what magical activism looks like. It's the everyday activist using both personal power and magic for political action. It’s doing a prosperity spell for yourself and for the grassroots organization trying to raise funds for a cause close to your heart. 

And it can be used on a large scale. You can call on protective energy for protesters, bind the authority of immigration officials, and manifest peace for war torn countries. But it doesn’t need to be done through big gestures or huge transformations. 

Magical activism is also all of those little things you do on a daily basis to create change. It's cleaning your house and visualizing safe housing for everyone. It's carrying a crystal in your pocket that’s charged with courage energy when you attend a town meeting. It's manifesting a better job for yourself because you know that when you have a steady and generous income, it means you'll have more to give to mutual aid and local organizations. That’s how magical activism works.

How to get started with magical activism

You know that feeling when you're so angry about an injustice that you can't sit still? The rage you feel when there’s so much corruption and so few consequences? That's energy. 

And when you direct that energy toward something specific and then you DO something about it… that’s the magic!

Magical activism doesn't require believing in anything particular. It simply requires you to get clear on what you want to achieve, focusing your energy towards it, and then taking aligned action. 

You're probably already doing some version of this on a personal level. The idea of magical activism, this practice of revolutionary magic for social change, just means doing it for the betterment of everyone, not just yourself. So how do you start? 

5 Steps to Becoming a Magical Activist

1. Find a cause or issue close to your heart. Environmental justice, human rights, education, social justice, economic justice, etc. What speaks to you? What are you passionate about? The more personal it feels, the more likely you are to take action to change it.

2. Research your cause. Who are the current leaders for your cause? What’s the history behind it? Know what obstacles your issue faces today and what’s helped or harmed it in the past.

3. Get involved. Follow social media accounts relevant to your cause, join a local organization, connect with like-minded people (like members of The Witchery).

4. Explore your magic. How can you apply your magic to your cause? Prosperity spells for fundraising and donations, protection magic for protesters, immigrants, and other marginalized communities, healing rituals for victims of abuse. There are so many ways to apply magic to activism.

5. Do one thing. Support mutual aid, volunteer in your community, attend town meetings, barter and trade skills and services. Small actions contribute to big change.

Magical activism is all about doing what you can, when you can, with what you have. It isn't about overhauling your entire life or becoming a full-time activist or witch. It’s applying your personal magic to help the collective good in a way that works for you. 

Want to join me and other fed up and furious witches as we explore magical activism together? Click here to learn more about my Patreon community!