Effective Group Magic

As you probably know by now, I am interested in all kinds of practical and effective magic. However, many times I find myself sitting out group rituals I didn’t help create because even when the stated goal is to cause change, the rituals are flawed in ways that will impair or negate the effectiveness. Due to these flaws, they end up functioning more like pep rallies- a fun group activity where people get excited together…and then go home. 

Here are some points to consider when planning a ritual. 

Pick an Achievable Goal

I wholeheartedly believe that magic is capable of anything and everything, even things most people think are impossible. I also believe performing magic is a skill and like all skills there is a skill level. Folks may think that a large number of coordinated people can overcome skill issues with combined force or persuasion, and maybe they can…. but only if they all have a clear achievable goal to focus on. If the purpose of your ritual is nebulous and broad along the lines of “end mass surveillance”, “protect women”, or “fight oppression” you don’t have a viable strategy yet. Pick a battle with a specific target and set a measurement for success.  

Choose the Right Forces for the Job

Whether you are working with elemental or planetary energies, deities, the dead or any other external forces you need to make sure those forces will support your objective. This topic is too broad to fully examine in one article, but Practical Occult does have classes on a variety of topics for a deep dive on working with everything from planetary forces to necromancy. In terms of activism magic, I often see recommendations to work with the dead, usually long-dead politicians or soldiers who fought for the country. When it comes to working with soldiers for protection, they are probably just going to be able to warn you about imminent danger. Are you in imminent danger during the ritual you are planning? Be realistic, the answer is probably “no.” Please also realize that a long-dead politician probably didn’t share the values you have and may not want to help you. If they do want to help you, be realistic about the help they can give. Could they give you political advice? Maybe, but are you good enough at spirit communication to listen to it? Maybe you are, but most people are not. (To improve these skills check out the Spirit Diplomacy class). If you can obtain their advice, is it going to be relevant in today’s society? This brings us to the next point.

Know How the World Works

You have picked an achievable goal, and you are using the right forces for the job, but have you considered how the world works now? Quite a few years ago, there was a politician running for office in my country. Several of my close friends and I thought that this politician winning the election would be disastrous. We came up with a magical plan that I thought was great. It focused around using solar magic to bring things out into the light. Surely if people just saw how reprehensible this person was, they wouldn’t get elected, right? Well, that was naive of me to think. It seems like the magic did work- the individual was quoted saying all sorts of reprehensible things, and it was all over the news. Did it matter? Nope.

Now with the ease of Deepfakes and generative AI the news could probably air a video of a politician kicking a puppy and their political supporters would just waive it away as fake. For those of you who think you can do magic to “wake people up” or “make them care” please see my first point above: picking an achievable goal. 

Magic is still as strong and effective as it ever was, but the world continues to change. That means your strategies have to change. Don’t give up, be smart.

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For a tested spell to attract people to polling places, that can be done as a group, please see:

Polling Place Spell