What to do when you fell out with your practice
Because I sure as hell needed this post when I did.
1. Realize that it‘s okay. Accept that it happened. Forgive yourself for it.
Maybe life got in the way and you just didn‘t have the time or energy or possibility. Maybe something happened on your path that got you scared, frightened, panicked, or even disgusted so that you had to take a step back and retreat. Maybe your focus simply shifted. Maybe you got bored. Maybe everything just got overwhelming and you weren‘t able to juggle magick and the mundane at the same time. Maybe mental illness got in the way.
No matter what the reason for your fall out was, accept that it happened, forgive yourself for it. Because it‘s okay, life happens in phases, and no matter the reason, how big or how small, it‘s part of your journey and totally fine. These things happen to the best of us, so don‘t blame yourself for it. It really is okay. Pinky promise.
2. Reconnect with your god(s) and/or non-physical friends, if needed.
If you‘re a spirit companion/have spirit friends like me or are devoted to a god or certain deity/ies, your time with them/devotion to them probably fell under the brick as well. If it did, reconnect. I promise chances are they‘ll understand. As I said, life happens, and they know that too. They probably saw what you were going through. Explain what happened to them, apologize, and move on, if they allow it. Just spend more time with them again, greet them good morning and wish them good night again, invite them to join you throughout your day again. I promise, any good relationship will hold, just show that you really are sorry and put in effort to show that you care again. I’m sure they missed you as well so it’s time to make up for the time you lost!
3. Don’t overwhelm and overestimate yourself.
Chances are the longer your fall-out was, the more your “psychic muscles” lost in strength. Your intuition may be a bit more out-of-tune, you may have more trouble hearing/seeing/feeling/sensing spirits and energies. Maybe you have more trouble programing things or adding energy to objects than before. That’s okay! It’s totally fine and normal, just don’t be surprised if it happens and know that with practice you’ll be back to old strength in no time! Until then, start small and work with what you have.
4. Start small, don’t rush it, one step at a time.
Start drawing a daily or weekly card again. Start carrying crystals with you again. Start laying them out under the moon to charge again. Do small rituals like maybe doing some bath magic before you rush head-first into a huge complicated thing again! Again, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself. Also, you want to build a routine again to not risk falling out again.
Some ideas on what to do when building your practice up again:
lay crystals, items, water, anything out under the moon/sun to charge
pick a crystal to carry with you throughout the day in the morning
say mantras in the morning
infuse your tea/coffee with intent
send out your energetic sensers when comfortable and at home. slowly but surely
meditate. 5 minutes in the evening, 5 minutes in the morning. at least.
go for a daily walk at a certain time
look through your grimoire/bos if you have one. write in it again
doodle little sigils in your free time
5. If needed, make a schedule.
As I said, you may want to build a routine. If those work for you, make a daily or weekly plan. Look up transits and check when you have time, then create your own magical schedule. If need be, set some reminders on your phone. Just try to be disciplined about it for a while so that you get back into your practice smoothly!
You probably changed since you last practiced, or maybe there was a reason IN your practice that caused the fall-out. If so, identify what it was. Reflect on yourself, your practice, your life. How can you make everything run together more smoothly? Maybe you want to focus more on the mundane than the spiritual, and if so that’s totally fine. Adapt your practice in a way that fits and feels good, it’s all yours so feel free to do whatever you want! Maybe you want to shift the focus IN your practice, or maybe you want to stop doing something, maybe start doing something else (instead).
(Optional) 7. Talk to others.
Sometimes it is so, so hard to not feel incredibly bad and like you fucked yourself or your life or your relationships up when this happens (and not just in relation to magic but other things as well). Please know that you’re not alone on this and if your own up-lifting thoughts and words are not enough, seek validation outside. I promise that’s not a selfish or vain thing to do, it’s natural and human and you deserve to be told that you’re doing just fine. Go to a trusted friend, family member, maybe blogger, anyone. If you want, you can always come to me. Talk to someone about how things are going now, talk to them about the things you just did to make yourself feel good about doing this.
💗 No matter what, it’s all good. I promise. These things just happen and there is no reason to blame yourself - please take good care of yourself and know that you come first - magic and everything else second.
I hope this was useful to some, I know it helped me as I’m just getting out of a fall-out, too. I hope you all have a magical day~! 💗
