Why I don’t believe in the Law of Attraction
The Law of Attraction definition from The Secret website – “Under the Law of Attraction, the complete order of the Universe is determined, including everything that comes into your life and everything that you experience. It does so through the magnetic power of your thoughts.”
Not only is this idea incredibly victim blamey, it does not mesh with how I understand and use magic in my current practice. My intent with this post is to give my experience with The Law of Attraction and how it impacted my mental health and to let you know that if it did the same for you, you’re not alone.
This is 100% UPG and based on my own experiences as a witch with OCD and a smattering of other mental illness. I am not a mental health practitioner or expert of anything so everything I say should be taken with a block of salt. Lick it like a horse as we go through this. With that in mind, lets get into it.
Obvious Problems with The Law of Attraction
The idea that everything that happens to you is a product of your “magnetic thoughts” falls apart the moment you take into account that other people are tangible beings with their own wants, desires, thoughts, and agency. That the world is made up of various beings with their own internal worlds and non-living beings like storms that will come whether you want them to or not, and rivers that will be raging long after you’re gone. It cannot withstand the truth of systemic oppression. The Law of Attraction will tell you that if you’re having money troubles, it’s not the economy, a pandemic, racial profiling, ableism, or capitalism, it’s your own thoughts blocking you from achieving financial freedom. The Law of Attraction also absolves people of tangible personal responsibility. You can just think the right thoughts and it will fix everything.
The Law of Attraction will tell you that illness is your fault, that your subconscious manifested it. Other people have said it before, but this sounds suspiciously similar to when Christians tell you that God will solve all your problems if you just pray correctly.
Now, if you’re reading this and thinking “hey, but thinking positively has helped me in the past!”, yes! There is a place for positive thinking in your life. Believing that you can learn a new skill can often lead to better results because you’re more likely to persevere through the challenges and frustrations of learning new skills. @pondering-the-kaiju has a really good post about The Law of Assumption (which, to my understanding, is very similar to The Law of Attraction when used in a magical or spiritual context). Thinking positively and believing in yourself is not the same as The Law of Attraction.
The Intersection of Witchcraft, the Law of Attraction, and Mental Illness
When I was but a witchling, my mother knew I was interested in witchcraft and wanted to be supportive. She brought me The Secret from the local library and bought me a companion journal to go with it. Yes friends. My mother who was trying to be supportive brought me Magical Thinking: The Manual complete with a workbook. What neither of us understood at the time was that I also had Magical Thinking: The Disorder. The Secret did not cause my OCD but it wrecked havoc with it. Now OCD is not the only disorder with magical thinking as a symptom, so this experience is not unique to those of us with OCD. There will be cross over here.
As a young witch learning about spellcraft and intent, the Law of Attraction, unfortunately, made sense with what I had read. Spells were ingredients + intent, The Law of Attraction was pure intent. It seemed like a shortcut I could do anywhere. And when something happened that I had deeply wanted, it felt powerful to believe I had created that result.
I want to acknowledge the allure of the The Law of Attraction, because it is alluring. It can make you feel so in control of your life when life can often feel absolutely out of control.
It wasn’t long before this snowballed. If you have Moral Scrupulosity OCD or any Religious OCD, the Law of Attraction can blend with it and reinforce it. For me, it got to a point where I was anxious about the thoughts I was having because I was worried about the sort of things I was bringing into my life and other people’s lives. I was scared to be annoyed by my friends because I worried about accidentally cursing them by having upset thoughts. When my boyfriend cheated on me, I thought I manifested it. This was all compounded by the fear that my Gods were upset with me and would punish me for these thoughts and their subsequent actions. Thankfully my investment in the Law of Attraction didn’t last longer than a year or so, but the themes of causing bad things to happen with your thoughts and Gods/The Universe being Upset with me linger.
About 6 years ago, I stepped away from my craft. There were many reasons, most unimportant here, but one was being with someone who had convinced my that any religious or spiritual practice at all was on par with believing in things like the Law of Attraction. I kept my toe in the pond so to speak, did some tarot, chatted with witches. I’ve been getting back into it recently and I realized that the time I spent away from my practice has helped me understand it better.
How My Practice has Shifted
I used to view magic as this sort of cosmic, otherworldly thing. I have come to believe that, although you can do space and astrologically based witchcraft, magic is not a thing separate from the world. My fear of accidentally doing magic to harm people is not present anymore, due in part to therapy, studying OCD, and self work, and also to how my views on magic have changed.
I believe that magic is a skill. It is a practice that you can improve upon and apply through various applications. I no longer believe it’s possible to accidentally cast spells. Think of it like playing an instrument. I can know how to play the flute, I can record myself playing to play back when I want to, I can carry my flute with me wherever I go, but unless I take the flute out of its case and intentionally play it, the flute will stay silent. I cannot think a “mean thought” at someone and have the flute fly from the case, playing shrill notes at the person who inspired my thought.
