I’ve been trying to get into the craft but for some reason I have constant intrusive thoughts, telling me it doesn’t work or my beliefs aren’t real. Even though I know that it is, it’s hard to want to try to do anything when you have doubtful thoughts because I know having doubt can make doing things not work or more complicated. What can I do about this? It’s frustrating sometimes and I really want to eliminate these thoughts before trying to do any work. I feel like a large reason is that I’ve done spells before and the haven’t worked, but I’ve done readings and such and it restored my belief in things, so I don’t know why I still get these thoughts.
There are some things you can do to help with this. If you haven’t started a meditation practice, then please do. If meditating on nothing doesn’t work for you, try a program/video to focus on or a candle.
Another is that it may take a lot of little things over time and you may believe more at some points than at others. This is normal and I, personally, consider it healthy.
One thing you can do to maybe help is to cultivate a relationship with a Deity. It gives you something to focus on and, when needed, gives you someone to petition to when you could use some help. This will also help establish a sort of trust between you and the Deity and between you and magic.
If you decide to go down this route (Deity), then I would search for ways people have found there. Like “who is my patron/matron” “which Deity is for me”, something like that. You could also ask for signs and use those to guide you to one.
There’s posted material on Sigils. Sigilization subverts the psychic censor.
Also, when you start thinking about your Magick or why it’s bound to fail - give yourself a real bitch-slap across the face. Every time! You’ll be surprised how quickly you stop thinking these thoughts. It’s self administered aversion therapy.
Something that worked for me was practicing trancework and then… not doing any magick. Just practice the trancework, get “into the zone”, stay for a while. Do this for some time, you’ll have less intrusive thoughts next time you want to do some magick.
There is something I realised about my “doubts”! That moment in the middle of ritual when I laugh at myself for believing that the shenanigans I am doing would be the magical act to bring my desires! I wonder if that exact doubt is a validation that I am doing it right! Its sort of a threshold for me! I just brush it a side with the thought that I am up to something! It takes couple of push and after the ritual I just think that whats done is done and thinking about it is just wasting my energy so I let it go!
The most doubtful rituals I did was the most fruitful!