The new year is the perfect time to reflect on the past, set goals for the future, and manifest the life of your dreams. Unless you have been living under a rock or peacefully away from social media for the last few years, you will know that manifestation is all the rage these days. While scrolling through TikTok or Instagram, it can seem like everyone is just wanting things, willing them to be, and suddenly the universe gives them their heart’s desire like a cosmic vending machine. If you too have been left feeling like everyone knows some secret you don’t — or maybe the universe just loves them more than you — fear not, not only do I have my upcoming month-long workshop, Season of the Witch, to help you master the fundamentals of manifestation, I am also here to demystify the practice of manifestation. This post is sure to give you some psychologically driven methods just in time to help you make 2023 the year to manifest your desires and wishes!
At its core, manifestation is the practice of shaping your reality through clearly visualizing your desires. There are many different methods of manifesting, including the 369 method, the 33×3 method, and visualization meditations. Many of these rely on the law of attraction, or the belief that “like attracts like” and that if you embody the energy of your desires they will magnetically be drawn to you. This idea can be a tricky one though if you think about its flipside. It can quickly turn into victim blaming if we aren’t careful. Instead, I prefer to rely less on the mysteries of the universe and more on the science of psychology and human behavior. I’ve discussed this at length in my video on manifesting, but today I’m going to share with you the true secret of manifesting to guide you in finding methods that work for you and help you make 2023 the year you start moving toward a life that suits and fulfills you.
Here it is, the big secret to the magic of manifesting: there is no magic in manifesting.
You may be thinking, “Hey aren’t you a witch? Isn’t magick your whole thing?” And yes, you are correct, but in order to manifest the reality you desire, you cannot just idly sit by hoping the universe drops it in your lap. You will need to make changes in your life beyond lighting a candle. You will need to step out of your comfort zone and do things you have never done before. The ritual and visualization that is key to manifesting, is more about repeatedly shifting your mindset to help you see yourself as the kind of person who does the things you dream of doing, than it is about writing a wishlist to the universe (although if that works for you, more power to you!).
Below are a few of my favorite manifestation methods to help you shift your mindset, keep you focused, and help you shape your own reality.
Vision Boarding
Not only is this a particularly fun form of manifestation for the crafty ones among us, it’s also extremely effective. Before you begin printing, cutting, and pasting the life of your dreams, you’ll want to sit down and visualize everything you can about the reality you are trying to create. Be as specific as you can! Set a timeline for your vision board — oftentimes people do a vision board for a whole year or a specific season, think of all the changes you want to make, goals you want to achieve, and anything else you’d like to bring into your life. Sit with each of those events and visualize exactly where you are, how you will feel, what your mindset will be. Visualize anything you can and be as specific as you can be.
Once you are done visualizing, make a list of everything you envisioned for yourself. Then take the time to find images that represent each of those things. Maybe you want to write a book in the coming year and you visualized yourself typing away at your computer surrounded by cups of tea with glasses on your face and thick wooly socks on. Find an image on the internet or in a magazine that shows this as closely as possible, print it, cut it out, and glue it to a large piece of cardboard, or pin it to a corkboard. Do this with each of your desires for the coming year and place your vision board in a place where you will see it regularly.
This board should be a visual reminder of all the things you want in your life and keep you on track for taking the actions you’ll need to take to make them happen.
Writing Letters From Your Future Self
If you are more verbally inclined than visually driven, this may be the manifestation technique you’ve been looking for. The idea is to write your current-self a letter in the voice of your future-self. As with vision boarding, you’ll want to start by envisioning your future as specifically as possible. Once you have done so, sit down and write yourself a letter in the voice of your future-self. Share with yourself as specifically as possible how you feel in the future, what your mindset is like, when and how you were able to achieve these things. Depending on your preference, you can write it on your fanciest stationary with a special pen, type it up on your phone for easy access, or write it down in a manifestation journal. Whatever you do, ritualize it and be sure to make it a special and intentional act. The key with this practice is to write out your future as if it has already happened and is your reality. For current-you, these things are all in the future, but for future-you, they are all the present reality.
Read and write these letters often to help you to internalize the mindset and actions you’ll need in order to manifest your dream life.
Affirmations
An excellent method in its own right, or a fantastic addition to other methods, practicing positive affirmations is a great way to shift your mindset and outlook to help you achieve your goals. Just like with other methods, you will want to start by visualizing your dream life. This time, instead of getting straight to the manifestation, you’ll want to pause and make a list of all of the limiting beliefs, mindsets, and attitudes that are currently preventing you from actualizing your dreams. These may be forms of negative self-talk that you are already aware of like, “I am lazy”, or ”I’m afraid”.
After listing out your limiting beliefs, make a new list that turns all of your negative self-talk into positive affirmations. “I am lazy” could turn into, “I am motivated”. “I’m afraid” could shift to, “I am brave and adventurous”. Whatever shifts you make should reflect the attributes and attitudes you’ll need to have to achieve your goals.
You can post these affirmations on your mirror, record and listen to yourself reading them, or simply practice saying them to yourself when you find you’re slipping into old patterns. The more you repeat these affirmations, the more they will form new pathways in your brain that help you shift your beliefs and actions.
Well, there you have it! Your 2023 manifestation starter pack. Give these methods a try, sign up for my Season of the Witch manifestation workshop, and test out your own practices. Before long, you’ll be able to look back and see just how far you’ve come in creating the reality of your desires.
