When Your Magic Feels Stuck, Look to Your Journal

There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes when you’ve done everything “right”—gathered your ingredients, set your intention, spoken your words into the flame—and still, nothing shifts. You start to wonder: is the problem me? Has my power gone quiet? Maybe I’m just not meant for this path at all.

Here’s what thirty-five years of practice has taught me: when your magic feels stuck, it’s rarely about your power. It’s about your data—the notes, reflections, and observations that live in your journal.

Your magical journal isn’t the technical “how-to” of spellwork—that belongs in your Book of Shadows. This is the intimate record of you: what you truly want, why you want it, how magic moves through your life, and which beliefs might be quietly holding you back.

Let’s explore how to turn your journal into one of the most powerful tools in your practice.

The Difference Between a Journal and a Book of Shadows

Your Book of Shadows is your reference library. It holds spells, correspondences, ritual outlines, herbs, crystals, and moon phases—all the technical know-how of the craft.

Your magical journal is something else entirely. It’s the story of your relationship with magic. It tracks your desires before they become spells, captures signs and synchronicities, and reveals patterns in how you experience intuition, what blocks you, and what makes your power sing.

This is sacred, personal work—and it deserves to be treated as such.

Consecrating Your Journal

Before you begin, make your journal sacred. Gather representations of the four elements: a candle (fire), incense (air), salt (earth), and water.

Start with the salt. Hold your hand over it and say:

“I cleanse and consecrate this salt so that it will serve me in my work. Remove all malefic energy and replace with benefic energy.”

Add the salt to the water, saying:

“I cleanse and consecrate this water so that it may serve me in my work. Remove all malefic energy and replace with benefic energy.”

Lightly sprinkle your journal with the salt water—just a few drops—and say:

“I cleanse and consecrate this magical journal so that it will serve me in my work. Remove all malefic energy and replace with benefic energy.”

Pass the journal through incense smoke, repeating your intention, then carefully near (but not through) the candle flame. Visualise the elements cleansing and charging your journal. See golden light rising from the flame, blue energy flowing through the smoke. You’re creating a container for your magic to speak honestly.

Three Ways to Work With Your Journal for Better Spellwork

1. Plan Your Spells With Clarity

Before casting, write in your journal:

• Date

• Moon phase & astrological sign

• Your desire – Be specific (“I want work that uses my creative skills and pays fairly” instead of “I want more money”)

• Why do you want it? Dig past the surface. What does this desire truly mean to you? Freedom? Security? Creative expression?

• How it will feel – Close your eyes and feel it in your body. Bring that energy into your spell.

Tracking the moon sign also helps you notice patterns in your energy and emotions.

2. Track the Signs

Magic whispers more than it shouts. Every few days, note what you notice:

• New inspiration to act in ways you wouldn’t normally

• Opportunities, invitations, or conversations that open doors

• Repeating numbers, animals, or symbols

These are breadcrumbs showing your magic is moving. Recording them trains you to recognise magic and builds confidence in your work.

3. Name Your Resistance

This is often the hardest but most transformative step.

Ask: What do I actually believe about my ability to have this?
Write down doubts, old stories, or “yeah, buts.” Don’t try to fix them—just see them.

Because when you can see a limiting belief, you can begin to change it. When beliefs shift, the magic flows. You may use tapping (EFT), reframing, or shadow work to transform these patterns—but it starts by naming them in your journal.

A Personal Note

If you’ve been stuck and wonder if you’re cut out for witchcraft, hear this:

• You are not broken.

• Your magic is not gone.

• You’re learning to listen more closely.

Witchcraft isn’t about perfection; it’s about presence. Your journal is your mirror—where confusion becomes clarity, and clarity becomes power. You don’t need to have it all figured out; you just need to start noticing.

Want More Guidance?

If you’d like extra support on this path, I offer a free masterclass, How to Start Your Witchcraft Practice. It will help you get unstuck and practice with confidence.

For ongoing mentorship and a complete guided system, you can explore Mystery Witch School.

Wherever you are right now, you are exactly where you need to be. Blessed be.

Magick is real, and you have the power to use it.

If you want to find out how to start your witchcraft practice watch How To Start Your Witchcraft Practice

This FREE Masterclass video shows you exactly where to start learning and what you need to do to practice modern witchcraft easily and safely. 

• Discover exactly what you need to learn to become a successful witch
• Uncover the exact steps you need to take to build your natural magickal gifts
• Overcome failure by knowing what you need to learn and when to learn it
• Confidently develop a practice that will connect you to your higher self, nature and the Goddess and God
• Become one of the few witches who maintain a consistent and fulfilling practice

Join me on Social Media