This time of year my Facebook feed is loaded with posts from friends who plan to make New Year’s resolutions. The content is always the same: “I’m going to loose weight, eat healthy food, go to the gym, travel more, live a more peaceful life, (you fill in the blank).” Yet, my suspicion is that most of these resolutions will fall apart by the end of January. Why is this the case? My friends are well intentioned. All of these things are noble goals to achieve. However, each of these resolutions requires a lot of work and effort on a daily basis in order for them to become a reality. Unfortunately, most people don’t have the fortitude to see them through.

Those of us who are magical people understand that resolutions must have power behind them. They have to go beyond words posted to Facebook. Adelina St. Claire, in The Path of a Christian Witch, makes the following observation: “All you need is will. There is no more to say about it. It is so simple, and yet it is impossible for us to fathom. And this can’t be taught. You can only be made aware of its importance and its effects. Jesus taught that if you have faith the side of a mustard seed, you could uproot trees. This was not merely the metaphor for the importance of putting our faith in God. It is the essence of will. I believe he meant this in the most concrete of forms. When you truly believe that you influence the world, the world responds in kind.”

When you think about it, magical people make resolutions all the time, but we do it more than once a year. Some of us call them spells or charms. Others speak of the need to focus our intention or will. The truth behind this magical language is the belief that the Universe/Divine will not hear our request unless we speak it with clarity and power. Our spell does not have to be perfect. We do not have to have the right color candle or herb. We simply need to focus your intention, make our will known, and believe that it will come true.

This does not mean the Universe/Divine will grant us everything we ask for. Thankfully the Universe/Divine knows what’s best for us and will grant those requests that are for the highest and greatest good of all concerned. It also means we might have to work a particular spell/request over and over again in order for a shift to occur. This is especially true for big things such as sending healing energy to someone with an illness, opening up a new career pathway, letting go of bad habits and destructive behaviors, etc.

So, there’s nothing wrong with making New Year’s resolutions but don’t forget to put some power behind them! Don’t simply post them of Facebook and expect something to happen. Instead let us write them on our hearts, put our personal energy into them, enlist the help of the Universe/Divine and the elemental spirits, and see what wonderful things come our way in 2016!

Copyright ©2016 by David Taliesin.