Definitions aside, both have negative connotations. If someone called you a "failure", would you see the upside and say "Hey, but I've learned from my mistakes and shortcomings!"? Probably not. You'd be offended, seeing the mistakes in yourself as the world must see them. It's the same with a spell. By terming it a "failure", we think back to what we did to make it so.
It's slightly different when someone says a spell didn't "work". I don't like this because, even if it didn't have the intended effects, it did some work. Chances are it taught you something, right? But we'll return to that in a bit.
So, why do I believe spells don't "fail"? This goes back to my view of magic. Whatever energy we put out in the universe WILL have effects. They might not be the effects we wanted, and there are several reasons for that:
1. Our goal in wording our spell (or in visualization of our intent during the performance of the spell) wasn't clear
2. The other parts of our Self (Younger and Higher) might know something we (the Middle Self) don't. They might redirect the energy (or put it on hold) to do us a favor. If our Selves aren't working together properly, it means our true Will isn't known to us, so we can't be sure any spell we do is in accordance with our Will (big "W" means I'm referring to the "Will" Crowley discussed, not "I want it, so I will it to be so" as in the case of that cute boy in homeroom we want to notice us). In this case, the energy put forth in the spell is sent off in another direction to bring us what we need rather than what we want at that time. After all, magic is "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will". If our "Will" isn't known to our Middle Self, our Younger and Higher Selves, that know what our Will is, take the matter into their own hands.
Do those outcomes mean we did something "wrong"? It depends on your definition of "wrong". I choose to see them as learning opportunities rather than chances to point the finger of blame or guilt back at ourselves. You might learn that you need to work on the unity of the whole Self and discovering your true Will or you might see an opportunity to work more on visualization and wording of spells. So, we can see the spell "worked" in helping you to realize areas that need improvement. How can we say the spell didn't "work" then? It might not have worked in the way we wanted, dreamed about, and planned for, but it did some work for us and toward our spiritual progression.
Now, let's look at the definition of "failure":
"An event that does not accomplish its intended purpose"
Well, this is certainly true of the spell in question. However, I'm still on the side of "failure" having a bad connotation to most people. So, I'll still maintain the spell didn't "fail".
Why else might we think spells don't work?
Time!
Many people do a spell, wait a week, and jump to the conclusion that because 1000 hasn't jumped into their lap after their prosperity spell that it didn't work. A week is nothing in the general scheme of things. Sure, some spells work incredibly fast, but others take years for the energy to work its purpose. Sometimes this is because of one of the reasons above (mainly the Younger/Higher dilemma because they know you're not ready to handle winning the lottery at 23 or what have you), and sometimes it just takes time to allow the opportunity to arise. For another example, if you did a spell to find your "soul mate", and they live in Africa and you live in the US, it might take a while for you two to run into each other.
Effort!
We cannot forget effort in here either. It's a biggie to consider when spells "don't work". How much time did you spendworking on the spell? An hour? How much energy was raised? How much effort did you put in post-spell? Did you spend five minutes copying a spell out of a book to lose weight, raise a teensy bit of energy, send it out, and go back to eating twinkies and cheetos on the couch all day? Forgetting the fact that you put no effort into the spell itself (as I've done too much on writing your own spells and rituals in the past), you forgot the most important part of magic-follow-through! You cannot expect someone to knock on your door and offer you a job if you never sent out resumes, never network, etc. Magic doesn't work that way. It follows the easiest course of action (but that's another discussion completely). Magic is an aid, not the end-all-be-all of your journey toward whatever it is you did the spell in order to obtain.
Another reason people usually cite for spells not working is fate or destiny. As someone who doesn't believe many things are preordained in this life, I, frankly, find this difficult to wrap my head around. I encountered a witch who believed everything was preordained once. I still can't figure out why one would do magic if the outcome was set in stone. Maybe that's just my hatred of the thought that everything in life is already planned out.
That said, I do believe a few things are preordained (usually by our souls before incarnation). I don't, however, think they are set in stone. So, if a spell just never comes to fruition, I might, on my deathbed, chalk it up to fate or what have you. I probably wouldn't jump to that conclusion after a few weeks or even a few years (although, I suppose I guess it depends on the spell; if I were doing a spell to protect my family from a hurricane that didn't do its job, I can understand this conclusion).
So, with effort, time, follow-through, solid foundation, and in accordance with true Will, spells do work. They might not work in the way we expect, though. I'll use an oldie but a goodie-if you do a prosperity spell, the money might come from a deceased loved one. You got your money, but it probably (hopefully) wasn't in the way you wanted it to come to you. Again, magic follows the path of least resistance. That might have been the easiest way to get it (it's especially easier than the lottery example-think of how many people are sending out energy into the universe to win that thing!), especially if you aren't doing anything to get it yourself!
Remember, it might take time and it might be tricky, but magic works!
Tags: reclaiming tradition witch tithing the active ingredient folk magic spells amarillo tx obit black magic satanism how ukraine celebrates christma through our soles our
