Future or Present Tense

[casnarl]

Hiya!

So I am in the process of writing my first original spell that I will perform Thursday night or Friday morning and I have a question about tense.

Currently I have it written with "will" and "then" type of words indicating that it will happen some unknown time in the future, and I am wondering if I should change it to present tense as if it's happening right now.
Or if it doesn't make much of a difference because it'll happen whenever the universe decides it will regardless of the tense I use.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

[EveningWithAstaroth]

Personally, I find it may be dependent on the amount of absolute Faith one is able to generate.

With present tense Say for example, a love spell. I am in a relationship, loving, gentle, kind, with (Name) ever so faithful, whom brings me peace of mind. Etc.

I find it requires Faith utterly and absolute to get you to this present tense wording of a possible future. This actually is possible to achieve, yet the energy is very much spurred on to form by the unwavering faith the participant (caster) is capable of. With an individual prone to doubt, and one prone to look at the present tense with doubt, disbelief, or negative thoughts- and thought produced forms, such as "This is stupid writing it like this, I am not actually with (Name) I have not yet experienced this loving, gentle, kind person I think he/she is, or their faithfulness but they do bring me such peace of mind". This individual prone to doubt, is going to have a harder time, working up the faith and belief during the ritual if they are creating doubts with the thought of it being future related still present in mind, and are going to find difficulty further with faith, if they are focusing on (essentially critiquing) their own words.

However it can be accomplished that the spell can be successful if you have an individual whom is able to focus on the present not yet occurred, with unwavering faith without word focus. A technique used then to help would be perhaps very very high level envisions and visualizations. Such as experimenting visualizing yourself with this individual living this life you want already in sort of a multi-dimensional this is myself living the life I want but is me- in this dimension, like a probable self, or other such visualization techniques. Or to be rather point, more of a focus on other techniques to improve your faith to high levels, other than word, sigil, or any other such mental focus.

Magic can work wonders when you cast a spell, go about your day as if the whole thing was finished you have gone from casting a spell to manifesting results (Be there, feel it manifest), and you forget about it.

The moment you intend and forget you ever intended, is a large window, of sporadic but instant ability to manifest the spell, the magic, the ritual, the outcome, IMO.

So I feel you may consider going with what makes you personally comfortable right now, or Thursday when you plan to perform the spell. What level of belief do you feel you are currently at? Make an honest assessment. And do not worry if you do not feel there yet. Worry not if you feel more future tense oriented than presence tense oriented right now.

There could be a day your faith is insurmountable, and present tense wording phases you not in the least.

By then you may find you have already manifested This person, this spell went off without a hitch, The car was fixed with unexpected income I did not have and no one got harmed!!! The cats are finally getting along, didn't have to get em to a vet, saved money, and You know what? This Celtic Robe looks great on me!

Then you may find yourself here with another post, you are dead pan serious, (I don't know which forum this type post belongs btw, just throwing this out there)- You type out "Guys??? I think I have a Magic Addiction".

And some of us may still be here to let you know "Hey, casnarl? Yep. Us too".

IMo, Whatever gives you a sense of comfort, is going to be the right thing for you. Practice a few more spells first, before you push the good old comfort level to the edge to prove you can walk straight into the storm and come out the other side untouched.

Hope this message finds you well, in comfort, and at peace.

Have faith in yourself. You are every bit capable. Hope you are excited to try out your first hard worked spell.

And also may your results be a success.

Blessings.

[Corbin]

Hiya!

So I am in the process of writing my first original spell that I will perform Thursday night or Friday morning and I have a question about tense.

Currently I have it written with "will" and "then" type of words indicating that it will happen some unknown time in the future, and I am wondering if I should change it to present tense as if it's happening right now.
Or if it doesn't make much of a difference because it'll happen whenever the universe decides it will regardless of the tense I use.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Never rush casting a spell you write ... the actual method of creating it is all part of the process, the act of considering and ruminating about it part of the process, questioning its need, the reasons for its need, the ramifications of its use, the "fallout" - all part of the process.

Occasionally walking away from it is not just allowed but should happen - if you cannot think straight, cannot have self-honesty about the requirement and are driven by emotion (not simply riding it) be aware / wary.

I would say your tense, like your visualisation should be "that it has happened/it is happening".

The magic triangle: Concentration. Visualisation. Determination. Determination means willpower of course, yet it also means "it has been determined".

Its not some "high and mighty" ego thing ... its just there is no room for doubt because its a "damp squib" in spell work. Do it, throw a lot of energy into it, release it - then forget about it, set it aside ... but work toward the goal in the other "dimensions". The spiritual plane of spellwork is an initiator, we do not live in a vaccume however.

Visualise (daydream a little "play") of the results but leave the actual methods you arrived there in the shadows. Let the universe conspire to make it happen.

You can almost avoid tenses entirely, letting it read out like a statement or weaving it, like a poem.

Don't forget including limitations and provisions - "if's and should's - less as tenses and more as clauses ... or the methods you arrive at the result may not be to your liking.

[casnarl]

Magic can work wonders when you cast a spell, go about your day as if the whole thing was finished you have gone from casting a spell to manifesting results (Be there, feel it manifest), and you forget about it.

The moment you intend and forget you ever intended, is a large window, of sporadic but instant ability to manifest the spell, the magic, the ritual, the outcome, IMO.

So I feel you may consider going with what makes you personally comfortable right now, or Thursday when you plan to perform the spell. What level of belief do you feel you are currently at? Make an honest assessment. And do not worry if you do not feel there yet. Worry not if you feel more future tense oriented than presence tense oriented right now.

There could be a day your faith is insurmountable, and present tense wording phases you not in the least.

Thanks for your input! I think this speaks a lot to me, because of my mental health I can go from extreme optimist to extreme pessimist in 24 hours so while I may be able to wholeheartedly believe one day I may not the next and so in this case future tense may be better. I am very bad at letting things or thoughts go and I will often dwell on something for most of the day before I get distracted by something enough to forget. Right now this very second I feel if I had all my supplies I could do it present tense as I am feeling quite good today (although my fellow peers in the geography computer lab with me right now might give me some weird looks ) but you're right that I should go with how I feel as I may not feel the same Thursday. I am however quite excited for this spell and have been gathering information and tools since the 15th so I imagine when I sit down to actually do it I'll feel pretty good. Either way, I have created a slightly altered copy with present tense wording and so in the actual moment I can choose which one I feel is right.

Never rush casting a spell you write ... the actual method of creating it is all part of the process, the act of considering and ruminating about it part of the process, questioning its need, the reasons for its need, the ramifications of its use, the "fallout" - all part of the process.

I would say your tense, like your visualisation should be "that it has happened/it is happening".


You can almost avoid tenses entirely, letting it read out like a statement or weaving it, like a poem.

Don't forget including limitations and provisions - "if's and should's - less as tenses and more as clauses ... or the methods you arrive at the result may not be to your liking.

I appreciate your take on it too.
Since it's my first one I've made it so it's sort of a culmination of all of my 11:11 wishes from the past couple of months so it's all things that have already been in my brain for quite some time I just now after finding this website and finding spells & magic believe I have a way to perhaps bring them into fruition as opposed to just laying in my bed with my eyes closed and saying "I wish blah blah blah" and not giving it another second. And if I have to say, I think it's more or less been my only project for the past several days - in terms of the amount of time and thought I have given it. I even missed the entire video about the london underground in my college class yesterday because I was thinking about it (the need, reason, ramifications, etc)

The first draft I wrote in future tense like I said using words like "will" and "and then" and things of that nature, but I felt by doing it that way I was not explicitly saying WHEN I wanted these things to happen, and so I wanted to change to present tense so that it'd be cast in a way of it's happening RIGHT NOW, not off at some random unknown point in the future. But like EveningWithAstaroth mentioned I should be considering my faith in the words and my belief and if I can truly bring myself to believe it's happening RIGHT NOW, or if I should cast in future tense and leave a little bit of anonymity to the WHEN. I'm also not sure if anonymity is the right word I just feel like using bigger words than my normal vocabulary today I guess...

I would say it is very poem-like I unintentionally made the entire thing rhyme in a A/B/A/B sort of way as that just felt the most natural and sounded the best during the writing. I didn't even realize until the end. I think I might have even forgone grammar in one spot so that it rhymed.

The part about including the limitations/provisions with ifs and shoulds confuses me a little bit though - could you please elaborate on that? If I understand it's like saying "I want this (in this way)" vs just "I want this"... Am I correct?

[Corbin]

Limitations and provisions, they are like clauses in contracts. They also show you have deeply and honestly considered before casting and respect, for the people effected and the forces being tapped into.

(examples)

... if it harm none ...

Say you did a money spell. And a relative keeled over and died, bequething you money. It may have nothing to do with your casting but it would still be pretty horrible wouldn't it? You may suspect but never really know?

... should it not interfere with their fate / karmic path ...

They may be on a path of spiritual growth - they are not always sweetness and light, a troubled way may be the path of evolution. Who are we to interfere with peoples destinies?

... if ill intent be what you seek, receive it tenfold when you speak ...

That is a clause: if you are biting you will get bit .. if it is not the deliberate intent you will be untouched.

Clauses make sure the right spells fail - better that then the burden of a misfired success.

-----

A balanced degree of vagueness is not a bad thing. Should you say (example) cast a spell to win the lottery. Good luck - people wish for that everyday so your wish has a lot of competition. The wish / charm to simply win money however may be just vague enough ... but there is an upkeep, you would need to exert some effort entering competitions. Is your need greater then others? Do you feel you actually deserve it ? (if you don't you could have a subconscious block, taboo or ban). The hardest thing to accept trying to help people is their willingness to accept it for themselves or believe they deserve it. Some people thrive on their suffering and put their energy into it - we are a self-punishing species - trying to alleviate it can actually be an act against their will.

... all those kinda things.

[casnarl]

Ah, thank you! That definitely makes sense.

Man, if I wished for money and a family member suddenly died I'd feel awful! You're right you'd really not know for sure but you are also right that we are a self-punishing species I see how it can be important to include a little asterisk in the spell here and there.