Magic: Just How Much Silence Do We Need To Keep?

If you’ve been around magic and witchcraft for very long, you know – or at least have heard of – the Witches’ Pyramid, a concept first articulated by Eliphas Levi in the 19^th century. It provides a framework for modern Western magic, no matter what techniques or traditions you use. To Know, to Dare, to Will, and to Keep Silence are the four sides of the pyramid.

Lately I’m seeing a lot of people talking about the “keep silence” part.

Some people are saying you should never talk about any magic. Not just that you shouldn’t talk about spells in progress, but that you shouldn’t share your techniques, post pictures of altars or workings, or anything else that would give someone insight into what you do and how you do it.

Some of these are people I respect. I’m not going to rebut their arguments. Instead, I want to talk about why they have a point and why some of them are going too far, from my own perspective as someone who’s been working magic for 30 years.

And that beings with some very good reasons why you shouldn’t talk about your magic.

Energetic leaks

How does magic work? I see it as one part manipulation of unseen energy, one part intervention of Gods and spirits, and one part psychological programming. Some magical workings use only one approach, but most use a combination of two or all three. In all three approaches, you focus your will towards a goal and then you give it time to work.

When you talk about a working in progress, your focus is diminished, diluted, and directed away from your target. It’s like opening the oven door when you’re baking a cake – the rush of cold air may cause your cake to fall.

This is the core reasoning behind “keep silence.” It makes good sense. Plus unless you have a need to talk about it, there’s no downside to keeping silence.

Premature celebration

I learned a lot from Dolores Nabors besides how to read Tarot. Dolores liked to say “when you talk about your spells, you tell the Universe you’ve already got what you want and so the magic stops.” Now, I don’t think “the Universe” is a conscious entity that gives and takes things to or from us. But I’ve seen enough over the years to understand that Dolores had a good point.

This is like a football player who spikes the ball at the 2 yard line instead of making sure he’s in the end zone, and in the process fumbles the ball to the other team. Or, if you prefer an older metaphor, don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

Sometimes I talk about how I have some long-term magic in progress, workings that started years ago and have at least a couple more years to go. But that’s all you’re going to hear from me on this until they’re done.

Inspiring unconscious jealousy

This is one of the reasons I frequently hear for why you shouldn’t say anything about your magic. Some people will hear what you’re doing, get jealous because they don’t have what you’re working for (or because you can work magic for it and they can’t or won’t) and subconsciously work against you.

Magic is real but it’s often faint – it’s the Butterfly Effect. All we know at the end of the day is that the spell worked, or it didn’t work. We can never be sure which piece of magic – or which mundane action – pushed something over the line from “not happening” to “happening.” So if a working is right at the edge – as much magic is – even a little negative energy from someone who’s jealous of it can be the thing that keeps your working from crossing the line.

People can’t be jealous of things they don’t know about. Keep silence.

Inspiring malicious jealousy and opposition

This is where I disagree with some people I like and respect. I don’t see a lot of this. But some people do – they’ve experienced it themselves. Maybe I have better shields and wards. Maybe I haven’t attracted the attention of the kinds of people they have. Or maybe I’m just naïve.

But even if I haven’t seen much of this, other people have, and it absolutely can happen.

And some people who wouldn’t bother hexing you because you’re doing magic they can’t or won’t would definitely try to harm you out of envy if you get more social media or in-person attention than they do. Is that petty? Yes, humans can be petty creatures.

Keeping silence keeps you protected.

Outing yourself as a witch

We who live in a golden age of magic and witchcraft often forget that being a witch used to be hazardous to your health. In some parts of the world, it still is.

There is a spiritual war going on. Most of it is taking place in the Otherworld, but some of it is spilling over into the ordinary world. And while the Christian Nationalists who are causing so many political problems are mostly focused on immigrants and LGBTQ people, witches and Pagans are on their list as well. Plus intersectionality is real, and many of us are also in more vulnerable categories.

So while religious freedom still applies to Pagans (most of the time) and our mainstream society officially says magic isn’t real, who knows how long that will last. Discretion is often the better part of valor.

These are some of the reasons why keeping silence is a good and necessary thing. But there are also good reasons to talk about your magic.

Celebrate your successes

While I occasionally solicit advice from my fellow witches and other practitioners, once a spell starts I rarely if ever talk about it. But once it’s over? If it works I want to celebrate, and if I took someone’s magical suggestions and they worked I want to tell them about it.

We need to recognize our magical successes. Magic rarely works in dramatic fashion. Most times it works subtly (the Butterfly Effect again) and it’s easy to overlook… or to rationalize away. Keep good notes and review them periodically: learn from your mistakes, but also learn from your successes. And when you have a success, celebrate it.

You can celebrate in silence. For certain types of spells, you’re better off if you do. But any celebration is better when you share it with your friends.

Teaching others

Part of my life’s mission is to learn and grow, and to help others to learn and grow. I do that by teaching, and most of my teaching is simply telling people what I do, why and how I do it, and how it worked out for me.

“Magic” is one of the most common tags on my blog posts. I have an on-line, on-demand class on Operative Magic. I’ve taught magic in small groups and at large gatherings.

There are some traditions that require all teaching be done one-to-one, face-to-face, with only qualified and certified teachers and only properly vetted students. I respect those traditions, and if you’re part of one I encourage you to maintain that tradition. But I’m not.

Now, I’m not going to teach cursing to someone I barely know. Teachers aren’t strictly responsible for their students’ actions, but I’m not going to hand the metaphysical equivalent of a loaded gun to someone I don’t know and know well.

But magical principles and basic magical techniques and practices? I’ve put a lot on this blog and I’m sure I’ll write more in the future.

Normalizing magic

I have no desire to “prove” magic is real to skeptics. I’d be wasting my time – they would just ignore any evidence that doesn’t match their materialistic assumptions (to be fair, the evidence for the efficacy of magic is real, but it doesn’t rise to the level of scientific proof).

At the same time, most people aren’t entirely dismissive of magic. And while I have no interest in being an evangelist for magic and witchcraft, I do want those who have an interest in such things to know that there’s something to it… because there was a time when I was that person, and my life would have been better if I had understood this sooner.

So particularly in Pagan spaces, I want to talk about my magic: what works and what doesn’t work, what’s helpful and what’s not worth the trouble. I want people who are on the fence about magic and witchcraft to see that yes, this is real, and yes, it can be helpful to them.

Have a little modesty

Maybe it’s because I’m a late Boomer who’s always felt like I’m really Gen X. Maybe it’s because I’ve never liked calling attention to myself. Or maybe it’s just because I’m old. But some of the social media influencer witches really turn me off. Their magic may be good, but it can’t be as good as their Instagram and TikTok feeds make it look.

Celebrating your successes is one thing. Bragging all the time is another. And in my experience, people who brag all the time usually aren’t as successful as they pretend to be.

My own practice

If you want to know what I talk about, just browse the blog. I talk about techniques and practices, about past successes and failures, about what I’ve learned in the past and what I hope to learn in the future.

I don’t talk about spells in progress except at the highest, most generic level. “To keep silence” is part of the Witches’ Pyramid for a good reason.

I’m rather open about basic stuff, rather guarded about more advanced stuff, and very guarded about personal stuff.

I don’t worry much about giving bad people a connection to me. I trust my wards and shields, my spiritual alliances, and my defensive magic to keep me safe. And when necessary, my more aggressive magic.

You must, of course, choose the approach that seems best for you. When in doubt say less rather than more.

“Keep silence” is an important principle of magic. But it doesn’t mean “never talk about magic.”