#because when I was in discords linking stuff about deities and the history of theosophy and reading about all the things people on witchtok

[chronichlesofnillory]

Very much the same! I tend to explain it as everything I do comes and goes like seasons and sometimes you need to let certain things rest so you can bring new things to it later. I'm very much like this with pretty much every aspect of my life from crafting to cooking and baking to my magic.

The three things that worked for me were:

+ Make sure you have magic that isn't all ritual and isn't all buried in steps and things that you have to remember. I know there's that timeless sort of shitpost sort of serious "is stirring intention in your coffee magic?" but yes, if that's what gets you doing magic it's magic. Doing magic for me is talking to things, it's "oh I keep having this dream or image pop into my head, maybe that's something I should sort of just go with and see where it ends up". There's a lot of people who get a lot out of studying and reading and taking notes and treating their magic like a college class and if that works for you that's great (seriously! It is great to find what works for you) but I need breaks.

+ If you want to write stuff down for later treat it like you would a recipe you would find by one of those bloggers who has the 15 paragraphs about their grandma's favorite porcelain frog in their frog collection, and they write every step to the meal like you've never cooked a day in your life. It might feel weird or silly writing why you're using basil instead of rosemary in the margins or whatever, but if it means that it somehow jogs your memory or re-teaches you something do it. If you need to remember where the spell came from and what mindset you were in and the life events that were taking place, write it down. You could have audio files you link in a digital grimoire, or link the youtube videos or instagram posts or whatever that inspired you. Sometimes taking notes that actually link all the pieces together make you remember more.

+ When you do "study" or get super in the moment into magic, do the stuff that you actually like because you're more likely to keep up with it or remember it when you come back to it. I always have to re-teach myself crochet every 3 years because I dislike doing it, but I still want some crochet things so I just save it all up until I huff and puff and go "okay fine, it's now." But sewing both hand and machine I remember no matter how much time, same with embroidery or clay or chain maille or playing certain video games or making certain recipes. Because I have little youtube playlists or websites that act as "refreshers" and I like doing those things, if I haven't done chain maille in 5 years I can watch one video and instantly be able to make you a Byzantine bracelet or dragonscale piece. So if you're spending your time reading or doing magic that is just meh to you and you're not excited about it, not only will you burn out fast but you're not going to remember it. If you don't like energy work or working with crystals or wicca or traditional magic or only doing protection magic just do other stuff!

I really wanna engage with my practice more, I tend to get phases where I’m really into something and then drop it and forget anything I learned by the time I come back, it makes me feel like a perpetual beginner

Surely I’m not the only one?