Keeping a journal is one of the easiest and most enjoyable secrets of magic to learn. Journals help us keep track of the magic we are doing, explore our feelings, mine our experiences for insights, and reach silent and hidden parts of ourselves. Over time journals allow us to trace our magical development and detect patterns in our lives. Journals can help us set magical goals and figure out what we really want.

There are many ways to keep a journal. Some people prefer to write with pen on paper. Some people like beautiful bound books that draw them in to write with their sheer beauty. Others prefer inexpensive steno books and scratchpads that they can use up quickly. Still others prefer to keep their journals electronically, typing them directly into a file. Some people create web blogs to share with the world, while others keep their journals strictly private. The best journal for you is the one that will get you to write in it!

We can use our journal to record the affirmations we make. Writing our affirmations helps us to get clearer on what we want them to say. Seeing the words on the page or screen makes the affirmation more real in our lives.

Affirmation

I write in my journal every day.

Practice: Keeping a journal

Write a journal entry every day this week. It can be as little as one line or fill many pages. It can be about anything at all. If you’re stuck for how to start, try answering some or all of these questions. The answers to these questions will help you make affirmations. Some of the answers will also provide material for your study of the elements in your life.

Journal questions

• Date: What day and date is it? Include the year.
• Place: Where are you? At home, at a coffee shop, at school?
• Weather: What is the weather like today?
• Body/Earth: How is your body feeling? Are you tired, hungry, cold, under the weather? Or are you well rested, well fed, warm, and healthy?
• Feeling/Water: Without thinking about it, quickly write the first word that comes to mind to describe your emotional state.
• Thinking/Air: What did you notice today you hadn’t seen before? Did you learn something new?
• Passion/Fire: What interested you today? Did you encounter something that was exciting to you?