Rituals to Rewrite Your Beliefs: Air Magic

The element of air can be found in the East on the spiral path of magic. Air represents the invisible forces that shape our lives, including how we breathe, feeling the wind against the skin on our face, and the frequencies that we listen to, and it also represents the unseen realms.

The unseen realms may seem invisible, but they hold may connections to the element of air—especially the beliefs we hold about ourselves, the world, and the power of our ability to choose. Our beliefs create the thoughts that we have over and over. The thoughts that repeat then create the voice that we use to speak to ourselves. How we speak to ourselves and of ourselves influence every aspect of our lives and the magic we seek. We cannot hold these beliefs in our hands like a traditional air magic tool, but we can pull them out one at a time and put them on our altar and explore if the beliefs we are carrying are serving us (and the world) or not.

As a physical element, we can go days without food, days without water, and even years without the warmth of the sun on our skin. Take away air and our bodies will die within minutes. Air is different from the other elements because it is always in motion, impossible to grasp, and often overlooked because it is as elusive as trying to hold a cloud.

As a magical element, the traditional correspondences are feathers, the wand (swords in some traditions), bell, or incense. Air is also known as our breath, the wind, sound, and frequency. All of this is true, but air has another facet.

From a spiritual and soul perspective, air is the element that governs the mental plane and our beliefs. This is where we are going to spend time in this deep dive into the element of air: our beliefs and how they are shaping our lives.

We are always choosing, whether or not we realize it. Most of those choices happen beneath our first layer of thinking, deep in our subconscious, shaped by the beliefs we carry about ourselves, the world, and what is possible. Those beliefs direct the decisions we make, the opportunities we notice (or not), and the way we approach our magic, because our beliefs create what we experience to be true.

We spend an enormous amount of time gathering tools and far less time examining the beliefs about how/why we use those tools and if they will work for us. What you believe to be true about yourself, your intuition, and your ability to create change will have a far greater impact on your practice than the kind of feather you place on the east side of your altar. The feathers matter. The altar matters. But what you believe about them matters even more.

Air Is Always in Play
Air never stops moving. Your lungs never stop breathing (many people go their whole lives without even learning how to give their breath, lungs, and body their attention) and your mind never stops creating meaning. Every breath enters your body unseen, nourishing every cell without you asking it to. In much the same way, every belief enters your life without your knowing and shapes your choices long before you recognize its influence. Air teaches us that some of the most powerful forces are the ones we cannot see.

Like our breath, which we are doing without even thinking about it, we are making thousands of micro-decisions without realizing. When we begin to understand air beyond the physical form, like tools we use, and go deeper into the mental and spiritual nature, we discover an entirely new layer of magic to be unlocked.

Air is always in play.

When we begin to understand air this way, we stop seeing it as something that exists only in our breath or in the wind. We begin to recognize it as an unseen set of ongoing choices moving as a current through every conversation, every thought, every ritual, and every spell.

Our beliefs become part of that current. They shape the way we perceive possibility and the energy we bring into our lives. They can open doors we never imagined were available, or quietly convince us they were never there to begin with. No spell can overcome what you believe to be true about yourself. Magic can influence the field both energetically and physically, but your beliefs are a stronger force of nature because they influence both energy and the state of what's possible inside your mind.

So how do you discover the beliefs that are determining the outcome of your magic?

First, we need to look at the places where the air has stopped moving and where your beliefs are as permanent as a brick you are carrying around in your backpack of the past. Just as stagnant air becomes heavy, stagnant beliefs become so rooted that we hold onto them without even realizing it. So we need to take out those bricks of beliefs, one at a time, and determine if we want to keep carrying them or not.

Use this list as an example to find out where and how your beliefs are at play:

• You might believe you're not intuitive because you've convinced yourself intuition belongs to other, "gifted" people. Or you feel like psychic gifts are for "special" people.
• You might believe magic only works for those who have a certain lineage or title, which stops you from doing spell work because you think you aren't good enough or have enough of the right bloodline to do the work.
• You might believe your dreams are unrealistic because somewhere along the line, someone told you who you are supposed to be. Or you've been conditioned to believe that a "realistic" life is the safe choice. Inspiration isn't something you are used to fostering when thinking of your future because you've already assumed what it will be.
• You might believe your ritual failed because you didn't have the perfect tools, do it on the right moon cycle, or messed it up, instead of exploring what belief you have about the outcome you intended.
• You might believe you're always one more class, one more certification, or one more book away from being ready.
• You might believe your voice isn't important or that if you speak up, you'll be judged, so you stay silent when your ideas could change the direction of your life, project, work, or relationship.
• You might believe that magic should look like what you see in the movies, causing you to overlook the simple, powerful magic available to you daily.
• You might believe you've always been this way and never questioning whether the story you've carried for years is simply a belief waiting to be rewritten.
• You might believe the universe is withholding magic from you, or that you aren't lucky, or hold onto a victim story so tightly because it's the only facet you see about yourself.

Sound familiar? We've all felt at least one of these at some point and time, sometimes all of it at once. The power of air magic is looking at these beliefs, one at a time, and deciding to change them. To do so, we need to ask ourselves, "Is this true?" and, "What else could also be true?"

On the other side of this spectrum of beliefs are ones that you'll want to keep—the ones that are benefitting you, such as the strengths you know you bring to your work and career, the depth of love you have for your family, your survival skills from making it through hard parts of life&3151;and you may also know there is more magic inside you waiting to be set free. All can exist at the same time.

The Truth
The beautiful thing about beliefs is that they are not fixed. They may have shaped your choices yesterday, but they do not have to shape the ones you make tomorrow. Once you become aware of the undercurrent of how these beliefs are shaping your life and your magic, you can begin to work with them instead of them running the show.

Changing a belief isn't about forcing yourself to think positively or pretending difficult experiences never happened. It's about creating enough space for a new viewpoint to arise or maybe even seeing it through the lens of what you learned as a result.

Air magic gives us countless ways to do work with the physical, spiritual, and emotional unseen energies that shape our lives and certainly shape our magic. The first place I suggest you start is by evaluating your beliefs. Spend 30 to 60 days in a focused intention of exploring your beliefs and asking yourself why. This can be as simple as a journal prompt each day that starts with, "I believe (belief) because (reason)," and then ask, "Do I really believe this to be true and why?" and then move to, "What else could be true?"

It will look like this:

1. Start with a fresh page in your journal and write out a list a beliefs (even from the list above) or describe an area of your life where spells haven't worked or you know there is a blockage. You may even think of it as the things you want, but don't have yet.
2. Then, each day for 30 days, take one item from the list on put it on the top of a fresh page. Then ask yourself, "Why don't I have this thing?" or, "What reasons do I believe this isn't possible for me?" Fill half of the page.
3. Then ask, "What else could be true?" Explore what other possibilities might exist, even if you need to pull from your imagination, or a different lens (or perspective). When I struggle with this part, I'll ask the question, "How would my spirit guide see this?
4. Then the next day, pull a new area from the list (or repeat the same one again).
5. Once the 30 days are done, proceed to the rituals below.

Rewrite Your Beliefs Rituals
Do one or all of these rituals, paying attention to how it feels as you go.

1. Rewrite the story of one belief in a ritual. Start with one belief that you identified in the starting practice. Write that doubt out exactly as it is. Then cross it out and write a different version, one that pulls from the question of, "What else could be true?" Then, read that new story aloud to yourself for 30 days.
2. If you have identified that you are stuck in this phase of life and feel like it's always going to be this way, begin to change your routines. Do something completely different. Start a list of "new experiences I'm going to try." This can be something as small as walking a different way to work, taking a walk if you normally don't, trying a new restaurant, or working a spell you haven't used before. Focus on keeping it light, playful, and centered on change. The motto of this exercise: throwing caution to the wind.
3. Instead of taking another class, do the workings you already know. Practice them daily, more slowly, with singular focus. Breathe life into each spell and let the completion of doing the working be enough. Then confidence will begin to change your beliefs through practice.
4. If you are moving through layers of self-doubt that you identified in the first list, whether about magic or any other area of your life, build a "Power Playlist" that contains all the songs that make you feel powerful, worthy, and in control of your energy. Focus on 10–15 songs that give you a boost and make you want to sing out loud and move your body. Once your playlist is created, play it from beginning to end once a week, dancing and singing the entire time.
5. Clear stagnant energy that has settled in your throat from years of not speaking up by practicing the primal scream. Drive your car to an empty place where nobody will hear you and let out three full screams. The first one will probably shock you because you've likely never heard the full capacity of your own voice. Let this one be the warm-up. Before the second scream, close your eyes, take several deep breaths, and feel it moving through your entire body. Then with the third one, let it rip. Sit with yourself afterward and notice how you feel. Finish by putting on a soft song that makes you feel loving toward yourself.
6. Write an incantation that explains what beliefs you are shedding and what you are growing into. It can begin with, "I am growing and expanding who I am becoming and am open to the magic of something new." Write until it feels complete, even if it becomes a few paragraphs long. Record yourself speaking it aloud. Tuck the original written copy under your pillow or, if you'd like, roll it into a scroll with a favorite plant ally (such as lavender, cedar, or rosemary) and tie it closed. Play the recording each night before you go to sleep.
7. A wonderful practice is to write questions on small pieces of paper and place them in a bowl on your altar. Each day, choose one question and spend time journaling with it while sitting at your altar. This daily devotional practice will teach you a great deal about your current beliefs and help you recognize which ones are supporting you and which ones are ready to change.
   
   Here are some examples: I am a good person because...
   I've always believed...
   Magic works because...
   I don't trust myself when...
   The story I keep repeating is...
   If I fully believed in myself, I would...
   What belief am I afraid to let go of?
   What do I know to be true that I've never questioned?
   What new belief am I ready to grow into?
   Return the questions to the bowl when done so it may be chosen again another day. Create as many as you want.

The Greatest Air Magic You'll Ever Practice
The traditional correspondences of air matter and you should keep them in your practice—the feathers on your altar, incense and energy clearing, songs that create feeling, breathwork, spoken prayers or incantations, connecting to winged spirits, your words, and the winds that carry your intentions all have an important place in magical practice. They help us connect with the element and remind us that air is always in motion.

But none of those tools are more powerful than the beliefs you carry while using them.