MAGICK OR COINCIDENCE: What is the Difference?

It never fails to amaze me how many times things happen that we often chalk up to coincidence, instead of seeing the magick in them.

Several days ago, I returned home on a Friday afternoon after visiting a relative for several days. As I stepped onto my front porch, I saw a small box from Amazon. I assumed I had ordered something but forgot what it was, my orders from Amazon being as numerous as they sometimes are.

I did not order what I found inside the box. Instead, I found a surprise gift from a newly established business relationship. It was a sweet gesture, and a really nice way to thank me for closing the deal on the alliance we recently forged.

The gift was a book by Louise Hay. It was one of those cute, pocket-sized volumes that contain power affirmations for each day of the year.

I have collected and studied many books and audios created by Louise Hay over the decades, but not this one. I’m a long-time fan of hers, and have been since the 1980s when I was still in my 20s. Although I practiced Witchcraft at this time and was still quite inexperienced, I somehow knew that Universal truths were being taught through her work.

It’s really interesting to me, because whether Ms. Hay realized it or not, she was absolutely teaching a form of positive, life-affirming magick at its most basic core.

 

Was it Magick or Coincidence?

I was so inspired by my thoughtful gift that I decided to use it in my bibliomancy practice. Bibliomancy is a form of divination. Questions are answered and information is acquired through using focused psychic energy and randomly chosen pages of text. It’s a simple and fun form of psychism that really anyone can do.

I typically begin each morning with my favorite incense, my morning cuppa, and a short reiki and divination ritual. This routine includes bibliomancy with spirit animals, as well as an oracle card pull. Now it includes power thoughts! Divining a power thought each morning is a beautiful and empowering way to usher in the busyness of the hours to come. 

I began my new ritual upon receiving the book. On that day, and for two consecutive mornings after, I focused my mental energy on the question, “What do I need to know right now?” Incredibly, each day, THE VERY SAME PAGE was revealed to me! And no, the spine was not cracked to that page, causing it to naturally open there.

I’m careful about not cracking spines. I’ll write all over a book—jot questions, take notes, doodle, highlight and underline like a mad woman, but crack a spine? Goddess forbid! It’s just a weirdness I have. This book was brand new, unblemished, unmarked and certainly not cracked!

So, three consecutive times, in three consecutive days, page 169—a right-hand page stating, “I respect my father for his love, his good judgement and for just being who he is” was shown to me.

Tell me, was this magick or coincidence? Is there a difference?

Emotions Rule Magick

My dad died a year and half ago and I miss him terribly. The tremendous anguish that I initially experienced when he passed has softened to something that resembles more of an abiding love and admiration for him.

Of course I still miss him, but thankfully, my heavy grief has largely transmuted into feelings of deep gratitude for having him as my dad in this lifetime. I also have many joyful and funny memories of him. My dad and I were very close. He always did his very best by me, and I know that I meant the world to him. 

Since the three consecutive readings yielded the very same message each day, I realized that my dad was trying to make himself known to me. Not so much because he was looking for respect, as is the more obvious message one might take away from the affirmation (that really wasn’t his style), but because it mentioned his love and good judgement within the passage.

Conversely, these words caught my attention for reasons more obvious to me, but also because of what was printed on the very opposite page: ”The answers within me come to my awareness with ease”.

It Felt Like Magick To Me

This struck a chord in me. I felt as if my dad was responding to my daily query, ”What do I need to know right now?” with a very reassuring, “Don’t worry, Chickie. You’ve got this!” I could almost hear him say it.

Chickie was my dad’s nickname for me. We spoke to each other every single day. I really miss our 10am telephone chats, each day his frail, nonagenarian voice invariably asking, “G’mornin’, Chickie! How ya feelin’ today?”

I just knew that my dad was communicating to me.  He was telling me that I did, indeed, know what I was doing, that the information I needed to move forward with is already known to me.

This communication reminded me to be still and just ‘listen’ to my intuition, to my gut, to the little inklings, to the inspirations that come, to the excitement of doing this work I love, to the vibes I get from others, and to the so-called ‘coincidences’ that occur. I was reminded that the answers always make themselves known to my conscious self in these ways.

The words that my dad was ‘pointing’ to on that opposite page were particularly poignant because I had concerns about stepping out of the ‘broom closet’ and starting this school for many reasons. I also believe that it was my dad’s intention to remind me that he is still with me.

I felt the physical stir of energy I often experience when I’m on the right track with my magick–that extraordinary thrill of ‘knowing‘, complete with goose bumps.

It Was No Coincidence

Were the results of my three readings just a coincidence? Were they pages that merely fell open to me at random? I believe not.

My love for my dad, along with emotions about my situation, created a potent energy that emanated from me. It wasn’t negative energy. It was devoid of fear, yearning and other low vibration emotions.

Rather, I emanated other positive emotions that I deeply held. The psychic energy that I put into the bibliomancy readings produced what my unconscious mind (and heart!) most wanted—a message of hope and support from my beloved dad.

As such, through divination, I totally magicked this message! And although unconscious on my part, I deeply desired to feel my dad’s reassurance, to feel his love, and experience a bit of what we used to share. In short, I ‘willed’ the comfort he always gave me throughout my life. This was magick, not coincidence!

It’s About Synchronicity

Occurrences that appear to be coincidence really aren’t. Analytical psychologist, Carl Jung, was among the first to refute the existence of them. He held that coincidences were actually synchronicities—events which were ‘meaningful coincidences’ and occurring with no causal relationship, yet somehow appear to be meaningfully related. The concept of ‘synchronicity’ is a widely known tenet in many magickal paths–Aleister Crowley’s Thelema, chaos magick and Witchcraft of all types, are but a few.

As far as Jung’s postulation pertaining to synchronicity, believe me when I tell you, I was not consciously thinking of my dad. I had no idea this book was going to be gifted to me and that it would inspire me to create a daily practice that would instantly yield such a dramatic result. What happened was way too personal to be just a coincidence—it’s meaning too profound, so spot-on.

Further, is it yet another wild coincidence that I attracted a business relationship with a person who is of like mind? So much so, that he sent me the one Louise Hay book that I did not already have? And one, which I later learned, also receives otherworldly messages and visits from his dearly departed dad? I’d say that’s a heck of a lot of coincidences all rolled up into one overarching event! 

The simple explanation is that the vibration I emanated was responded to with like vibration. As a result, I received what I needed, when I needed it. And not only was I gifted an answer once, but was made to see it three times, all resulting from a serendipitous chain of ‘coincidences’!

Magick or Coincidence? Is There a Difference?

I say, “Hell yeah there is!” Magick is real! Coincidence is not.

Magick is all about energetic synchronicities. Like energies attract like energies. Everything we speak, think and feel is a ‘spell’ because what we think becomes what we feel, which becomes what we emanate. What we emanate is what we ultimately receive more of from the Universe. We are always in a state of casting and manifesting, 24/7. Everything that we have and that we experience is a consequence of our own magickal machinations, for better or worse. We are continually transmitting the energetic frequencies of our unconscious thought patterns and most redundant emotions, whether they are good or not so good.

In the final analysis, I say that all things that come to us which appear as ‘coincidence’ are most definitely not. I say they are synchronistic, physical manifestations of the energetic and psychic power we all innately embody. They are our own personal brand of magick, consisting of our own conscious and unconscious thoughts, emotions, and vibrations, whether we like them or not.

What’s manifested in your life that seems like a coincidence? Do you think it’s more than that? Are you liking what is showing up?

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Learn to Recognize Magick When It Shows Up

Magick does not always arrive through candles, spells, or carefully planned ritual. Sometimes it appears through intuition, divination, synchronicity, and those uncanny moments that feel far too meaningful to dismiss.

Learning to recognize these experiences is part of developing your magickal awareness. It means strengthening intuition, psychism, and your ability to notice how energy moves through everyday life.

In WAY OF THE WITCH, you learn to work consciously with your own energy and intuitive abilities. You also explore psychism and divination as practical parts of a living Witchcraft practice.

Over time, you become better able to recognize those moments when something more than ordinary chance seems to be unfolding.

WAY OF THE WITCH: Witchcraft 101 is a complete six-month foundational course in Eclectic Witchcraft. It is designed to help you build a personal, fully operational Witchcraft practice that is uniquely your own. Throughout the course, you learn to understand and work with your own energy and magickal power. You create sacred space, develop altar practices, and work with Nature, the Elements, and the Moon. You also practice introductory spellcraft, strengthen intuition and psychism, and explore divination. Most importantly, you learn how all of these parts work together within a Witchcraft practice.

WAY OF THE WITCH: Witchcraft 201 continues that foundation by taking you deeper into magickal practice and spiritual study. In 201, you explore what makes magick succeed or fail, including protection, the magick circle, and strategic spellcasting. You also learn additional methods of practical magick while developing your unique magickal and spiritual identity. Along the way, we move into the soul and spirit, karma, reincarnation, past lives, and self-dedication.

Choose Private 1:1 Mentoring or Independent Study with Personalized Coursework Email Support.

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About Fiona

Written by Fiona Duncan, MAT, MSEd, Founder and Lead Teacher at The Magickal Path School of Witchcraft, Tarot & Personal Transformation.

Fiona Duncan is the Creatrix of The Magickal Path School. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Master of Science in Education and is New York State certified in both Art and Special Education for grades K through 12. She is a retired New York State public school teacher, college Graphic Design Instructor, and Department Chair, with professional expertise in teaching, student relations, and curriculum development.

In her spiritual and magickal life, Fiona is a Practical Magician, Reiki Master, and practicing Eclectic Witch with more than 40 years of experience. Her approach to Witchcraft and Magick is grounded, practical, and deeply spiritual, treating the Craft as both Art and Science in equal measure.

Her favorite role at The Magickal Path is working 1:1 with her students as Teacher and Mentor in her WAY OF THE WITCH: Witchcraft 101 & 201 courses.