Okay, so this argument bubbles up now and then and I just felt like putting my two cents into it. There's a tremendous emphasis on here about the material side of witchcraft. The tools, the herbs, the stuff you can touch, but in the end, most of that stuff only serves as a catalyst for your OWN power. The way I view magic and magic working, you would be able to cast a spell with literally nothing but your mind and have it work, but doing so would be superhuman and unreasonable to ask of anyone. So what do we do? We use crystals, herbs, our deities, anything we can use as a catalyst to help us reach that point easier and for longer. Essentially, you get out what you put in. A spell with more effort put into it is going to have a higher success rate and create bigger change, in theory. What irritates me is when people hear this and immediately cry "ableist!" Keep in mind, the title of this is EFFORT and Magic. What I'm arguing is not that you HAVE to do something specific, but that what you do should be a decent amount of effort FOR YOU. I love that people are writing spells that are accessible to people at varying levels of ability. Everyone can practice magic and making that easier for people is always a great thing. That said, low-spoon spells and similar things are designed for exactly that: people with low spoons. They work because they are being used by people with low spoons. As someone who is able-bodied and no longer with any debilitating mental illnesses, simply tying a knot in a string thinking about my intent isn't going to do much for me because the energy it takes is only a very small percentage of what's available to me. Someone who maybe has less control over their hands, and therefore puts much more effort into tying the knot, is using a much higher percentage of their energy. What's more, the idea of overcoming this struggle to better accomplish your goal is now added to the ritual. We essentially did the same thing on paper, but their spell is going to be much more powerful because they put more into it. The willingness to go the extra mile, whatever that means for you personally, IS GOING TO PAY OFF. It shows that you're willing to do what needs to be done for your spell to work. The universe tends to like that. I don't want this to seem like I'm just asking people with disabilities to power through it "because magic!" either. If something is going to cause you more pain or trouble than it's worth then yeah, don't do it. Find something that works better for you but still raises the same energy. If you can't do a spell for any reason, that is fine. But look at what you feel like taking out and why it was there in the first place. Sometimes a task is in there to create a sense of accomplishment after struggle. Ask yourself, "What can I do to get the same effect? Could I reasonably expect myself to do more? Will I feel as if my energy has made a difference at the end of this spell?" Personally, one way I've found to adapt spoon magic to someone like me, who has ample spoons, is to do it after a long and busy day. I'm tired, burned out, and I'd much rather be in bed. This, as someone who used to have depression, helps me get into the same state of effort it would take for me to accomplish the spell if I had my depression, but without putting myself back in a dangerous mental state. If you're limited to low-spoon spells but not because you have low spoons (budget, physical time, etc.) I encourage you try that out and see if your spell works any better. It'd actually be a really cool scientific method thing to record and experiment with! We can all do magic, and we should all be able to enjoy it. But let's be sure to give the significance of effort its proper breathing room.
