An extremely non-comprehensive list of how to increase your surface area for luck and magic (and instantly sprinkle fairy dust on your life)

33 ideas

Drawings by Allan Sandage from The Hubble Atlas of Galaxies (1961), illustrating galaxy classification.

I’m trying to consciously uncouple from Instagram/Meta (boring, I know, been done before, so overplayed, yada yada, but I fear it is finally my time to go gentle into that good night), so I stumbled onto the 2016 trend just yesterday for my aloted five minutes of scroll.

Soooo glad so many people enjoyed where they were ten years ago, and I love that you’re nostalgic for that time. But personally? There’s not enough money in the ever-expanding universe to bribe me into being 26 again.

‘Twas a wretched and cursed time, and sifting through my camera roll evidence of that year I felt my former despair roll over me like a fog. Finally, FINALLY, when I got to the very tippy tail of 2016, the camera roll slowly gets less depressing; things started to look up, and in 2017 an amazing series of twists and turns and synchronicities put me on a trajectory to start my own business, make dear friends, meet my husband, etc.

I remember exactly what the catalyst for the shift — I went on a roadtrip to Big Sur and saw a sign on the road that said, “Holy Granola” with an arrow pointing up a steep mountain.

Obviously, I couldn’t pass that by (good girl, follow the winks from the universe to choose a better story) so I followed the literal signs and found myself at The New Camaldoli Hermitage. Housing a Roman Catholic order of contemplative monks, the hermitage had a gift shop (lol) where the storied Holy Granola could be purchased.

the view from New Camaldoli, via The Catholic Travel Guide (lol)

What’s in the gift shop of a monastic hermitage on top of a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean in probably the most beautiful place in the world? Books, of course, because heaven is real. And not just your usj run-of-the-mill catechism stuff — there were spiritual~spiritual books. I walked away with a bag of the best granola I’ve ever had and a book that changed my life: Jungian analyst Robert A. Johnson’s Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth.

(Yes, you can say that I learned about New Age shadow work from a bunch of Catholic monks.)

I recommend Johnson’s work to anyone — he’s got a ton of short texts that are pretty lucid and quick to get through, all things considered — and this text in particular rocked my world from 18 angles. But if I trace back my “Oh, I’m addicted to this.” nature when it comes to following synchronicities and signs, I think it all originates from what I learned from this book.

And now I’m stuck like gum on the bottom of a shoe to the idea of expanding opportunities for experiencing synchronicity, luck, and magic in our own lives. Just can’t quit it!

If you’re interested in this idea, too, I obviously think you should read Johnson’s book. (And watch this space for the next few weeks, where I’ll dive deeply into more concepts like this)

But I thought about decade-ago me, and what I wish I could tell her without stealing the struggle of the moment from her (that painful period of time taught me so much)… and here’s what I came up with.

Behold! An extremely non-comprehensive list of ways to increase your surface area for luck and magic and synchronicities and signs.

via Vogue

1. Diverge from the usual path. Click exit out of the NPC life, sweetheart. Find a new route to work, school, or anywhere you go regularly**.** Instead of autopiloting the same trajectory, take a different street. Use your actual eyeballs. Pay attention to what you see, who you notice, what smells are different. Your intuition speaks through novelty.

2. Narrate your life like you’re on the phone with someone, walking them through your day. As you move through the world, describe what you see, smell, hear. Notice who catches your eye and how you’re feeling. This practice turns you into an active observer instead of a passive doer sleepwalking though existence. You’ll be surprised by the narratives that emerge when you pay attention to moments in your day instead of just sloggin’ through it.

3. Play I Spy with the world. Make it a game to spot a specific sign, flower, bird, or word throughout your day. Pull a tarot card in the morning and look for its themes. If you pull The Tower, notice where change and upheaval show up — not just in your life, but in conversations, graffiti, overheard stories. Assign yourself a daily symbol and watch how the universe delivers.

4. Make it a goal to fail spectacularly. Apply to a job you’re wildly unqualified for! Ask for a ridiculous (but needed) favor you “know” will get a no. Go out of your way to shoot your shot just to see what happens. Try to fail at least five times a day and keep a tally of the times you biffed. I hate to report this, but it’s way harder to fail than you might realize. More often than not you end up feeling like the dog who caught the car. (Good problem to have)

5. Making a beverage? Nope, that’s a potion, now. Almost any activity can be an opportunity to practice spell work if you reallyyyyyy try. Stir sigils into your morning cup of coffee. Sprinkle cinnamon into your matcha and envision dusting your life with abundance. When you pour water into a glass, imagine you’re charging it with the energy you want to embody. As you drink, let it change you from the inside out. Cooking is magique, baby. Don’t neglect your kitchen witchery.

6. Give yourself an energetic aura cleanse in the shower. Sprinkle a little salt on your crown, the nape of your neck, and rub it between your toes and fingers. Salt is one of the oldest purification tools we have, and unless you’re my in-laws, you definitely have some in your kitchen — use it.

   

   via The Oblist

7. Practice bibliomancy. Close your eyes, flip open a book, and point to a passage with your finger. Read it as a message. This divination method works especially well with poetry, but honestly any book will do — even that self-help book on how to get out of debt you’ve been avoiding finishing. Let randomness reveal what you need to know. (The universe has a sense of humor about this stuff.)

8. Do things the moment you think of them. Friend pops into your head? Text them right then. Have an idea for a joke? Write it down immediately. Instead of saying “I’ll remember that later” (you won’t) reward your intuitive hits by acknowledging them and acting on them instantaneously. Don’t be surprised if the psychic pings increase in frequency and accuracy because you’ve started listening to them.

9. Stop being “good.” “Oh, I should get a salad for lunch, but what I really want is pizza.” How many times a day do you downplay what you actually desire because you’re trying to follow the rules or do the “right” thing or whatever? Lying to yourself about your wants is a great way to sever the inner connection to your intuitive self. Get the pizza. Go with your instinct. Trust yourself, see what happens. Maybe on your walk to the pizza shop you’ll notice a picture in the main window of a gallery; you take a picture to reverse image search and find that the artist is living, and actually resides on the street next to yours, and has an email on their website, and you reach out to do a studio visit and BOOM, they become your creative mentor. You never know which one door will open the next. Maybe your intuition knows something your practical mind doesn’t.

   

10. Whisper requests to natural elements. Plants, birds, the wind, bodies of water. Everyone enjoys having a clear job to do. Nature is your ally, and you can work with it. Find a cool rock on the ground? Ask it if it’s willing to help protect you. If you feel the answer is yes, put it in your pocket and go on your way.

11. On that note, ask for help (and try to do it in the most charismatic, good-natured way possible). Acknowledging what you’re capable of and what you’re not will open up the entire world to you. Plus, as I said before, people love helping when you ask clearly and don’t make it weird. Give a clear assignment, can you help me reorganize my garage so it no longer looks like the set of “Grey Gardens”?, and see what happens.

12. Make something with your hands without multitasking. I like to call these “quiet thought hobbies.” Cook dinner slowly. Write a letter to your international bestie. Arrange flowers. You can’t do magic while you’re multitasking — presence is the prerequisite.

13. Go be with a group of people. Honestly, you don’t even have to know them… just get out amongst it. Anywhere three or more people gather is technically a coven. Go to the cafe bar down the street with your planner and spend an hour doing life admin with a glass of wine, see a movie alone on a Saturday night, show up to a painting class you’ve never tried. It’s not really about trying to talk to people or make friends. Just be out in the world and use your heightened awareness — that increases your surface area for synchronicity.

14. Read things. I love an audio format as much as the next gal. But the act of reading charges up a different part of your brain than listening to the same content. If you want to notice more, expand your ability to receive information by tending to different senses and formats. So read things. Magazine articles. Short stories. The editorial section of your local paper. The back of a bag of Trader Joe’s trailmix. Doesn’t have to be a big chonker of a book.

    

    via Cosmos

15. Write things. Unfortunately for my aesthetic, carrying around a little notebook where I scribble notes to myself has, indeed, made me a happier person. Sometimes when I don’t have my notebook, I just text myself what I’m thinking and then jot it down in my commonplace book when I’m at my desk. I notice a difference between texting and writing with pen and paper. Writing down your ideas makes you clearer on what you actually think. People who write regularly become more cognitively agile — they spot patterns faster, make connections sooner, recognize departure points when they appear. You’re priming yourself to notice what matters.

16. Clean your house. Not just when you’re stuck, but especially when you’re stuck. Sweep dust out your front door, mop the floors, get rid of things with stagnant energy. Physical cleaning is energetic cleansing; cleanse before you call in. (in Italian folk magic, you gotta clean your whole kitchen before you can even think about doing any spell work)

17. Eliminate what has defective energy. This goes for objects, relationships, and social engagements. Defective doesn’t mean broken — it means stagnant, stuck, not generative. Nature abhors a void! Create space and watch what rushes in to fill it.

18. Notice how often things work in your favor. I’m not suggesting you go full Toxic Positivity here, but when things don’t go as expected it’s worth asking yourself: how might this be working for me in a way I can’t see yet?

19. Try somatic practices. Feldenkrais Method, Alexander technique, dance class, yoga — anything that changes how you interact with your body will change how you interact with the world. The key is to practice with the intention of awareness, though, as opposed to a defined goal (like to have a snatched waist). Calling myself in here: If you habitually attend the same class, at the same time, with the same teacher every week, challenge yourself to upend your habit and introduce some novelty or differentiation into the practice. Stand in a new place in the studio, go to a different teacher, etc.

    

    Artist Malin Gabriella Nordin's studio in 2018. Photo by Märta Thisner

20. Go see art. Art reminds us that other people have entire worlds inside of them that are ultimately unknowable to us. Ah, the epiphany of sonder! It’s nice to remember you’re not the center of the universe, that others have feelings and ideas, too. Takes the pressure off.

21. Build one small habit. Write one sentence in your journal. Sit with your coffee for five minutes before drinking it. Call your mom once a week. Read one poem. Go on a walk. Small habits compound into magic over time.

22. Pick an archetype and embody it. Think of someone who has the life you want or holds the qualities you admire. How do they carry themselves? What do they wear? How do they respond to challenges? Start doing that. Ask yourself: what would [archetype] do here?

23. Adorn yourself. Glamour magic is believing in your own beauty and treating your body with devotion instead of like a meat sack. Tend to your physical vessel with care and like it matters. (Basically, just be nice and kind to yourself)

24. Put yourself to be in the position to be a lil’ uncomfortable. (Discomfort is not necessarily painful — I’m not encouraging that you load up on masochistic experiences) Edging novel sensory experiences will bring more awareness to everything you do. More awareness = broadening the range of your perspective. Increasing your ability to notice things and be curious about them is a foolproof way to experience more magic in your life. Discomfort makes you extrasensory and hyper-aware. Lean into the heightened sensory nature of novelty instead of hyperfocusing on how awkward you feel. Novelty is necessary for learning.

25. Introduce novelty into your daily routines. Call your mom on a midday walk instead of during your evening commute. Walk over to your colleague’s desk instead of Slacking them a question. Shop at a different grocery store. Change the perspective you bring to your day. Small shifts create big openings.

26. Get obsessed with asking “why?” Bring a certain ‘questioning everything’ energy that your current limiting beliefs absolutely hate. Genuine curiosity paired with a strong spine and an inability to be shamed for not knowing will make you freakily unstoppable. Question assumptions — yours, your family’s, society’s, your industry’s. Most of what we think is ‘truth’ is just inherited belief.

    

    Ceramics by artist Hannah Groff for the Renegade Craft NYC market.

27. Carry a totem in your pocket. Pick something that calls to you — a stone, a little figurine, a medallion, a doll-sized envelope of fingernail clippings, whatever. Ask it to help you with something specific: clarity, protection, courage, not rolling your eyes whenever your manager says “alignment,” whatever. Touch it throughout the day as a reminder. This is called “anchoring” and it works because you’re creating a physical touchpoint for an energetic intention.

28. Light a candle with intention. Before you light it, hold it and think about what you want to invite in or what you want to release. As it burns, imagine your intention spreading out into the world. Blow it out when you’re done and thank it for its work. Fire is one of the fastest transmuters of energy we have access to — use it. (Also it’s pretty and makes your space smell good, so like, win-win.)

29. Keep a synchronicity log. Notice when “coincidences” happen — when you think of someone and they text, when you need information and it appears, when you’re in the right place at the right time. Clock ‘em. You’ll start to see patterns in how the universe communicates with you, and you’ll get better at recognizing the signs when they show up.

30. Talk to yourself in second person. Instead of “I need to finish this project,” try “You need to finish this project.” Research shows this creates just enough distance to access your inner wisdom without getting tangled in your own neuroses. It’s like having a wise friend in your head. You’re basically giving yourself the advice you’d give someone else — and isn’t it always the case that we’re way smarter about solving other people’s problems than our own? Use this cognitive loophole to your advantage.

    

    Photo by Antony Crolla for The World of Interiors, July 2015, featuring works from Oliver Hoare Limited

31. Place objects with intention around your space. That feather you found on a walk? Put it on your desk as a reminder of lightness. The smooth stone from the beach? Keep it where you’ll see it and remember ease. Your space is constantly communicating with your subconscious (there’s an entire field of study dedicated to this called neuroaesthetics) — make sure it’s echoing what you want to hear.

32. Practice “casting” your day. Before you get out of bed, imagine your day going exactly how you want it to. Not in a manifesting-a-parking-spot way, but in a this-is-how-I-want-to-show-up way. See yourself calm in the meeting, present with your kids, energized during your workout. You’re not trying to control outcomes — you’re setting your energetic frequency for the day.

33. Learn the moon phases and track your energy with them. New moon for setting intentions, full moon for releasing what’s not working, waxing for building, waning for rest. You don’t have to do elaborate rituals (though you can if you want). Just notice how your energy shifts with the lunar cycle.