There I was, closing in on the big 3-0, and all I had to my name was $4000 of credit card debt.

How could it be that I was just barely scraping by, month after month, year after year, for the entirety of my adult life?

I pondered this question as I looked over the instructions for my witchy money spell kit. I held the candle in my hands, read aloud the incantation, and arranged the three crystals around the candle as I was directed.

I lit the candle and sat there a while, waiting for something magical to happen.

And I started crying.

Performing that spell made me think about the time I signed up for a $300 spa treatment when I was twenty-two and missed the appointment, losing all of my money. I felt so much shame around that moment still—almost eight years later—all because I made a mistake that cost me $300. Why was this memory so fresh in my mind? Why did it make me sob like I was watching the last scene of the Notebook? Why was I still beating myself up over $300?

As I thought (cried) about it more, I realized that my shame wasn’t about the $300. It was about what I started believing as a result of making that money mistake—that I couldn’t be trusted with money.

That, my friends, is a money block.

My Money Blocks

Because much of witchcraft works through energy, I believe my specific money block rose to my awareness that day as a result of my money spell. I was being told to release that baggage so I could allow my spell to work. Witchcraft has helped me take my first steps towards healing.

My money blocks go even deeper, though. If you’re wondering why a twenty-two-year-old had $300 to blow on a seaweed body wrap, let me explain.

My grandparents, being responsible money-minded people they were, decided to give out their inheritance early to their grandkids.

I got a big, fat check with more zeros than I had ever seen in my bank account in all my life. I was twenty at the time, and what do you do when you’re twenty and get a huge wad of cash?

You drop out of college and move to Los Angeles!

I think you know where I’m going with this. I partied like a rockstar for a few years—nice restaurants, swanky parties, shopping sprees—until one day I was putting gas in my car and my debit card got declined. I checked my bank account and saw I only had $4. Yikes. Never in my life had I felt so, so scared, stupid and ashamed.

I moved back to my mom’s house, got a job waiting tables, and picked up the pieces of my broken life. Nearly ten years later, I had only managed to make EXACTLY enough to cover my bare-bones living expenses, not a penny more.

Ten years later, thinking about money still made me feel scared, stupid, and ashamed.

Why? Because my past money trauma had taught me that I wasn’t capable of managing excess money, among other things.

So, my witchy friend, what lies have you started believing about yourself?

Why Aren’t Your Abundance Spells Working?

There are a lot of reasons why your financial abundance spells aren’t working, but there are five in particular that I’ve discovered in myself and that I’ve frequently seen in others. These reasons are all related to your energy and mindset around money.

Reason #1: There’s an event in your past that is still affecting you.

This can be the time, years ago, when you couldn’t pay your credit card bill and now your scary-looking credit score is keeping you from getting approved for an apartment. You think about it every day because your financial mishap from the past is still following you, holding you back and making you feel bad.

This also can be an event that is energetically affecting you, like when I started crying about the $300 I wasted. That $300 all those years ago wasn’t the reason I was currently struggling, but it was still affecting me energetically.

Reason #2: You’ve acquired some false beliefs around money from your childhood.

This can be from your parents, your siblings, your childhood friends, your school teachers, etc.

The way you get to the bottom of this is to start by thinking about how your parents treated money. I’ll give you another example from my personal life. When I was a kid, my mom tended to splurge on nice things that we didn’t necessarily need. My dad, on the other hand, wouldn’t even pay for a plumber to fix our leaky kitchen sink. He insisted on solving the problem by arranging several cereal bowls under the sink to catch the water. This extreme behavior on both sides of the spectrum may have led to me making some bad money decisions when I was in my early twenties.

Here are a few questions you can answer to get you started.

What did your mother and father do with their money?

What money did you have control over as a kid? (Allowance, after-school jobs, etc).

Did your family have a lot of money or was money scarce?

Do you remember being teased for having too much or too little money?

Did your parents ever fight about money?

Here are some common false beliefs people learn when they’re kids:

• Money is dirty. Don’t touch it.
• Money causes fights.
• You only make money by working long hours.
• My parents had too much (or too little) money and I don’t want to be like them.
• You’re worthless if you can’t support your family.
• Good people are happy with simple things.
• Money makes people greedy.
• Money doesn’t grow on trees.

Have you heard any of these? Do any of them resonate? If so, you’ve likely uncovered a money block.

Reason #3: You don’t value yourself.

Since the only time in my life I’d had a lot of money was when it had been given to me, I began to believe that my abilities weren’t valuable. I didn’t make that money. My grandparents did. All I was good at was spending it.

This led to me setting the prices for my graphic design work way too low, messing up interviews for high-paying jobs, and doing lots of work for free. Interestingly enough, none of my bosses tended to value my work all that much either.

YOU set your own value in this world. Others will pay you what YOU are willing to ask for. What is your time worth? A lot! You have a good, creative brain, and you’re MAGICAL. Don’t let others tell you what you’re worth. Stand in your power and tell the world what you’re worth.

Reason #4: You’re playing small.

After I spent my entire inheritance on worthless things, I didn’t trust myself with money. Neither did my parents. Or grandparents. Or my friends. Or the bank.

Eventually, they forgave me—even the bank!

However, I never forgave myself for my mistakes, and as a result, I never wanted to get into a situation where I could lose thousands of dollars. You can’t lose what you don’t have. Any time I had more than enough money, it went away. I either spent it immediately or made less money the next month which caused everything to even out.

On an energetic level, I was playing small to protect myself.

To see if you have this block, perform this journaling exercise.

Write the amount of money you actually make each month. Next, write down all the benefits of staying at this income level.

Here are a few common ones:

• I pay fewer taxes.
• I fit into with my family and friends.
• I don’t have to worry about losing or misusing excess money.
• I won’t be taken advantage of.
• Other’s won’t view me as a greedy rich person.
• My kids will learn to value the simple things in life.
• I don’t have to take on more responsibility at work.

Reason #5: You may not fully believe in an abundant universe.

If you believed that every dollar you made caused your best friend to lose a dollar, how would you feel about making money?

Do you ever see pictures of people in other countries living in poverty and wonder why you can have so much while others have nothing?

Are you afraid to spend any money because you don’t think you’ll be able to make it back?

You might be living with a scarcity mindset. The way to work through this block is to shift your perspective.

Think about all the things that are abundant in your life—air, water, Chipotle burritos, laughter—whatever! Make a list of all the things you know you will always be able to get more of.

Money is exactly the same way. There is more than enough money to go around. If you are rich, you certainly aren’t lessening my chances of getting rich. If anything, now you’re in a position to teach me how to make more money. Plus, if you decide you want to help those people in other countries who are poor, guess what? Now you have extra money that you can donate to them if you choose.

How Witchcraft Can Help You Heal Your Money Blocks

If you want to make this process of finding and releasing blocks a regular part of your witchcraft, a great time to do this is during the phase of the waning moon. The waning moon energy helps many witches to let go of things and energies that are no longer serving them.

Waning Moon Bath Ritual

Sit outside under the waning moon and journal about some of your money beliefs. When you’re done, burn the pages (using proper fire safety) and allow the smoke to rise up into the universe, far, far away from you.

Block-Releasing Tarot Spell

Carve a sigil, word or image that represents a money block you’d like to release into a black candle. As the candle burns, begin to shuffle your tarot or oracle cards. Draw one card to answer each of the questions.

Card #1: Where did this block come from?

Card #2: Why must I release it?

Card #3: How can I release it?

Sit with the cards and journal about the thoughts and images that appear in your mind. Allow the candle to burn down or extinguish it to complete your spell.

Your Spiritual Money Journey

As you release blocks, you might find even deeper ones underneath. That’s ok. This process is about healing and spiritual growth, and that’s always ongoing. Some witches refer to this kind of work as shadow work. When you bring shadow work into your practice, you will likely notice changes in your life. You might feel more powerful because you’ve released things that had been weighing on you unconsciously for so long. You might see results from your spells faster.

Can you perform effective money spells when you still have blocks?

Abso-freaking-lutely.

Witchcraft is POWERFUL, and so are you. Even at my most “blocked” I saw money miracles occur in my life as a result of my spells. It made me believe in magic. Trust that every time you perform a money spell, it IS working. Trust that all your flaws and past mistakes bring your awareness to ways you can step more fully into your power. Your mistakes aren’t actually mistakes. They’re the steps you’ve taken in your spiritual journey for your ultimate healing.

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Updated on August 20, 2023 by Avery Hart