Spell for a Low-Stress Move

I have moving on the brain lately. One of my dearest friends, Milo, will be moving from the western side of the country to New England in a few months. And myself and my spouse are moving from the southeast to California in July. All three of us (Milo, Spouse, and myself) are disabled/chronically ill/neurodivergent. Moving is a chaotic, stressful process for anyone, but for spoonies there’s extra layers of challenge. Physical limitations can make packing more slow, exhausting, or painful. Neurodivergence can make organization much more difficult, not to mention the upheaval of having all your belongings uprooted, shoved into boxes, and out of reach for days or weeks or months. Last time Spouse and I moved, between my fibromyalgia and their ADHD, we wound up staying up most of the night before moving day, frantically packing and cleaning even though we thought we’d planned enough ahead. (And that was a move with only five minutes between our old apartment and our new one. This move will be across the entire country.) This time, I’m hoping we can start the whole process sooner and pack non-essentials bit by bit, rather than saving everything for the last minute and hoping for the best. 

My point in all this rambling is that moving is dreadful, and I wanted to create a quick spell to help smooth the road as much as possible. This spell is for me, my spouse, and Milo (whose birthday happens to be this week as well! Happy birthday, Milo!) 

YOU WILL NEED

• A piece of paper folded in half. If writing by hand isn’t possible for you, you can also type everything on a computer or phone and then print it out. 
• If you are writing by hand, you’ll need a yellow or orange writing utensil. It could be a pen, a marker, a crayon, etc. 
• If you have access to it, the key to your current house, apartment, etc. If you don’t have access to it, you can draw a simple key shape on your paper instead, or print out a picture of a key. 
• Tape, a stapler, or a glue stick. 

YOU COULD USE

• Clear quartz to add more energy of new beginnings and smooth transitions.

A note about timing. The absolute best time to perform this spell would be on or around the new moon, as moving house is a new beginning and the new moon is great for those. If the new moon isn’t soon enough, you could also perform this spell on a Wednesday, as that is the day of the week magically associated with change and transition. With all of that said, though, timing is not the end-all be-all for a spell to work. Coordinating your spellwork around an appropriate day of the week or month can add energy and intent to your workings, but it is NOT a requirement. 

Now then, let us begin! 

THE SPELL

1. Do whatever helps you get into a spellcasting headspace. Meditate or focus on your breathing. Ground yourself in the earth and find your center. Listen to a few witchy songs. Make an offering to a deity or spirit you work with frequently. Whatever feels right for you! 
2. Prep your piece of paper. If you have a physical sheet of paper, turn it sideways so you have more width to work with, and fold the paper down the middle. If you’re on a computer or phone, set your page orientation to landscape mode. 
3. At the top of the left-hand side of the page, place your current house/apartment key if you have it. Trace around the key with your marker, pen, crayon, etc. If you don’t have a physical key, you can draw the simple shape of a key at the top of the page, or affix the picture you printed out to the top of the page. Or if you’re working digitally, paste a picture of a key. (It doesn’t have to look like an Artist’s Work–you’re just trying to invoke the symbolism of a key here. So don’t worry too much about how it looks!) 
4. Take a few moments to create a list on the left side of the page of what worries you/stresses you out about moving. Are you anxious about making sure everything gets packed and organized on time? Does you expect that the hard work of packing will exhaust you or cause pain flareups? Do you shudder at the prospect of making phone calls to moving companies, realtors/leasing offices, etc? It doesn’t matter how seemingly big or small your concerns feel–write them all down. 
5. If you know the rough date of your move, write that at the top of the page in the center (basically over the crease in the fold you made, if you’re working with a physical sheet of paper). If you don’t know exactly when you’ll be moving yet, though, feel free to skip this step. 
6. At the top of the right side of the page, draw/paste another key shape. This one represents the new key for your new home. Do your best to make it look slightly different than the first key shape, but again, don’t worry too much about looks!
7. Now, looking over your list of concerns, turn each of them into a positive, reassuring, affirming statement that you can write on the right-hand side of the page. For example, if one of your worries was “I physically won’t be able to keep up with packing,” you could write, “I pack a little bit every day and honor my body’s limitations.” If you’re anxious about remembering everything on your to-do list, you could write, “I am diligent in checking my list and keeping it up-to-date.” You get the idea!
   1. A note here: avoid the temptation to write impossible statements. I might, for instance, be tempted to write, “I experience no flareups during our move.” That would certainly be ideal, but it isn’t realistic given my body’s limitations. Instead of writing a statement for the most ideal (but highly unlikely) scenarios, try to write statements that encourage things to go as well as possible. I will almost certainly experience flareups during the moving process, so instead, my statement reminds me to plan ahead and to listen to my body when it tells me to pause. 
8. Once you’ve reframed all of your worries into intention statements, read the statements on the right side of your paper aloud or silently in your mind’s ear. Read through the whole list ten times. (If you have trouble keeping track of how many times you’ve repeated, you can make a tally mark in the corner of your page.
9. Once you’re finished, fold the paper again and seal it with tape, glue, staples, or whatever is easiest for you. 
10. If you’ve managed to do this spell around the new moon, leave the paper someplace where it can charge under the moonlight. 
11. Spend a few moments reflecting on ways you can make the move easier on yourself (asking friends for help, trying to do a little bit of packing every day, getting rid of some of the Stuff you don’t need anymore, etc.) Make a commitment to yourself to enact these plans. 

Now, this paper is going to act as the binding for your spell, and you’ll want to keep it on hand as you work towards your moving day. However many new moons fall between now and your moving date, try to put the paper out to charge in the new moon every cycle until you’ve completed your move. This will keep the magic charged up and active. And in the meantime, keep the page nearby whenever you’re actively working on moving plans. Place it somewhere in the room where you’re packing at any given time. Or leave it on the desk where you make phone calls, send emails, etc. so it can help you with the logistical/organizational aspects of moving. 

I recently read Spells from Scratch (which I’ll be reviewing on this blog soon!) and I loved the author’s definition of a spell: “Spellcraft makes the possible probable.” We can’t use magic to change the laws of physics or completely iron out any wrinkles that might pop up in our daily lives. Moving house is stressful, overwhelming, and difficult–that can’t be completely done away with. But this spell can help make the bumps and detours a little less intense or frequent. And honestly, when you’re a spoonie, every little bit of ease helps! 

What kinds of spells would you like to see me create/adapt for spoonies in the future? Leave me a comment!