Two major holidays approach for witchy writers: Samhain and NaNoWriMo.

Samhain is one of the most important times of the year for witches, magical practitioners, and spiritual folk and it is when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest.

This is a time of intuition and divination, of leaving the old behind and beginning the new. It also ushers in November and the month of NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month, is an annual feast worshipped by writers everywhere who spend November writing 50,000 words and dreaming new worlds into being.

Chances are that if you are preparing to celebrate both Samhain and NaNoWriMo, you already have the five traits of witchy writers. But what are they?

1. They create a sigil for their writing.

A sigil is a powerful symbolic representation of your magical will. Traditionally, a sigil might be a pictorial symbol, a runic image, or a shape. A sigil can be anything that clearly signals your intention to your unconscious that you are performing a powerful, magical act.

For writers, the sigil they use might be a scent they use to signal that it’s time to work: oil, incense, or perfume. It might be the space they work from, the time of day, the cup they drink coffee from, or the blend of tea they use when they write.

Other writers might have a playlist of music or a recording of rainfall, a color that they wear every time they write, or a notebook where every new project begins. Whatever they use, this sigil is a message to the ego to quiet down, and let the deep work of writing begin.

2. They know that writing is like spellcasting.

Casting a spell is a combination of ritual and will. The ritual supports the magic, and that is why it is necessary to use specific herbs, objects, incantations, tools, and so on. But without the concentrated force of will, the spell will be hollow and ineffective.

Writing requires the same pairing of ritual and will. Without the desire to write, deep in the unconscious as well as in the conscious mind, the work will feel hollow and empty, no matter what software, or desk set-up they have.

With the combination of ritual and will, the writing is as powerful as a spell, and it will have the same potent results.

3. They see writing as an act of devotion.

Witchy writers know that their writing is an act of devotion, the same as any other magical practice.

The work of writing is as integral to their lives as any other form of ritual, ceremony, or prayer, and their devotion produces magical results in their writing.

Whether they devote time daily, weekly, or monthly to their craft, devotion is always key.

4. They know that writing is about channeling cosmic messaging.

Intuition and divination are key to practical magic. The individual magician’s intuition will dictate the results of their magic, even if they follow the precise same rituals as someone else.

Witchy writers know that this is true for their writing, too. They are open to channeling cosmic messaging, and they never look to others’ external results to dictate their own work.

The power of cosmic channeling means that the work can sometimes feel like an act of divination, as well as an intellectual practice.

5. They honor magical cycles.

Witchy writers don’t work on conventional schedules but are much more likely to follow their own cycles guided by seasonal shifts, planetary deities, lunar phases, astrological weather, or other forms of divination.

Just as a spell is more likely to work if it is cast on an astrologically auspicious day, so too, witchy writers know that writing works more effectively on days when they are tuned in to the work.

If you recognize these traits in yourself, there’s a strong chance that you are a witchy writer!

If you respond to the power of sigils, spells, devotion, cosmic messaging, and magical cycles, this time of year is a potent one for you to practice magic and write your book.

NaNoWriMo has become an unofficial ritual that coincides with a deeply magical time of year.

Whether you work every day, or once a week, whether you meet the word count, or write a single line, take this focussed container, and use it to devote yourself to your writing, you will obtain the magical results you desire.