Spells «vs» Prayer

It is incredibly common to see Pagans and religious Witches both boldly assert that Spells and Prayers are “the same thing”. This was, originally, one of the main ways in which the Witchcraft revival of the 20th and 21st century justified and explained Witchcraft to a predominantly Christian society that was- at first- unwilling to accept Witchcraft’s existence, let alone in a legitimate religious format.

Rather fortunately for us, the wheel of time has rolled on and society has become much more accepting and tolerant. The need to couch our practices in terms and manners that are palatable to the Protestant Christian mindset is no longer necessary in the majority areas. Unfortunately, however, the assertion that Prayer and Spells are the same has remained. But they are not the same thing. In fact, there are some very significant differences between them that make the conflation a bit troublesome.

⤁ A Prayer, for instance, is entirely hands-off and requires the exclusive involvement of a Deity as the receptive and active party. Specifically, Prayers are requests for help, or an expression of thanks or devotion, which are addressed specifically to Divine Figures. They may be ritualized through specific cleansing rites, the lighting of incense, meditation, and other actions both before, during, and after the prayer. But these actions do not inherently elevate it to the realm of a spell; it is static function, with a static purpose, wherein the Deity is the only actionable party should any action be necessary (such as in the case of petitionary Prayers).

⤁ Spells, on the other hand, are entirely hands-on. They come in many shapes and sizes, and may be performed for nearly any conceivable reason- from bringing love, to gaining luck, cursing an enemy, or some other cause. Broadly speaking, though, they are ultimately a form of ritual wherein the individual themself (or, occasionally, a group of individuals) seeks to actively harness and manipulate universal energies in order to exact some kind of a change on the corporeal world via metaphysical and non-corporeal means- with or without Divine aid.

It is only really when we start moving into the realm of Witch Cults, or religious magical traditions, and encounter those who use Witchcraft specifically in religious manners, that the line between Spells and Prayers becomes a bit more nebulous ... In these cases Spells may actively involve Divine figures in numerous ways. Magic-as-Prayer certainly exists in these contexts, and spells may become a sort of Prayer- though typically only under specific circumstances and formulas. In other cases, the Divine's help may be requested in exacting the requested change through spells, and prayer may therefore be actively included within a spell- though in these instances the prayer becomes a component of the spell and not the total sum. In any case, these exceptions do not mean all Spells performed are a form of Prayer, or that we can draw false equivalencies between the two.