Sleep Magic Do’s & Don’ts

Most people already know that keeping certain bedtime rituals is vital to one’s health and can improve the quality of one’s sleep. However, when the time comes to actually crawl into our respective places of rest, many people still fail to realize just how important sleep habits really are.

Not getting real restful sleep has a domino effect on your mental and physical health, and a lack of sleep over time can quite literally kill you. Moreover, when it comes to reaching our goals, manifesting our desires, and healing, both physically and mentally, a good night’s sleep is vital.

Additionally, the practice of small rituals before bed is a great way to subconsciously attract the energies you want or need, while you sleep.

Throughout my own journey as someone who has suffered bouts of severe insomnia and night terrors, I’ve discovered a few tricks that make a world of difference for a better, more magickal sleep.

DO:

Create a Calm Environment

This is hands-down the most important part of sleep magic and the first step in most forms of spell casting. Creating a safe, calm space — one that you feel comfortable in, is going to set the mood for your rest and enhance whatever spells you cast.

For some, this may mean investing more in the bedroom. Ideally, the bedroom should be a space that promotes rest, healing, happiness, and positive manifestation.

Though the common recommendation seems to be keeping this space in cool colors, avoiding mirrors, and making the room dark — Of course, as a sun-witch, I like things just the opposite. For me, a calm space involves a lot of warm colors and soft lighting, as well as mirrors to reflect light around the room.

Scent, sound, crystals, lights, air quality, and color can all make an impact on your subconscious whether you are asleep or awake, so make sure you are creating the right environment for yourself and your bedtime rituals.

If you can’t physically change the space around you to be more conducive to spellcasting, a bedside alter will work just fine.

Stick to Your Rituals

Of course, there are going to be nights when you’re simply too tired and knock out the moment your head hits the pillow, but try to be as consistent as possible. As with anything, the more you practice, the easier it will become.

When you are practicing manifestation, regardless of what you are trying to accomplish, spells and rituals work best if they are repeated. Remember that the energy you put out directly affects the energy you get back. This is why sleep manifestation can be some of the most powerful magick if done correctly.

For people who suffer from insomnia, sticking to the rules and rituals you create for yourself is going to be your savior.

One extremely important rule of battling insomnia is: Do not hang out on your bed AT ALL unless you are going to sleep. This means no reading, no Netflix, no TikTok, just SLEEP.

Trust me. It will change the way your body physically responds to laying down. In some cases, we need to retrain our brains to associate our bed with rest. So limit the time you spend in bed not sleeping. If you find yourself lying awake, it is often better to get out of bed and try another activity for a while until the urge to sleep returns.

(The best choice, in this case, is to read an actual book, and avoid screens or physical activity.)

Use Sound As a Booster

We’ve all heard of people listening to lectures, mantras, affirmations, music, and the like while dozing off in the hope that the sound will penetrate into the subconscious mind.

This technique can also be used for spellcasting. Listening to a voice-recorded spell on repeat as we sleep can help pull your attention and energy in the direction of that which you are trying to achieve. It can also be a great way to put yourself to sleep, just be mindful of others and try finding some sleep-friendly headphones if you share the space with anyone else!

Focusing on white noise or creating white noise that you find calming while channeling your intention is also a good practice for sleep spellcasting.

Nature sounds, fishtanks, fans, anything calm and repetitive will work. There are heaps of ambient noise and music to choose from for free online if you don’t have any way to get ambient noise into your space.

Another great way to use sound to enhance your spellcasting is to invest in a singing bowl. Singing bowls are well-known for their relaxation and manifestation powers.

Place (the right) Crystals Near Your Bed

If you’re comfortable with your crystals and know which ones attract which kind of energy, feel free to place them near you when you sleep. Of course, it’s always best to double-check that the crystals you select are the right ones to enhance the effects of your spell and aren't ones that will interfere with your sleep. Otherwise, they might drive you crazy by keeping you up at night.

Some common sleepy-time favorites include:

Amethyst: Intuition, tranquility, mental health

Howlite: Stillness, tenderness, open-heart

Rose Quartz: Love, comfort, healing

Selenite: Manifestation, rejuvenation, divine feminine

If you are trying to ward away nightmares, try:

Rainbow Moonstone: Protection, deflection, spiritual growth

Flame Agate: Purification, spiritual healing, strength

Black Tourmaline: Psychic shield, negativity absorber, self-confidence

Some people place crystals under their pillow, personally, I prefer to place them on a bedside table to keep them from getting lost and to prevent myself from waking up with a crystal lodged in my cheek.

Again, depending on the type of spell you are using before bed, money, love, healing, etc. the stones you chose are likely to change. And if you find yourself restless, move them away before you go to sleep.

Use Scents & Sachets

Herbs are already a witch’s best friend when it comes to spellcasting, so naturally, when trying to rest and manifest, we can’t leave out one of the best resources.

Herbal sprays with ingredients like lavender, chamomile, and thyme are a fast and easy way to ready the bed/room for a soothing rest. And while I don’t really recommend placing crystals under your pillow, I do recommend placing herbal spell and scent sachets there.

Pine, lavender, chamomile, rose, thyme and clove all have a calming effect and are perfect additions to any dream sachet you sew up! Just make sure the sachet is well-sealed so the herbs don’t spill out all over your bed. (It happened to me once!)

Do a quick smoke cleanse if you are prone to night terrors or hauntings. My personal favorite quick and easy cleansing hack is to light a cinnamon stick and let the warm, sweet, scent fill the room before bed or a nighttime ritual.

Drink Tea

Any kitchen witch can tell you, there is a whole host of herbs to brew for before bed in order to induce better sleep, encourage manifestation, improve one’s health, and mood.

Teas that include valerian root are sure to make you sleepy. Chamomile, mint, and clove are some other bedtime favorites. While most herbal teas are fine, make sure you avoid black and green tea or anything that contains caffeine!

Don’t:

Pollute the Air

The air we take in while we sleep can not only affect our health but our mood and ability to manifest. Making sure the air is clean before settling into a night of deep breathing is important.

When performing candle magick in an enclosed space, and especially before bed, try to only use beeswax candles. While scented candles can help provide a sense of calm with a lovely scent, many also emit harmful particles into the air. Whereas, beeswax candles clean the air.

So if you plan on keeping a candle near your bed for nightly spellcasting, make sure it’s beeswax. Soy and coconut are generally safe as well, but not as purifying.

Humidifiers, air purifiers, and rock-salt lamps are also great additions to a relaxing, sleep-focused space, but be sure not to place them too close to your head, or they may do more harm than good for your breathing.

Never Sleep North

Most people are completely unaware that something as simple as the position of your bed can make a big difference when it comes to getting a good night’s rest.

Not everyone needs to have the SAME sleep rituals, but there is one important rule that is both agreed on and ignored by most people: Never sleep with your head to the North.

(Don’t place your bed in a South-facing position, with your head in a Northward direction.)

There are several reasons one should never put their head to the North when sleeping, some are based on science, some on superstition.

According to the Ayurvedic practice of Vastu Shastra, placing your head in the North affects the way our blood and energy are pulled due to the gravitational pull. Over time, the pressure builds up in your brain and causes early death.

Avoid Oneiromancy

I’ll admit it, when it comes to sleep, I’m a selfish witch. After years of being plagued by night terrors, insomnia, and hauntings, I have come to a place where my skin literally crawls when I hear people talk about getting into oneiromancy (dream divination), or lucid dreaming.

While that might be some witches’ specialty, I’ve found, that unless I am being paid to suffer, it’s really not worth losing sleep over.

Opening yourself up to the spirit world while you sleep is dangerous and exhausting.

For starters, you don’t have the same control over situations when you sleep as you would when you’re awake unless you are a very experienced lucid dreamer. So if you encounter anything undesirable, you won’t be able to “say goodbye” and burn the ouija board, so to speak. And while lucid dreaming can be fun, it also degrades the quality of your sleep, because you are actively using your brain, which should be resting.

In my experience, if you are meant to receive a visit or a message from a spirit, it will find a way to come to you. But when you dive into divination unguarded, the risks multiply substantially.

To elaborate just a little: Everyone should be going through 4 stages when they sleep, the longest and most beneficial stage is stage 4: Deep, restful sleep. In this stage, the brain gets a chance to shut off (active thoughts) and literally heal itself, along with the rest of your body.

People who are plagued by night terrors, divination, lucid dreams, and the like, will wake up literally exhausted from a lack of rest, regardless of how much time they spend “sleeping” — because their brain is spending too much time in REM and not enough time in Stage 4.

So while learning how to lucid dream and dabbling with divination can be enlightening, be conscious of the possible repercussions. After all, anxiety, sleep paralysis, hauntings, and waking up exhausted tend to dampen one’s spirits and ability to heal, manifest, and enjoy the day.

Have a good night!