SpellWork: Magic We Can We Learn From the Science of Surface Tension

Instinct will let you know when to resist and when to accept external forces. We all have that built-in and animalistic determination to survive and thrive.

SpellWork is a direct reflection of my witchcraft practice. I’m not a traditional witch, and belong to no coven—think of me as a lone hedge witch.

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I was washing the dishes the other day when my mind absentmindedly drifted to the concept of surface tension. 

Scientifically speaking, surface tension happens when liquids displace and shrink into the smallest possible area. The exterior becomes taut, stretched, and more able to resist force or weight on it.

But we’re not scientists here, are we? It’s taken me a long time to grasp this, but I am a witch and I believe in making magic. Chinggay Labrador (@practical_magical on IG) distills what I mean by magic better than I ever could. She defines it as “a mix of self-awareness, wonder, and synchronicity.”

As I watched bay leaves rest lazily on top of soapy water, I wondered: What can the phenomenon of surface tension teach us about this very practical kind of magic?

Straddling the Line Between the Spiritual and the Scientific

Before we get to surface tension, let’s backtrack a little. You can’t imagine how relieved I was to read those words on magic.

Labrador’s assertion made me feel like there were people out there who knew what it meant to harness personal power and belief without falling victim to toxic positivity, spiritual bypassing, and unsubstantiated teachings—basically, without becoming a negative stereotype or a caricature. As kids would say, I felt seen.

While I have an academic and professional background in research, my beliefs aren’t bound by only physical and mathematical rules. There’s space in my reality for the unknown—a lot of it, actually. I respect and honor what I call the Great Unknowable without attempting to fully define a system to explain what I believe.

I approach spirituality from a place of intuition and reaction, and not necessarily from a place of creation—much less commodification. It’s easy to act first when you hold all the cards in your hands. Science gives you numbers and formulas and calculations and probabilities and truly actionable information. But magic demands patience.

When you insist on trusting your intuition, that sign you’re waiting for may manifest in an instant—or in a million years. During downtime, I learn how to look for signs more effectively. And so: I often find myself using concepts from science as frameworks to better understand this magical system I cannot and will not define.

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What’s beyond the paywall?

• Understanding Forces That Create Surface Tension

  • Cohesive Forces: Finding Strength in What You Are

  • External Forces: Resisting vs. Breaking Through

• How to Make Magic From Recognizing Moments of Intuitive Reaction

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