Vision Boards: Manifesting the Future

I used to think that making vision boards was a pretty lame idea. It was too crafty, too basic, too childish—insert whatever other negative reason you can think of here… I’m sure it went through my mind.

But now that I’ve made them for several years in a row, I can attest to what a powerful tool they can really be as long as they’re made with the right intentions. I’ve kept record of my most recent four or five years worth of visions boards and it’s fun to look back and see how many things I was able to manifest. If nothing else, it is at least a testament to the fact that I hit many my personal goals.

Writing a book? That was on my vision board. When we needed a new car? When we wanted to travel? Yep. All all on vision boards.

In this short post, we’re going to talk about different ways that you can make a vision board. It’s really easy. You don’t need much to get started. And it can definitely change your outlook.

The Operative Principle

But first… How do vision boards work? It’s essentially just keeping your goal in sight and being actively reminded of it—a concept so simple that it’s easy to write off entirely.

Think of it like those 20-30 minutes of exercise you’re supposed to get each day. Some people might think “oh, well that couldn’t possibly make much of a difference to my health,” so they don’t do it at all. Trust me. It makes a difference. And so do vision boards.

There are certain schools of magick that believe that you have to plant your goals firmly in the subconscious and then forget about them—and that’s true sometimes—but a vision board operates on a slightly different principle, much like an affirmation, where you actively keep your intention in your conscious mind by regular reminders and action.

It’s also acts on the principle of attraction or something we might call sympathetic magick. We say “like attracts like.” You’re making a symbolic representation of the thing you want, just like our ancient ancestors did when they painted animals on the walls of caves.

You’re hoping that this sympathetic act will help draw the object of your manifestation toward you—a thing, a goal, a circumstance—whatever it is.

Situations

You can create a vision board at any time of your life and for any reason, but they’re usually best for medium- to long-term goals—things that are going to take a significant amount of time to manifest.

For instance, if you are planning to buy a house, you could make a vision board related to all aspects of that process. You might choose to depict something that looks like the type of house you want (does it have a yard, a garage, a fence?), a representation of yourself or your family, some type of contract for the closing, and of course, a picture of money to represent having the proper funds.

The more accurately we can picture what we want, the more likely it will be that we can attract it effectively. Think of your vision board like a physical visualization aid, helping you picture the things you want to get.

And although you can make them whenever you please, it’s an especially excellent idea to make a vision board at the start of the year. This lets you sit down and map our your goals, organizing what you want to accomplish over the next 12 month period. Irrespective of the magickal effects, this is also really just a good mundane planning exercise that will help you structure your life.

Keep in mind that your vision board does not need to solely consist of goals that will be finished during the year or one specific time period. You can have goals on your vision board that take 5 years, 10 years, or even your entire life to accomplish. As long as you understand that you are going to be making steady progress, and not necessarily finishing a thing, you will be in good shape. We don’t want to look back and be disappointed.

Also, although it might be stating the obvious, let’s make sure the goals are realistic ones—things you can actually accomplish. Don’t put a picture of a house on the moon. Don’t put a picture of you flying through the sky like superman. Unrealistic goals will just cause you to look back on the process with disappointment, which will temporarily decrease its effectiveness in the future… or worst case, you get frustrated and never try it again.

Supplies Needed

As the name of the project would imply, you’re going to need some sort of board. That can be many things.

• Poster board
• Corkboard
• File folder

My personal favorite it to use a file folder. They’re conveniently sized and fold up neatly in half for storage once you’re done.

And how about the rest of your crafting supplies?

• Scissors
• Pictures
• Tape
• Glue
• Markers
• Pens
• Glitter
• Paint
• Ribbon
• Stickers

Look, I’m pretty simple. I just use scissors and glue. But I’ve seen people make some really decorative vision boards. Ultimately, it should be a reflection of your personality, so if you’re the type of person that’s all sparkle and flare, go ahead and throw some glitter on your vision board. I dare you. It should make you happy when you look at it.

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Obtaining Images

Back in the day, people used to have to cut pictures out of magazines, newspapers, or advertisements.

I’ll be honest, we actually tried to do it the old school way a few years ago. And you know what we discovered? Magazines are really expensive and rarely have pictures of anything we want. I could have spent fruitless hours flipping through them and never actually finding anything to use. So we skipped that.

If you happen to have a lot of magazines lying around which also have pictures of things you’d put on a vision board, then more power to you.

If you’re especially artistic and can draw or sketch your visions, then you should absolutely try to do that. But that’s not me.

For everyone else, there’s the internet.

You can just Google whatever you’re looking for and print a picture of it.

There are also sites like Canva that have tons of graphics and images. I use it for basically everything digital that I make, including these articles.

1. You don’t have to worry about copyright or anything like that—this is only for personal use
2. You don’t have to find an image of the exact custom thing (e.g., “1998 Gibson SG Standard in Heritage Cherry”), something general usually works (e.g., “electric guitar”)
3. Some concepts, like love, can only be represented in symbolic form, so don’t be afraid to get creative
4. You should include a depiction of spirit or spirituality (an ankh, a pentagram, a god or goddess, a cross, whatever represents spirituality to you).

The Process

Cut out your images as neatly as possible (or as neatly as you have patience for), trying your best to trim them so there’s not giant chunks of white space around the edges, then stick them to your board.

But before you glue everything down, take a few moments to test the layout. Set everything down and see how it all fits together. There are quite a few times where I glued something down too early and then had to fight to remove and reposition it.

If you want to decorate, throw some glitter or something. If not, you don’t have to.

Next, hold your vision board under the moonlight and say:

By sound and breath,
By my own accord,
I activate this…
…vision board!

Make sure it’s a full moon. And make sure you dance around a fire or something.

I’m just kidding. You don’t have to do any of that.

Once you’ve finished the crafting, you don’t have to do anything special. In fact, you don’t have to do anything at all. You can run it through some incense smoke or burn a candle nearby if it makes you feel better, just don’t light your vision board on fire.

You should keep your vision board in a location that is private, but where you can still see it every day. This is another reason I like to use a file folder. I can fold it up and keep it in a bedside draw, where I can easily pull it out and look at it every day.

People also come up with other creative locations for vision boards. My sister used to make a tiny vision board and stick it on the inside of her car’s visor. Every morning before driving to work, she’d flip it down for a brief moment to remind herself of why she was going to work and what she hoped to accomplish. Oh, and my sister? Not a witch. Not even witch adjacent. Just a motivated person who was open to trying new techniques.

Digital Vision Boards

So… if we’re finding digital images to begin with, why are we bothering to print them out? Why don’t we just keep everything in the cloud and make a fully digital vision board?

You can. Maybe that appeals to you.

Personally, I think there’s extra energy involved in the physical act that helps you realize your intentions. It’s like the difference between thinking something and saying it out loud. Speaking something with your voice can make it feel more real.

But if a digital vision board calls to you, try it out. I’ve heard of people setting them as their desktop backgrounds so they’re forced to see them all the time. Try it out and then let me know how it worked for you.

Conclusion

It’s important to keep track of the goals we hit. Most things aren’t instant. Sometimes we go through life making such slow progress, that when we finally “achieve” the goal, it just feels like things have always been that way. And that’s great and everything, but it understates the achievement and work that were involved.

You know what? We deserve some credit. At the end of the year, you can look back on your vision board and say, “Oh yeah! I did actually did that!” It’s an opportunity to be grateful… and that gratitude will foster more manifestation in the future.

Enjoy your vision boards, my friends. And good luck with your goals!