Magical Thinking: When the Need for Meaning Distorts Reality
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Magical thinking refers to a way of reasoning that assigns symbolic meaning or invisible causality to events, objects, or behaviors, without any rational or scientific foundation. It's the belief, for example, that an event happens for a “universal” reason, that discomfort has a hidden meaning tied to repressed emotions, or that a word, coincidence, or injury is a “sign” that must be understood.
A Universal Human Tendency
Magical thinking is far from marginal. It affects children and adults alike, both educated and uneducated individuals. It appears from a very young age, as children believe their thoughts can cause events or that objects have a will of their own. In adults, it doesn't disappear, it simply takes different, often more subtle, forms.
We find it in various areas: certain religious or esoteric beliefs, superstitions, personal development, spiritual interpretations of the body or illness, and even therapeutic discourses that claim “everything happens for a reason.”
Why Do We Resort to It?
Magical thinking often resurfaces during times of stress, loss of control, or instability. It offers a sense, albeit illusory of control over the unpredictable. When reality becomes too harsh, the mind seeks shortcuts to feel reassured.
This tendency appears in several domains:
- Astrology, fortune-telling, numerology: seen as tools to “understand” or “predict” what's coming.
- Personal rituals: touching a lucky charm before an exam, avoiding certain dates, wearing a “lucky outfit.”
- New age spirituality: belief that “the universe sends signs” or that “positive vibes attract good things.”
- Extreme positive thinking: belief that “thinking hard enough” about something will make it manifest, as in the law of attraction.
All these examples reflect a fundamental need for security, meaning, and control.
Why Do We Take Refuge in It?
Magical thinking doesn’t arise randomly, it fills a void, soothes a fear, and gives meaning to the meaningless. In this sense, it serves a clear psychological function. It allows us to:
- Reduce anxiety about what we cannot control (illness, death, the future).
- Give meaning to the inexplicable.
- Rebuild a sense of causality in a world that sometimes seems absurd.
- Avoid facing reality by retreating into a “magical” rather than logical way of thinking.
Behind magical thinking lies a deep need for reassurance. In the face of uncertainty, pain, or the incomprehensible, it is deeply human to want to believe in a hidden order or secret meaning. If what I’m experiencing has meaning, then I’m not a victim of random chance. If a hardship is “sent to me,” then it must serve a purpose, and I can cling to that idea to get through it.
This way of thinking comforts us, it gives the illusion of controlling the uncontrollable, mastering the invisible, decoding the world’s complexity. It also helps maintain inner coherence, a life narrative where nothing is meaningless, and everything is “justified” or “useful.”
This mental refuge can sometimes be helpful… until it takes up too much...