Intent is something I hear a lot in religious, philosophical and magical discussions. Philosophical debates on whether or not intent matters in ethical situations are fascinating, but sadly beside the point at the moment. The fact is that various religions disagree on how much intent matters, from not at all to it's the most important part. Magical acts are often boiled down to nothing but intent.
We treat intention at it's extremes. Intent doesn't matter at all comes into play when attempting to understand the old religions many of us are reconstructing. One of the biggest things people did was make offerings, regardless of intent or belief. It didn't matter if you believed in the Deities who you were making offerings to, it didn't matter if you were They're followers, you did it because that is how people stayed safe and avoided Divine Displeasure. There are a lot of things that are done in religions regardless of the intent, especially in Judaism (although everything that can be said about Judaism is somewhere both supported and contradicted by rabbinical authority.) My brother tries to convince me to do Jewish things, even though my beliefs lay elsewhere, because it doesn't matter if I don't believe them, it is the act that matters. Belief will follow. But for me, that kind of act is a lie.
There is a lot of New Age thought around intent. The idea that when you put out intentions they come back to you. Now, there is some underlying truth to this thought. When doing magic, yes, intent definitely matters. If I'm not actually intending for a spell to work, odds are it isn't going to. By the same token, if the intent is there, but the rest of the components are not, there is a good chance the spell won't work. Trying to use Jupiter to help gain wealth works, but if you accidentally used the symbol for Saturn you'll probably find the intention won't overcome the inlaid spiritual paths of the universe. Even just dealing with intention magic, sometimes your intent isn't welcome.
It is really common in magical, energetic, and New Age communities to send energies of various kinds to people without their permission. There's this notion that with good intent, that magic can do no harm. Others have written wonderfully about this so I'm going to leave it short. Intent is not all that matters. Maybe your intent is to help someone with their pain, but they are meant to feel that pain to actually learn from it. Maybe your energy just isn't good for them. The fact is, intentions are not everything.
We think of intent as black or white. Either intent is everything, or it is nothing.
The world isn't black and white, it isn't even shades of gray. We have a wide range of colors and tones, so why are we limiting our understanding of intent to it's extremes?
Intention is a major factor and is a great guiding force. It is the compass and the map, but we will still get lost sometimes anyways. And know what? That's okay, not just okay but wonderful. And if you step on someone's toes, or trespass their boundaries, being able to hold up said map and compass and genuinely apologize, and ask for directions, it goes a long ways. Be it a spirit who you accidentally offended with an offering, or hugging a friend when they did not want to be touched, talking and communicating about intent really helps. You learn that when said friend gets upset, you two take a walk and decidedly do not touch. You learn that said spirit wants your ale, your whiskey, but by the gods do not give it flowers. Most of the time, these relationships are repairable once you explain intent and communicate about how you have fucked up. Or maybe how they have fucked up.
On the other hand, intention can also lead to irreparable harm. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," being the most obvious example in common parlance. (If it was the road to Hel/Helheim instead, honestly, I wouldn't mind it particularly much.) You can trespass on territory that gets you seriously injured, or maybe someone else. There is only so far intention can go for feeding someone peanuts with a peanut allergy. Doing the research helps cut down on that. Getting smacked upside the head physically, psychically, metaphorically, etc. can really help as well. On the other hand, being on the receiving end of the comic wake up call to get your shit together probably won't be a pleasant experience.
We all fuck up. Intention doesn't make things better, but it makes them comprehensible and enables all of us to move the fuck on.
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