Hope Should Be More Than a Future Disappointment Bumper Sticker, 11.5 x 3 Inch

A line with an argument in it. Most hope slogans are soft. This one has a point of view, which is why people who see it tend to think about it for the rest of the drive.

Standard 11.5 x 3 inch size. The full sentence fits on one bumper-width strip in letters you can read at a stoplight.

Made by AzureGreen. Part of the same pagan sticker line as the rest of our bumper collection, so it matches what is already on your car.

• Dimensions: 11.5 x 3 inches
• Weight: about 0.3 oz
• Quantity: one bumper sticker
• Maker: AzureGreen
• Slogan: Hope Should Be More Than a Future Disappointment

Hope has a complicated place in myth. In Hesiod's telling, when Pandora opened the jar and every trouble flew out into the world, hope was the one thing that stayed inside, and scholars still argue whether that made it a comfort or the last trap. This sticker takes a side: hope that only waits is a disappointment with a delay on it. Hope that acts is something else.

That is a witch's view of the word. In tarot, hope is the Star, the card that follows the Tower, and the figure on it is not waiting; she is pouring water, doing the next thing. In practical magic, hope is what you feel at the moment of setting an intention, and the working is what turns the feeling into a plan. The sticker is used in the pagan and witch community as a reminder of that second half: light the candle, then go do the thing the candle was for.

1. Wash the spot first. A little dish soap and water, or a wipe of rubbing alcohol, takes off the road film and wax that keep stickers from gripping. Let it dry completely.
2. Apply when the surface is somewhere near room temperature. Cold metal and blazing-hot metal both make the adhesive fussy, so a shady afternoon or a garage is ideal.
3. Peel back one end of the backing, line the sticker up, and press it down from the center outward with the flat of your hand or a credit card. That pushes the air out as you go instead of trapping it.
4. If you want to make the moment a small working, name one hope out loud as you smooth the sticker down, along with one thing you will do about it this week. Then rub the edges and give the adhesive a day before the next car wash.
5. When it is time to take it down, warm it with a hairdryer, lift a corner, and peel slowly at a low angle. A dab of cooking oil or citrus adhesive remover clears any leftover residue.

It is a good sticker for a car, and a better one for the door of the room where you keep your plans.

• Hope Ritual Kit: a full candle working built around exactly the active hope the sticker is talking about.
• Hope Runic ritual candle: a single candle for the night you want to set the intention and mean it.
• Magic Happens bumper sticker: the short, sunny version to sit beside this one.
• Peace: Let It Begin With Me Bumper Sticker: another sticker that puts the responsibility back on the driver, in the kindest way.
• Inspirational Word Worry Stone (Assorted Words): a word to keep in your pocket for the days the bumper is not enough.

What does Hope Should Be More Than a Future Disappointment mean?

It means hope has to include action or it is only a wish waiting to fail. The slogan pushes back on the passive kind of hope, where you sit and see what happens, and argues for the kind you practice today. Witches would call it the difference between wishing for something and working for it.

Why is this hope bumper sticker in a pagan and witch shop?

Because the sentiment is a witch's sentiment. In practical magic, hope is the feeling at the moment you set an intention, and the working is what you do next. The tarot's Star card shows hope as a figure already pouring water, not waiting. AzureGreen makes the sticker as part of their pagan bumper line.

How big is the sticker?

It measures 11.5 inches wide by 3 inches tall, the standard American bumper sticker size. That width fits the whole sentence on a single strip in letters large enough to read from the car behind you, whether at a stoplight, in a parking lot, or in slow traffic.

How do I apply it so it lasts?

Clean the spot with soapy water or rubbing alcohol and let it dry completely. Apply at a mild temperature, peel back one end of the backing, position it, and press from the center outward with a credit card. Rub the edges down and wait a day before the next car wash.

Can it be removed cleanly?

Yes. Warm the sticker with a hairdryer for about thirty seconds, lift one corner with a fingernail, and peel slowly at a low angle. Any leftover adhesive comes off with cooking oil or a citrus-based remover on a soft cloth, followed by a wipe with soapy water.