I think there is a tendency to feel like we have to be serious and proper if we respect our faith. There is this need to make things complicated and oh so serious, because if we don't we fear being accused of faking it or being crazy.
I have never been someone who feels like mirth and joy aren't compatible with true reverence. You can be deeply serious about your faith, and still laugh and keep things light.
I learned magic with the understanding that magic bridges the gap between the left and right brain. Your thinking brain wants things, but your child brain often gets things done. They don't communicate well! The thinking brain works in words and logic, while the child brain needs symbols and emotions to really 'get' what is going on.
And this is where magic comes in! When we do ritual or cast spells, we are translating the words in our (thinking) brain into symbols and feelings that the child brain understands. Much like a small child who has suddenly realized they KNOW what the adult wants, and scampers off to do it (with much enthusiasm!), our child brain (subconscious) will take the symbols and emotions we use to do our ritual and run off and create change.
Here is where I think magic looses a little of it's shiny sometimes: we take it too seriously! We may have read books on magic theory, or have found spells that work towards what we want to do, and we think that we need to follow the instructions like it is a manual for assembling furniture.
This isn't to say that I don't think we can't have serious rituals or follow a ritual/spell format, but I think that magic should light us up...it should have a sense of wonder to it. The same way that a child looks at the world, that is how we should view our magic. And children can be very serious about many things...they approach pursuits with a purity of passion that we can emulate in our own magical practice.
But I also think that playfulness is a very powerful tool! Being creative and flexible keeps our practice fluid and changing...it keeps it from becoming rote and routine (where we tend to loose focus and interest).
I adore doing thought exercises when it comes to magic and ritual. Where you take a random assortment of things (especially non-traditionally-magical things) and pick a spell or ritual focus...and decide how you might accomplish that task with those things. There are all kinds of ways to pick which random things you start with. You might dump out your purse/pockets/wallet and pick up three things and those are what you have. Or you might find a picture, and only use things you can see in that picture. You might even find a 'random item' generator online (I have a bunch that I use for roleplaying games, one of which has a 'random stuff in your pocket' generator, which is brilliant for this!) I also have a bunch of dice with words or pictures on them, that could be used (you can find these often in the kid's toy section).
When I do exercises like this, I really do often think like a child might, if they were playing make-believe. It helps break down some of the logical barriers we might otherwise put in place. All of a sudden, that bottle cap becomes a boat or an umbrella or a shield. The rubber band could be super stretchy arms, an unbreakable rope or a trampoline! This really helps you get out of your adult (thinking) brain, and work with the symbols that the child mind works so very well with.
Another fun way to do this is to pick a book or movie/show where the characters are stuck in a situation with a problem. Look at what they have available and figure out what you would do with those things to solve that problem. To make it a bit more tricky, you may limit yourself to 'things that would work in that world'. So, if you were watching a modern day detective show, you might have to do a more subtle magic, perhaps to get the culprit to admit their crime. But if you were reading a high fantasy book, you might be able to have them create an actual fireball or summon an imp to help them!
It sounds like we are leaving the realm of reality here, but the thing to remember is that magic works in symbols. So even if you are visualizing summing an imp, your child mind is working to help create the things you are visualizing the imp doing. It is helping to move you in the direction you want to go, without you being aware of it. This is the true power of magic: being able to send messages to your subconscious so that it can help you create the things you want in the world!
Play doesn't have to be super silly or super crazy either. If you watch children, their play is real to them. They aren't (always!) doing random things or being over the top. In moderation, those types of play can be great too! If you have ever been in a situation where you just can't stop laughing, you will know the release that can be! That is powerful energy right there!
Play is about being in the moment, about loosing yourself in the story you are creating, and about finding ways to make things work. And that is what magic is about too! The more invested you become in your magic, the more you are letting the two halves of your brain communicate, and the more clear your focus becomes.
Learning to play may take work for many of us. We are taught that adults should do adult things, and that play is for children. From the moment we start showing signs of 'growing up' we are encouraged to put away our toys and adult. I think we spend too much time adulting! Of course you need to take care of the things you need to do...but once you have adulted, it's time to play!
Welcome play back into your life. Let yourself really get lost in the things you want to do, and stop worrying if they are 'appropriate' for someone of your age (whatever age you are). Take this attitude of play into your magic, and let your inner child free. You will be surprised at what they can accomplish...when you stop trying to force them to act like an adult.
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