Witchy Whims

Welcome to the Witchcraft Master Document (Witchcraft 101 & 102) This information is for anyone interested in witchcraft whether it’s a novice practitioner, a curious reader, or an experienced practitioner just looking to reconnect with the beginning of their craft. The document will include some basic information, definitions, and some starting points for research. If you are looking for some resources we have some in the resources tab of our website and in the resources tab of our Discord.

So it would seem that TikTok has struck again and today’s new thing is witchcraft. A practice hidden in the shadows is becoming public and mainstream. Personally, I am happy more people are landing on the spiritual path because more people might find exactly what they need to achieve relaxation, happiness, and self-discovery. However, with mass exposure comes an influx of false information and unaware practitioners. Which is why I want to put this out on the internet for everyone.

What is A Witch?

I don’t really remember having a bunch of misinformation and hatred about witchcraft spoonfed to me before I had the chance to learn about witches in today’s world. My sister is Wiccan and before I could hit double digits my Google search history was all about modern-day witchcraft. However, trying to decipher the accurate information within the ocean of misinformation took forever, which is why I want to address a few common misconceptions about what a Witch is.

A Witch Is Not Evil – Witchcraft is often villainized by mainstream media and our society. The conceptions of the witch trials never really left and in many countries, witches are still persecuted. Witchcraft is a neutral force that offers us access to the universe. A concept that is rather universal amongst practitioner discourse is this definition of a witch: a witch is someone who manipulates universal energies to enact changes. My take on this definition is a little different. I define a witch as someone who uses one or more energies provided by the universe to access other realities of this universe. I use the term realities because it is more inclusive of all types of magick. A reality refers to not only the idea of traveling across planes but also making something you want or dream of into a reality whether it be through manifesting, healing, or even hexing. Accessing this power is a neutral action. A good person will always be good regardless of whether they practice.

Witches Worship the Devil – Witchcraft is not attached to any particular religion. A witch can be Pagan, Christian, Atheist, Luciferian, or anything really. Witches can bring their craft into spiritual beliefs or keep it separate, but that is entirely up to the practitioner.

Witchcraft and Wicca – I see this idea a lot in the resources I read, Wiccan and witch are often used interchangeably. Although witchcraft is a vital part of Wiccan beliefs, Wicca is not vital to witchcraft. Wicca is a fairly new religion and witchcraft is an ancient practice. Modern-day practices derive from centuries-old traditions from all over the world.

Is Witchcraft For You?

I want to start off by saying that witchcraft is not for everyone. If you are looking to see immediate results and cast your first spell tomorrow after a quick trip to the dollar store you’ve come to the wrong place. Rushing the craft for self-gratification or a TikTok trend is both disrespectful to the practice and potentially dangerous. However, the long-term rewards of a well-prepared and informed practice are worth the years of research and basics. Witchcraft is a power that all our

essences grant us access to. You can use it to slowly reframe your life and the lives of those around you. A powerful witch can find themself working with karma and aiding in its upkeep.

If you’ve made it through my rambling, I am guessing you are genuinely interested in learning about the practice and history. So you want to be a witch or practitioner? That’s awesome! Here are some things you should ask yourself before deciding if this is the path for you.

1. You have to believe. You can not even subconsciously question if all of the magick has real-world applications. When you start to give in to doubt, your spells have another obstacle to overcome before success.
2. You are going to mess up and make mistakes. No one does everything perfectly even after years of practice. You will get things wrong and be presented with new information as you go along.
3. You have to be willing to listen to information provided by other people, regardless of their background. E.g. a younger practitioner can teach you new things.

• • You can not view one religious belief as right and one belief as wrong. It will prevent you from growing in your knowledge and creating positive partnerships. You can have your own beliefs but don’t criticize someone else for theirs.
  • You have to know the difference between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation. Modern Witchcraft is derived from lots of different cultures all over the world, so make sure you are not stepping into practices that belong to specific cultural groups.

Deconstructing Racism in Your Craft

Disclaimer: Because I live in the United States, discussions of racism will be heavily influenced by discussions in my region.

As a member of the human race, we have the obligation to respect each other regardless of race, culture, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion etc. Where our ancestors showed shortcomings we must work to repair them. These are ideas that a modern witch must consider in their practice. There are many places where we can find cultural appropriation and discrimination in our modern-day craft practices, but I am going to present three important starting points.

1. Closed Practices – Closed practices are traditions, rituals, items, etc. that belong to a specific culture and can only be practiced by those born or initiated into it. If you are not born into a particular culture do NOT speak over the voices of those who are explaining it. Even if you are presenting an opinion from another member of that culture, it is not your conversation to have. If you feel drawn to a particular practice that you learn is closed, remember that there are open practice alternatives.
2. The Color Black – This is a misconception I find in even the oldest of practitioners, linking the color black to negative, harmful, or malicious energies. This idea comes from the demonization of Black bodies and labeling practices of Black/African people as black magic and associated practices of white people as white magic. The line was blurred of course by the Church labeling all witchcraft as evil but the negative connotations with the color black remained within and outside of the craft. Black is in fact a color every witch needs in their practice because it is associated with power, independence, and protection.
3. Witch Trials – Something that I would like to put out there right away is that we are not the “granddaughters of the witches they did not burn.” Specifically looking at the Salem witch trials, we see that the witch trials stemmed from racism against Indigenous People and African Americans, starting with Tituba. “What is certain is that Tituba was a woman of color, and likely an Indigenous Central American, who was an enslaved worker in the house of Reverend Samuel Parris, Salem’s Puritan minister.” (https://www.history.com/news/salem-witch-trials-first-accused-woman-slave) Many different stories of what she confessed and why have been recounted over the years. What we know today is that people (particularly women) were targeted based on their standing in society (women of color, single/independent women, or poor women). The trials were not about witchcraft but they did label practices such as voodoo and rituals that colonizers saw indigenous people perform as witchcraft. Although people who practice these things may identify as a witch, many do not and see these practices as a part of their culture. It is important for a modern witch not to label these practices as belonging to the craft rather than to their particular cultures. We can see that these “witch trials” were about discrimination, control, and hysteria. Many theories about the witch trials exist if you are interested in doing further reading.

Magick vs Magic

The thickness of the line between Magic and Magick or even the very existence of that line depends on your personal beliefs, but I am going to start with basic definitions for each.

Magic – Magic is a term everyone is familiar with, and this particular spelling is probably the one you see most often in books, songs, and movies. Magic incorporates the mystical, fantastical, and the fictional. We see it in things such as Harry Potter and Dungeons and Dragons.

Magick – Magick is a more modern spelling of the term magic popularized by Aleister Crawley to differentiate between this fairytale magic or stage magic acts and occult practices. The spelling arose around the same time as Wicca. Many practitioners like using this spelling to differentiate (Personally I enjoy the spelling but I use magic and magick interchangeably in my craft.) I like to use the six-letter spelling in my searches for information that will most likely have pop culture responses to try and filter out some of the noise. However, the spelling also runs the risk of filtering out some of the older resources that are derived from past practices.

There are other things to consider when deciding whether to differentiate between spellings.

1. Do you feel there is a limit on magick that magic does not have?
2. Do you feel drawn towards Wicca?
3. Do you prefer to draw a line between fictional magic and real-life magick, or do you believe that magic fully exists?
4. What numbers are you drawn to? Do you feel attached to any multiples of 3 (magick) or multiples of 5 (Magic)? Think about the letters in the words. Using Pythagorean numerology M A G I C K converts to 4 1 7 9 3 2. To get a name number you have to add these numbers together. The result would be 26. For name numbers you need a single digit so add again (2+6) and get 8. Look at the meaning of 8 in numerology, and see if it resonates with you or aligns with your life path number. Repeat the process with magic (you should get 6). You can also do this same process using the Chaldean System’s Numbers to Letters chart.

Things To Research

As I mentioned earlier, witchcraft is not an overnight endeavor, and one of the main reasons for this is research. Research and preparation make up a large portion of your practice. If you are just starting out you probably have a limited number of ideas for what to research so I am going to share some here.

1. Start by looking within yourself to your ancestry and culture. Ancestry does not have to be blood, it can be traced in your adoptive families too. What cultures are in your background? What folklore and occult practices are linked to that culture?
2. History of witchcraft and the occult (you can start using your own culture or geographical location if you want to narrow down some results.
3. Types of magick
4. Spiritual vs Religious vs Secular
5. Spirituality vs Witchcraft
6. 12 Universal Laws
7. Grounding
8. Casting a Circle
9. Ethical Sourcing
10. Closed Practices
11. Herbs, Color correspondences, lunar phases, solar flares, or whatever you are interested in.
12. Planes of Existence
13. Witch’s Calendar
14. Metaphysical Shops near you (if you want)

Building Your Beliefs

Disclaimer: Witches can be secular, religious, or spiritual. Religious witches do not have to incorporate their craft into their religion.

A question you should ask yourself before you begin is what you currently believe. Then after your initial research ask yourself again and see if anything changes. Your beliefs might vary greatly over time or they may remain stagnant. Keep in mind you shouldn’t look at your past beliefs as wrong and your current ones as right. Beliefs have energies within themselves that you can use both in your craft and in your everyday life.

Beliefs become true to our practice once we adopt them. This is a power we all possess. Everyone can apply different beliefs and yield the same results, because in witchcraft believing in something does in fact make it true.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when building these beliefs.

1. Do you believe in a soul? If you do, how would you define it?
2. Do you believe in a higher power? If so, who or what do you think that higher power is?
3. Do you feel drawn to a particular religion or belief system?
4. Do you wish to detach yourself from a particular religion or belief system?

There are many other questions to ask yourself when building your beliefs. These are just a few that I personally loved.

Do I Need A Grimoire?

Yes, this little piece of pop culture is in fact true. Witches have grimoires. They also have a Book of Shadows and a Book of Mirrors. If you are deciding whether you need one you should probably start with learning the difference between the three.

Grimoire – You can often find Grimoire titles in a metaphysical shop or even in your local Barnes and Noble. A grimoire is an informational book with more general witchy information that all different types of witches can apply to their craft. If you are just starting out, keeping a grimoire right away could be a useful tool to reference. Here is where you store all of the research you have gathered.

Book of Shadows – Like a grimoire a Book of Shadows (BOS) can contain general information obtained from research, however, it will also contain information from your personal craft: spells you’ve created, how you charge your crystals, sigils you’ve made, magickal findings, etc.

Book of Mirrors – A Book of Mirrors is like a deeper personal take on a Book of Shadows. Here you put “reflections” (yes the play on words is amazing) of your craft: dream journaling, synopsis of tarot readings, etc (Some people believe Shadow Work can be put in either or just have a completely separate book for it.)

Now that you know the difference between the three, we can start to decide which one you need.

Grimoire

• Perfect for people who are just starting or novice practitioners.
• Good if you have a bad memory and want a quick reference.
• Good for people who don’t want to do a lot of writing.
• Good for people who use pre-written spells.

Book of Shadows

• Once you start or if you have already started, you can start considering keeping a Book of Shadows.
• Good for practitioners who love creating their own spells, rituals, incantations, etc.
• Good for practitioners who don’t mind putting in a little more time into creating, writing, and tracking your progress.

Book of Mirrors

• Although I usually see older, more experienced practitioners use a Book of Mirrors, you can start keeping a Book of Mirrors as a beginner.
• Good for practitioners who love writing or journaling,
• Good for practitioners who do shadow work or dream journaling.

Broom Closet Witchcraft

The negative connotations of witchcraft have not left our society, especially for those who grew up in strict religious households. However, if your spirit is called to the craft and you find happiness in spirituality, you should not be forced to shy away from it. To the witches in hiding, Broom Closet Witchcraft is the path for you. This is basically just inconspicuous workings and spell castings.

Here are a few examples:

Protection – Draw sigils with lemon juice

Color Magick – Use clothes to create magick in your daily life. Pick your outfits based off color properties.

Cleansing Spray – Make a cleansing spray and put it in an old perfume bottle to cleanse.

Virtual Altars – You can make an image-based altar on Pinterest or PowerPoint.

Kitchen Herbs and fruits can be consumed for magickal purposes and effects.

Crayons can be used to make wax as a sealing agent in spells.

Your First Spell

So you’ve decided to jump down the witchy rabbit hole, you’ve done the starting research, and you feel ready to cast your first spell. But before you try anything big you should start with some simpler, low-risk spells.

Protection – I highly recommend doing protection spells first.

Self-love – Don’t do this first. You don’t want this spell to backfire.

Mental Clarity – Spells that help calm an anxious mind or increase mental strength.

Now what do you need before your first spell?

1. You need to know how you plan to cast your circle.
2. You need to know how to cleanse your items, or which ones you need to cleanse.
3. You need to have proper spell instructions whether you are following a book or writing your own.