A Beginners Guide To Witchcraft

The first thing I ever wrote here on my blog was an article on beginner basics. Since then I've fallen away from my path and my blog, but now I'm back and as excited as ever. I figured to kick-start my way back into writing, I'd start off where we started off last time, with the first step in a Witches journey:

The Beginner Basics

Step 1

The first thing you want to do is figure out what Witchcraft is. To do this you need to get your hands on beginner books, or beginner articles like this one and the one I wrote before. And read as much as you can! Witchcraft is unique to the individual, and in order to get a generalized idea of what it is, you need to understand several peoples perspectives on it. -

- A few good books on the subject include; Scott Cunningham's Guide For The Solitary Practitioner, anything else by him, Thea Sabin's Wicca for Beginners, anything by Lisa Chamberlain, and Confessions of a Teenage Witch by Guinevere Rain (my favorite).

For witches in the broom closet, keep in mind not all witchy books have witchy titles. You can get books about herbs or medicinal healing, meditation, yoga, aromatherapy and more and these all relate to the Craft, but won't raise the attention of guests. -

- Witchcraft to me is all about the interconnection of the world. It's the belief that we all share a life force, an energy if you will. It's in all of us, and through that connection, we can bring our intentions to life. For example: by doing a spell for protection, we are tapping into our connection to the ingredients in our spells - which are associated with protection - and our connection to the Universe of which will bring our manifestations to life. Make sense? If that's still too much to take in, think of it like going online and looking up how to protect yourself. You're tapping into a web of energies - of which you are now a part of - and that energy is sending you different answers.

Step 2

The next thing you want to do is figure out what you believe. You've figured out what Witchcraft is, now it's time to decide what Witchcraft is for you. I've made a list of questions every beginner should ask themselves. You don't have to answer all of these questions, but the more you do, the more stable your spiritual beliefs will become and the easier it will be to navigate your path.

Think of getting into Witchcraft like you would getting into painting. You'll have to master the art of the brush, palette knives, the canvas, and more. There are a lot of tools included in the process, and you have to learn about them. And then you have to practice with them. Then comes the intent behind the painting. This is very similar to the Craft.

Why? Because Witchcraft, though it has a bad reputation, is just like any other practice or trade. It takes time, it takes research, and it takes practice.

Which leads me into one of my biggest tips for beginners. Don't be afraid to practice. I see a lot of witches make spell work out to be this super dangerous thing that only witches that have been practicing for this amount of time should do and yadda yadda yadda. To each their own of course, but I completely disagree with people who speak this way. Most Covens require initiates to have studied for a year and a day before joining their Coven, but this isn't always the case, and as with Solitary practitioners, the purpose is void. I believe you should study as much as possible before casting spells, but as soon as you're content with the information you have and want to start practicing, I say go for it. Follow your instinct, your intuition. That is what Witchcraft is all about!

How can you become a great painter if you don't pick up the brush? You can't. So pick up the brush, as soon as you're comfortable picking it up. And picking it up doesn't mean you have to dip it in the paint, and dipping it in the paint doesn't mean you have to put it to the canvas. Start with something basic like meditation, or yoga, or carrying crystals. Burn some incense. Light a candle. These are practices of Witchcraft.

Step 3

It may take you a few months, or even a year, to reach this third step. Don't worry, time is not an issue. Do things at your own pace, try not to become overwhelmed or stressed. Learning is 80% of the journey.

This third step is to delve into the practices of Witchcraft. There are many branches of the Craft and many subjects in it. For example, there is candle magick, crystal magick, herb magick, element magick and more! While working on step two, you will inevitably end up working on step three. As in order to find your Witch path, you must study the different Witch paths.

Top five most comon Witch subcategories. Photo does not belong to Spiritual Realism.

There are many paths in Witchcraft, and many different traditions. You don't have to follow any one path or tradition, but it helps to figure out the ones you most closely identify with, this way you can create a more organized study plan. For example, there are traditions like Dianic, Gardnerian, and Alexandrian Witchcraft/Wicca. There are also paths like Green, Crystal, Kitchen, Hedge, White, Grey, and Black Witchcraft. It can become confusing, and overwhelming, but don't fret, it all comes into focus once you start reading about it. And labels aren't necessary. Only seek them out if you think they will help you.

Personally, I love studying the Craft, and so I've studied many traditions and paths just for the fun of it. It may be viewed as useless knowledge, as I rarely ever use it, but I have a hard time viewing any knowledge as useless.

Once you've decided what trades interest you, as well as what traditions - this will most likely come after somewhat extensive research on said trades and said traditions - try them out. If you've looked into Divination (the art of foreseeing the past, present, and future by connecting with the Divine) and narrowed your interests down to, say, Tarot readings, then buy a Tarot deck that calls to you, and start doing readings; for friends, for yourself, for people online. Just be sure to mention that you are new and looking for practice, and may be prone to mistakes. And same goes for other Witch trades.

Speaking of mistakes... Once you start doing spells or working with Divination, be sure to keep the next few things in mind. Spells don't always work. A lot of Witches I see don't like mentioning this as though it makes Witchcraft look faulty. But it doesn't really. Let's go back to the painting analogy. Sometimes when you touch the brush to the canvas, magick happens... And sometimes disaster happens! And that's okay. Mistakes happen. They're how we learn and grow as human beings. These mistakes can range from saying an incantation wrong, or not focusing your intentions clearly enough, to your lighter running out of fluid during a ritual, or accidentally knocking over a candle and burning your arm. You never know what might happen.

Your spells won't always work. When they don't, it's important to try and figure out why. Did you have the wrong ingredients? Were you not focusing enough? These are a couple things to ask yourself. Once you figure out why, try not to let it happen again. If you can't figure out why, shake it off and try again.

While on the topic of spells I'd like to mention for those of you who may be reading this and thinking differently, that real life Witchcraft is not like the movie The Craft, or Sabrina The Teenage Witch. If you're looking for that, I'm sorry but you won't find it here. Witchcraft is about nature and connecting with the inner self. It's about using physical ingredients along with intentions to bring about practical results. You can't say a chant in Latin, close your eyes and wish for something really really hard, and expect results...

Well, you can, but you will be sorely disappointed.

Witchcraft is more about natural healing, color and aromatherapy, and spirituality.

In Closing

Witchcraft is a beautiful practice, and what makes it even more so is that it is unique to the individual. Witchcraft to one Witch may be something entirely different to another Witch, and both Witches are still practicing the same thing. So never feel like someone else's way is the way you have to go. Follow your intuition and do what makes the most sense to you. Be open to learning, but don't let that knowledge distort the path you're meant to follow.

I hope you've enjoyed this article. Please vote if you did, and be sure to check out my other articles, as they will help you on your Witchy way! if you have any further questions feel welcome to comment them below or email me at the Contact section of my blog. Merry part!