#and . i dont do any of the witchcraft or wiccan stuff to be clear)

[necrogfie]

how do i explain to lady aphrodite that she will have to share her altar with archangel gabriel /silly

[greymuse]

Witchy QnA

1. Are you solitary or in a coven?

Solitary!

2. Do you consider yourself Wiccan, Pagan, witch, or other?

Witch, or Enchantress if I wanna sound fancy

3. What is your zodiac sign?

Leo sun, Aquarius moon, Leo rising

4. Do you have a Patron God/dess?

Nope

5. Do you work with a Pantheon?

Nope

6. Do you use tarot, palmistry, or any other kind of divination?

Tarot sometimes

7. What are some of your favorite herbs to use in your practice? (if any)

Im just starting to get into more physical items. I was raised to do most things mentally.

8. How would you define your craft?

Im not sure? Green but a lil eclectic

9. Do you curse? If not, do you accept others who do?

I dont think of it as cursing. More so protection from certain people.

10. How long have you been practicing?

I found out about what I was already doing as being Witchcraft a couple months ago. But Ive been using Tarot, using kitchen Witch spells, as “prayers” as spells since I can remember

11. Do you currently or have you ever had any familiars?

Nope. I hope to have one soon though

12. Do you believe in Karma or
Reincarnation?

Absolutely believe in karma. Reincarnation, possibly. Its definitely something I think about

13. Do you have a magical name?

Nope.

14. Are you “out of the broom closet”?

My whole moms side practices casually, so I mean I guess? But I havent referred to  myself as a Witch or something like that.

15. What was the last spell you performed?

I enchanted a ring I got. Also, a money spell that worked but uhh its definitely showing me that I need to work harder.

16. Would you consider yourself knowledgeable?

Im pretty decent. Most of what I look up is common knowledge to me

17. Do you write your own spells?

I havent yet, but I also dont do many spells verbally. I more so visually manifest

18. Do you have a book of shadows? If so, how is it written and/or set up?

I do, Its just a plain lil notebook, I have just some basic reference sheet type things in it.

19. Do you worship nature?

Absolutely

20. What is your favorite gemstone?

rose quartz. or tigers eye

21. Do you use feathers, claws, fur, pelt, skeletons/bones, or any other animal body part for magical work?

I dont particularly enjoy using animal/ human materials. I use natural things, like dirt and water.

  22. Do you have an altar?

Not so much a physical Altar, but my bed is definitely my safe space and I can clear my mind here the easiest.

23. What is your preferred element?

Water, but fire always make me wide eyed and curious. definitely curious. but its destructive potential scares me.

24. Do you consider yourself an Alchemist?

Not art all haha

25. Are you any other type of magical practitioner besides a witch?

Im not sure!

26. What got you interested in witchcraft?

realizing that I had been practicing for my whole life and I hadnt known before

27. Have you ever performed a spell or ritual with the company of anyone who was not a witch?

yeah, with my mom and her mom. I just didnt know at the time. We do protection spells often.

28. Have you ever used ouija?

yup! with my mom and her mom. Its just a family thing we do every time we all get together. I grew up thinking it was completely normal.

29. Do you consider yourself a psychic?

My mom says I used to be. I used to dream about natural disasters before they happened as a kid. I dont think im too good anymore. just empathetic.

30. Do you have a spirit guide? If so, what is it?

I dont think I do. If anything, I do feel a feminine energy? dark (like a shadow, not negative) and watery is the best way I can describe it. But its not a human  entity. Just energy.

31. What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started?

That not everyone believes what you do. And its totally okay! Just maybe dont loudly announce your Ouija board antics with your science teacher in middle school.

32. Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite?

I havent before, but im going to try to this year

33. Would you ever teach witchcraft to your children?

Absolutely. I want my son to grow up the same way I did around magick. Itll be normal for him.

34. Do you meditate?

Sometimes! its definitely something im trying to do more often.

35. What is your favorite season?

Fall and Spring! Theres so much change

36. What is your favorite type of magick to preform?

Im not sure yet! Ive only just started branching out and actually considering what ive been doing all my life as magick.

37. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life?

Daily affirmations/ protection spells, I manifest me and my sons happiness and safety every day.

38. What is your favorite witchy movie?

I dont think Ive seen any haha

39. What is your favorite witchy book, both fiction and non-fiction. Why?

The Darkest Powers books by Kelly Armstrong. More supernatural (vampires, werewolves, stuff like that) but I loved it growing up.

40. What is the first spell you ever preformed? Successful or not.

Knowingly, a protection spell from someone who had hurt me

41. What’s the craziest witchcraft-related thing that’s happened to you?

Im not sure! I can see auras if i really focus and can tune into someone, so maybe when i saw a family member with a pure black aura? That was freaky

42. What is your favourite type of candle to use?

I dont use candles! Bonfires or fires in fireplaces usually, to burn a paper if needed. Again, I dont  trust myself with fire very much.

43. What is your favorite witchy tool?

My crystals and my tarot. They all have vibrations. Everything does but especially those, because im so connected to them

44. Do you or have you ever made your own witchy tools?

I want to!  Havent yet

45. Have you ever worked with any magical creatures such as the fea or spirits?

Spirits, yes. I can call on family that Ive known in person for protection. Been doing that as long as i can remember

46. Do you practice color magic?

I used to! i dont really anymore. 

47. Do you or have you ever had a witchy teacher or mentor of any kind?

My mom, aunt, and grandma! 

48. What is your preferred way of shopping for witchcraft supplies?

Dollar store, thrift store, antique stores (though im always hesitant to use something that belonged to someone else. If there isnt a close emotional attachment, there wont be any noticeable vibrations.

49. Do you believe in predestination or fate?

I think theres a general way that things can happen. More like a decide your fate book. There are multiple options, it just depends on what you choose.

50. What do you do to reconnect when you are feeling out of touch with your practice?

Meditate, or go to the lake.

51. Have you ever had any supernatural experiences?

ohhhh boy. I got stories.

52. What is your biggest witchy pet peeve?

People thinking theyre better bc they have a crap ton of materials, thinking im less than because I visualize easier than with material items.

53. Do you like incense? If so what’s your favorite scent?

I do, I just cant very often. I have a child and very smell sensitive people livingg with me

54. Do you keep a dream journal of any kind?

I rarely ever remember a dream, so no

55. What has been your biggest witchcraft disaster?

Im not sure ive had one yet

56. What has been your biggest witchcraft success?

I havent seen who i dont want to see since protecting myself

57. What in your practice do you do that you may feel silly or embarrassed about?

 Everything, haha. I think thats why I enjoy visualizing instead of rituals or verbal stuff.

58. Do you believe that you can be an atheist, Christian, Muslim or some other faith and still be a witch too?

Absolutely!

59. Do you ever feel insecure, unsure or even scared of spell work?

yes, I feel like it //can be// kinda like a genie in a bottle type thing. Itll work, but not without a price.

60. Do you ever hold yourself to a standard in your witchcraft that you feel you may never obtain?

Nope

61. What is something witch related that you want right now?

A cauldron to mix and burn things in haha

62. What is your rune of choice?

I dont know yet! Runes are something Im looking into

63. What is your tarot card of choice?

My birth card, the Tower.

64. Do you use essential oils? If so what is your favorite?

I love lemon and eucalyptus 

65. Have you ever taken any kind of witchcraft or pagan courses?

nope!

66. Do you wear pagan jewelry in public?

Nope

67. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your faith or being a witch?

No one that would feel that way knows anything about it

68. Do you read or subscribe to any pagan magazines?

nope

69. Do you think it’s important to know the history of paganism and witchcraft?

Yes. Its like knowing world history and us history, We need to learn from the past.

70. What are your favorite things about being a witch?

I feel powerful, and connected and accepted by nature.

71. What are your least favorite things about being a witch?

having to tiptoe around things around certain people

72. Do you listen to any pagan music? If so who is your favorite singer/band?

Nope! ill have to look into it

73. Do you celebrate the Esbbats? If so, how?

I havent fully figured out what i want to do for the moon cycles yet, but I definitely want to. the moon and water are so closely related

74. Do you ever work skyclad?

No, but i mean.. maybe one day?

75. Do you think witchcraft has improved your life? If so, how?

I feel like i have more control of how im able to use my emotions and feelings

76. Where do you draw inspiration from for your practice?

The energy i talked about before.. It gets more intense and stronger sometimes, and i know i need to put more time and effort into my practice

77. Do you believe in ‘fantasy’ creatures? (Unicorns, fairies, elves, gnomes, ghosts, etc)

no, but i do believe in energy. not ghosts per say but definitely energy

78. What’s your favorite sigil/symbol?

I try to make most of them myself. I have one for protection while driving that i use for me and my boyfriend a lot. And one for the safety of my son.

79. Do you use blood magick in your practice? Why or why not?

Not as of right now. I did bleed onto my tarot cards on accident though..

80. Could you ever be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t support your practice?

Theres a difference  between “doesnt understand and doesnt care to” and “fully doest support and refuses to let you practice safely”. I dont mind the first, but wouldnt stay with the second.

81. In what area or subject would you most like your craft to grow?

Reading auras, and tarot. Also just connecting with nature more

82. What’s your favorite candle scent? Do you use it in your practice?

I love fall scents! but no, i dont really use candles

83. Do you have a pre-ritual ritual? (I.e. Something you do before rituals to prepare yourself for them). If so what is it?

Meditate and protect

84. What real life witch most inspires your practice?

My mom honestly lmao. i dont think she views herself as a full witch though.And my aunt

85. What is your favorite method of communicating with deity?

I dont worship dieties. But i like to just be in natural and connect emotionally, nonverbally to this energy Im somehow connected with.

86. How do you like to organize all your witchy items and ingredients?

In this lil wooden box my mom gave me for my birthday to hold the tarot cards my grandma gave me haha.

87. Do you have any witches in your family that you know of?

my mom. aunt, and grandma. I know my grandpas grandma was a voodoo witch too.

  88. How have you created your path? What is unique about it?

I havent seen much about nonverbal, mostly mental witchcraft. So i guess  thats one unique thing.

89. Do you feel you have any natural gifts or affinities (premonitions, hearing spirits, etc.) that led you toward the craft? If so what are they?

A couple things. Feeling vibrations, the connection to nature, auras, growing up surrounded by it.

90. Do you believe you can initiate yourself or do you have to be initiated by another witch or coven?

I believe you can initiate yourself. I dont feel the need for someone elses validation is i know my connection with nature is real

91. When you first started out in your path what was the first thing or things you bought?

crystals, lmao

92. What is the most spiritual or magickal place you’ve been?

The southern oregon coast. honestly everywhere in oregon feels so alive and vibrating so heavily with energy. The water and the lush greenery is perfection.

93. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who is searching for their matron and patron deities?

I have no idea, I dont follow a deity

94. What techniques do you use to ‘get in the zone’ for meditation?

quiet, listen to music i like and that help calm me, slightly cool, a breeze is good. the sound of real water flowing from a lake or ocean. recordings of water dont help me. sometimes white noise if theres too much noise

95. Did visualization come easily to you or did you have to practice at it?

visualization is the easiest thing for me. ive always daydreamed so heavily that itll be like im dreaming with my eyes totally open and tracking. 

  96. Do you prefer day or night? Why?

early mornings, right as the sun is coming up.

97. What do you think is the best time and place to do spell work?

I like doing spell work before bed, when the moon is bright enough to light up what im doing

98. How did you feel when you cast your first circle? Did you stumble or did it go smoothly?

I dont know if it counts as casting a circle? but i visualize a swirling white ball of energy, starting out like a strawberry size in my hands, and every time i breath in, it gets bigger. Its a protection circle. i learned to do it at like?? 3 years old?

99. Do you believe witchcraft gets easier with time and practice?

Yup!

100. Do you believe in many gods or one God with many faces?

If i had to guess, id say multiple gods/ goddesses. one entity shouldnt have that much power imo.

101. Do you eat meat, eggs and dairy?

Ive been trying to go vegetarian, and i eat minimal eggs and dairy.

102. What is your favorite color and why?

dark, smokey colors. grey, black, dark muted purples, navy, smoky pink.

103. What is the one question you get asked most by non-practitioners or non-pagans? How do you usually respond?

I dont have many people im even slightly into that stuff, let alone a witch. So usually just “how do i cleanse my house? i think its haunted” type stuff

104. Which of your five senses would you say is your strongest?

Feel, haha, physically and emotionally.

105. What is a pagan or witchcraft rule that you preach but don’t practice?

Always properly cleanse new materials, haha

[a-magpie-witchling]

Hey, i want to begin witchcraft and i dont know where to begin, ive researched but would like some advice on where to start x

Hi, sweetie! 

Before answering, you have to remember that I’m a SECULAR WITCH. This means my craft is non-religious. I love the empowering feeling of magick, but I am agnostic and haven’t consecrated myself to any deity nor plan to do so. That means I’ll share things from my perspective. I can’t speak for everyone else!

In order to answer your question, let me share you the very first page of my Grimoire:

So I’m not saying astrology, astronomy or even moon phases are where you should begin. This was important for me because it’s pretty much what got me interested in witchcraft. I was one day at work and told myself I wanted to start learning about witchcraft. Then I said out loud like a had an actual epiphany “The moon. The moon is a good place to start.”

I don’t think there are real guidelines as of what you should do to call yourself a witch. To be perfectly honest, I started calling myself a witch the SECOND I decided I wanted to learn about it.

Things aren’t magickal unless we make them so. People aren’t witches until they call themselves so.

You want to be a witch? You are a witch then. There are no forms to fill.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s go to what you can do to gather information.

Research is important, but never forget that what works for you might not work for someone else, and vice versa (a very clear example for me is that coral is solely a curse and hex tool, while other people see it like a love correspondence)

Personally, the first thing I -accidentally- did was find myself a mentor.

One day someone said that secular witchcraft was not a religion but more like a practice along the lines of yoga. And that got me hella intrigued. 

I searched out this facebook contact I had seen had posted a few times before witchy stuff and messaged literally what follows:

You know lately I've been really intrigued (DEEPEST APOLOGIES IF I MESS UP WITH TERMINOLOGY AND END UP SAYING SOMETHING OFFENSIVE) by witchcraft and the such, and remembered you're one. Now, I don't expect you to give me a Witchcraft 101 class, but I was hoping you could maybe point me towards a reliable source? Some things I've been reading seem to not agree on stuff, so I'm very confused

What followed were several hours of me asking about correspondences, herbs, crystals, etc.

I was H O O K E D.

My mentor, bless her heart, has been nothing but kind and patient towards me. I’ve been very lucky to have such a nice person guiding me.

My first advice is: if you can, find yourself a mentor.

My second piece of advice: Don’t be afraid to screw up.

Basically everything you do can be undone. If not by yourself, by someone else. You can start small, and go from there. Don’t be scared of not taking yourself too seriously.

Personally I think there are levels of complexity when it comes to spells. A small charm like a herbal satchel for something simple can be done without too much ceremony. Try these things confidently.

Then there are spells that are recommended to be cast with the help of a circle, etc.

Crystals and stones are good too because they have their own energy and do their thing by themselves. They’ll guide you.

Finally, I’d like to share my “creed” with you. This is very personal, and some witches may share it or not. This is what guides my craft, and helps me focus and distinguish right from wrong.

1) Study the sciences. Understand how the physical world works so that you can understand how the astral world works.

2) Trust your instincts. Do what feels right, people sure don’t give their gut the credit it deserves.

3) Experiment. Never stop learning. People will usually call themselves eclectic witches just because they haven’t found what rows their boat. Nothing bad on being an eclectic witch! But I think you should know your options before categorizing yourself. Your craft is only yours. Don’t fear trying new things, mixing them up, or tying it to other beliefs.

4) Your craft feeds on your will. You don’t “have” to do anything. If you usually run a ritual on full moons and you just don’t WANNA do it tonight, don’t! Trust me, forcing yourself to do something will only bring bad results.

5) Don’t be afraid to share. Keep your secrets if so you wish and do what you must to stay safe (as I’ve said, I live in a very conservative Catholic Latin American small town. I’ve met witches whose lives had been threatened), but otherwise, don’t be scared to share or ask. Introduce others to the craft, let them watch you while you prepare a satchel, teach them about the properties of your herbs. Let them initiate and state their interest. Education is the only way we can fight bigotry.

6) Need overthrows whim. And you need NOTHING to practice witchcraft except your intent. Don’t tangle yourself in financial struggle to get that rare indicolite specimen brought from Afghanistan. Remain practical. Being a shopaholic is no joke, just like any sort of addiction, and it can happen to witches that aim to become collectors. This doesn’t mean I’m condemning you to live in absolute austerity: it’s nice to ask yourself “Do I REALLY need this?”, answer “nah”, and STILL get the thing just because you like it and it makes you happy. If you’re in a comfortable place and are doing your best to help others (charities are my religion, sorry) then get yourself the pretty things, allow yourself to spend. But if you’re struggling to pay rent, maaaybe you should not get that twelfth imported handmade tarot deck.

7) Magick awaits. Your relationship with magick can be the no strings attached kind. You don’t have to practice your craft every single day. You can drop it for years and it’ll be alright. Magick always waits with open arms.

8) Fellowship. Rivalry, bickering, differences of opinion, actual enmity. It can happen. But overall witches are and will be your friends. Witch trade is a thing, mentoring is a thing, sigil libraries are a thing. Build the community stronger. Wiccan or not, hedge or sea, maleficent or shaman, closeted or outspoken, there’s a certain bond we all witches share because we all share the secret knowledge that out there and within us there’s something that can’t be measured or weighted, and we have decided to embrace it. Cherish that bond and nurture it.

9) Take care of yourself. Now this... I won’t lie, this is hard for me. But I understand that you can’t expect nature to work with you if all you do is stuff yourself with junk food. Exercise is as important as meditation. In fact, exercise while you meditate! Keep a balance between body, mind, and spirit. Your menta health matters, your spiritual health matters, your physical health matters. ESPECIALLY if you’re interested in magickal healing or herbal work.

10) Show respect. For other witches, for people, for your body, for nature, for spirits, for energy, for beliefs, for deities, for laws, for animals, for plants, for sciences, for family, for ideologies, for dreams, for art, for identity, for race, for preference, for love, for personality, for morals, for life, for death. “An ye harm none, do as ye will”.

11) Bite back and bite hard. Now regarding the 10th item... Remember always that the blood you could have kept from spilling is also on your hands. Speak up, fight for what’s right. Use your craft for retribution and justice when it’s due. If you see a witch bragging about harming or hindering or stealing people their free will, do not hesitate to whip up a counter-spell. It’s the only way I believe one should use their craft to bring harm. Do not fall victim to the false tolerance paradox. Remember life gave you fangs. Use them.

Welcome to the Craft.

-Semiramis, the Magpie Witchling.