Happy Saturday! Today, I am sharing with you a full guide to Witchcraft, Wicca, and Magick. If you didn’t know, I’ve been practicing witchcraft for over a year now. It’s something that I really love doing and that brings me so much joy and peace. In this post, I want to explain to you what is witchcraft and Wicca, why I got into it, how to practice it, and how to start your journey as a witch!
I do want to add a small disclaimer that Witchcraft/Wicca is a personal journey and what works for me might not work for you. Also, I am writing this post from my point of view and how I, personally, understood the craft after reading so much about it. And of course, I still have so much to learn! If you are a witch or Wiccan, let me know what you think!
Now, if you want a Full Guide to Witchcraft, Wicca, and Magick, then keep on reading! Don’t forget to check out my previous post: HOW TO MAINTAIN HEALTHY SKIN!
A Full Guide To Witchcraft, Wicca, and Magick
What is witchcraft?
Witchcraft is a nature-based craft where you use the energy of natural elements to change something specific in your life or to achieve a specific goal. It’s basically the art of change. A person who practices witchcraft is a person who practices magick, such as divination, spells, potions, alchemy, herbalism and etc, and/or who has psychic abilities. It can be as simple as blessing your coffee in the morning to have a good day or can get extremely complex with a complicated ritual and diverse set of tools and ingredients.
Witchcraft is also meant as an assistant. It helps you achieve what you want but it is not meant to replace things like medicine. For instance, I mentioned several times that I like to practice witchcraft to soothe my anxiety. Witchcraft is not meant to replace any therapy sessions I might need, it’s here to help me deal with it.
To me, witchcraft is also a lifestyle. For me, being a witch is being a feminist and standing up for what’s right. It’s helping protect the planet and all its beings. It’s making sure to spread happiness and kindness into the world and go against all of the injustices in the world!
What is Wicca?
“The Wicca faith, its traditions, and principles can signify different things to different people and many aspects are open to interpretation”
Harmony Nice, Wicca: A Modern Guide To Witchcraft and Magick
Wicca is a pagan and nature-based religion. A Wiccan is someone who follows pagan beliefs and practices witchcraft as an element of their path. Paganism is basically a pre-Christian religion that follows the energy and power of nature and that can be either monotheistic (beliefs in one divine being) or polytheistic (beliefs in several divine beings). Several religions fall under the term “paganism”, Wicca is one of them.
Sabbaths
Basically, Wicca celebrates the eight sabbaths and the twelve esbats, which are festivals that celebrate the natural occurrences of the universe and the earth’s natural cycle. Sabbaths follow the cycle of the seasons according to the sun. For example, Yule is known as the winter solstice so it celebrates the shortest day and longest night of the year. It happens from the 20th to the 24th of December, so Yule is basically our Christmas! Lammas, which happens on the 1st of August, is a celebration of the harvest. “It’s the realization that the green earth’s energies and bustling growth are beginning to slow down” (Harmony Nice, 2019).
Esbats
On the other hand, the Esbats celebrate the changes in the moon cycle. This is when we honor the female deity (during the sabbaths, we celebrate the male deity, the sun god) and when we honor the moon reaching its full strength. Usually, there are twelve full moons during the year, but occasionally, there will be thirteen which we call “Blue moon”. This blue moon is the second full moon in a month. Each full moon will represent something different. For example, the full moon of January is called “the wolf moon” and it is an excellent time for protection, strength, and planning. But the full moons are also meant to recharge your tools, crystals and practice different rituals.
Why did I get into it?
The reason why I got into witchcraft was for self-care reasons. I wanted to focus more on my mental and spiritual health. Witchcraft and Wicca help me be more in sink with myself and my surroundings. They help me be more calm and harmonious, which I love. Furthermore, I was attracted by the peacefulness and respect that the craft and religion radiate, and I felt a great sense of freedom and positivity when I started practicing. In general, Wicca and witchcraft allow you to take the path that you feel is right for you, and both embrace inclusivity and differences! I was very encouraged and motivated to start practicing when I discovered that. Plus, both align with my personal values and beliefs.
How to practice Witchcraft?
Divination
Divination is when a person uses a variety of tools to gain insight into a situation, like for example, the future, or to understand more about a present situation. Many witches and Wiccans use Tarot cards to practice divination.
Tarot is a set of 78 cards: 24 are major arcana and 56 are minor arcana. The major arcana cards are considered to be the more powerful cards and more complex and usually have names at the bottom like “the sun” or “the wheel of fortune”. They are the cards that reflect the universal law and represent the secrets of the universe. Each of the major cards symbolizes something and present a scenario.
On the other hand, the minor arcana cards are more precise and refer to specific areas of everyday life. They are used to answer specific questions and allow the recipient to have immediate information. The minor arcana cards are organized into 4 categories: Wands, Pentacles, Swords, and Cups. Each of these categories contains 14 cards (4 court cards like a king, queen, knight, and page and ten numbered cards).
Generally, tarot cards are used for divination but you can also utilize them as meditative tools in a guided meditation too.
There are other ways that a witch or Wiccan can practice divination like reading rune stones, scrying, palmistry, tasseography, and pendulums however, I am not well-rounded enough in these methods to talk about them.
Spells
A spell can take different forms like charming or potions and is basically when you release energy in a work to simulate a specific intent. I find it a little bit complicated to define a spell so instead I will show you an example.
When I traveled, I decided to make a spell jar meant to protect me during my trip. In this spell, I basically added lavender (calm my anxiety and repel negative energy), chamomile (soothe my anxiety), basil (good luck and protection), cinnamon (good luck), and hawthorn (protection). I blessed these herbs to give me what I specifically need from them and charmed the jar by stating a small affirmation. Obviously, spell work is more complicated than that. But the point is that I used the energy of herbs to give me what I need.
You can basically cast a spell to repel something, to honor a deity, to bless someone, to create a positive start to something and etc… You can use a spell for anything you need at a specific moment in time.
Rituals
Rituals differ from spells in a way that rituals are meant for longer-lasting purposes. They reach a deeper level and are used in the Wicca faith to become closer to divine beings. From what I have learned, rituals are also more complex and require a series of steps, tools, and ingredients.
Different Tools
In witchcraft, you can cast a spell and perform rituals with a different set of tools. Personally, I only focus on herbs, crystals, and candles but there are more in the Wicca faith and in the craft. A wand is an important tool in the practice. It represents the element of “fire” and the spirit and is meant to direct your energy. An athame is a dagger that represents the element of “air” and the intellect and its main purpose is to banish unwanted energies from an area. A chalice is a cup that represents the element of water and emotions and is used to hold liquids. Finally, a pentagram or pentacle is a five-pointed star that represents the four elements of the earth and the fifth element “spirit” and is used as a protection symbol.
Visualization and mental clarity
Magic is all in your mind. And it requires the use of all of your mind. All the different hemispheres, lobes, and nerves, the conscious and the unconscious”
Skye Alexander, Magic Spells: simple spells and self-care practices to harness your inner power
If there is one thing I learned about magick is that the intention is everything. You could have all of the tools in the world but the true source of magick comes from your mind. For instance, burning a candle accompanied by your intention and your passion is what will make your spell work. Hence, before casting a spell or performing a ritual it is so important to clear your mind and focus on your intention. Usually, I like to meditate then center and ground myself before doing anything in Witchcraft. It helps me keep my mind focused. During a spell or ritual, there are two things you can do: visualization and affirmation.
Visualization is a mental exercise that involves forming a clear picture in your mind of what you want to achieve. This picture should have strong emotional tides and you’d usually use this exercise in any spellwork or ritual. This will help you set your intentions and achieve what you want.
At the end of each ritual or spell, it is advised to clearly state your intention in the form of a positive statement. This is called “affirmation”. An example of that is “my life is rich in work opportunities and good luck”. Personally, I’d repeat that statement 3 times.
Different Paths of Witchcraft
Going into the practice, I discovered that there are different types of witchcraft that you can choose from. Personally, I chose the path of the Green Witch. I can incorporate beliefs from other paths and that would make me an Eclectic Witch. But more importantly, you can change your path whenever you feel like the one you are in currently is not for you anymore. Witchcraft and Wicca are extremely flexible and open.
There are so many different types of witchcraft that it would be impossible for me to state all of them in this post. These are some examples: Shaman, Sea witch, Cosmic witch, Kitchen witch and Faery witch. In general, I would highly recommend reading more about these different types. I felt more included and comfortable to start the craft when I discovered that there was a path that directly aligned with my beliefs.
How and where to start?
My first advice for you if you want to start practicing is to read about it. Buy books and absorb as much information about witchcraft as you can. It’s a complex craft so it’s worth reading about it prior to practicing. My second piece of advice is to research more about all of the subjects I mentioned above. What I explained in this post is very minimal compared to what you can find in books. Plus, there are so many things I did not talk about and that are important for you to know. So read! The last piece of advice is to research the different “rules” in the craft and in the faith. For example, a witch or Wiccan should not perform a spell or ritual that affects the free will of someone else.
Sources
Adams Media (2017). How To Read Tarot: a practical guide.
Harmony Nice (2019). Wicca: a modern guide to witchcraft and magick
Skye Alexander (2019). 10-Minute Magic Spells : simple spells and self-care practices to harness your inner power.
A Full Guide To Witchcraft, Wicca and Magick
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xx
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