tarigrove:

Deciding to practice witchcraft and magick can be equally daunting and exciting.  Here are some tips about what to do if you are thinking about becoming a witch!

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First, a few things
that you should NOT do:

1.   
Do
not do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, period.  Trust your intuition, and always stay true to
yourself.

2.   
Do
not do anything that puts you in danger.  This includes casting a spell without
protection, or opening yourself to spirits before you know what you are
doing.  This also includes running out in the middle of a storm to collect rain
water, or agreeing to meet a witch that you met online, alone.  Use common sense in all matters of your
craft; your safety and health, both physical and mental, must come first.

3.   
Do not
do anything that contradicts your own
personal, spiritual, moral, ethical, or other beliefs.  Unless you plan on changing what you believe,
just don’t do it.  It doesn’t matter if
everybody and their familiar is doing something; if it doesn’t agree with you,
walk away from it.

4.   
Do
not start actually practicing anything witchcraft-related until you have researched it.  Do not do a spell until you have a working
understanding of magick, as well as all
of the ingredients involved in the spell – even ones you intend to substitute (especially the ingredients that you intent to
substitute, actually).

5.   
Don’t
take witchcraft lightly.
Your craft doesn’t need to be all serious spells and spiderwebs, but you
do need to have a healthy respect for
the energies and powers that you will be working with.  You shouldn’t fear them – never work with anything that makes you afraid – but you should respect them.

6.   
Don’t
take your studies lightly. Put yourself through witch school. Research everything; ask yourself questions
and give yourself homework.  Ask others
questions and ask them to give you
homework!  Be creative in your studies,
but still take them seriously.  You don’t
have to be hunched over spellbooks all day, but you should make an effort to at
least mentally review your existing knowledge, on days that you can’t find the
time for more.  

7.   
Do
not be afraid to ask questions or for help – but do not automatically assume
that everybody actually knows the answer.  Most witches around here will do their best
to answer your questions, but they’ll also usually straight tell you if they
don’t know something themselves; you should respect that, whether or not they
point you in the direction of somebody else.  On the other hand, if something sounds wrong,
trust yourself and double check.  Get
a second opinion, if need be.  

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Next, a few things
that you should know before you enter the world of witchcraft:

1.   
Witchcraft
is real, and magick is real.  Whether or not you believe in it, it believes
in you (as the saying goes).  Approaching
magick as if you were cosplaying Harry Potter is an attractive but ultimately
unwise idea.  Approaching magick as if
you were learning to operate a highly beneficial but potentially dangerous
piece of machinery – now, that is a
wise idea.

2.   
Witchcraft
isn’t inherently evil, but neither is it inherently pure good.  Witchcraft is power, plain and simple.  It is what one chooses to do with that power that gives it such
meaning, and even then, the concept of good and evil is an ethical and
spiritual one, and thereby tends to vary from person to person, and from
witch to witch.  You have to use your own
morals to guide you.  The only type of magick
that should be in your witchcraft is the magick you intentionally choose to put
there.  On a related note: I personally
don’t agree with classifying magick as ‘black magick’ or ‘white magick’, period
– not because magick can’t have precise descriptors, but because there’s no
need to use terms that have such negative racial undertones.  Light can be harmful and ‘evil’, while
darkness can be protective and ‘good’.
Your intentions aren’t “to do dark” or “to do light”, anyway.  Your intentions are “to do harm” or “to do
healing”; your intentions are “to take away” or “to give”.

3.   
Witchcraft
is a personal practice.
You do not need to follow any one specific path, spiritual or otherwise,
in order to practice witchcraft.  There
are many different types of witches, and many different types of magick.  If there is not one specific path that you
feel is absolutely perfect for you, don’t choose one that feels ‘close enough’ –
walk your own path and mold your witchcraft into something that is uniquely
yours.  

4.    Witches worship in varying ways.  Some do not worship at all, and are purely
secular witches.  Some are simply
spiritual and do not follow one set path.
Some are polytheists and worship many gods; some are monotheists and
worship one.  Some are atheists and
worship none!   Some are Wiccan.  Some are Christian.  Some are Satanists.  Some worship ancestors.  Some worship the stars.  Witchcraft
is a personal practice, and should co-exist with all other aspects of your
life.

5.    You don’t need a whole lot to get
started.  Twigs
can be used as wands; rock quartz can be used as a crystal.  Tea mixes contain herbs, and your spice
cabinet is basically a magick cabinet.  Most
of what is in your house can be used for magick, for that matter.  While it is definitely helpful to have the
proper tools and ingredients when performing magick, it is possible to DIY your
way through witchcraft until you can afford otherwise.  Also, it is probably smarter to wait a second
before you run out and purchase anything, anyway.  As you learn more, you’ll start to see which
tools you really need, which ingredients you’ll likely be using the most, which
items really call out to you.  If you run
out and buy everything that you see right away, you risk wasting money on
things that just don’t work for you, or that you don’t even need.

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Lastly, here are the
things that you DO need to do, no matter what:

o   
Be
true to yourself.  Do not compromise
yourself or your beliefs.

o   
Be
safe.  Don’t do or use anything
that you do not have a working knowledge of.

o   
Be
educated.  Never stop seeking out
new knowledge; try to learn something new daily.

o   
Use
common sense.  Don’t get caught up in
things; think before you take action.

o   
Trust
your intuition and instinct.  We often know more than we consciously
realize.

o   
Be
creative.  Write the spell that you’ve
been looking for.  See what is laying
around the house that you can use for your witchcraft.  Be inventive!

o   
Have
patience.  Learning takes time;
magick takes time; developing your craft takes time.

That’s it for the moment!  Tune in tomorrow for a post regarding more tips and information
on what to do when you do decide to go ahead enter the world of witchcraft ^_^

~Tari