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Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 8

Day-To-Day Witchcraft 

Most spells may seem really big and overwhelming at first, but from this lesson, I hope that you can learn and see that they really are not that bad! Below is a list of simple magickal things you can do to keep you motivated and use some magick wherever you may be!

Charms

Whether you call it a charm or a sell, quick and easy incantations are a great simple way to practice witchcraft while you are out and about! While you are simply just saying an incantation, it is important to remember to focus on your intention. These spells can be very helpful, but only if you do them the correct way. 

“Judgement passed, dictum true, from the heavens and back to you” (for when you want karma to be sped up. For example, let’s say you see someone who may be yelling at another person or you just see someone being an ass, you may use this incantation). 

“Ego sum tutam” (I am safe) “Protego me” (I protect myself) (These latin incantations can be used in big spells, or simply a way to have some simple protection. For example, when you get into a car, you could say this to ensure to have a safe drive).

Sigils

Like we have discussed before, sigils are a great way to practice simple witchcraft! Maybe you have a test, you could draw a sigil (I will do great) on your arm! Or maybe you’re on the bus and the windows are all foggy, you could draw on the windows a quick sigil to help protect you and everyone around! Or maybe you want some extra protection to be infused into the tea your drink, mix your tea in the pattern of a sigil to get some of the extra effects!

Crystals

While you can use crystals in larger spellwork, you can also just carry some of them around with you to help your day go just a little bit better. Maybe you are going on a date, simply just put some rose quartz in your pocket or bag to help carry some extra love and peace energies with you.

Teas and other Foods

Infuse the foods and drinks you make with some extra magick! Like I said before, you could mix in ingredients to the pattern of sigils to help infuse, but use some incantations and chose your ingredients carefully to get some extra magick for your day.

Gardening

Want to gain some positive energies? Gardening is a marvellous way to do so! Giving back to the Earth in any way will bring positive energies your way, but with gardening, you are not only helping the Earth, but you are also getting some fresh veggies and maybe even some herbs you could use in your practice.

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Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 7

What is Warding? 

Warding is the act of creating an energy barrier around you, your home, an object, ect. This is more of a hardy, long-term protection. When creating a ward, you are able to specify what energies you want/don’t want coming in and out of your space. Warding is a very important skill to have because it can keep you, and even others safe.

When Should I Ward?

It is completely up to you! Some witches tend to put up wards each full moon, while others may do it every other month or even twice a year. If you start to feel as though your spells are not working out the way you would like, then maybe it is time for a new ward!

Before You Ward…

Cleanse!! It is so important to make sure that you have cleansed before you ward!! Think of wards like walls that you are putting up around your space. If you don’t cleanse before you ward, you could be trapping energies within your walls, thus making your wards ineffective. 

How Can I Ward?

Sigil Wards

Create a sigil with an intention in mind of warding off negative energies! You can place these sigils all around your room/home- especially near doorways and windows!

Audio Wards

Use your voice or some music! Walk around your room chanting your intention and play some happy music!

Smoke Wards

Use some incense to help ward! Burn some incense or some sage to help ward. Walk around your house/room spreading the smoke to help ward~

Crystal Wards

To help your wards, you can place protection crystals by your windowsill or your doorframe to help keep negative energies out.

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Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 6

Your First Spell

If you haven’t yet cast a spell, this is a fantastic time to do so! Before we begin, it is very very important you have read lesson 5. I will be walking you through each individual part of the spell casting process:

Grounding

Also called centering, grounding is the act of connecting with the Earth and balancing your energies. Grounding gives you time to get yourself in the right headspace before a spell. It also allows you to get in-tune with the energies around you. A lot of witches will use a form of meditation to ground. If you are having trouble with grounding at first, meditating every night is an excellent way to build the skill! (This also helps with building your ability to visualize).

You can start by meditating or by following the instructions below:

Take a deep breath and visualise yourself standing at the beach. Are you standing far from the water, or are you standing in the sand? Maybe your feet are right by the water. Take a deep breath and visualise the waves crashing in the distance. Are they big waves? Or is the water calm? Take another breath, and picture the time of day. Is it a sunny bright day? Can you feel the sun on your face? Or is it a breezy night with the moon glistening in the distance? Take a deep breath. Look down at the sand. Is the sand soft under your feet? Or maybe the sand is filled with shells. Take a slow, deep breath. The last thing I want you to do to visualise is try to picture what is out on the horizon. Maybe it is the setting sun, or dolphins leaping out of the water, maybe a sailboat, or maybe nothing at all. Take a deep breath. Now, reach your hands out and touch wherever you may be sitting. Take one last deep breath as you open your eyes.

Circle Casting

When you cast a circle, you are creating a barrier between you and the outside world. It is a way to protect yourself and your sacred space.It is important to remember to not leave your circle once it is cast! Leaving it could put a hole in it and damage your barrier. So - make sure you have all your supplies before hand!! It is also important to remember to close your circle after your spell/ritual

There are lots of different ways of casting a circle, so practice lots of different ways until you find one that you like!

Optional: at this time you could make a salt circle around you but this is not a needed step

Stand or sit in the middle of where you want to cast your circle. If you know the directions of your room, face east and invite air into your space. “Air, welcome please help cleanse our space and circle, please make sure we are protected”

Now face south and invite fire into our space. “Fire, welcome please help cleanse our space and circle, please make sure we are protected”

Now face west and invite water. “Water, welcome please help cleanse our space and circle, please make sure we are protected”

Now, face North and invite Earth. “Earth, welcome please help cleanse our space and circle, please make sure we are protected”

Finally, hold your hands out above you and invite your spirit, your higher self, universal energies or even a diety if you are working with one. “Universal energies, welcome please help cleanse our space and circle, please make sure we are protected”

“with the power of the elements, the light of the full moon, and the energies within me, I cast this circle of protection around myself. I am safe here, so mote it be.”

Now Start Your Spell

Close Your Circle

If you don’t close your spell, you are leaving a sacred space unclosed. This can slowly start to drain and affect you.

*This is super super super important!!*

Take a deep breath and visualise loving energies surrounding us. You are loved, we are all protected. 

Let us thank the elements for keeping us safe. Repeat after me, “Thank you air, thank you fire, thank you water, thank you Earth, thank you energies, thank you my fellow witches. We close our circles but we keep our intentions. Blessed be.” Now you can blow out any candles you had lit and you can clean up any salt that was on the ground. 

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Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 5

Like we discussed before, there are many different energies surrounding us, good, bad, and everything in the middle. But let’s say that there is an overwhelming quantity of negative/stale energy and you no longer want it in your space. How do you get rid of it?

Spiritual Cleansing

Cleansing is an extremely important act to practice and learn because it is not only used in witchcraft but in other religions/beliefs as well. So, what is cleansing? Cleansing is the act of removing energy or cleansing all energies from a space, object, or person. Cleansing is often compared to banishing energy. The term “banishing” in witchcraft is often used to say “I am banishing negative energy” or “I banish this entity.” It is more of a way to drive out a serious problem, or if you really want to ensure your negative energy is cleared out. 

It is also important to keep in mind that when you are cleansing a space, you aren’t just getting rid of the “bad” energies, but the “good” ones as well. So after you do cleanse, it is good to infuse afterwards. With this being said, it is a really good idea to cleanse everything from time to time. Anything and everything can be cleansed. Not just your witchy tools, but your personal items. Think about it this way- throughout the day you pick up energies and you bring them home to your home with you. These can collect over time and make things feel tense, unclean, dusty, or just suffocating. This is why we cleanse our spaces and the objects within them. It may feel odd at first, but with more practice, you will start to be in tune with when you do need to cleanse, and how you should. 

Ways to Cleanse

There are many different ways to cleanse. Typically, I use a variation of all of these methods when I cleanse. To give you an example, this is what I do: I first clean up my room with some happy Lofi on. I then take a shower while repeating a simple incantation to help cleanse myself. I then put on different music while I smoke cleanse my room, while also chanting incantations. Not everyone does it this way, you just have to find what feels best for you!

Clean your room; I know I may sound like your mom, but cleaning your room is a perfect good step. I mean- you can’t spiritually cleanse if your room or home is a wreck! 

Smoke Cleansing; You have probably seen in movies or TV shows people cleansing with smudge sticks, palo santo, or incense, well this is a form of cleansing! The herbs/sticks that are in these bundles each have their own cleansing properties. What you want to do with these different tools for smoke cleansing, is you want to walk around your space or cover your object you are cleansing, with the smoke.

Water Cleansing; Water cleansing is a good way to cleanse for more direct cleansings. A way to cleanse yourself could be to take a shower and visualize the bad energies “washing away.” Something I used to do when I lived near the beach was, I would cleanse some of my crystals in the ocean or in rivers (depends on the type of water you want to use, think back to lesson 4). 

Cleansing sprays! ; You can make your own, buy it, whatever you prefer! If you can not smoke cleanse this is a great alternative to use, simply just buy/make your spray and spray it all around your room. But be careful and check the ingredients- some sprays may call for salt and saltwater on wood will not turn out well, so as always, check the ingredients. 

Sound Cleansing; Use objects like tuning forks, sound bowls, wind chimes, bells, and uplifting music to help cleanse your space. If you are having trouble finding what to play, these are three different examples of music to play:

This is an example of a calm, relaxing, simple song that you could play while you water/smoke cleanse.

This, of course, is another example. 

I personally love Lofi, but it is not my first suggestion because it can convey the wrong type of energy you may want. So, here is an example of some Lofi that I’d suggest playing maybe after you smoke/water cleanse, or maybe even while you clean. 

Your voice! Chant incantations while you rid yourself/objects/your room of those pesky energies!

Earth Cleansing; Another way to cleanse an object is to bury it in the Earth! If you live in a house with your own backyard and you are able to bury it in the soil, bury it, leave it there for around 3 days, then it should be cleansed from the Earth as well.

You can also place your objects in a bowl of salt or rice (since they both do well at absorbing negative energies). You can leave your object in the bowl overnight and it should be cleansed by morning!

Crystal Cleansing; Selenite is a crystal that is said to be self-cleansing. Many witches will leave their jewellery over selenite overnight, or you can even wave your selenite around in your room or over any object you want to cleanse. 

Cleansing Baths; This is perfect for self-cleansing! There are so many different cleansing baths that you can find that can spiritually and physically cleanse you.

This post shows a great example of what you can use in a cleansing bath 

When Should I cleanse?

Some witches follow the cycle of the moon. These witches may cleanse when it is a new moon or even a full moon due to the number of energy shifts throughout the 30/31 days, these witches chose to follow it this way, but then may also perform smaller cleanses here and there. 

Or maybe you just had something negative happen in your life. Maybe a friendship ended, you are getting over a cold, or maybe there was even a fight. Or maybe you were having a bad day and you brought home a lot of stress. These are examples of perfect times to cleanse yourself or even the space around you. Or, let’s say you had friends over and everyone had a great time, it still would be a good idea to cleanse because when people come into your home they bring their own energies with them. So, cleansing your space once people leave can help clear all of their energies out of your space. 

Remember- witchcraft is a practice. After you have done this multiple times and after you feel like you get better at it, you will start to get a sense of when you need to cleanse.

Spiritual Infusion

Just like there are ways to cleanse, there are ways to infuse. When you cleanse, you are getting rid of all energy, not just the bad. So, after cleansing, it is a good idea to also infuse your surroundings/self/objects with positive energies;

Essential Oils; Essential oils are oils that are extracted from plants, herbs, etc. Thus, meaning they have similar properties to their original plants. You can use them to help infuse yourself with positive energies by rubbing the oils on your wrists, or you can even put them in an essential oil diffuser to help infuse your room with positive energies.

Sun & Moon; Go outside and take a walk! Spend some time in nature and spend some time in the sun to help infuse yourself with positive, energised energies

Your own energy; Use incantations to charge and infuse your space. 

Infused Sprays; Similar to the cleansing sprays, you can also make elixirs to spray on yourself, room, or objects. 

An extremely common way to charge your crystals (and waters too) is to leave them out in the sun or moon. 

Sun Charging is a great way to charge your objects with a firey, bright energy. All you need to do is leave your objects in a bright, sunny spot. But be careful: you can overcharge your crystals! Leaving certain crystals out in the sun can cause them to lose their colour and can cause them to lose their ability to help.

Moon Charging is a wonderful way to clear and release built-up energy in a crystal or other objects while charging them as well. All you need to do is leave them outside, under a full/new moon. 

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[astraeaacademy]

Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 4

Tools in witchcraft can be extremely helpful by directing energy, storing energy, and providing energy. What is the difference? What are some examples?

Candles

On people’s birthdays, people will put candles on top of birthday cakes. Have you ever wondered where the idea of wishing on a candle came from? Well, this is similar to the views in witchcraft on candles. When burning, candles emit light, which can carry our energies and projections into the world to help cause a change, and manifest our intentions. Not all witches practice with the belief that the colour of the candle determines the type of energy it helps manifest, but some do! These are generally what each candle colour means:

Pink: love, caring, friendships, affection

Red: Courage, health, love, lust, passion, strength

Orange: Attraction and encouragement, creativity, justice, joy

Yellow: Percussion and protection, intelligence, positivity

Gold: solar connection, financial gain

Green: Financial gain, abundance, fertility, luck, growth, Earth-related

Light Blue: Health, understanding, patience, protection

Dark Blue: Sadness, Depression, anxiety, vulnerability

Purple: Ambition, power, confidence, spiritual power

Brown: Earth-related, house blessing, animals/pets, stability

Black: Banishment, ridding negativity, safety, pride

White: Purity, truth, banishment, peace, healing, divination

Silver: Lunar connections, intuition

*Note- definitions/explanations may vary*

If you do not have colourful candles at first and you are unable to buy them, that is totally okay! If you are still in the “Broom closet” look around your house, most parents may have candles or at least tea lights. Tea lights are great for new witches because they are super cheap, super small, and perfect on the go.

Crystals

By far one of my personal favourite tools is crystals. By definition, crystals are solid substances created by the Earth. For witches, however, crystals are minerals capable of storing, receiving, transmitting, or even amplifying energy. They can be used as a tool for practically anything in witchcraft such as healing or bringing positive energies. It is believed in witchcraft that each crystal has its own energy properties. For example, Jade can help prolong life and increase confidence while Citrine dissipates and transmutes negative energy. 

Herbs

Just like crystals, herbs have their own energy properties as well! These are plants that can be added to foods (used in kitchen witchcraft), or even burned as incense as well! For example, Basil! Basil is said to have properties that attract love, blessings, and happiness. Not only this, but herbs can be used in incense, kitchen witchcraft, tea leaf readings, and lots more!

But as always, use what you have on hand. I’m sure what you have herbs in your kitchen already, or maybe even some growing in your back yard. So look at what’s around you to practice. Some common kitchen tools that you most likely will have in your kitchen include vinegar, rosemary, lemon, oils, cinnamon, bay leaves, basil, etc.

Other Witchcraft Tools

There are so many other tools that can be used to transfer energies, and help you practice

Pen and Paper- You can do so much with just paper and permanent ink. In the last lesson, we discussed how you can set your intentions by writing them down. You can even create sigils, charm pouches out of paper, paper spells, and if you have a journal, you can keep your own Book Of Shadows

Sticks- You can make tools for your alter, decorations, spell sachets, etc all with sticks! Don’t break off branches from a tree, simply go on a hike and look at ones that are all over the ground.

Salt- There are so many uses for salt! Countless spells, rituals, you name it- will call for salt! 

Book Of Shadows- A book of shadows is simply a journal in which you write down all the information that you have learned through your craft. The difference between a BOS (Book of Shadows) and a Grimoire, is that a Grimoire is not personal. It is simply a book full of spells and magickal information. A BOS does keep all of your learned information, but also personal recordings such as tarot card results, spell outcomes, ritual intentions, etc.

Mirrors- Mirrors are associated with the supernatural and witchcraft pretty heavily. You can use them for scrying, reflection spells, and if you get into spirit work, you will start to use them more frequently through there as well.

Water- Water can be charged in so many different ways to help provide energies in rituals. Not even just charged water, but rainwater, seawater, river water, you name it, all have its own properties. 

Waters collected from the Earth:

Seawater: Used in healing, cleansing, protection and banishing.

Lakewater: Used for happiness and contentment, and peace

River water: Used for creating changes, moving on and letting go of negativity, warding and focusing energy.

Swampwater: Used for banishing and binding.

Pondwater: Associated with relaxations and self-reflection.

Creek/Stream Water: Used to create harmony, purification and cleansing.

Waterfall Water: Used to create power, success and energy.

Harbour Water: Associated with abundance, protection, banishing and encouraging prosperity.

Dew Water: Good for Fae work, love, beauty, health and fertility as well as calmness.

Well Water: Used to empower wishes, healing and strengthening intuition.

Precipitation Waters:

Rainwater: Has multi-purposeful uses, predominantly used for creating growth, protection and change.

Snow Water: Used for new beginnings, purity and encouraging transformation.

Ice/Frost Water: Used for purity, creativity and encouraging transformation.

Storm Water: Used for strength, emotional strength, motivation, force and curses.

Charged Water:

Moon Water: Used for purifying, cleansing and balancing.

Sun Water: Used for purifying, cleansing and balancing.

Alter Tools

Alter- A sacred space that can be used to practice and even a space for diety dedication. This is a list of some altar items:

Chalice: Chalice are used to hold water, wine and other liquids for spells/rituals and they are generally useful to have on your altar.

Broomstick: Broomstick are used to sweep away energy away from the altar before, sometimes after spells or just whenever the room needs a spiritual clean-up.

Knife/Boline: A knife, or called a boline, is a sharp knife used to cut physical things like herbs 

It may seem like a lot, but use what you have around you, and have fun! Don’t go to Amazon and start buying everything- just collect as you go!

[astraeaacademy]

Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 3

A question that may linger over some beginner’s minds is, ‘what is the most important thing to learn.’ Many witches’ answer to this is your intent and will. That is exactly what I will be going over today.

What is Intent?

Recall what was discussed on the topic of energies and what magick is. This is where spellwork comes into play. To cast a spell, you have to set an intention so you can better manifest your result. When going to perform a spell/ritual, you tend to have a very specific outcome in mind in which you are trying to create. This is what you want, you want to focus and have a conscious outlook on your intent and what you are trying to achieve. For example, let’s say you want to get a raise. If you say to yourself while performing a money spell “I will get a raise.” Or while you go to work, you have a sigil on your arm and it reminds you “I will get a raise.” This can help you remain motivated, to work harder, and create positive energies and positive changes to your work ethic. Thus leading to a potential raise. 

It is important to know and state your intentions clearly. I can not stress this enough. You need to be clear with what you are asking. Have you ever heard the phrase “be careful what you wish for?” You could be stating an unclear intention, do multiple spells for it, and get something completely separate from what you were hoping. 

So how do I set my intentions?

It is not that difficult, although there are many different ways to set an intention. Some people cleanse themselves (physically and spiritually) to remove the energies you may have picked up from the day, and to help you relax. Generally, you need to be comfortable, relaxed and have your mind focused on visualizing what you want to happen. To set your intention, you may say it out loud, or even write it down. Some witches say that writing down your intentions in permanent ink can help set your intentions to help further make things clear that this is exactly what you want. Some witches may burn this paper, while others may hold onto it until the end. While going through your ritual/spell, it is important to repeat your intention and continually visualize what exactly you want to come out of this. 

Important Things to Remember

Let me start off by saying this, there is no reason to doubt this. And if at any point you feel a single shred of doubt, it will not work. You can not go into a spell/ritual with a mindset of “Oh maybe this will work” or “maybe the universe will listen.” If you start to believe this, take a break, stop, slow down and re-evaluate. If you start to feel this form of doubt, that is your intuition telling you “maybe you aren’t ready for this, let’s stop.” And like discussed above, if you start to have those thoughts, you may not get the desired outcome. So essentially it is better to stop ahead. You need to be honest with yourself, honest with the universe, and recognise what you are feeling. For example, if you are performing a love ritual to bring a partner into your life and you start to feel doubt and unsure of things. Stop, it is your intuition telling you that maybe you are not ready for a serious partner at this time. Maybe you should focus on your job and then try this again. 

The major take away from this lesson is to be clear with what your desired outcomes will be. It may take time, but being in-tune with yourself and what you feel while in rituals is so incredibly important.

[astraeaacademy]

Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 2

There are so many different paths and different practices you can take as a witch. When starting off, don’t stress about the labels too much. Take a moment to read through some of the different potential paths you could take and see which ones sound the most interesting to you!

Air Witch: Witches who work with the element of air, and the energies thereof. They may work with things such as feathers, movement, incense, breath, and other air-based magick.

Ancestral Witch: Witches who focus their craft on connecting to and working with one's ancestors.

Animal/Creature Witch: Witches that work with animals or creatures. They may use their energies within the craft for attunement, aid, or protection. Considered a branch of the green witch path, these witches may work with either spiritual or physical forms of animals/creatures.

Artistic Witch: A witch who is artistically inclined within their craft. They typically have a strong desire to create and work with colours. Art witches tend to draw, paint, sculpt, act, dance, sing, (etc.) within their practice.

Astro/Space Witch: Considered a branch of the cosmic witch path. An Astro/ space witch may be adept at cosmic magick as well as astral travel, astrology and science-based magick.

Atheist Witch: Simply witches who do not believe in any form of deity. Also called Secular Witch.

Blood Witch: Witches who practice blood magick, and use the energy and power of blood within their practice. Considered a branch of the chaos witch path.

Bone Witch: Witches who use bones in their practice, and can typically tap into the energy of or communicate with the spirits who used to own the bones. This may allow their assistance to the witch within their practice. Could be considered a form of animal or ancestral magick. May also incorporate components of death magick and/or necromancy practices.

Ceremonial Witch: Witches who practice a great deal of ceremonial magick in their practice. They may focus on rituals and formal practices of casting of magick as well.

Chaos Witch/Chaote: (difficult to define) Some may also call this ‘result-based’ or ‘success’ magick. A chaos witch usually focuses on the attainment of specific results, typically emphasizing will and intention in their practice. They tend to advocate and pioneer diverse approaches to magick. Some feel that through experimentation, it does not matter what one believes so long as their tools or system of magick were implemented effectively. Therefore, belief may be considered a tool in and of itself. On the same note, they tend to feel intentions/will are key above all else, and the tools will not make or break the practice. They may have a more scientific or experimental approach in their practice.

Closeted Witch/Subtle Witch: Witches who are not open about their practice. They tend to practice in secrecy, for a variety of reasons. These witches are not quite ready, or may simply not wish to share their practice with the general public or friends/family.

Colour Witch/Color Witch: Considered a branch of the art witch path. These are witches who specifically use and revolve their practice around the metaphysical properties of colours within their magick.

Cottage/Hearth Witch: Witches who specialize in magick surrounding the home. Similar to the kitchen witch, but less emphasis on food or cooking. They tend to consider their home a sacred place, and their magick usually focuses on the home, and their families. They will make the place they live comfortable and protected.

Cosmic Witch: Considered an umbrella term for witches who use cosmic, or astrological bodies in their crafts and practice such things as astrology and/or astronomy. They tend to work with the energies of the stars, moon, sun, and planets among many other celestial bodies.

Coven Witch/Circle Witch: Witches who practice within a group of witches. They typically practise and learn with others in their group.

Crystal Witch: Witches who primarily use crystals, stones, gems, or rocks in their practice. Considered a branch of the green witch path, they will practice such things as crystal meditation, protection, and crystal grids, among many other things. They tend to have in-depth knowledge of different crystals/stones/ (etc.) and are able to identify them based on their properties.

Death Witch: Witches who practice death magick. These practitioners typically work with and honour the dead, along with the power of death itself. Death witches tend to advocate death as a new beginning, and an essential part of the life cycle. They may or may not incorporate necromancy in their practice (divination through the dead). They may also integrate ancestral and/or bone magick in their craft as well.

Demonic Witch: These witches work heavily with demons. They differ from Exorcists in that they typically summon demons and get them to do their bidding, rather than casting them out.

Desert Witch/Witch of the Waste: Witches who focus on desert magick. Working with things of and from the desert such as desert sand, cacti, or spirits/animals of the desert. They may, or may not live in/near a desert.

Divination/Oracle Witch: Witches who emphasize on divination practices such as tarot, pendulum, ouija, runes, or any other form of divination.

Draconian/Draconic Witch: Witches who work with dragons, and draconic magick. Fueled by the symbolism and energies of dragons, these witches will typically embrace balance and wisdom within their craft. Many of them will consider dragons to be higher beings, or even deities themselves, and work with them as such.

Dream Witch: Witches who work on, and in their dreams, and may practice lucid dreaming along with other dreaming techniques. They may cast magick, work with deities, access other realities, among numerous other things in their dreams. Dream witches may also be known as dream walkers. Some may use the dreamscape as a home away from home. They tend to be influenced by the moon and spirituality and may incorporate many practices of lunar magick, hedge magick, or practice psychic abilities within their craft as well.

Earth Witch: Witches who work with the element of earth, and the energies thereof. They may work with things such as crystals, herbs, rocks, dirt, the spirit of the land, and other earth-based magick.

Eclectic Witch: Witches who have an eclectic practice. This means that they will work with, and learn from many different types of paths, practices, philosophies, traditions, knowledge, and sources. They typically will end up knowing about all of them and will choose to incorporate whatever suits them within their craft. They may tend to specialize in a handful of paths which fit them best.

Elemental Witch: Witches who work with all of the classic elements; fire, water, earth, air, and spirit. Although, some elemental witches choose not to incorporate the element of spirit.

Fire Witch: Witches who work with the element of fire, and the energies thereof. They may work with things such as candle magick, bonfire rituals, and fire scrying among other fire-based magick.

Flora Witch: Witches who emphasize the use of flowers in their practice, and may use them just like herbs. Considered a branch of the green witch path.

Forest Witch: Witches who focus on working with things from the forest such as the trees, forest spirits, and forest animals. They may or may not live in/ near a forest.

Garden Witch: Witches who emphasize working with plants, herbs, and the earth. Much like a green witch, or earth witch, but are focused on their garden, and how to incorporate the garden within their craft.

Green Witch: Witches who use nature-based items in their practice such as herbs, trees, stones, animals, and other natural elements (can be considered an umbrella term for many nature-based paths). These witches tend to focus on holistic medicine and may, be learned, healers. They are usually very familiar with their local region, having much knowledge of different species of plants, trees, insects, wildlife and flowers.

Hedge Witch: Witches that use magick that is oriented around the spiritual world. They would practice such things as astral travel, astral projection, lucid dreaming, spirit-work, and journeying. These witches are able to walk between worlds and explore alternative realities. Many hedge witches are known for working with herbs and divination as well and tend to live very mindfully.

Herbal Witch: Witches who mainly use herbs in their practice. As another type of natural magick, they will usually grow herbs and will use these herbs in many different ways in order to produce magickal effects such as burning them, turning them into tea, or sprinkling them around places.

Hereditary Witch: Witches who are usually born into a family of practising witches. They get their tradition passed down to them by their family. They also usually have their family to practice with, and assist in their development. However, not everyone born into witchcraft or raised by a family of witches choose to practice or become a witch.

Kitchen Witch: Witches who work magick in their cooking and/or baking. Focusing on the magickal properties that they can obtain from many different ingredients. They may also to be drawn to arts and crafts, sewing, cleaning, and gardening as well. Many of these witches are typically skilled in potions and/or herbology.

Lunar Witch: Witches who focus their work with the energies of the moon, and the moon’s cycles. They will typically time their rituals and spell work in correspondence to lunar phases. They may also incorporate certain items or other things in their craft that correspond with the moon such as minerals, crystals, herbs, animals, deities, (etc).

Metal Witch: Witches who work specifically with metal and using the magickal properties of different metals within their craft. These witches may be found creating their own jewellery, talismans, amulets, wands, (etc.) incorporating a base metal and/or combinations of metals.

Necromantic/Necromancy Witch: Considered a branch of Chaos magick, these witches take spirit working a step further and are adept at communicating with and controlling the dead. Their practice typically involves communication with the deceased,  either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising them bodily. They may do this for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to foretell future events, obtaining hidden knowledge, to bring someone back from the dead, or to use the dead to do their bidding.

Practical Witch: Considered a branch of the kitchen witch path. These witches are adept at spellwork and use their magick for everyday, mundane things. They are typically found experimenting with ways to use magick in order to make their daily life easier and more enjoyable.

Religious Witch: Witches who hold some form of religion. These are going to be such witches as Christian witches, Luciferian witches, Pagan witches, Wiccan witches, Buddhist witches, Muslim witches, Jewish witches, Hindu Witches, along with any other type of religious witch.

Science Witch: Witches who have a higher focus on science, and will use their understanding of science in practice. These witches usually do not portray scientism and may emphasize a higher connection between science and magick.

Sea Witch: Witches who work with things from the sea such as seawater, sea glass, beach sand, seashells, and other things that are associated with the sea. They may, or may not live near the sea.

Seasonal Witch: Witches who work with the energies of the season. They may incorporate weather/ storm magick within their craft. They tend to be adept with knowing what energies each season may hold and may time their rituals and spell work accordingly.

Secular Witch: Witches who are not religious, or do not incorporate religion in their craft. They typically do not subscribe to religious dogma. Most of these witches usually stay away from deities, but they do not have to in order to remain secular.

Sigil Witch: Witches who have in-depth knowledge of sigils, and focus on using sigils in their practice. Sigils are symbols drawn for specific magickal purposes. These witches may be adept in using their emotions or energy within their craft to charge sigils as well.

Solar Witch: Witches who focus their work with the energies of the sun, and the sun’s cycles. They tend to time their rituals and spells in correspondence to the suns position. They may incorporate fire magick within their craft, or anything relating to the sun such as minerals, crystals, herbs, animals, deities, (etc.).

Solitary Witch: Witches who practice their craft alone, or without a personal group such as a coven, or circle of other practitioners. These types of practitioners are going to practice primarily alone but still can have access to communication, and resources from other witches.

Spirit/Medium Witch: Witches who communicate with the dead spirits of humans, animals, and other entities. Some can even communicate with the spirits of trees, rocks, and man-made items. They tend to use spirit boards and pendulums, among many other tools.

Stitch witch: Witches who work with thread, yarn, or other fibres for their work. Considered to be a branch of both the kitchen and cottage witch paths, they hold magickal fabric work in high regard. They tend to focus primarily on the knot and stitch magick.

Storm Witch/Weather Witch: Witches that work with the weather, and the energies thereof in the same way other witches may work with elements. They may be found doing things such as charging magickal tools with the use of storm energy, or certain weather (warm, cold, etc.).

Swamp Witch: Witches who mainly work with things from the swamp such as the swamp water, swamp spirits, and swamp animals. They may, or may not live in/near a Swamp.

Tea Witch: Considered a branch of the herbal witch path. These are witches who focus on the use of tea in their practice in order to facilitate certain effects through the act of drinking certain teas. They may also be drawn to tasseography or reading tea leaves as a means of divination.

Tech/Techno/Cyber Witch: Considered a branch of the urban witch path, and may be able to use or direct electrical energy. These witches work with modern technology in their practice and may integrate all forms of computers, and electronics within with their magick. They may be adept at coding and/or creating emoji spells, along with other things related to electronics.

Theistic Witch: Witches who believe in a form of deity, or many deities.

Traditional Witch: Witches who practice forms of traditional witchcraft, claiming older or more “traditional,” roots.

Urban Witch: Witches who practice their magick in urban environments. They may be found graffitiing or painting sigils on abandoned buildings, growing herbs in pots in their apartments, dancing on the roads late at night, and tend to be adept in using technology.

Water Witch: Witches that work with the element of water, and the energies thereof. They typically work with things such as different types of water, water elementals, and water scrying among other water-based magick.

Winter Witch: Witches who reside in the colder climates of the world and draw their power from the snow and clouds (rather than the sun or moon) They may be found casting snowstorms, collecting hail and/or making poppets from the snow.

I know this may seem like a lot, but don’t worry, you do not need to memorise these! Just understand that there are many different paths and practices in the community, and these are the vast majority of them.

[astraeaacademy]

Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 1

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Welcome to the first lesson! I am excited to get into our first lesson but please note; I try to make all my lessons as unbiased as possible, and I try to give you just general information so you can have a solid understanding of the topics discussed, so if you may not agree with some of the topics presented, that is okay and let me know so we can have a conversation about it. With that being said, let’s get into it. 

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Witches? Witchcraft??

Witchcraft is an art form. It is the art of using magick. This leads us to understand that a witch is an individual who uses magick and practices witchcraft. Some people may believe that you need to subscribe to certain religions or groups (such as Paganism, Wicca, etc) to become a witch but this certainly is not true. Anyone, from all walks of life, can practice witchcraft if they wish to. 

A lot of people tend to overcomplicate witchcraft. In its simplest form, witchcraft is a completely natural process that has been used for many years. When participating in a spell or ritual, you are simply stating your will to the universe.

What Exactly is Magick?

There are many different ways to describe exactly what magick is. The way that I will be describing magick is through energy. Take a look around you. Everything and every person you see is filled with energies. There are energies within the air, and within the food you eat. Magick is the art of “tapping into” these energies to create changes. 

When you meet someone, they have different personalities or properties. The same can be said for the energies within objects. To better understand, I have grouped them into three categories to generalize; Positive, Negative, and "stale"/neutral energies. Have you ever walked into a room after two people fought? You may be able to sense the negative or tense energies covering the room. The same may go for positive energies. If you are good with picking up on these energies you may be able to sense when you are walking into a very loving home, for example. As for these "stale" energies, these are "leftover energies" that will cover a room or object when they haven't been used. It is like dust energies. For example, when you get home from a long vacation and everything just feels stuffy. These categories of energies can be said for people as well. If you are someone who is genuine and helps others out, simply put you will have a good deal of positive energies. If you have harmed others, and you tend to keep a negative headspace your personal energies are negative. But magick goes farther than just three types of energies. 

As I said before, magick is about “tapping into” these energies. Over the course of your witchy journey, you will slowly become more and more intune with your own energies and with the energies around you. Getting in-tune allows your spellwork to flourish. But just like anything, it is a skill that needs practice. An excellent way to practice this skill is to meditate. Meditation allows you to practice getting in-tune with these energies and it also allows for you to increase your ability to visualise.

It may seem like a lot at first, but start small. Try meditating for 5 min before bed every night, and start with basic spells before moving onto anything else (we will discuss this in later lessons).

Magick? Magic?

Many witches will use the spelling of “magick” when referring to the art of witchcraft and manipulating energies, and “magic” when referring to stage illusions and tricks (like a magician pulling a bunny out of a hat). Not all witches do use this, but it is important to keep in mind!

What do I need?

I always hear beginner witches ask, well, what do I need to start off? Well, the answer is nothing except your energy, time, and devotion. You do not need a ton of crystals or special tools to succeed. Think about it this way- the first witches did not go on Amazon to order their supplies, they used what was around them! So, look at what you have and adapt spells to fit the materials you do have, and get crafty!

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Thank you so much for reading the first lesson! I really appreciate your feedback so please feel free to let me know your thoughts!