WITCHCRAFT - IT ISN'T (MOSTLY) ABOUT HEXES AND CURSES

Hey everyone!

I mentioned in my LIFE HAPPENS #66 post about how I started to practice witchcraft. I realized while writing that post that it may scare or intimidate people who don't truly understand what witchcraft is. I've always been interested in the Craft, but it wasn't until recently that something flipped the switch in my brain to start practicing it. It's been years from the original time I started learning, so I'm a little rusty, but hopefully this post will help clarify what witchcraft really is. Keep in mind that the rules and practices of witchcraft are different for each person and that definitions vary between religions and people so if something sounds different from what you've heard before, then you should do more research on the topic to truly understand the little details of witchcraft.

The traditional ways to practice witchcraft are Paganism and Wicca. They're very similar, however Wicca is based on Paganism, but also believes in duel deities. There is an abundance of different types of witches, but those two are the most well known and the types I will be focusing on in this blog post. The original or traditional practitioners of the Wicca have two main rules known as Witch's Redes. The first one is if you put out negativity (as in hexes, curses, etc.) then it will come back to you threefold. The second is to harm none. See how those two redes are connected? Of course, those only apply to those who practice the "traditional" Craft or adopt it into their work. There has been some talk about how the threefold rule was made up by an author, but that's another story altogether.

Witchcraft has different subcategories ranging from kitchen witches to god/goddess praising witches to atheist witches. The most important aspect of witchcraft is that it is all based on you and what you want to do. You're using your own energy to power your work so whatever you decide to work with will be special to you. However, there are a lot of different items used in witchcraft that many people agree on in terms of definitions and importance. For example, clear quartz are seen as a good crystal to use for beginners as you can charge them with whatever intent you want as they are seen as a general crystal. Although it is more powerful to find a crystal that corresponds with your intent and personal correspondences, a clear quartz is a good basic to have on hand for when you don't have the right crystal for a spell, charm, etc.

The fact that all the power is based on yourself is the reason why witchcraft appeals to me. I am the one who connects with a god or goddess if I choose so. I am the one who makes sure that a spell is right for me. There's a freedom in immersing myself in witchcraft. I can "stop" being a witch for a time, but once I'm ready to go back, it's like no time has passed at all. There's usually no rigid structure when it comes to worship in witchcraft. You can worship the traditional Greek gods, Pokemon, whoever, or whatever you want.

Since I'm still considering on what or who exactly I want to worship (or if I even want to worship someone/something), I've tentatively labeled myself as an eclectic witch. A witch that practices a bit of everything. I know I'll be learning more about divination, pop culture magic, and the like as they're some of the topics that drew me back into witchcraft. I know witchcraft isn't for everyone, just like Catholicism and other religions aren't for everyone, but I'm already finding my way through my Craft.

Have you learned something new about witchcraft? What are some perceptions of witchcraft that you'd like me to dispel?