For beginners

[RegularJackass]

People under the age of 18: if you're interested in this kind of spirituality and if your parents aren't abusive, then please, please talk to them about your interest in the Craft. This is NOT a risk-free, commitment-free religion. You really have to know what you're doing. Ask many questions, read many things. I am here to talk if you or your parents have any questions. Actually, show them this forum website so they can look around on it. Oh and one more thing: I do not condone the actual use of magic by anyone under 18 unless they are in immediate danger and have no other options. Even then, it's iffy.

If you are of another religion and don't want to give it up but want more control over your own life by getting into the occult or magic or whatever, then you have two options: talk to someone really knowledgeable about your religion and ask for advice, or quit your religion and drift for a while until you figure it out. Magic is not a band-aid for your life's problems and it will make things much worse if you just try to use it without the proper preparation and understanding. If the universe decides you are mature enough to be trained, then the right teacher or resource will show up at exactly the right time. Don't fucking push it. Using magic, being a Witch, etc. is not for everyone. Prayer, faith, and just plain being a decent human works just as well depending on who you are. This isn't a game. It's a calling, a mission, and a life. Actually, being Wiccan or even just practicing Witchcraft forces you into becoming clergy. I'm not joking. You WILL be put into situations where your talents are needed whether you expect it or not. And a lot of that may be counseling. You WILL be compelled to study your personal tradition in so much depth you'll wind up thinking that maybe you'll never stop reading. You WILL be compelled to work really hard at following your personal path with integrity. Often people come into the Craft thinking that they'll just explore it a little only to discover that it has become a full-time job. This is where a lot of people slack off and make up the difference by pretending they know more than they do.

If you are just curious about the Craft, click on the links provided and you'll learn what it's really about pretty quick. Or, if you're in a rush, know this: Wicca is a faith where one believes in magic, the sanctity of nature, the sanctity of life, that one should do their best to harm none, and that all positive Deities are One which loves us all and is Good. Witchcraft is not a faith, it is a practice, and one with some kind of historical roots.

Wicca is not the same as Witchcraft. Wicca is probably a new age religion that went public right around the 1940s. Originally it came about because Gerald Gardner had some... interesting tendencies and then created his own religion to legitimize it. Thankfully a few new authors cannibalized his work or kept only the parts that made sense, leaving out the crazy stuff and the misogyny, and in some cases leaving out everything but the name "Wicca," which I believe he coined. Here is an excerpt from the original Gardnerian Book of Shadows: http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/gbos38.htm I learned from these authors: http://www.witchesandsandwiches.com/for ... ?f=39&t=46 and from the many online sources I posted on this forum in various places. I am Wiccan because I like it, but the Wicca I know is what these authors taught me. Here are a couple of sources that explain more about Wicca: https://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/rede.htm NOTE: the "Horned One" refers to Cernunnos, a pre-Christian Deity of the forests http://controverscial.com/The%20Charge% ... oddess.htm http://www.controverscial.com/The%2013% ... Belief.htm

Witchcraft is a catch-all term for working magic, usually with a spirituality attached. It appears to have its roots in pre-recorded history, which is where all the problems originate. You see, everyone but Witches in family traditions or very, very old covens is trying to reconstruct a religion from bits and scraps found wherever available, because all those centuries of persecution forced the Craft to go underground. Or, it simply died out when elders had no one they could give their knowledge to. Wicca is more clear-cut these days because it's newer. It has a couple of guidelines, such as "an it harm none, do as ye will," whereas Witchcraft is so ridiculously broad of a topic that I'd be a fool to try to describe it. It appears that in the United States the distinctions blur between Wiccan and Witch, and in other countries perhaps there is more of a difference. Wiccans call themselves "Witch" for some reason I never learned. Wicca has a bad reputation for attracting New Age dipshits, because it does, and this is unfortunately perpetuated by the number of really shitty "Wicca 101" books on the market and all that crap on Tumblr. Non-Wiccan Witchcraft traditions and practices vary. You'll just have to ask each individual Witch about what they personally believe and do. That said, almost every Witchcraft tradition has very distinct rules, practices, beliefs, and cultural traits. There are also magical belief systems that are not Witchcraft, such as Hoodoo (a Christian tradition that centers around faith), Voodoo (something I don't understand), and Santeria (another thing I don't understand).

I actually don't know what the exact definition of "Witchcraft" is and I'm not sure if there even is one. My best guess is that it's a definition of exclusion - if you're an occultist who self-identifies as a Witch, your magic actually works, you identify with a lot of the lore passed down through the ages in your own personal tradition of the Craft, then you're a Witch. The safest approach is to ask the person in question what they believe in.

I would also like to add that there is absolutely no such thing as Traditional Witchcraft, at least, not any Witchcraft tradition that is proven to be both ancient (pre-Bible era, or even pre-1900) and congruent with itself throughout the years. No proof exists. The Burning Times were too effective - that, and there is no one Witchcraft "tradition" but many, and there is no proof that any of them are derived from an ancient unbroken lineage. Except - maybe - the Family Trads. I have not found anything called "Witchcraft" before modern times - I have, however found remnants of folk magic traditions that seem to stretch back to the dawn of the human race. In particular the Celtic practices seem more ancient and congruent with themselves throughout the years than the other practices, which is probably why modern Wicca is heavily flavored with those. I am still researching this and will get back to you when I find out the truth.

There are two major controversies in Wicca and Witchcraft which I hate.
1: I hate it when people use "your practice is fluffy bunny" or "so-and-so practice (usually Wicca) is fluffy bunny" as a smokescreen to rationalize their own unethical behavior and Craft. It is a surprisingly common thing to see.
2: Much to my extreme displeasure, there are Witches out there who get involved with the devil and still call themselves Witches, although they are rare. They put the rest of us at risk of another Burning Times and I wish they would just call themselves Occultists and get it over with.

In Wicca, one believes that there is a central Creator of all life. Wiccans see this Divine Being as female, male, and whatever other attribute She chooses to get through to us. In other words, as the All, or the Universe, or the Divine. There is often reverence of the Goddess and God, aka the male and female facets of the Divine's personality, and reverence of the Deities in every positive tradition*. (Unfortunately, this is not good; you have to choose one specific way of worship, and mixing and matching gods and goddesses from different pantheons is not something I recommend) There is a belief that nature, love, and life are sacred. Wiccans celebrate the turning of the seasons and do what they can to live in harmony with the planet. And yes, a lot of us work magic, but we have two guidelines:
An it harm none, do as ye will - which means you must do all you can to harm none, or at the very least try. The unofficial addendum is "but take no shit" because you shouldn't harm yourself either
Ever mind the rule of three, what you send out comes back to thee - which means whatever energy you send out through magic will come back to you. This guideline says it comes back three times. I don't really know about that, but I do know from experience that it comes back, for good or for ill
What I like the most about Wicca is that the more you learn, the more inspired you are to be as nice as possible, and to do as many kind things as possible.

*Yes, there are ancient Pagan "deities" that were horrible. Look up the rites of Attis and Cybele. There are also modern Pagan "deities" that are horrible. Look up Cthulhu. You'd have to be a real edgelord to get into that...

It is entirely possible to be Wiccan and never practice magic. Wicca is a religion first and a practice second. It is entirely possible to be a Witch and have a dry spell where you don't work magic for years and years. Neither Witchcraft nor Wicca is 100% about working magic. These religions/philosophies are just a different way of life and of seeing the world.

One of the most important things I recommend to all beginners is to focus on defining your own personal spirituality and philosophy first. There's no central religious text and there are no religious leaders here to guide you on your own personal path. That's because each person's way of practicing the Craft is completely based on their own personal truth. You have to figure out yours. In particular, you have to know yourself, like the ogres have layers type thing. That will give you a solid foundation with which to grow on in order to practice magic. Any dishonesty with yourself or personal aggrandizement due to unresolved mental issues will just put stumbling blocks in your way. Deal with all that first, before you add magic to the picture, or you'll see chaos. In particular, do not get impatient and start gobbling up spiritual sustenance from closed traditions like Voudoun and various Native American religions. Or cobbling together a hodgepodge of Deities, spiritual allies (who won't be your allies for very long) and spiritual practices you know next to nothing about but will still invoke at your rituals. That's messed up. And do not accept anything as fact without evidence. For instance, there is a very common belief in Wicca that "I am the Goddess," "We are all one," or "We all are partially Divine." I've never seen evidence of that. And yes, you can go about this religion demanding evidence at every step instead of relying on blind faith. I did. I still do.

Another important thing I recommend is to clear out any major issues before you begin working in the Craft. A bad living situation, poor self-esteem, mental health problems, unrealistic thinking, addiction, unhealthy relationships of any kind, and so on, are all things that will not be solved by "just adding magic." Long term, sure, your problems will be solved, but short term, it's like that old adage "it gets worse before it gets better." Usually the magic in these cases points out to you that you are the one who needs to change and do things, and usually you won't want to. Regardless, your magic will work and the Universe will whomp you on the head with constant reminders to get it together and you'll have a heck of a time. And/or things will happen to your living situation that you never wanted or expected to happen and you'll get upset at all that change. Plus of course if your mental state is so deranged that you actually want to work negative magic then you will pay dearly. Another reason why you need to get it together before working magic. That's what magic is. It causes changes whether you want them or not. No matter how carefully you word a spell, you'll never know what the exact outcome is or how it came to be; it is impossible to control all the variables because they are infinite. If you're in a good balanced mindset to begin with then you'll enjoy the ride. And if not, you really, really won't.

Also, you must do the traditional year and a day of personal study of the Craft before doing any magic. It is also very important to focus on protection as a beginner, because you'll be working with something completely unfamiliar to most people and it's always risky to step out into the unknown. There are many ways of going about this; check out these resources and see which method suits you the best. As a new Witch there are two basic things that can trip you up: energetic beings who want to mess with you/bad vibes/other gunk on the astral plane (where ghosts live, where energy flows from person to person, etc.; an invisible world that overlaps our own), and your own mistakes. Neither are that big a deal, but you really have to know what you're doing and take it slow. This is a serious commitment that can last a lifetime if you wish, so you have all the time in the world. Probably the biggest mistakes you can make are those that crop up when you aren't being true to yourself. Hence the need for a lengthy initiation period. Be aware that there are many people out there who make a big deal about how great they are at Witchcraft, Shamanism, Wicca, etc. which is total lies because I guarantee you not a single magic worker out there actually knows 100% what they're doing. Not a single one. Every magic worker and Occultist is essentially just a glorified scientist/researcher type creature, no matter how many books they've published or website rants they've made.

Please be aware that most of what is said on the Internet about the Craft is completely wrong, misleading, and dangerous. You might think any information is good but misinformation is far worse than no information at all. Even the best resources out there still may contain mistakes, or for some reason may not be helpful to you. Books also; not always good. Be skeptical about everything. You should also know that energetic work, magic, rituals, and all that really aren't the heart of Witchcraft. It's a life, not a show in Las Vegas. The entire point of the practice is to make you happy, so don't get out there and force yourself to become mighty and powerful in the magical arts for no other reason than you can. Don't do anything you are even slightly uncomfortable with; it simply isn't necessary. It's sometimes hard to ignore people who practice magic just for the sake of accumulating power, and this can make you feel inadequate enough to try it yourself. Do not fall into that trap - that is a grave misuse of magic. Magic is not a healthy way of gaining power, and it sure isn't good to use for bolstering flagging self-esteem, getting what you want at all costs, or avoiding responsibility. As a matter of fact the more time you spend in the Craft the harder you wind up working in the physical world. Be prepared to hit the books and do a ton of homework. If you thought school was bad then this is a million times worse. Above all use logic and common sense, and educate yourself.
Anyway, here are some sites, cherrypicked for complete beginners. I've done my best to find good ones.
https://pentacle.swankivy.com
https://www.wicca.com
www.angelfire.com/wa3/angelline/index.html
www.gone-ta-pott.com
https://www.joellessacredgrove.com
www.pookapages.com Link doesn't work; you'll have to copy and paste it into the url.
https://www.almanac.com
If you wish for something that isn't "fluffy" or Wiccan, you have come to the wrong place, my friend. I tried to find pure Witchcraft books and websites and the closest I came was www.pookapages.com. Most everything else was either a bunch of edgelords bitching, idiots who didn't know how magic works, or closet Satanists. Trust me - it was quite a slog. I found nothing. Comment if you did.

Personally, I think the best book for a beginner or someone who curious is... um... actually, it's different for everybody. Probably the safest introduction would be Elements of Witchcraft by Ellen Dugan, Teen Book of Shadows by Patricia Telesco, Clan of the Goddess by C.C. Brondwin or Teen Witch by Silver Ravenwolf. But unfortunately in the latter due to all the inconsistency you have to go through both with a red pen and X out spells that are unethical, edit out historical inaccuracies, and so on. BTW Teen Witch is not suitable for actual use by teenagers in most cases.

Laurie Cabot's "Becoming a Witch" video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2lCLj_KxJg - please note that the "stick to one tradition" thing can be one of your own making, but she is absolutely right; you have to commit to a tradition of some kind, some kind of solid core that you truly believe in. As an advance warning finding the right tradition or making your own could take decades. Do not stop trying.

If after all this you're still interested in the Craft, then WELCOME!!! Hit me up with any questions if you have them, and be proud of your decision. I'm behind you 100%.

I wish you the best of luck. If you have any questions, feel free to post them. If there are any experienced Witches who have something they'd like to add, go right ahead.