Ever feel anxious about whether you're practicing your spirituality or craft the "right" way? I used to be OBSESSED with making sure my witchcraft was “correct” or that it looked good. I wanted to be sure I was meditating the right way, dressing the right way, I even worried about how I was lighting my candles.
I bought sooo many books and read articles online, combed through pinterest and watched countless youtube videos.
What I’ve come to realize in the almost 7 years I’ve been studying and practicing is that everyone has a unique way of doing it and not everyone who calls themself a witch or pagan believes the same things. Sure, most people may be able to agree that certain herbs, crystals and other tools correspond to certain things but what I’ve noticed in my own experience is that your intuition is what matters the most.
I do still look things up regularly but I would say my practice is now a 50/50 split between research and using my own intuition and ideas.
Interested in witchcraft but afraid to get started? My suggestion is to pick one topic to start with.
Interested in tarot or oracle cards? Start pulling one card per day or week, but try to make it consistent. When I first started I would pull a card, look at the imagery and journal about what I saw and then look it up in both the book that came with my cards as well as a couple of websites which I will link here.
https://www.thetarotguide.com/
I will write a more detailed post about how I personally do my tarot readings soon! :)
Interested in magical uses of plants & herbs? Start researching and find ways of using a new one each week. You could join a foraging workshop and start with herbs and plants that are native to your area and then research the magical meanings as part of your spiritual practice at home.
For looking up herb correspondences, I personally like to use this book (not an ad, just sharing what works for me):
https://www.amazon.ca/Cunninghams-Encyclopedia-Magical-Herbs-Cunningham/dp/0875421229/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EXVGSU7ZY5I&keywords=encyclopedia+of+magical+herbs&qid=1661979207&sprefix=encyclopedia+of+magical+herbs%2Caps%2C219&sr=8-1
Witchcraft can feel so overwhelming when you’re just starting out and you might want to dive right into every topic there is but trust me, it’s so much easier and fulfilling if you go slow and focus on each topic one at a time.
I feel relieved now that I’ve started to be able to let go of that anxiety and perfectionism. At the end of the day, you don’t need fancy products, crystals, decorations or really much of anything to have a spiritual and/or witchcraft practice, just the desire to do so.
I’d definitely love to dive deeper into some of things I use in my practice, how and what I learned about them and how you can implement them into your practice. For now, you can always feel free to send me a DM or email and I will help where I can.
Blessed Be my friends!