Witchcraft 102 Masterpost
So. You’ve covered the basics. You know what every kind of ritual tool does, you understand all the terms that seemed alien to you before and you think you’re finally starting to get a feel for this witchcraft thing. You’re not a baby witch anymore, but… where to from here? Making the move from beginner witch to intermediate witch is a lot more difficult than it seems, purely because resources aimed at intermediate witchcraft are few and far between. But there’s a good reason for that.
There are general rules and ideas that can be applied across all of witchcraft. There’s so much to learn from other witches, but your greatest teacher will always be yourself. There is a reason witchcraft is so customisable to the individual: some things just work better for certain people. Not to mention pretty much every magick practice in history was developed by witches using their intuition! Because of this, it’s hard to create resources that tell somehow how to go from a beginner to an intermediate. However, they do exist! You’ll just find that most of them will act as prompts or scaffolds. They’ll instruct you on how to figure things out for yourself.
This next stage of your craft will involve a lot of introspection, and a lot of trusting your gut. It’s the reason you learnt all that baby witch stuff in the first place. This is where most of the personal growth happens. It can be scary, but it’ll also be magical. It’ll be a while before you actually qualify as an ‘intermediate witch’, and there’s no shame in that. The process of moving from beginner to intermediate is one that can take years, simply because witchcraft is such a deep and complex art. I myself definitely wouldn’t identify as a baby witch, but I’m still a beginner in many aspects despite having been a witch for years.
Without further ado, I present to you witchcraft 102.
The Problem with Sharing Advanced Magic
Using Tumblr as a Resource
How to Stop Being a Beginner Witch
Developing Your Craft Beyond Tumblr
Creating a Spiritual Calendar
SOAP Journaling: a Devotional Framework
Devotional Journal (for deity worship)
Questions for a Deeper Spiritual Practice
When reading through information, I recommend taking notes on the content, as well as your thoughts on it. Do you notice any connections to other texts or ideas? Do you have any questions you’d like to follow up? This will not only help you remember the information, but encourage you to look at it critically and see the bigger picture. Here is an example of my personal note-taking scaffold which includes some of the notes I took a while ago. I adapted it from the Cornell notes system based on my personal needs.
At TechnoCoven, a recent online witchcraft convention, there was an hour-long panel about planning in witchcraft called Spirit Papers. Here is a link to the recording. It goes over different organisation systems, notebooks, etc.
Why you should cite sources
What is an annotated bibliography?
I would highly recommend setting aside a specific time every day to study witchcraft. This way, you will be improving your craft every day. Even if you only set aside half an hour, you will be doing three and a half hours of study a week. An hour a day totals to seven hours a week. If you can’t find a specific time every day, then find a specific time every week. 6pm-8pm on Tuesday and Saturday, for example, or reserve all of Sunday afternoon. This structure obviously isn’t compulsory, but with it you will advance at a much quicker pace and probably find your craft more fulfilling.
You should definitely have a grimoire already, but if you don’t, get one. It can be on paper or online, if you’d prefer. OneNote, Evernote, Microsoft Word and Google Docs are all viable digital options. You probably have lots of loose information lying around, whether its physical, in note form or on your Tumblr blog. Categorise it and order it. Then go through it. Document the important and useful parts in your grimoire.
Elemental Magick in Science
How Location and History Affect Spiritual Practices
Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health (ebook)
Stop Learning Tarot Like Flash Cards
Learning the Major Arcana
Reading Tarot Cards Vertically
How to Take Notes on a (New) Tarot Deck
Understanding Yourself Tarot Mega-Spread
Conceptions of the Self Through Spreads
Shadow February Divination Challenge
Daily Tarot Journal Printable
Introduction to Shadow Work
6 Phrases for Shadow Work
Safety Planning (good to have one of these if you’re doing shadow work and have a mental illness)
Shadow Working with Stuck Points
Shadow Work with Hillbillyoracle (pt. 1)
Shadow Work with Hillbillyoracle (pt. 2)
Hillbillyoracle’s Personal Shadow Work Framework
Good Things to Research When You Don’t Know What to Research
Areas of Research for the Intermediate Witch
Masterlist of Journals, Articles & Books on Folklore, Mythology and the Occult
Tips on How to Google Correspondences
The Cornell University Library Witchcraft Collection
Bocastle Museum of Witchcraft
Project Gutenberg Paganism Bookshelf
Legal Free Ebooks Masterpost
Good Pagan & Wiccan Publishers
How to Get Use Out of Older Texts
Finding Experienced Witches
What to Do When You Fall out of Practice
Making Your Own Correspondences
Pendulum Dowsing for Correspondences
2019 Grimoire Challenge (a year of grimoire prompts)
Stones for Advanced Practitioners
Energy Alignment Identification
Irish Concept of “On the Breath”
The History of Witchcraft
The Empowered Modern Witches Show
Foundations of Diywitchery’s Practice
GET OFF TUMBLR (AKA GET SOME VARIETY IN YOUR SOURCES)
I’ve got some examples listed here but there are definitely more out there!
Luna Luna Magazine (Blog)
Down the Forest Path (Blog)
The Travelling Witch (Blog)
Prisoner’s Apothecary (Blog)
6 Books for Advancing Your Craft
Hellenic Polytheism Books
Walker Between Worlds by Robert Kirk (I haven’t read it so I can’t vouch for its quality but I’ve heard its a valuable resources for those wanting to learn about the fae)
The Study of Witchcraft: A Guidebook to Advanced Wicca by Deborah Lipp (I will link to my book review here; this book is essentially a study guide)
Evolution of Goddess by Emma Mildon (book recommendation) (especially good if you are looking to find a deity but are unsure of where to start)
The Occult, Witchcraft & Magic: An Illustrated History by Christopher Dell (a fantastic starting place for looking into occult history)
