simply witching

In the spirit of cultivating intentional community in the #pathandpractice tag, I have gathered some shared expectations and ideals from the witches who’ve helped shape this space. Remember, this is a community space. It is not mine, or any one person's, but ours. These thoughts come from the input and hopes of the people already participating, and they’ll continue to evolve as we do.

We want this to be a space for personal practice and lived tradition. That means we’ll see posts that are messy, changing, and nonconforming--and that’s a good thing.

Remember that practices and terminology will differ between paths and traditions. Words may carry different meanings depending on who uses them.

When we don’t understand something, we’ll try to ask questions before drawing conclusions.

We’ll practice and advocate for radical kindness while engaging critical thought, discussing ethics, origins, and practice with care and respect for closed traditions and complex histories and heritages.

We want this tag to belong to real people sharing their real work and reflections. Please don’t post AI-generated writing or images here.

We’ll appreciate things that may not be “for us” while respecting those they belong to. We can learn about closed or personal practices without expecting to participate in them.

We understand that community takes work. We seek to contribute what we can, express gratitude to those who share their knowledge, and avoid placing unfair expectations on others’ labor.

We’ll strive to make this a space where learning happens without fear of being “wrong,” and where knowledge or experience never defines someone’s worth as a witch.

If you find that you don’t get on with a particular community member, please don’t let one person or one blog dampen your experience here. Use the block button and other tools available to you to cultivate your own dashboard and tag experience. Protecting your peace is part of tending community, too.

This is a sideblog managed by @slewfootwitch on behalf of the #pathandpractice tag.

If you're anxious about joining the server and interacting with it, you're more than welcome the join and lurk until you feel comfortable. There is no requirement to interact. You can "try before you buy" so to speak.

Unfortunately, the interactions on tumblr that have been related to previous"drama" are much larger in scale than the in-server interactions they are related to. I can assure you, the issue we addressed last night with the use of certain words is the only interaction of that type that has ever taken place in the server. Mostly users share recipes, trade tips, and even swap trees/seeds.

Although this user left the server, we do want to make it clear that the use of these words to describe POC and non-white people, groups of people, and cultures outside of specific quotations from scholarly sources is not something we will tolerate in the server, either in messages posted there or in resources that are shared there. Additionally, we want to be clear that we approach academic racism and academic discrimination (including the implication that POC users "do not understand" the material presented or are "misguided" in their criticism of word use and approach, even in DEI context) as racism and discrimination. We understand that it is not always possible for non-POC to understand the impacts of certain language use on POC people and groups of people, and we do not hold not knowing against anyone. However, we do treat the repeated assertion that POC who take issue with things such as language use, presence of stereotypes, etc. are themselves "misguided" or misinformed, or the idea that "racism exists, therefore one has no choice but to use those words" and POC must just accept it as an instance of academic discrimination and stereotyping.

Thank you in advance.

New tags = new friends = new chances to get to know each other. So we're redoing out Pinterest game for the pathandpractice tag. Let Pinterest weigh in on your witchcraft, choosing your perfect witch cottage, familiar, mentor, magic, and all. To play, use the prompts below, pick and image from the first row, and share your collage. When you're done, tag a few friends to join in too.

Prompts:

🏡 "your name + dream home" (your witchy abode)

🐈‍⬛ "your craft /witchcraft + animal" (your spirit familiar)

🌙 "last tool you used + witch aesthetic" (your practice aesthetic)

🕯️ "a word from the title of the last witch book you read + witchcraft" (your magical area expertise)

📜 "favorite place to work magic + spirit" (your magical mentor)

👗 "your name + fashion" (your everyday witch attire)

🌿 "your craft / witchcraft + tool" (your primary tool)

🪞 "your name + spirit world + aesthetic" (your spirit realm)

📖 "your religion + folklore OR where your family is from + folklore" (your folklore)

🐾"cryptid spirit + the last place you worked magic" (the cryptid you befriend)

🗣️ "witch + quote" (your witch motto)

✨Here is a fun little survey for anyone who wants to participate. You do not have to be tagged or receive any asks to join. You do not have to be a @pathandpractice tag member to participate. It is not an ask game; just a good, old fashion myspace-style survey. Just copy this post questions, post your answers, and (if you feel like it) tag a few blogs. Please keep this description and credit to @pathandpractice when reposting. ✨

If your magic had a soundtrack, what would be its theme song?

What’s the weirdest substitute component you’ve ever used?

What’s a superstition you don’t believe in?

What’s your most chaotic spell outcome? How off-target did it go?

What’s something "completely mundane" that feels magical to you anyway?

If your intuition had a voice, who would it sound like? What kind of magic do you think you are/you would be bad at, and why?

What’s a sign or omen you completely misread at first?

If your altar could judge you, what would it say you’ve been neglecting?

What fictional universe would your magic thrive in?

What is a witchcraft-related hill you will die one?

What’s a habit you have that accidentally turned into a ritual?

If your could take the shape of an animal for a day, which one would you choose?

What’s something you’ve outgrown spiritually, but still feel nostalgic about?

If your magic had a moral alignment (chaotic, lawful, neutral), how accurate would it be?

What’s a belief you held early in your practice that makes you laugh now?

If you could bottle and save one feeling for spellwork, what would it be?

What’s your “this shouldn’t work, but it does” method?

What’s the most aesthetic over practical thing you’ve done in your practice?

If your practice had a warning label, what would it say?

What was the first magical/witchcraft book you ever read?

Some tag users were saying they wish people would ask them about their practice, and we could use a little spring joy. So here's a little ask game for all of the tag members and all of the other witches out there. Send emojis to ask questions, or send a question of your own. Remember to keep the game going by sending asks to the person you reblogged from.

🌿 What is your "witchcraft origin story"? 🍃 What were your first magical influences vs your influences now? 🧭 If your personal practice had its own unique craft/tradition name, what would it be? 🪶 What specific tradition(s) (if any) do you follow? If you're more eclectic, explain how you put it all together, 🕯️ What does a day-in-the-life look like in your practice? 🧰 What type of workings do you do most frequently? 🌙 What tools do you use the most? 🕊️ What animals and land features do you most often use in your practice and how? 🧠 Do you prefer to do divination with tools or with the inner sense? What are your preferred methods? 🔄 What’s something you believe about magic that’s changed over time? ✨Are you a mundane before magic, mundane beside magic, or magic first type of practitioner? 🌧️ What has been your greatest challenge within your practice? 📚 What magical books are you currently reading / did you last read? 🌱 What is something you are learning, exploring or improving in your magical craft? 💖 What about your practice brings you the most joy?

Bonus:

Send 🔮 for a simple divination reading