#gintro

Why is using a spell log important?

When first getting into witchcraft, a spell log will be invaluable. The purpose of a spell log is to keep track of each spells details in order to ascertain:

How effective a spell was

Details required to effectively cancel or reverse a spell

Areas within a spell that can be improved for future spell design

By approaching your spellwork as objectively as possible, growth will be easier to obtain. When first starting a spell log, it is important to remain aware of your cognitive biases in order to record accurate readings. While this may seem to invalidate your practice, the more it is practiced, the more it will validate your practice; that is, if it is practiced thoroughly and effectively. 

How to design a spell log

In addition to the details for spell log listed above, you can also keep track of other details such as:

Planetary hours

Gestures used

Psychic experiences

Divine interactions

Dreams related to the casting

Emotions channeled during the working

Conceptual influences for the spell creation/purpose

Psychological impacts during or afterwards

The object focus of the gnosis used for casting

Any biases held

Social impacts

Weather, temperature, location

Steps taken in preparation for the spell

Media that the spell was taken from or inspired by

Sigils used

Astrological map of the time of casting

With all of these variables recorded, it will be much easier to reflect on a working and deduce areas that can be improved or aspects of the working that hindered the spell from manifesting. For example, if a spell was cast to increase your income, a basic spell log may look like this:

From this spell log, assuming the spell did not manifest as intended within the projected time frame, we can see that the means of manifestation and the target are very vague or not stated. The correspondences used also overlap or don't entirely mesh with the intention and purpose of the working. 

Here is a detailed example Google doc spell log

Can you Identify some reasons why their spell did not work as intended? How do you think this spell can be improved upon? You can type out your responses here if you’d like.

Spell Log Templates

Here are some spell logs that I have designed using Procreate, as well as a link to a Google doc spell log that you are all free to use. 

Google Doc Spell Log

How to research Witchcraft Where do I start?

You can start here! The purpose of this post is to give people who are looking into witchcraft a good starting point. However, if you’re looking for posts beyond this post, I’d highly recommend you read through the rest of this post. 

What are the best sources?

When it comes to witchcraft there is no such thing as a primary source of information. The subject matter is so subjective and aggregate that there is not one definitive source of information. 

What information can I trust?

None of them and all of them. If you want to get the best information possible, my recommendation would be to study as many sources as possible and find out what they all have in common. There is a pattern to what cultures throughout time and space have in common. Here are two articles I have written about how to safely research witchcraft online: Responsible research & warnings

I want to research a culture, but it is closed?

If when researching you come across, or seek out, information that belongs to a closed culture or tradition (Meaning that the culture as a whole does not feel comfortable with outsiders using their practices as it could lead to a plethora of problems) then you should do two things: 1. Acknowledge the information as not yours to have, but remember it. 2. Do not ever use the information. Only use it as a guide or boundary for your own craft, but also to help that culture dissuade others who mean to utilize it without permission. 3. A vast majority of information you’ll find about closed practices online are either wrong or lack critical nuances and context. 4. It is ALWAYS best to talk to a practitioner of that practice and let them decide what information is appropriate for you to know. It would be very unwise to believe that information found anywhere else is accurate, respectful, and reliable.

This also applies to cultures that are semi-closed; meaning that only persons who meet certain criteria may practice; as well as certain religious practices (I.E. If you do/have not actively practice(d) that religion- DO NOT APPROPRIATE FROM IT.)

I have made a fairly thorough list of closed & semi-closed cultures/practices here.

Tools from across many forms of Witchcraft

Words that are in bold are defined in this list. Words that are Italicized are defined elsewhere in this post.

Alcohol- Used to lower inhibitions and increase the passion and presence of a practitioner. However, it also decreases a practitioner’s ability to maintain intent.

Altar- A sanctified table that is used to hold other sanctified items. Some Altars may be devoted to deities or spirits. They are places where a practitioner can place their intents and offerings for the workings of a spell, ceremony, and/or ritual. 

Altar cloth- A cloth that is used to cover an Altar’s surface.  It may be used as a sign of respect towards the Sanctity of the altar because many altars are made of wood and are often ornate and unique, the cloth may then be used to protect the altar surface. In other cases, the cloth serves to beautify a rather mundane construction underneath. 

Altar Stone- A flat stone/sheet of metal that is placed on top of an Altar. Some may act as Talisman or Idols in order to connect the practitioner to a specific idea or deity or entity. Some merely act as a fire-resistant surface for Cauldrons or *Salmadors.

Amulets- A necklace or trinket that is made of metal (typically). Used to hold intent, energy, and/or spirits. May contain facets for crystals or stones. Often worn for protection. Interchangeable with “Talisman” in some traditions.

Anchor- An object that is filled with energy. Normally filled with Elemental energy that the practitioner can draw from later.

*Asabikeshiinh- (*Ojibwe traditions)also known as dream-catchers by way too many people. They are traditionally made with willow on which a web is strung. Is used to prevent malevolent spirits and spells from entering a space. It’s also known as *asubakacin. 

Athame- A small dagger that is used to direct flows of energy and make energetic contracts. Used to bind energies to objects and people alike. Rarely used to draw blood. 

*Ayoyotes- (From *Mexica Traditions) Small nut shells that are bound with leather to leather ankle and wrist cuffs. worn by leaders of the dance to keep rhythm. They are also worn to keep the wearer grounded during Ceremony.

Beans- Commonly used in Cleromancy types of Divination.

Bell- Used to open and close sacred spaces when working with spirits. They are rung to catch the attention of desired spirits and pull them into the space. Then they are rung again at the end of the ceremony/ritual to release them from the space.

Besom- A broom made from natural materials. Used in energetic cleansing and curse weaving. They are not used to actually sweep a floor, but rather are hung on walls as a Talisman of protection when not being used.

Black Mirror- A simple mirror and an easy one to make that is used for Scrying types of Divination. To make one, just buy a small frame from a thrift store that has glass in it and some black paint. Paint the inside of the glass black and reinstall it in the frame.

Boline- a knife that is used for preparing herbs and inscribing wood and wax. Rarely used for bloodletting.

Bones- (*Hoodoo, *Voodoo, and various European traditions.) Commonly used in Cleromancy as a tool for divination. Are also used in various spellworkings and as a means for types of ancestor work.

Brick Dust- Typically used in *Voodoo/*Hoodoo but can also be found in Central American and Native American traditions like *Curanderismo. Typically used to block energies and prevent spirits or energies from entering a space. (Is interchangeable with salt in this regard. Brick Dust has several other uses but they are culturally protected.

Candle- Used to represent the element of fire. May also be used as the vessel of a spell or entity that is activated/released/captured gradually over time. They are also very helpful in maintaining Headspace. Also, the different types and colors of various candles have correspondences. 

Cauldron- A metal pot with a handle. Used as a censer for burning incense and other materials for spells or cleansing/smudging. Is almost never used in potion making unlike what pop-culture would have you believe. 

Censer- A container used for burning incense that is vaporized through the use of coals. They are typically metal, ceramic, or shell.  

Chimes- Used to draw in Fae. They are also used to maintain a space and headspace for specific types of spells (Typically blessings). May also be used for cleansing via sound.

Cingulum- Mostly used as a signifier of rank of initiation in Wicca. Also used in Knot Magic.

Crystals- Used to give and take specific energies defined by the type of crystal being used. Crystals have a very broad range of utility. Being one of the most in-depth fields of study within witchcraft, I’d recommend starting by researching crystals and their attributes. 

*Cuauhxicalli- (Used in *Mexica Traditions), see Offering Bowl.

Dice- Used in Cleromancy as a tool for Divination.

Dirt- Used for a plethora of reasons in spell casting. Most spells that call for dirt that you will find probably are directly from or stem from *Voodoo or *Hoodoo. However, dirt is literally everywhere so don’t feel like you can’t use it in spells that you create.

Dream journal- A book used to record dreams for uses in self-reflection and Shadow Work.

Drugs- (DISCLAIMER: I am not condoning the use of illicit drugs) Drugs have long been used to reach Altered States and/or to increase Headspace throughout many cultures. However, all drugs help in some areas and hinder the practitioner in others. I do not recommend using drugs for spell work unless you’re experienced in using said drug for ceremonial or ritualistic uses. Please be safe if you do decide to use drugs and remain ever mindful of their potential addictive qualities. 

Essential Oils- Used in place of certain herbs for cleansing, kitchen magic, candle making, salve creation and much more. Please be careful and do research before ingesting or topically applying Essential Oils, as a lot of them are toxic or can cause irritation. 

*Feathers-(Certain uses of Feathers belong to closed cultures such as Curanderismo, Cherokee tradition, and several more. Such as Prayer Fans) Feathers are commonly used to represent the Element of Air, and used to help move a smudge over surfaces. 

Flame- Fire is commonly used as an agent for releasing energy or cleansing something. Flames can also be used for the activation of Sigils and Spells.

Goblet or Chalice- Used to hold communion with deities or spirits. May also be used for sanctifying water or wine for consumption. Also is used as a representation of feminine energy.

Grimoire- A book used to record spells, ceremonies and rituals and the processes in which they are performed. Often encoded to protect them.

Headbands and Belts- Used to protect the practitioner from outside energies during ceremonies and rituals.

Herbs- Used for their chemical and energetic properties in holistic remedies and spell work.

Horcrux- An object that is imbibed with the soul of a practitioner. This object acts as an extremely personal type of Anchor. 

*Idols- (Some Idols may belong to closed cultures, be sure to do your research) Idols are representational of Deities, Spirits or Ideas that assist the practitioner in connecting with said entity. 

Incense- Used to represent the element of air. May also be used to hold a sanctified space as it is a mixture of all four elements. Some incense may also be used to smudge or cleanse. 

Ink- Used to record information. May also be sanctified and used to create sigils, spell circles, etc. Also used in sacred tattoos. 

Knife- Used to let blood. May also be used to cut cord.

Lens- Can be used for scrying and can be enchanted to create a Fae glass or seer’s lens. 

Mandalas- Drawn to center the mind and ground yourself. It is also an act of temporary beauty. Some Mandalas represent the seats of the gods in some Buddhist traditions.

*Medicine Bags- a bag that is used to store sacred objects and tools used in treatments in many different traditions, mostly from the northern and southern Americas.

Mirror- Used for scrying. Also commonly used as a conduit to create portals.

Misc. Objects- Certain found objects can hold significance in certain cultures or even to a secular practitioner. 

Mortar & Pestle- Used to grind herbs, resins, foods, and minerals. Can also be used to make pastes from/for the list above. 

Music and Rhythm- Used to help enter a good headspace in order to increase passion and focus. 

Offering bowl- used to give offerings, most commonly to spiritual entities. 

Oils- used to create infused and sanctified oils in order to enchant or sanctify object and the body. 

*Olin- (Mexica tradition) This symbol represents the eye of the creator and/or the spirit of the compound Tezcatlipoca. Similar to the Evil Eye, it is used often to dissuade malice; people who wish harm, and evil spirits.

Paint- used often to create various designs, spell circles, Sigils, and glyphs for spell work. It is not advised to burn anything that has been painted on.

Pen- Similar to paint, Pens are used to create designs. However most inks used by pens are relatively safe to burn. (Be sure to research the type of ink. 

Pendulum- A weight on a string or chain, used for divination by holding it still over a board or mat of some kind that has markings on it. Then, with eyes closed, waiting until it begins to move parallel with an answer of the board or mat. It is common practice to rotate the pendulum clockwise or counterclockwise before doing a reading. It is important, when using spirits for this practice, to swing the pendulum along all the answers before starting.

Pipes- Used by many traditions, some of which are closed practices, in order to give offerings, cleanse the spirit, and smudge.

Prayer Beads- Used by various religions and traditions, some of which are closed, in order to assist in entering a meditative space. They can also be used to enter a good headspace for spell work.

*Salmador-(*Mexica traditions) A censor made from ceramic, stone, or shell. It is used in order to smudge and maintain sacred spaces.

Salt- Used according to various correspondences; but, most commonly used to prevent spirits from entering a space. 

*Sastun- (various Central American and northern South American traditions) They are found objects, in which a practitioner to gaze at or hold over a person to help diagnose or divine what is ailing another person before treatment or cleansing. 

Scourge- A whip used to ritualistically inflict self-harm as an offering or show of devotion. (I do not promote, recommend, or support self-harm.)

Sigil- A symbol that is made in order to enact a magical effect. There are various ways to create Sigils, the most common is the Spare Method. Depending on the mode of magic, some are spell work and some are subconscious cues. You can read more about them here.

Singing Bowls- (Used in various south eastern traditions) a bowl that when rubbed with a lightly textured mallet or rod creates a loud tone. These are used in order to hold the space and create ambiance for chants. 

Smudge- (not a part of any closed traditions) The act of burning/vaporizing resins, herbs, and or incense in order to cleanse an object, space, or body. 

Solid Containers- Used to hold various objects, herbs, resins, and herbs. They can also be used to hold sanctified tools. Often placed on altars. 

Staff- A long straight stick that has an approximate girth of 5-8”. Used as a medium to cast or throw energies. 

Stones or rocks- Often used as a representation of elemental earth. Often found on altars. 

Taglock- A personal object, photograph, or the DNA of a person or place you wish to cast a spell of sympathetically. 

Talisman- An object that is usually intricate in design that is used to maintain a desired effect on a space or person. 

Tarot Cards- A deck of 78 cards that are used for divination by placing them in a spread and read accordingly. 

Tea- herbs steeped in hot water. Typically used in spell preparation and in divination. 

*Tulpa/Thoughtform/Servitor- (from Buddhist and some Taoist traditions) An artificial spirit that is created by the thoughts or emotions of a person. *Tulpas are typically considered to be emanations of negative emotions or of divine/enlightened entities. Thoughtforms can be made to be sentient, though this takes a lot of time, focus, and preparation. Servitors are not conscious and exist to perform simple actions. 

Wand- a short thin stick, typically carved or thrown on a lathe. They are used as a medium to channel energy. (I will be making a post about wands and the different ways to use them)

Water- Typically used to represent the element. It is also used to cleanse. Water has many correspondences. 

Terminology

Altered State: A trance or meditation induced in order to improve the passion and focus to do spellwork. 

Astral: And energetic form as well as a dimension of energetic space. The energetic space is typically uninhabited with the exceptions of a sparse amount of spirits and emanations of the subconscious. 

Blessing: a spell or wish of various intensity intended to aid or improve the life of the targeted person or object. 

Champion: An individual who has been chosen by a spirit as a representative. 

Changeling: An individual who was once a Fae that has been swapped for a human baby. Their existence is taboo and isn’t commonly acknowledged outside of the British isles. 

Channel: The act of moving energy or spirit through the body or an object. 

Charge: The energy that is stored in a magical object, person, or symbol. 

Cleanse: The act of washing out negative energies, spells, and/or spirits. 

Communion: Communications with an entity within a closed/sacred space. 

Core Energy Points: Referred to by various closed/semi-closed cultures as *Chakras, though Chakras have significant cultural context that is not encapsulated in the western appropriation. These energy points are the foremost connections between the subtle and physical bodies. 

Correspondence: The sympathetic associations between concepts and: Objects, herbs, colors, seasons, directions, planets, astrological phases, planetary phases, etc. 

Curse: a spell or wish of varying intensity that is intended to harm or inconvenience the target. 

Divination: The act of using a medium such as cards, pendulums, bones, and tea leaves to get a glimpse of: the future, the past, the psyche, communication with spirits/deities and, the remote present. 

Dreamwalking: The act of entering the dream plane while conscious, though the Dreamwalker is not bound to remain in the dream plane. You can read further on the subject here. 

Empathy: The psychic ability to feel another’s emotions as if they were your own. 

Energy: A minute aggregate substance that permeates all of space-time. Similar to what the ancient Greeks referred to as Eather. 

Energetic Block: A blockage in a conduit that connects two energy points. Typically caused by the subject’s own thoughts or emotions. 

Energetic Break: A severance of a conduit that connects energy points. Typically caused by the subject experiencing trauma. 

Energy Point: A point within the subtle body in which energy pools. Channeling energy through specific points programs the energy in specific ways. Evoke: The act of calling to/summoning a spirit by force and holding it in the space until the spellwork has been done. 

Fate: The great fabric of space-time in which entering a given temporal branch is made inevitable by preexisting variables. 

Field: An area of space in which energy moves and holds form. 

Gnosis: The ultimate trance in which the practitioner enters a deep waking meditation on a single thing or concept. 

Headspace: The clearing of one’s mind as to maintain focus on a spell. May also aid with holding passion. 

Hex: A spell. 

Incantation: A chain of words in various languages that may or may not rhyme. These words are of magical intent and are used to channel intent and passion into a working. 

Invoke: The act of calling for a spiritual entity, deity, or higher emanations of the self in order to hold communion or petition. 

Kin/Otherkin: The belief that one’s spirit is of an animal. 

*Limpia: (*Mexica traditions) A ritual cleansing. 

Meditation: An Altered State in which a given state of mind is achieved. Typically is done in a quiet sacred space. 

Offering: The giving of foods, water, or objects to a spiritual entity or deity. When working with human spirits, it is recommended to only give colder offerings as warm or hot offerings may excite them too much. 

Possession: The intensity of emotion that is backing a working. 

Prophecy: A story, dream, or divination that is of the future that is said to come to pass, and often does. 

Reiki: An Eastern energetic practice of cleansing the subtle body. Originating in Japan in the 1920’s, it has become very popular in the west via the New Age Movement. 

Root Sigil: A Sigil that is used as a focal point in a spell. 

Sacred Circle: A circular space that is opened and sanctified by a practitioner in order to hold ceremony. 

Sacred Space: A space that has been cleansed and sanctified for the purpose of spell or spirit work. 

Sanctify: The act of blessing, programming, and cleansing an object or space through the use of oils, water, blood, and/or smudging. 

Sight: (Also known as The Sight) The ability to see spirits and energy as of with the naked eye. 

Sigil Chain: A vertical string of Sigils created in order to create a very specific meaning or intent. 

Soul Retrieval: The act of mentally and astrally viewing traumatic experiences of a person’s past in order to find and comfort their inner child. 

Spirit: An energetic entity. 

Spell  Seal: The line-work in the center of a Spell Circle that describes how the root symbols or Sigils relate to each other and/or how they are to function. 

Spell Circle: A circle drawn that is used in spellcraft. They typically contain symbols or Sigils, a spell seal, and an incantation. 

Threads: Most commonly used to describe Fate Strings when discussing Fate Magic. 

Ward: A protective magic against any given force, energies or, awareness. 

Well-Source: The central energy point in which all energy in the subtle body originates. 

Fundamentals properties of Magic

Practices

Alchemy: The act of transmuting energies or elements of the psyche. 

Astral Projection: The act of projecting the raw energetic form of the subtle body. 

Astrology: A complex form of divination that involves studying planetary bodies and distant stars relative to each other and one’s position on the Earth. 

Divination: The act of using tools or psychic abilities to glimpse at something unknown. 

Dreamwalking: The ability to enter an Astral form while in the dream plane. Giving the walker the ability to enter other people’s dreams, glimpse into the past or future, or visit any other dimensions. 

Elemental magic: Magic that involves or requires either periodic elements or the classical elements. 

Enchanting: The act of placing a spell onto an object. 

Energy work: The act of manipulating energies within the sublet body and the environment. 

Glamours: A spell placed onto the body or an object that changes the perception of that body or object by others. 

Herbology: The study of herbs and their medicinal and chemical properties as well as their correspondences. 

Kitchen magic: The act of using cooking or baking as a medium for spell casting. May or May not be casted directly onto food and drinks. 

Psychic Abilities: An ability that originates in the connections between the brain and the subtle body. 

Shadow work: The magical and/or mundane act of introspection and self-care. 

Sigilwork: Any magical working that uses or relies on Sigils. 

Spellwork: The act of performing a spell.

Spirit work: Any act involving or relying on spiritual entities. 

Magical Books

Beastiary: A book or record of animals, insects, arthropods, etc within a magical context. 

Book of Connections: A book to record any and all magical connections, contracts, and agreements made by a practitioner. 

Book of Mirrors: A book for self reflection and shadow work. 

Book of Projections: A book to record information acquired or spells cast via astral projection. 

Book of Shadows: A book of correspondences, magical notes, divination, and occasionally spells. 

Book of Visions: A book of prophecies. 

Dream Journal: A book to record dreams. 

Grimoire: A book of spells and information required to perform spells.

Tome of Spirits: A book to record spirits that have been observed or interacted with. 

Correspondences

Why they’re important

Correspondences are often considered an integral aspect of spell crafting. They are what help connect all the aspects, concepts, emotions, memories, intent, and energies. Correspondences do not need to be of a physical object. They can also be of concepts. 

How to use them

To use correspondences requires either research or ingenuity. Though, a healthy amount of both is optimal. You use correspondences by finding or creating them for the objects, herbs, plants, time, seasons, colors, gestures, numbers, Sigils, words, music, actions, and astrology that you should use for your spell. 

You can read further on how to use correspondences here.

How to research them

If you are a beginner, I don’t recommend creating your own correspondences right out of the gate. They all follow a similar current. To research them, search for the object or concept followed by “correspondences”. Then, read and compare all of the results for your search. If none of the results are correspondences, take a note of the search and try the next one. Once you’ve compiled a good list of correspondences for an object or concept, and how often they appear, you can start to glimpse at the current that all correspondences follow. 

Fundamental Correspondences: Elements, Directions, and Colors

These are my personal correspondences. But they may give you a good basis to start looking into how to compare and develop your own.

Air: Change, Perspective, Support, Innocence, Permeation, Temperate

Earth: Stability, Mindfulness, Grounding, Unchanging, Staganation

Electricity: Fast, Raw Power, Danger, Ingenuity, Thought, Instant, Light 

Fire: Creativity, Passion, Destruction, Sacrifice, Love, Force of Change

Spirit: Being, Perception, Connection, Balance, Divinity, Truth, Source

Time: Experience, Change, Aggregate, Creation, Cycles, Destruction

Water: Expression, Life, Healing, Power, Emotion, Illusion, Combination

North: Wisdom, Ancestors, Guidance, Knowledge, Experience, Memory

South: Innocence, Inner child, Purity, Playful, Joy, Creativity, Excitement 

East: Creation, New, Idealism, Life, Goals, Dreams, Inspiration

West: Destruction, Change, Realism, Death, Endings, Completion

Red: Fire, Mars, Blood, Action, Courage, Passion, Health, Sexuality

Blue: Water, Moon, Throat, Astral, Calm, Dreams, Immortality, Patience, Wisdom

Yellow: Air, Mercury, Liver, Adventure, Flexibility, Innspiration, Positivity, Joy

Green: Earth, Venus, Heart, Acceptance, Growth, Life, Fertility, Compassion, Vulnerability

How to make your own:

There are a plethora of ways to develop your own correspondences. In the beginning it is important to reference the current that all existing correspondences follow. However, once you gain more insight from experience and experiments you can start to bend that current as needed. 

Most correspondences are based on physical attributes and/or how something has been used in spellcraft, ceremonies, and superstitions. These can also be referenced. However once you move into correspondences for concepts, they become exponentially more subjective and mailable. 

All correspondences are a form of abstraction. This abstraction is so that there can be a sympathetic connection between the actions, tools, concepts, and energies you are using to perform a spell in order to accurately form and place the spell where it is desired to go. “all of my correspondences derive from the law of signaturese.g. malachite’s toxicity in water and association with mallow? it’s a death stone in my mindlapis lazuli’s being a product of contact metamorphism (intruding magma into cooler stone)? that and the night-sky-ness is why it’s an astral journeying stone, moonstone diffracts light (plus the moon in tarot signifies illusion), so it’s also good for illusion/glamour, rosemary is intellectual because its extract extends the stability of omega-3 oils“what is above cannot escape what is below” (and vice-versa) is a saying from Cultist Simulator (aka occult game of the year), and it defines a lot of my practice”

A quote taken from @ysabetthemoth​

The importance of Sacred Circles and Spaces

Why are they important?

Sacred spaces are an energetic barrier between the practitioner and the outside world. This barrier prevents any unwanted energies, spirits, and/or spellwork from interfering with the casting. 

Methods of casting a Circle

A basic circle can be done by:

Smudging/cleansing and physically cleaning the space

Defining the spaces boundaries, which can and often are marked physically. 

Filling the space with an energy that is conducive for the working. 

Calling in any spirits you wish to be a part of the working. 

How to sanctify a space

A space can be sanctified in a plethora of ways. If you’re fresh to the game, it would be wisest to sanctify your space or tools by:

Smudging and cleaning the space

Blessing water either through a divine being or by infusing it with your own pure energies. 

Ritualistically applying the sanctified water to the space’s boundaries or the tool either by submerging it; by dipping your fingers in the water and wiping it on; or spraying/flicking the water. 

Ward the space or tool. 

(Optional) saying a prayer or performing an act of observance or devotion. 

Maintaining a Sacred Space or Circle

In order to maintain a sacred space that is intended to be permanent, it is advised to:

Enter and leave the space in the same cardinal direction every time, North is the most common. 

Perform regular smudging and working within the space. 

Smudging anyone before they enter the space. 

Petitioning a spiritual entity to protect your space. 

What is a spell?

Basic components

A spell is any action taken to effect change without direct interaction. 

There are three basic components to any spell:

Gnosis (Headspace + Focus)

Passion

Intent

Without any one of these components a spell cannot function at all. There are two further components that are a bit more complicated (Nodes & Thresholds) and you can read about them HERE. 

How tools help

Tools in witchcraft are used to channel energy. And while they are absolutely in no way necessary, they can aid in spellwork by:

Aiding in maintaining headspace/vibe

Programming energies as they leave the subtle body 

Acting as a node in your web of correspondences

Helping guide the practitioner's focus as they cast. 

A few types of spells

Hex bags

Spell Jars

Dance Magic

Enchantments

Candle Magic

Astral Spells

Snap Magic

Imprinting

Spirit Binding

Possession

Kitchen Spells Thoughtform Creation

Wards

How to build your own spells

See THIS POST. 

Key to successful spell casting

The key to successful spell casting is and always will be designing your spell to take the path of least resistance. Think of your spell as being a small domino at the start of a chain. Design a small but specific spell that starts off as a subtle change that will eventually evolve into the goal you wish to accomplish. 

Here is a guide to basic spellcasting

What is a Ceremony or Ritual?

What’s the difference?

A ceremony is a sacred ritual seated around the observations of tradition and practice, whereas a ritual is purely a set of repeatable actions backed by faith or belief. 

Basic components

A ceremony must include the faith, belief, and context of an existing tradition. 

A ritual must contain a concrete set of actions, components, and/or scheduling. 

Developing your own

To develop your own rituals, start by designing a spell and recording all of the elements and actions required to perform it. Then, by only doing what was written and nothing else, see if the results are repeatable. It is important to include as many variables as possible. 

Tips for building headspace

Headspace is one of the most crucial aspects of spellcraft in the beginning. Until you get accustomed to the processes involved with witchcraft and the mindsets required, it is highly recommended and almost necessary to hold a space in which you can easily hold your attention on what you’re doing. 

To build a headspace, you have to consider a few things and adjust them to your needs for any given spell:

Sound: how loud is your environment? Would a specific song aid you? Would any background sounds aid you? What auditory phenomena would help you hold your focus on your task?

Lighting: how is the lighting in your space? Would a change in lighting help you hold your focus or get into the zone? Would casting in sunlight be beneficial for your working? Would candle light?

Clothing: are the colors you're wearing important to your spell? Are they comfortable enough to where you can perform all necessary movements without them hindering your focus? 

Emotional state: is your mind in the right space to do your working? Do you have the appropriate emotions to fuel your working? 

Language: is the working something that can easily be memorized so that you don't have to break in order to refamiliarize yourself? 

Divination

Types of Divination

There are hundreds of types of divination. Wikipedia has a wonderful list of them you can view here. But I'll list a few of my favorites:

Cartomancy: The use of cards

Cleromancy: The use of thrown objects

Scrying: The use of reflective objects 

Astrology: The use of planetary bodies

Tasseomancy: The use of tea leaves or coffee grounds

Shufflemancy: The use of a music playlist on shuffle

Carromancy: The use of melted wax

Nephomancy: The use of clouds

Cledonomancy: The use of overheard words

Cryptomancy: The use of omens

Dowsing: The use of rods

Hyomancy: The use of 30-50 wild hogs

Basic Principles of Divination

Divination, when done in good faith, should incorporate a few ideals:

Bias: Try to only do divinations about subjects you know nothing about. Having prior knowledge about the details of the question will lead you to skew your interpretation and there is no avoiding that.

Honesty: If your immediate interpretation is something you would deem negative, share it anyway. It is not in good faith to withhold or modify information.

Transparency: It is important to acknowledge your own lack of understanding or knowledge that may pertain to a reading. It is of equal importance to state that divination is in no way absolute.

There are also a few modalities in which one can do divination. They pretty neatly mostly fall into the contemporary models of magic: Spiritual, Energetic, Psychological, & Game Theory.

Spiritual: Divination done to commune with or is aided by spirits.

Energetic: Relies on the energy of both the diviner and the client in order to ascertain the results.

Psychological: That the true divination is actually in the psyche that is doing the interpretation.

Game Theory: There is no such thing as coincidence, everything is connected. Thought the result was random, it has shown itself for a reason.

Tips

Be sure to smudge all of your divination tools

It is wise to do divination readings within a sacred space.

Remain aware of your own confirmation bias

Be wary of any entity you commune with

If doing a divination for yourself or receiving one, always get a second opinion/reading. It is also in good practice to recommend this to those you give readings to as well

Energy Work

What is Energy Work?

Energy work is the act of manipulating the subtle energies that are within and without the subtle body through the use of the subtle body and the mind. Energy work is necessary for 100% of all magic regardless of tradition or practice. It can also be accomplished by petitioning spirits. 

Energy work is significantly more than what you’ll find most commonly on google. Many energetic practices are terrible at defining their terms or having any sort of standardization. On top of that, most results will also have the barebones basics, Reiki included. If you really wish to learn about energy work, I highly recommend doing your own experiments and trials with it. MY blog will also contain extensive information on the subject.

Basics of Energy Work

I have broken down energy work into seven different categories, each necessary to master the next. They are:

Release: The act of releasing energy from the body

Absorption: The act of absorbing energy from your environment into the body.

Form: The application of the prior two in order to create a basic energetic construct outside of the body.

Density: The act of increasing or decreasing the energetic density of a construct.

Precision: The act of changing the size of a construct.

Multiples: The act of creating and maintaining multiple energetic constructs.

Frequency: The act of consciously manipulating the properties of energy to exactly what you desire.

You’ll know that you've mastered an aspect of energy work when:

Release: You can release energy from a specific place on the body, with any given surface area, at a controlled rate.

Absorption: You can absorb energy into a specific place on the body, with any given surface area, at a controlled rate.

Form: You can move the construct through space without altering it at all.

Density: You can change the energetic density of a construct without altering its size or form.

Precision: You can change the size of an object without altering its density or form.

Multiples: You can control at least 5 constructs individually and simultaneously, even if they have different trajectories, velocities, and rotations without altering them in any way that is unintentional. 

Frequency: You can modify the properties of multiple given constructs within their given trajectories, velocities, rotations, forms, densities, and sizes intentionally. Also by this point, the minimum number of constructs you should be able to control should be between 10 & 25.

The basics are 1-3, which are all that's covered by a majority of resources online.

Uses for Energy Work

Energy work is used in every single spell, regardless of the model the spell falls under, as the subtle body is ever present. However, it makes the most impact when used intentionally and in a controlled manner as a cornerstone of your working.

Energy work can be used for:

Warding

Enchantments

Glamours

Divination

Cleansing

Acts of devotion

Meditation

Shadow work

Gnosis

Astral projection

Headspace

General spellwork

Opening and maintaining a sacred space

Offerings

Reiki & Visualization

Is the most common result you’ll come across when researching energy work. Reiki was invented in Japan in the 1920’s and migrated to the west. The practice itself wasn’t initially appropriative, as it operated within the local cultural context of Buddhism and the traditional Chinese concept of qi. This practice has been hijacked by the New-Age movement and most of the information you’ll find is a melting pot of misinformation, fraud, and appropriation. I have never met a reiki practitioner who actually does energy work. I highly recommend you take all information about energy work that originates from Reiki with a hefty amount of salt.  You can read more about this in this article.

Advanced Energy Work

Advanced energy work (5-7) requires a very well developed energetic awareness. This means that you’ll need to expand your awareness to a point where you can feel energies around you with precision and accuracy from a decent distance. You should be able to accurately perceive the energetic constructs created by another practitioner, as well as their emotional state and the vitality of their subtle body. I will; be making an in-depth article about energy work soon. Frequency could have it's own novel because of how many variables it covers.

You can read further about energy work in the articles I have written: Fundamentals & Intermediate.

Enchantments

The purpose of Enchantments

Enchantments are spells that are placed onto an object. Not to be confused with Glamours. The purpose of an enchantment is to aid a person in doing a specific task, holding sacred space, anchoring a spell or spirit, and/or projecting a specific effect onto the wielder/viewer/space.

Basic Elements of an Enchantment

Enchantments can vary wildly in design and purpose. However there are some elements that are good to start off with:

Sigilwork: applying a sigil to an object

Energetic connection: creating an energetic conduit through which the spell is applied.

Blessed or hexed liquids: placing a spell into a liquid and then applying it to the object.

A specific purpose: The goal of the enchantment needs to be rigid and unchanging.

Charging: Most enchantments will gradually wear off as the energies used in witchcraft do have a half-life. Enchantments should be charged periodically.

Area of effect: Most enchantments are made to be active only while being worn or carried on a person. However, some can have an area of effect that needs to be well defined at the moment of casting. It is best to do this with a projection of an energetic replica of the space in 1:1 proportion.

List of possible enchantments

Improve focus

Ward against malevolent spirits

Decrease anxiety in a defined space

Transmute energies that pass through the object into a specified energy.

Bind any spirit that the object comes in contact with

Improve memory

Aid in recovering lost objects

Improve psychic abilities

Sigils, Glyphs, & Other Magical Symbols

SEE THIS POST.

Metasigils & Hypersigils

Metasigils are works of art that are created and charged in the same way a sigil would be, meaning they have a magical presence and/or effect.

Hypersigils are like sigil-chains or a collection of sigils that are used to create a more specific meaning/intent.

Glyphs

All sigils are glyphs, but not all glyphs are sigils. A glyph is any intentionally made mark, and in a magical context that means that it is any mark that is made with the same intent as one would a sigil.

Other Magical Symbols

Other magical symbols mostly are derived from old or ancient orthographies. Runes are the perfect example of this, as well as ogham. 

Spirit Work

Types of Spirits

Due to the wide variety of spirits that exist and the cultural context that is required to accurately name a vast majority of them, a context that a majority of us do not and should not have, I have broken spiritual entities down into different categories that exist on a spectrum- as all things do.

This spectrum exists on two axis and includes other variable. The two axis are Sapient to Natural Law and Newly Born to Ever-present. 

Other variables include: 

Their place of origin (Earth-born, Death-borne, Light-born, Self-generating, Thought-born….. And even Blood-borne)

Their relative size, meaning their energetic density- not their height or weight, as they do not possess these qualities outside of the parameters of the human conceptualizations of them. 

Their demeanor. How they interact with other spirits and living organisms.

Why work with spirits?

Spirits carry a lot of weight, and that metaphorical weight has a great impact on our physical world as well as other dimensions such as the dream plane. By petitioning a spirit to carry out a task, you forgo the need to cast a spell yourself. However the dependability of that type of working will be highly variable depending on the spirit. A great number of practitioners, especially practitioners of color, use spirit work to connect to their ancestors. Which helps many connect to their diaspora and gives them the means to honor those who came before them. A lot of ancestor work has a wide variety of cultural context that most practitioners will never have and that's okay. 

Communicating with Spirits

 Communicating with spirits is very challenging for a lot of practitioners. The easiest means of communicating with spirits is divination. Pendulums sre good for simple communications and don't require a lot of time to process. For more complex communications tarot works well. I would recommend eventually developing your own divination system to communicate with spirits. I also recommend looking into claircognizance. 

Creating an Inner Circle

An inner circle of spirits can be formed over time by coming to agreements, creating contracts, and forming bonds to spiritual entities. This circle of spirits is optimal for support in spellwork as well as for protection.

Astral Travel

SEE THIS POST.

Psychic Abilities

Types of Psychic abilities

Telepathy

Clairaudience

Clairvoyance

Claircognizance

Chronokinesis 

Retrocognition

Precognition

How to develop psychic abilities

Psychic abilities can be difficult to develop and everyone learns differently. However, most of them are just specified expansions of your awareness into different spatial dimensions. This can be done by studying higher dimension topology or through rigorous meditation and usage of gnosis. 

Psychic abilities and witchcraft

Psychic abilities aid significantly in witchcraft. From assistance in divination to having more lines of communication with spiritual entities. 

However, cognitive bias can become a real danger here. It is important to verify information received through the use of psychism. This can be done by getting a reading done by a friend without giving them too much information. Merely ask them to verify something and give them nothing else. 

Chronokinesis can aid significantly in developing a temporal awareness and claircognizance can aid in developing an energetic awareness. 

Familiars 

What is a Familiar

A familiar is an animal or spirit that has a close bond with a practitioner. This animal friend may or may not be magically impactful. Most familiars are protectors for the practitioner and can add onto the already existing wards that a practitioner already has. Familiars may also be attuned to their own energetic awareness and act as alarms for approaching spiritual entities.

How to identify a living Familiar

An animal familiar will be able to almost have entire conversations with their practitioner through eye contact alone. They may be able to accurately announce when a spirit has entered your vicinity. They will be very attentive when their practitioner is casting and may even try to participate. If not, then they will sit as a silent observer.

How to identify a spirit Familiar

Spirit familiars are difficult to identify as there is a ton of potential confirmation bias. These familiars would not enter into a practitioner’s life without reason and would require consistent interaction in order to form that bond or contract. Spiritual familiars will almost never appear as an animal to a practitioner unless it was requested as a part of a contract. Spirit familiars are in no way related to *Spirit Animals or *Animal Guides. Spirit familiars will also never be thoughtforms or *Tulpas, as the mechanisms that drive them tend to be very simple and it is extremely rare for them to be sapient.

Deities

Pantheons

Pantheons are a collection of deities in polytheistic belief systems. The most common pantheons used in witchcraft are those from dead mythos like the Greek (Hellenistic) and Egyptian (Kemetic). Though, these are not all that exist and one can have relationships with individual deities from monotheologies and polytheistic pantheons. Doing so would form a pantheon in and of itself. This is how my personal pantheon was formed. 

The right pantheon for you

I am not going to recommend any theological beliefs to anyone, but rather give some advice for when you’re first starting. Approach all existing pantheons with a grain of salt and a mound of respect. The common mythos are filled with tales that put their deities in a rather bad light. Most followers will tell you that they are metaphorical and not to be taken literally. While this could be true, I would advise that we leave that up to the discretion of the person who is thinking about following. If you don't find a pantheon that resonates with you, you’re fine. They aren’t at all necessary for magic, nor are they for everyone. It’s okay to want to do something but not have any available path to it. 

If you're interested, here is wonderful post by @coinandcandle about deity dedication and worship.

Fictional Deities/ Personal Deities

These deities are most commonly created from pop-culture. While this concept is debated, ridiculed, and hated by many practitioners, I do not see a reason why they can't function for someone who wants it badly enough. At worst, they create a thoughtform and at best they create an egregore. I’ve met many practitioners who developed their own deities from scratch and many that have adopted a deity from pop-culture. Magically speaking, they are functionally the same- especially as time moves forward. 

Philosophies within Witchcraft

Philosophies in magic

There are a great deal of conflicting moral and ethical philosophies in and about witchcraft. All are valid so long as they don’t endanger the lives of people around you or entire groups of people. What is most important is not to proselytize your personal philosophies to other practitioners. There is a delicate dance between sharing your views and asserting that yours are the only correct ones. However, if you do come across someone proselytizing a harmful philosophy, it is super important that you don't interact with them at all. Do not give them a platform. Some of you may remember This Isn’t Magic. They are a perfect example of what I mean. But this also applies to ideas such as Fascism, Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Misogyny. A lot of which are very common in larger magical practices like Thelema, broader Ceremonial magic, Heathenism, and Wicca. 

Philosophies for balance

Within my own personal philosophies, I find it best when my ideals help balance my approach to magic. I have called my personal philosophy Equalibriumism, which I will be making a post about if you’re interested in getting a glimpse into my mindset when it comes to my approach to magic. I recommend that each practitioner does some serious introspection about their personal philosophies and how they affect their magic, relationships, and society at large. 

Philosophies in practice

Philosophy makes its way into every aspect of a practitioner’s craft. From the way they approach curses and spirit work to their emotional state when casting spells. Philosophies should be able to adapt to new information and new methods of spell casting that a practitioner is really interested in. Without this, practitioners run the risk of feeling stagnated or conflicted about their own interests. I have dealt with this delma myself somewhat recently. 

Your philosophies should help fuel your intent, passion and focus during spellwork, and if it isn't then I’d recommend introspection and adaptation. As an example, my curses are typically derived from wanting someone to develop a sense of empathy. As such, my curses are built with a backdoor that is opened when empathy is achieved. When that door is opened, the curse turns into a blessing that supports that change in them. This drive to help someone understand the perspectives of those around them is a powerful drive for me when casting.

Coming to your own understanding of the forces of nature

All philosophies are rooted in each person’s understanding of nature, and by nature I mean the entirety of everything that has ever existed or will exist. For some that is their current view of human nature, for others it could be their understanding of physics and mathematics. Regardless of your point of origin it is important that you study as much as you can about it. Do so in a serious manner as the more information you have the more your philosophies surrounding it will change. 

Coming into the Witchcraft internet community

Taking your first steps

The first thing you need to understand is that the internet is full of a lot of misinformation, misguidence, and proselytization. Take everything you read about with a healthy amount of salt. There is no “one true way”. Find communities in which there is the availability of free open discussions from any point in experience and/or learning. Be wary of cults, groups of people who all share exactly the same beliefs- typically with a central leader whose words have influence over everyone’s beliefs.

It is important to cross-reference all information you come across, while also giving some faith to your gut instincts. It is equally as important to come from a place of openness yourself when meeting people and discussing magic with them. Give them the space to express what they want to. The magic community has been wrought with people just talking to each other and not listening to each other.  

Tips for success

The internet is a big place. It can often feel like there’s too much information out there and you’ll never be able to make sense of it. I know that feeling well. It is important to start out by picking a subject of magic that is moderately appealing to you at first and study only that. Once you have a thorough understanding of it, then you can branch off of it. If you start with researching the thing that attracts you the most, it is highly possible that once you understand it you may burn out. Study one subject at a time. Allow your understanding to be fluid and your personal philosophies to change as you learn.

Things that are not okay

Giving harmful ideas a platform

Asserting that there is “one true way” 

Doing spells on other practitioners without their expressed consent

Doing divination readings in bad faith

Appropriating practices from closed or semi-closed traditions 

Claiming someone’s original ideas as your own- especially if that person is a POC

Lying, spamming, doxing, and harassing.

Safety

General safety

When you are just starting out, it is important to start small and work your way up to the grander spells. Spells that go wrong can have dire consequences, especially when performed at a larger scale. 

Talk to people. Tell people about things you’ve read or heard and ask them for their opinion or perspective on it. The more viewpoints you have, the less likely you’ll be sucked into cults and other harmful philosophies. 

Try to do small experiments with new ideas. Apply the scientific method. Try not to involve unaware bystanders. Informed consent is important, and you can inform people of an experiment without giving them cause for confirmation bias.

Please read this post for more information.

How to protect yourself from unwanted energies and spirits

Smudging, cleansing, and cleaning are all good practices to have, but they are best for removing energies and spirits and not so great for protection. The best tool you can have for protection is awareness. If you cannot feel what you are trying to protect yourself from, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to protect yourself from it. 

When dealing with spirits it is best to not give out your true name. By true name, I do not necessarily mean your given name as a great deal of people do not identify with it. Do not blindly trust spiritual entities. Always get at least one other outside opinion without giving them any information that could lead to confirmation bias. When dealing with energetic vampires (People who absorb as much energy as they can from the people around them and their environment), it is best to form a ward around yourself that acts as a repelling force for their sense of awareness. Many of them aren’t even consciously aware that they do this and it most commonly is a result of trauma.

There are various items for protection outside of wards. These are objects you can keep in your home or on your person such as:

Iron (nails are most common) these can be on your person or over thresholds into a space.

Red, white, and/or black cloth

Lining thresholds with salt, brickdust, and/or limestone dust.

Labradorite, or the witch’s stone, is great for giving cause for spirits to stay away.

Dried sprigs of romero can be hung over thresholds as well.

The evil eye, though while some versions are protected, others aren't.

Covering mirrors when they aren’t being used, unless they’re made from silver.

Talisman or charms

Horseshoes hung over thresholds.

But nothing is more effective than having wards. Wards can be created and anchored on jewelry, house foundations, altars, and your own subtle body. If you do not know how to ward, I would highly recommend that it be the next thing you study.

Other witch blogs I recommend following 

@coinandcandle

@wolfofantimonyoccultism

@the-mori-witch-blog

@themori-grimoire

@strangesigils

@tarotfey

@witches-ofcolor

@ualthum

@sylvaetria

To read up on further beginner witch tips click here.

Uses

There are two main uses for an altar, magical and spiritual. However, that being said, there are limitless possibilities as to what an altar can be or look like. I personally have an altar that is dedicated to one of my deities. Through this altar I show my dedications via creative endeavors such as art, game creation, writing, music composition, and spell/grimoire design. There are an infinite number of possibilities for their design and application. In this post, I’m mostly going to be covering the main uses and important design concepts.

Design & Structure

The design and layout for altars can be very personal, but there tend to be some commonalities depending on the altars purpose. For some, like me, an altar has multiple uses and its layout reflects that. For some basic reference, here is an altar that is purely for spellwork. In some traditions and practices, like mine, the direction in which the altar is facing is important. Each cardinal direction has its own correspondences and associations. If that is something you care about, it can be useful to find what correspondences resonate with you the most. Some traditions have very strict correspondences for this. What is almost always present for altars like these are representations for the elements. Water, stones, feathers, candles are all used to represent their respective elements. For some, incense is used to represent both air and fire. Water is kept in a glass container, or occasionally ceramic. In a handful of traditions its kept in metal containers. I typically try to keep elemental representatives in the general direction of their corresponding cardinal directions. Idols are widely used as a point for meditation and/or the building of a headspace.

When setting up an ancestral altar there are several layout that can be used, but again there are common elements found in a lot of them. Most ancestral altars hold images of the dearly departed. Some people also hold images of the living, though this is by no means common. Some altars also contain elemental representations, depending on tradition. There is always an area for ofrendas or offerings. This area is typically front and center. Offerings can range from food and water to the burning of incense. 

Using an altar for spellwork

When using an altar to cast spells, it is very common to open the space up and sanctify it. Now, the method chosen to do this varies wildly and a lot of information on doing so is heavily biased towards Wiccan practices. If you aren't a part of tradition, I recommend just figuring that bit out on your own without references. If you aren’t a part of any traditions a good smudge can be sweetgrass or cedar wood. After the space has been sanctified and is ready to begin, most light their candles and set up any incense they may be burning. It is relatively common for witches to use electronic candles in place of real ones for valid reasons such as fire safety or dorm room regulations. This works just as well. When setting up for a spell a lot of people have a vessel to burn things in. It is important that these vessels can withstand high heat and their bases won’t heat up too much. If you use an iron cauldron, be sure to place it on glass or tile to ensure that it is safe. After burning it is often recommended that the ashes and remaining contents are buried to the west of the altar; but, this can also be aligned with your personal correspondences. When using crystals, it is important to know about their chemical properties, like if they are water soluble or toxic to handle for too long or scratch up. Be sure that your spellwork isn’t 100% reliant on visualization and correspondences.  

Using an Altar for Ancestral Work

An ancestral altar is a place for reverence, remembrance, and meditation. It is common for the space that it is kept in to be regularly cleansed as well as being cleansed before sitting at. It is recommended to smudge any offerings before they are given. Some practitioners burn money for their ancestors, but this isn’t really recommended due to the temperature of the offering. This is at least until enough experience with spiritwork has been gained. In several traditions it is unwise to give warm offerings to spirits as it excites them. I’d recommend offering refrigerated things. In some traditions, eating offerings after offering it is very frowned upon and may lead to unwelcome occurrences. It is recommended to bury offerings after they are removed. This is widely done in the west, but this can vary depending on your personal directional correspondences. 

Shrines Vs. Ancestor Altars

Understand that social norms exist within online communities and cultures. Sometimes concepts and practices become common place, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re true or effective. A good example of this is New Age practices.

Aesthetics aren’t everything, nor should they be. Like visualization, aesthetics can be a tool to amplify, maintain, and/or hone headspace. Relying on aesthetics alone will cause your practice to stagnate. Magic is less about the objects and herbs involved than it is about the energetic processes, conceptualizations, and representations.

Intent is not magic. It is an element of magic, but it isn’t everything. Magic is not wishing. Magic is not about vibes and attracting or repelling what you think. Magic is a focused and controlled release and manipulation of specific energy and variables in order to reach a certain goal or desire. Intent, willpower/passion, focus/headspace, action, and awareness are all equally important.

Until you have more experience with the online community and research, stay away from studying crystals and herbs (within a magical context) The internet is wrought with diluted or inaccurate information on these subjects. Correspondences and energetic properties cannot be summed up in floral language. Be weary and alert when studying correspondences, and remember that you can create your own.

Do not just research. It can be difficult to gain the confidence to jump into something like witchcraft, but so long as you aren’t dealing with Spiritwork you’ll be fine. Start making your own stuff while researching. Create your own foundation and then let everything else inspire you or give you cause to readjust.

Take notes. When recording information, make sure to note the source. This way, when you come back to it, you’ll be able to go back and check to see if you missed anything or verify the that information/source. You can do this easily with digital notes by just copy pasting the URL.

Grimoires and magical texts from history are fascinating, but remember that we lack the historical and cultural context to accurately understand them. A lot of them are religious-coded or straight up religious practices. Because of these, they should never be a primary source of information.

Regardless of what media may portray, magic isn’t flashy. It’s quiet and personal. It’s an extension of your psyche and awareness. Blood is hardly ever used in real witchcraft because it is self-binding. DNA is the most potent taglock that exists.

Don’t start with divination. I know that it seems easiest because it has all those beautiful products and artwork and has a well defined process; but, it can become a rabbit hole that is difficult to climb out of. Beyond that, divinatory practices are much more accurate when you’ve gained a foundational understanding in magic.

You do not have to jump into any theological practices. In fact, I would recommend obstaining from it entirely unless you were religious beforehand. Mythos-based pantheons are a deep web of information and lore. Like divination it can be a rabbit hole that’s difficult to escape. If you feel a call from the divine, be aware and alert that it isn’t coming from exposure via the internet. A lot of pantheon related content is very aesthetic and attractive. Be sure your faith is formed for the right reasons.

While researching, find what is sacred to you. A lot of media is disconnected from portraying sanctity in a realistic sense. Figure out what it means for something to be sacred to you. How would you express it and interact with it? How do you feel is a show of respect and reverence. This is different for everyone, even if there are a lot of commonalities.

Magic is as much conceptual and analytical as it is emotional and headspace. Critical thinking is crucial. Look for underlying patterns, experiment, be skeptical. There isn’t any “One True Way”, but not everything works or is effective.

Realize that no spell you find online will function the same for you as it did for the creator. Pretty much every spell you’ll come across in any form of media will lack the circumstances, details, and nuance that is necessary for accurate reproduction. Rather than using a spell you find, construct one for yourself towards the same end using your practice.

Start a book for magic. Keep a book for information, correspondences, etc that is separate. Start creating spells, sigils, and rituals. Make them yourself. Try them out. Feel around for what feels right until it clicks. Don’t wait until you think you’ve researched enough. So long as you aren’t jumping into Spiritwork, you’ll be safe. Create your own protection spells. Create spells that fit practically into your life.

Everything is fair game, Anything can be magical. You aren’t limited by pre-existing practices. The only limitations that exist are the laws of nature and your imagination. Go wild.

Other recommended reading:

Researching witchcraft

Visualization

What to avoid

Everything that a beginner witch could want to know.

Fundamentals of energy work

Semi-Closed Cultures

These are cultures & practices that require a cultural context that can only be achieved through studiousness and direct interactions with the community. However, these cultures are open to anyone who wishes to join them. They may or may not require an initiation process and other requirements before someone is accepted. Some are based on regionality. The sects mentioned in this list are just one part of the pie. Whatever sects that aren't semi-closed are closed. It is nearly impossible to list all of the sects of these religious and spiritual practices.

Islam (Most sects)

Christianity

Judaism (Most sects)

Hinduism (Most sects)

Buddhism (Most sects)

Zoroastrianism

Sikhism 

Confucianism 

Yoga

"Shamanism" (A few sects)

Kabbalah (Rigorous initiation)

Native American Cultures (A couple tribes)

Ozark & Appalachian folk traditions

Slavic folk practices

Closed Cultures

These are cultures that heavily guard their spiritual and/or mystical practices. Some do perform initiation, however they will not accept just anyone. Some of these are deep rooted ethnic practices and require the same ethnic background in order to be initiated. Due to the closed nature of these magical practices, it is next to impossible to find any reliable information on the internet. Which means using these practices outside of their cultural context will be: ineffective, disrespectful, and misinformed.

Hinduism (Some sects)

Islam (Some sects)

Judaism (Some sects)

Buddhism (Some sects)

"Shamanism" (Most practices)

Navajo

Zuni

Lakota

Ho-Chunk

Mapuche

Cherokee

Chilote

Anishinaabe

Pawnee

Most other Native American cultures

Taoist mysticism

Korean folk practices 

Chinese folk practices (Almost all sects)

African Traditions (Nearly all sects)

Root Work (Commonly referred to has Hoodoo)

Rootwork

Santeria

Espiritismo

Kele

Obeah

Winti

Myal

Abakua

Kumina

Yoruba traditions

Mexica traditions (Commonly referred to as Aztec)

Toltec traditions

Maya traditions

Indiginous Australian practices

Maori practices 

Tagalog practices

Tengriism

Druidism 

Romani practices

Shinto practices

Manchu practices

Mongolian practices

Satsana Phi

Ban Phi

Vietnamese practices

Sami practices

Mari practices

Open Cultures

These are typically considered dead cultures, which means that there are very few surviving cultural centers to gain cultural context. Most of the practices are obtained through archeology and should be considered incomplete. However, taking part in these practices is not considered disrespectful if it is practiced responsibly. 

Hermeticism

Hellenism

Kemeticism (And other ancient Egyptian practices)

Norse practices (General Heathenry)

Etruscan practices

Sumerian practices 

Practices to avoid

These practices are appropriative, rooted in racism/misogyny, cult-like, and/or directly lead into fascism. They should be avoided at all costs. Many of these practices are wide-spread. Several claim to have ancient origin, when they do not. Most of them have taken practices from other cultures and obscured them and claimed them as their own. Some of these practices are literal pyramid schemes.

Wicca

Claims ancient origin, appropriative, misogynistic, consumerism

Neo-Wiccan practices

Same as Wicca, but also tends to be transphobic and racist, consumerism

Ceremonial Magick

Appropriative, rooted in racism & misogyny.

Thelema

Appropriative, rooted in racism & misogyny, cult-like

New Age practices (Like Reiki)

Appropriative, Alt-right (fascist) pipeline, cult-like, pyramid scheme, consumerism

Neo-Shamanism (Nearly all sects)

Appropriative, claims ancient origin

Neo-Nordic practices

Fascist, Appropriative, claims ancient purity

Neo-Druidry

Appropriative, claims ancient origin

Eco-Pagan practices

Appropriative, claims ancient origin, transphobic, consumerism

Hermetic Qabalah

Appropriative, rooted in racism & misogyny

Evangelical practices

Cult-like, fascist, xenophobic, claims ancient origin

Germanic Neopaganism

Fascist pipeline, Appropriative, claims ancient purity

Theosophical practices

Rooted in colonialism, appropriative, claims ancient origin, rooted in white supremacy, misinformative.

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Which is more useful in magic?

In the grand scheme, conceptualization as it is the bridge to understanding and therefore creativity and innovation. Visualization is useful for when a plan has been drafted, but not so much for creating a plan. This is especially evident in practices such as conscious energy work.  

Applications of both in Magic.

It is a very common trend within the witchcraft community to lean HARD on visualization. This is not only ableist, but also not inherently magical. Visualization is a tool. Like all tools in witchcraft, they aren't magic, they are used to channel or process spells. Visualization is most effective in the planning phase of spellwork. What is the ritual going to look like? How is the process going to aid in maintaining headspace? What are the energetic constructs going to look like? If you had to assign a visual representation to energy work, how would it look? All of this should be done before a working. 

Conceptualization is extremely beneficial for performing mental experiments on the magical mechanisms that will be manifesting your magic. Conceptualization can contain very complex ideas within a single mental dimension. This allows for the seamless monitoring the empirical and logical comparisons. An example of this is taking a concept found within STEM and finding ways for it to be applicable in witchcraft. Like applying topology to energy work, spirit work, and astral projection. Building off of complex understandings of concepts within our universe also allows the practitioner to be more aware of cognitive bias, something visualization actually causes. 

A skilled practitioner employs both for spellwork and developing their craft. Building a solid conceptualization of an idea also allows for a more complete visualization for those who are able. Realizing that neither of them are magic and are not viable ways of spell casting is the first step to branching out of  fanciful magics like those found in Wicca and modern Tradcraft, a lot of which is very prevalent on the internet. Magic is aggregate and personal. It is a skill, not a talent. Some learn the skill at a young age when they are more open to it. Magic is never complete, and neither is our understanding or applications of it. The possibilities are endless. There are only two limitations: the laws of physics and yourself, disabilities included.

How can personal narratives affect witchcraft?

Personal narratives and UPG can form a venn diagram, in the center of which lies some of the most toxic of our community. Personal narratives can become an individual’s excuse for appropriating from closed cultures, or for starting a cult. I, personally, have met several individuals who thought they were practicing magic, when in fact they were roleplaying within their own personal narratives and trying to pull other practitioners into it. This can happen through a variety of ways but most often through trauma bonding or shared "past lives".

Personal narratives surrounding the astral plane

After much discussion with other practitioners, I have come to the conclusion that there are a lot of practitioners whose experiences in the astral plane are pure personal narrative. In my experience, as well as several other practitioners whose perspectives I’ve come to trust, the astral plane does not contain much form and is not inhabited by many spirits. It is more of a transitional space. It is similar to the dreamplane, however all constructs must be formed consciously. Any spirits you may come across are likely there as they migrate from one location or spatial dimension to another. I’ve met several people who’ve claimed to be advanced in astral projection, only for them to spin their personal narratives around others in order to have another person to interact with in their astral narrative. There are words to describe this process: cognitive and confirmation bias.

Personal narratives surrounding Otherkin

Most otherkin are well within their spiritual practices and do not necessarily spin or reside within a personal narrative. However, the otherkin community is a hotbed of manipulative and cult-like phenomena that centers around some personal narratives. Specifically those who claim to be incarnations of spirits or deities. These individuals tend to try to pull others into their narratives in order to have a sense of power over others, and if threatened will build their sense of power by trying to threaten or scare those they are trying to manipulate. 

Personal narratives surrounding endogenic systems

Endogenic systems are fictional systems in which an individual consciously decides or pretends to have the symptoms of DID, a very serious mental illness that should not ever be glorified or commodified. ALL endogenic systems exist within personal narratives. If an actual spiritual entity exists within a living person, that is not a system- that is possession, which isn't to be glorified at all unless you practice certain closed traditions that rely on such practices. Endogens are notorious for using their personal narratives to exploit others and use it as an excuse to appropriate from closed cultures. (See Tulpa*mancy & biracial systems). Worse, there are many adults that use the personal narratives in order manipulate and groom young people into performing sexual acts with them. While traumagenic systems often contain younger alters due to the nature of the illness. But it isn’t ever used to prey on others.

Many endogens believe or project that they are incarnations of deities. The people who do this only do so to manipulate others into giving up their freedom of thought and choice. Myself and several practitioners I know have been in a few discord servers where a self-proclaimed god-system was an admin or all of the admins were god-systems. They either used this narrative in order to control how practitioners attempted their magic, thought about ethics, and/or interacted with the server in general. *Tulpa systems are worse, as these people actually consciously decide to try to create thoughtforms often called “headmates” to occupy their minds alongside them. The term is not only appropriated from Taoism and sects of Buddhism, but the act itself is very harmful to those who actually suffer from DID. 

Godphoning 

Godphoning is very common within the endogenic system community and the otherkin community. It is the act of “Channeling the will of a god”. It is amazing if you can have auditory conversations with your deities, but it is another altogether to try and do so for a third party. This act exists entirely as an act of manipulation within the online witchcraft community. There exist several closed cultures that work with godphoning, however the way in which it is approached is very different from those of most online practitioners.  There is a level of respect and reverence that is used in those cultures, not to mention rigorous training. If anyone online ever tries to act as an intermediary for a deity for you, STOP. Nothing good ever comes of it. 

Dangers of fantasy in the witchcraft community

Many of the narratives that are spun in the witchcraft community tend to form around cult-like mentalities. These go well beyond UPG and directly into dangerous narratives used to manipulate others. It is too common for someone to try to pull someone into their narrative. The leading issue with this that trickles out to the rest of the community is misinformation. While UPG has its validity, once it becomes a cult phenomena it tends to seep out into the larger communities. It is so important for each practitioner to be aware of cognitive and confirmation bias when dealing with the mystical and occult.

What to watch out for on witchcraft social media like Discord

All of the dangerous and disrespectful behavior discussed above is most prevalent on Discord. On discord it is easy to isolate a target and “initiate” them. If the cult/cult-like community is already established then there's no need to isolate. The things to watch out for include, but may not be limited to:

An individual or group who claim to be able to communicate with gods.

DM’s from individuals who claim to have met you in a dream or in the astral.

Servers that try to limit your interactions in other servers. 

Individuals who try to obtain your personal information, typically done through the guise of godphoning or divination.

A central leader that everyone obeys/listens to without question.

A server mentality that limits free-thinking.

A server that is built around a central deity or religion.

Individuals who weave you into their stories without your input or consent.

Threats of magic or curses from an individual or group.

A system that contains children in an adult body.

A system that contains multiple racial caricatures. 

A system that is not trauma based.

I have seen members of our community take their own lives as a result of these personal narratives and the aim of this post is to try to prevent that from happening to anyone else.

Some content creators & discord servers that are heavily based in personal narratives:

@malachitelibrary (Astral)

@chicagognosis (A lot)

@astralrealmer (Astral)

@sophieinwonderland (Endo)

@endoaffirmations (Endo)

@dramaticclown (*Tulpas)

@cottagebabie (Godphoning)

DKMU (A lot)

Astral Society (Astral)

Witches Cottage (A lot)

Andromeda Coven (A lot)