So where do I begin when practicing Witchcraft?

The first question you should ask yourself is why do I want to practice Witchcraft?
Do you want to have more control over your life? Do you want a better Job? Do you want to find that special someone? Do you want to get that pesky neighbour or workmate off your case? Do you want to have more money? Do you want to protect your home and family? Do you want Live a more harmonious lifestyle with your environment? Do you want to heal? Do you want to Grow Spiritually?

These are all fairly legitimate reasons for wanting to practice Witchcraft and I am not a person who tells people how to live their lives but if you want to practice Witchcraft to.... Harm another person or thing without provocation. Wear really cool hippy clothes around and call yourself a Witch. To empower you for your sexist cause. Freak out your parents or friends. Inflate the size of your head. Or intimidate people with curses. You have come to the wrong conclusion! You are only going to do one thing... and that is bring yourself undone. Witchcraft is not to messed around with or to be taken lightly it is a serious science that takes self-control, concentration and discipline. 

Why have Witches and Witchcraft got such a bad name?

When most people say Witch they have a negative reaction i.e. The Wicked Witch of the West mental image. We all know that this is not true but how did the Witch get such a bad name? Witches of old used to usually live on the boundaries of civilisation were outsiders and loners. Mysterious to some but feared by most. But where did the fear come from? Fear of the unknown, fear of supernatural powers? The village Witch must have been consulted by people for telling the future, making potions and spells, healing or harming. Doing these things for a client was in effect manipulating people and situations by request of the client, and most people don't like having their lives tampered with. Resentment and Hostility by the other people involved was probably the result. Perhaps that is one theory? 

Or could practicing magic and opening up part of the mind that average folk don't use, and without discipline this could lead to the subconscious mind becoming over active and acting on its own manipulating situations or creating magic without conscious awareness. For example; That pesky guy at work or school that has been bugging you ends up in a car accident and is severely injured. You realise that you have been sending bad vibes their way without you being consciously aware of it.

 If this theory has any basis this is why Magic should not be taken lightly and the use of such should be disciplined. And possibly why Witchcraft of any form has never been accepted in most mainstream societies. It is not an exact science and things can go wrong unintentionally.

Do I have to be a special kind of person (i.e. Psychic, Hereditary etc.) to practice magic and witchcraft?

Do you posses the attributes described below? If so you certainly can practice magic!

The Essential Elements for Successful Magic

1. Willpower is the single most important ingredient in any spell. Willpower can be described as Energetic Determination. In regard to magic using your determination to cause change to occur. Willpower also ties in with Desire. Essentially when you cast a spell your are Willing something to occur.

2. Desire. You must truly desire the thing you want to receive it. Even if you have the slightest doubt about your desire it will not materialise. If you don't really want it don't ask for it! and don't waste your time.

3. Belief . You must truly believe that your magic will work, if you even have the slightest inkling that your magic will fail it will. You must believe and never doubt your desire and power.

4. Concentration. All is lost without concentration if you loose focus on a TV show when the Ad breaks come on then you will not have enough concentration to cast a simple spell. Concentration is not something we are born with it is something that is learned. I began meditating years before I began practicing Witchcraft and I have to admit it is invaluable when casting a spell or conducting a ritual. If you're mind strays when practicing magic your power is lost and your spell will not be successful. Before you start practicing magic practice your concentration skills this simple meditation will help; 

Sit down in a quiet spot with your legs crossed and your back straight, close your eyes and breath in through your nose and slowly out through your mouth and count 1 in your mind as you exhale. Repeat this procedure until you count up to 4 then begin again at No 1, continue to count your breaths from 1-4  for about ten minutes. Try this once a day.

5. Visualisation. When practicing magic if you can visualise yourself achieving, being or doing the thing you desire all the more successful your magic will be. Most people have good imaginations and can conjure images in their minds eye. If you don't perhaps you could act out your desire with symbolic objects such as a doll / poppet or small figurines. I go as far to say that visualisation is all you need to produce results candles, and sympathetic objects are simply focusing tools to aid you in your concentration.

6. Personal Power is accumulating all the energy, determination, concentration, and desire you have within you and focusing it on your spell. Breath deeply, concentrate, chant and and with all your will send that power to your physical object or visualisation. Some people use their hands to transfer the energy to a physical object. Either by making a triangle with your first fingers and thumbs and holding them above the object transferring the energy to the item, or simply holding the item in your hands and feeling or imagining  your energy being sent to it.

(see also The Four Powers of the Magus)

Are there any guidelines to creating successful magic?

Essentially the points above are all that is really needed to create successful magic. Although you have to be an exceptional Witch/Magician to do so. But humans being as they are live in a three dimensional physical reality. We have thoughts, feelings, ideas and senses. We feel better if we can touch, hear and see what we are doing it can make things feel more possible and tangible.  If we put these three things together plus the essential points above we can come up with a simple four step rule to create successful magic.

The four rules are; Thought, Desire, Willpower and Physical Actions.

Thought: Every spell begins as a thought. E.g. we have a thought that we need more money to pay the bills. As they are adding up and we don't see the money in our account to cover it. This is your first step in your spell a simple thought. 

Desire: We feel the emotions that come with being short on money i.e. Stress, Sadness, Anxiety. And we feel strong desire to be rid of these burdens. Hence we have our desire! 

Willpower: We use our willpower to Wish or Will the outcome to occur the way we would like it to turn out.

Physical Action: We either gather up candles, herbs or other objects mix them together (or perform some other action.) say a couple of words and send off our intent. Or we create ritual space, cast a circle and conduct a prosperity ritual in a specific time using specific items. 

Example Spell

Lets elaborate on the situation above to give a clearer picture. We have the dilemma of lack of finances to pay our bills.

1. I have the Thought "I need more money to pay the bills".

2. I have the Desire to either rid ourself of the bills or receive more money to pay them.

3. I decide to use magic to help in the situation.

4. I firstly use a divination technique ( Such as the Tarot or Runes, see Divination)  to ascertain that using magic will favour the situation.

5. We check the moon phase (see Moon and Astrological Phases) and it is nearly full a good time to cast a prosperity spell.

6. I collect certain items that relate to prosperity to use in my spell. A gold coin, A gold, green, brown or white candle and Patchouli Oil.

7. Willpower we use all our determination and Will the outcome we desire to materialise. We infuse this into the spell.

8. Physical Actions. I then take the coin, the oil and the candle. I anoint the candle (see candle magic) with the Patchouli Oil. I bring myself to a state of Ritual Consciousness, Concentrate on my desire, I light the candle and meditate on it chanting either in my head or out loud of my desire. Then drip the wax from the candle on to the Gold coin when it dries I carve a prosperity symbol on it. I then pick up the coin cup it in my hands raise my personal power and send it to the coin. I then place the coin in a place that I feel is appropriate to bring prosperity i.e. My wallet, my bank book.

This is a simple spell that I have written and performed, it was quite successful. As you can see I used fairly common house hold objects not extremely rare incense only found in the deepest darkest Africa!
 I also like to use at least three steps in the Physical part of the spell i.e. In the case of simple Candle Magic; Anoint the candle, burn the candle, bury the remains. The number three is a good all-round magical number and to ensure your spell works perform it on three consecutive nights.

Don't I need to perform spells written by another more experienced Witch ? 

No you don't! Do some research, read other spells and use them as an example to create your own. The more personal energy and effort you put into writing and collecting ingredients for your spell the more effective it will be. Remember Personal Power!

Can you send me some spells ?

No I have better things to do! As above the more personally tailored you spell is the more effective it will be. Don't be lazy and write and perform your own.

Can I perform spells for another person ?

Yes you can (and I hate to sound like a Wiccan here) but ask the persons permission first. 
To put it in a mundane way would you go paint your friends house without consulting him/her first. Use common courtesy.

Can I use Curses?

 In short my answer is yes you can. But I would never use a curse or even bind someone without provocation. (see Goals of the Natural Witch) Magic is a gift that can be used to our advantage. If someone or something is irking you and you are sure you did nothing to provoke it then in my mind you may use magic to remedy the situation. That is simple self defence. But be warned Curses can be dangerous and are not to be toyed with! 

I though Witchcraft was a religion don't I need to worship gods and goddess' ?

If you feel the need then go right ahead do some research there are lots of good books and websites out there with info on deities (also see Deities and Archetypes). It is my belief that you don't have to worship or honour any deities to perform magic and witchcraft. It is your will alone that can produce magic. But the image or the archetype of theses deities can certainly help you as a tool to produce successful magic. 

Don't I have to celebrate certain dates to be a Witch?

No you don't but many witches do,  they feel close to nature and revere it. This does not mean that you have to celebrate the Sabbats (see Days of Festival). You can produce good magic without having to follow the Celtic festivals. It is simply your choice.

I want to be a real Witch! Doesn't that involve being part of an official group or coven ?

Do you have to part of an Archery club to be a good Archer? Or do you just simply practice everyday to get better at it. The same goes or Witchcraft the more you practice it he better you get! As far as I am concerned if you practice successful magic then you are a Witch!

Furthermore Witch should not be confused with Wicca! Wicca is a religion it has rules, laws, degrees and a hierarchy. If you want to become a Wiccan go find a coven!

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Murray Byfield © 2000-2002