A Whisper Within

A 'Reintroduction' to Witchcraft

‘When did you feel called to Witchcraft?’

I get asked this question often, and each time it feels almost impossible to answer. Was it when I was little and I would make ‘potions’ in puddles in the garden? Most likely not, this is a fairly normal and wholesome childhood activity that many people from different backgrounds and cultures can relate to. Was it when I saw my first tarot deck on the dusty shelf of a gift shop while on holiday with my family? Lots of people enjoy and dabble in tarot, it is a curiosity-inducing item for many people, but they may not feel the pull towards witchcraft. Was it when I was out walking with my father, crossing a cattle grid in the lilac haze of dusk and I spotted my first barn owl? I would imagine most people would feel elated and have their hearts soar at the sign of a ghostly barn owl flying low across the fields.
Moments spent in nature are often cited as the turning point for ‘becoming’ a witch, this special time spent outdoors is when we are most likely to feel euphoric and at one with the flora and fauna around us. It is important to be connected with the natural world, and there is no doubt that it is indeed part of the magickal ‘call’... but just as there is no real ending to witchcraft there is also no real beginning.
The whispering you hear, the quiet calling that tugs at your soul, is not a call for anything new, it is a call for something that has always been there. You have always ‘been’ a witch.

I’d like to offer you this little ‘beginner’ series on witchcraft, but let's not call it that and get caught up in the great overwhelm often offered to witches when they first start. In these ‘reintroduction’ guides you won’t find long lists of tools and herbs that you’ll need to make a start, or an intimidating calendar of celestial phases that you must commit to memory before practicing under. Moon water won’t be spilled here, nor will you find a bouncer’s list of deities for you to try and contact in order to make your practice valid.

This is just you and I, and nature, and the space in between us that we hope to bridge. That is where magick lays nestled, in a mossy indent in a liminal gap. Perhaps don’t think of this as a beginner’s guide, but a rememberer’s guide, a way to jog the memory of the witch already residing within you.

What to Expect:

During our time together I am going to gently guide you through the rushing waters of witchcraft, we’ll most likely take the slower more intentional route and head down the calmer streams and leave the white-water rafting for another time. This isn’t to say that all my future content will be aimed at those just starting, just that these posts will be clearly marked as ‘reintroducing witchcraft’, anything else will be full of my usual chatter about rituals, spells and the folk magick I intend to share with subscribers. For now, let’s take a look at what to expect from this series…

Tired Tropes
We’ll address the common and outdated stereotypes that beginner guides always seem to focus on, such as…

Object Lists: vast lists of things such as different coloured candles, cauldrons, crystals etc. I will not be encouraging you to buy things and deplete your bank account just so you can ‘become’ a witch. Instead we will look at working with what you already have and what is easily accessible in nature.

The Moon: hear me out… I adore the moon, I work with her often and it is thanks to her that I am where I am in my life and my understanding of myself. People forget the vastness of her subject, there is so much to moon magick and it can be complex and overwhelming. We won’t be making moon water under specific phases, instead we’ll just spend some time observing her and how her energy impacts us and the space around us.

Essentialism: Witchcraft comes in many forms, so to write a guide on witchcraft ‘essentials’ seems pointless when what is important to one witch’s practice may not be for another’s. We’ll be looking at well known herbs and crystals, but this will be through curious eyes rather than the idea that these things are non-negotiable. The same thing will apply when we talk about altars, we’ll focus less on the ‘must-have’ tools and more on your needs and abilities.

Lifestyle: This might be a bit controversial but I won’t be championing witchcraft as a lifestyle, or at least one that is all encompassing and takes up the entirety of your life. It is a large part of it, but there is time to set it aside whilst you concentrate on mundane everyday tasks, spending time with family, going to work etc. Not all of your day needs to be spent foraging, or scribbling in a grimoire, so we’ll be looking at ways to get your craft to mould round the life you are living already.

There are many other tropes that we’ll stay clear of, like deity work, witch types, the aesthetics discourse etc, instead we’ll be focusing on individuality, on you as a solitary practitioner who is stepping into their own energy rather than the influence of thousands of others.

Other topics we’ll be covering:

Stepping Away- trusting your own spirit to lead you down your path by finding ways to carve out quiet time spent alone, in nature or at your altar. We’ll be rebelling against the noise both in the real world and online, and allow you the headspace to start hearing things that were once silent to you.

Signs & Messages- we’ll look at the subtle signs that you’ll see on your journey. From birds that cross your pathand their meanings, to dream interpretation, and things you are suddenly drawn to for their sound, look, or even taste. We’ll discover ways to receive messages that aren’t as complex as learning tarot, and instead focus on ways that you can be your own oracle.

Altar Work- I’ll teach you how to build an altar that reflects you and your relationship with nature, a magickal space that can be as large as a desk or as small as a matchbox. We’ll look at gathering supplies from nature but also at how we can give as well as take.

Perspective- we’ll be looking at the world around us with fresh eyes and asking questions that may seem strange but will deepen our understanding of nature and ourselves. Prepare to think about the wind from the point of view of a tree, or to observe the birds in your garden and imagine what life may be like for them when they’re not at the bird feeder. Looking at the seasons through the eyes of an emerging witch is an adventure indeed!

Divination- in its most simplest forms such a dream work and oracle, as well as an introduction to hedge riding. These are ways to receive messages but we’ll also be talking about where (and who) these messages may come from, and when and why.

This journey is one that is designed around patience and with no end goal in sight… as we move through subjects I will begin to pepper them with small and easy to follow rituals. Witchcraft is often an exchange of energy and too often I have seen this energy taken more than it is given. If I can encourage you to give back to nature on your journey then it will stand you in good stead when it comes to forming a relationship with her.

Before I leave you, I wanted to also mention that I’ll be addressing my own hypocrisies and biases as we work… starting with what some of you may already be wondering:

“If witchcraft is as personal as you say it is, then why are you teaching it at all? Why is your craft worth teaching?”

Witchcraft is incredibly personal, the practitioner has a unique way of seeing the world that is influenced by their upbringing, their culture, their geographical location and even the wellbeing of their ancestors. However, any journey (no matter how personal) benefits and can be influenced positively by waymarkers, guides and a feeling of community.

In my experience, you fail as an occult teacher when you are aiming for your ‘students’ practice to be an identical copy of your own, or if you posit yourself as some sort of supreme know-it-all witch. Instead my aim is to take you by the hand and point out all of the wonderful paths your craft may take. Some methods may not look inviting to you, so you are encouraged to walk past them and try something that is inspired by those methods instead but is uniquely yours. My way of teaching is an invitation, not a complicated manual and I want to encourage a mycelial network of witches to emerge that all have their own personal takes to add to our collective, to the system of liminal roots we all feed from and give to (I’ll talk more about my mycelium theory in an essay I’m currently working on). We can only benefit from the unique experiences of other witches, that are gently led by practitioners with experience.

I hope you’ll join me in this journey of remembering, it is time to come home… before our next post, I would love it if you took the time to journal. Journaling, for me, is magick. The words in a journal are an invocation, the pages the spell and the book itself a ritual, there is no closer way to understand your own thoughts than to write them down and sit with them. Take some time out to find a quiet place and write intuitively… there is no subject given, just write and see what messages you can find between the sentences you write.

Until next time,
Laura