Words for New Witches

So, you feel called to the craft…now what comes next?

How should you go about exploring this newly awakened part of yourself? What should you read, study, practice? When will you know if you are ready to claim the title of “witch” for yourself?

These are among the most common questions I receive from new witches eager to progress along this path; and this is my answer:

Imagine you are standing in the middle of an endless enchanted forest. In every direction, hundreds of narrow footpaths wind through the trees.

You could remain where you stand for all eternity trying to decide which path to take…or, you could ask that small voice within you to help you choose a path, trust that guidance, and take the first step.

Having chosen your path, you wander it slowly, looking all around you at the flora and fauna as you walk.

This path eventually comes to a fork, giving you another opportunity to choose your route forward. Later, this path intersects with one of the original paths, and then again with another…

And on, and on, and on it goes.⁣⁣

This is the path of the witch.

Right now, as a new witch, the world of magic feels impossibly big — like there is so, so, so much to learn.⁣

And there is.

And you will never learn it all — not in a week, or a month, or a year, or a lifetime.

Rather than letting that truth discourage or hinder you, see if you can find within it a sense of peace.

You don’t have to master it all — you simply have to begin.

When it comes to witchcraft, starting small, simply, and humbly is the only route forward.

Follow your passions and your interests. Herbs, sigils, elemental magic, divination, working with spirits and deities — all of these (and many many others) are valid paths forward.

Pursue what calls to you, and trust that you will eventually be led towards the various branches of magic that will best serve you (and that will help you best serve the world).

This is the witch’s journey — and yours begins the moment you decide to take the first step.

Welcome to the craft.