New to witchery? We all have to start somewhere. Here are some great tools to help you get started.
First, let's address the rampant imposter syndrome in witchcraft. We live in a very linear, one-dimensional world. Everything and everyone is very "see it to believe it", and not for no reason. Many people feel something is out there, spirituality-wise, but can't put their finger on it. It's an intimidating concept to explore for some and an enchanting one for others. but one thing is for sure - It's hard to not feel a little ridiculous if you're not used to doing incantations.
Once you get through a few spells and start to see some results, that will chill out. The more you get used to it, the more emphasis and energy you'll be able to put in, and the more emphasis and energy you can put into your spells and incantations, the better the results will be. It's a big sexy cycle. That's Alchemy, baby. I mentioned the parallels between devout religion and witchcraft in my "What is Alchemy?" post. People congregate in churches/mosques/temples to boost their energy quotient, they quote from the ancient text that has been read by millions of people before them, and they pray in a group to increase the energy and vibrate their frequencies louder…. Catholics do straight-up witchcraft (in my opinion), with communion and the rituals and all that. Holy water, crossing yourself…. It's all alchemical magic.
So don't feel silly. Most people who hate on witchcraft will also do some form of magick without even realizing it. Even cooking is a form of alchemy - you put love and herbs into a pot or pan and add fire (heat) to create something else.
When I first started practicing at 13 or 14, I thought a Ouija board was essential. My best friend and I made our own and used a coin as a planchette. We contacted something, it was a benevolent but mischievous entity. I don't remember much but it mostly just acknowledged being an entity and then just confused us and sent silly answers. I haven't used one since, but I did start learning more about the mind. Incantations and breathing exercises, and then eventually taking Quantum Physics and putting some spiritual pieces together into what I call Alchemy.
Turns out, Ouija isn't a necessary tool for being a witch. Just a fun activity. What I would say is necessary is an altar. A special place that you set aside in your home to keep all of your alchemy tools and spells. It doesn't have to be big and fancy - mine was a photo box for years. I'd just set up a little cloth on top of it and pray I didn't burn the house down when I lit candles on it. (To be clear, I am not recommending this. Fire safety is VERY important! Besides, I had candle holders - I didn't just put them on the box.)
Another really helpful tool is an arsenal of herbs and incense. You can forage for them or buy them, we're hoping to eventually open an herbal apothecary section of our business in the future so you can buy it from us - but there are plenty of other places to get herbs in the meantime. My personal favorites - The Witchery, Spiral Scents - both out of Canada - and The Magick Cauldron in Houston, TX. I also find a lot of stuff at Bulk Barn, like mint, bay leaves, lemon zest, etc.
I personally keep a whole bunch of loose sage to purify every spell I do, and I use a lot of Calendula and Rose petals. I do my best to harvest as much of my herbs myself as possible because I live in a really diverse area for plant life. There are tons of resources online that will help you figure out which herbs will help you with certain types of spells. It's often pretty intuitive. Lavender, for example, has a very soothing scent so it works great in any stress relief spells, or spells where a calming is needed. Boxwood is a super hardy shrub that can stay green in even the harshest conditions (given its area), and in magick is used for strength, protection, and grounding.
Another thing that you'll need is a cleanser of some kind. Cleansers like sage will clear the space of positive ions (which aren't as positive as the name suggests) and give you an energetic clean slate without any bad mojo kickin' around. At Black Moon Alchemy, we sell Florida Water, Palo Santo, and Sage Wands to help you with this.
Candles are really helpful as well, and beeswax can even act as a cleanser as it clears positive ions and energy as well. Most candles made for spells are not beeswax, so keep that in mind if you're planning to use a candle as a cleanser. Palm, soy, and petroleum wax work great for spells but will not cleanse your space.
I would be remiss if I didn't discuss jars. This isn't a necessary component of witchcraft but definitely a consistency across those who practice the craft. You can store your herbs and build your spells in them - create protection jars or money jars, etc. Highly recommend you get yourself some jars!
Going back to incantations - they don't need to sound like something out of an Old English Spellbook. You can swear, use slang, abbreviations…. Whatever you like. "THOU SHALT NOT CROSS ME, MOTHERFUCKER", is perfectly acceptable. So is "Yeet that bad energy the hell away from me, demon" and something simple like "gimme that job."
I've said it many times before and I'll say it again - there's no wrong way to do magick. If it feels right, it's probably right. There can be very little argument here - it is truly the intention and thought that counts.
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