I want to learn WITCHCRAFT!
And I want to be a Good Witch.
I want to be a good witch because, I'm really INTERESTED in witchcraft religion etc. :-)
so you said that you were interested in the witchcraft religion? a good book i have read when i was starting out was called "Wicca" by Raven Grimassi Buckland's is always good too. they have a sort of textbook style to their books which is good for beginners. be sure that you have read books of many of the other religions too, you want to have a clear view of what else is out there before conforming to one thing. be sure to be educated before beginning to actually practice the craft as well, it is not something to simply toy with.
If you really want to be a witch, you have to come to this town where real witchery exists, or so many believe. If you ever get to take the trip this October, go to Salem, Massachusetts. That is where the art is really around all year, but its displayed then. Theirs a shop, I forgot its name but its famous, where a witch lives and she shares her knowledge and how to do them. You can buy real potions and even have your future told, the scary part is it normally comes true. I dared not have mine told. Google the town, there is a lot of history as it was where the witch burnings were.
~thranax~
You've started out on the right foot already - by asking questions. Two of the main goals in Witch Craft are wisdom and knowledge. My best reccomendation as a first text book is Raymond Bucklands "The Complete Book of Witchcraft" affectionately known in the witchy world as "the big blue book", it will give you a firm foundation to build upon. After that the direction you decide to take, in your life, and studies, is your own.
Keep asking questions of the witchy community we are generally a pretty patient group of people. Find other witches and Wiccans in your community most would be more than happy to help you.
I have been an initiated witch in the Gardnerian tradition for 30 years and I recommend that the first step is to think about why you want to become a witch. Good reasons are: seeking spiritual balance, looking for a religion without shame, want feel in tune with nature, etc. Inadequate reasons: the ability to take what you want, need to control situations with magic, feel powerful instead of helpless. In my experience, using the Craft for the wrong reasons can be very dangerous and can do spiritual damage. To be a witch, one must examine one's motives and follow the Wiccan Rede - "An ye harm none, do what you will."
If you are seeking to nourish yourself, then asking questions is the next step. There are many books, people and other resources available. I recommend that you check out the web site 'The Witches Voice' at witchvox.com as they are a useful portal to the Wiccan community. My favorite authors are Starhawk (The Spiral Dance) and Scott Cunningham. They are easy to understand and have no hidden agendas about making money by enticing you to buy the next new book of shiny spells to make you rich and famous like the author. Be well, do good works and keep in touch with the earth. (with a nod to Garrison Keillor)
I think the best thing is to start with a journal the first step to any meaningful path is self discovery. I agree with Miriam Benson's advice. The book Witchcrafting by Phyllis Curott is my favorite, because she goes into why to do things not just how, I personally don't like Buckland's big blue but each person to their own. After doing reading you might begin by reaching out to people in your local community-if you are under the age of 18 some groups will be more hesitant to be involved with you, but their is lots you can do on your own like learning to meditate or spending time in nature. If you have read some of the better known authors you are more likely to be taken seriously.
In Africa, Witchcraft is seen as a destructive practice that is responsible for an array of societal woes. Even the Witch is a victim in that she is possessed by a spirit that ultimately leave her destroyed in the form of Death, Lunacy or rejection by the larger society. But Witchcraft may vary as evident in the contents of the other response.
Read everything you can get your hands on. I can't stress this enough. Whether they are books on modern Wicca, ancient religion, mythology, even books of fiction, historical accounts, and religious texts of mainstream religions. Witchcraft has a wealth of history down many different avenues and it is worth it to get a feeling for why different people feel the way they do about the Craft. You don't have to agree with everything you read, but if it makes you raise questions, then it has served its purpose.
Even if your intent for pursuing its study is less than noble, sometimes even people who pursue Witchcraft for bad reasons can find something worthwhile and valuable through the experience. Reading myriad sources can give you a good idea of which avenues you might like to pursue; which mythologies (if any) really take your breath away. This is the foundation for a path that can take you down many different roads.
Know Thyself...
I have been at least a private practitioner of Wicca and Witchcraft for many years. My very kindest and wisest teacher Mary Berry once said to me : 90% of the road to being a good Witch is wanting to be one. The other 10% is knowing you are.Take your path as it comes naturally and you will find your way.Remember, noone learns to become a witch, they are born one. Try to start off grounded in learning the way of the seasons and the spritual components that are our natural kindship with nature before worrying about spells or practicing the art of the craft. That stuff is mostly showy and not the heart of true Wicca.
Blessed Be ;-)
Blake4d
PS
I would recommend starting out by reading 'The Spiral Dance' by Starhawk. And maybe 'The Medicine Wheel' by Sun Bear.
Then be one. It is as easy as choosing to do what you say you want to do. Be a good witch. Blessed Be. BB16
I know this question in now rather old, but I felt I had to respond since I'm new to hubbing.
I think many of the responses are spot on, you need to just begin. Become a member of the local library and read everything you can. Talk to other people, if you can't do it in person because declaring yourself a witch can be difficult at first, do it online. We are all willing to help - that is part of being a witch.
Pay attention to the environment, honour the passing of the seasons and take responsibility for your actions and choices. Being a witch isn't hard but being a good one is. It means always being conscious of what you do and following the creed which is to harm none. Good luck, blessed be and do contact me if you need any help. I've been a witch since I was 15, and so have got 18 years of practice under my belt. For the first few years it was something I did in secret, my friends and supporters, my mentors and teachers were online since I was born a Muslim and I just couldn't come out in the open with my beliefs at that point in time.
I would suggest you read some books on the particular subject you want to study. If you are looking for "lighter magic", anything new age will give you a sense of what positive occult is ( mediums, telepathy, etc.). For the more... selfish type of magic, although there is no good or bad, ultimately, in magic, I suggest anything by Aleister Crowley ( http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&pag … %20Crowley ).
If things like chi and kundalini are more your thing, you should try "Your Power : Tangible Occult" (http://www.shade.ca/yourpower), a book that actually tells you in few pages how to activate your first "power". This will eventually lead you on the path to astral projection and astral travel.
Good luck in your experimenting!
by ngureco 12 years ago
Do You Believe In Witchcraft, or That Witchcraft Is Real And Effective?
by Jessica Graca 9 years ago
Are There Any Other People Into Witch Craft Like I Am ?
by cheaptrick 15 years ago
In the first Century AD there were at least thirty varieties of Christianity.What did they believe and why are they not around today?Any one read "Lost Christianities" by Bart D Ehrman.I highly recommend it.
by Caroline Hamilton 9 years ago
What do you think of when you hear the term "witch"? I am wanting to bring light to others by sharing my path and want to answer questions you may have.
by Kiz Robinson 17 years ago
The word invokes a certain image in the minds of many, I know before I started learning about alternative religions (alternative in the sense that they are not Christian or Christ-based) the first thing that came to my mind when the word Witch was spoken was the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of...
by manatita44 9 years ago
What do you feel we seek, by asking questions here on HP? Do you sometimes question our motives?
Copyright © 2025 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2025 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |