Hey everyone, ✨
Before we start, I'll just make a few things clear, first of all I'm myself still learning and exploring the world of witchcraft there's so much to still learn and try, the journey never ends, right? In this Artikel I'll tell Du the very basic knowledge about witchcraft, life of a witch and simple information and explanation about things witches do and use in their practices, to help Du start your own spiritual journey. Please be open minded, we're going to talk about religion as well.
And forgive me the fact that there are so many things mentioned in this Artikel that I didn't explain properly, this is not an encyclopedia, it's just a guide I tried to make as complete and SHORT as possible, to give Du a basic overview on what being a witch is like and what witches do practice and believe in, there are many things like whole lists of types of witches, types of spells, instructions how to do certain practices etc. that I didn't include, yet since you'll know what Du are interested in exploring, Du should be able to Suchen for information in internet, Bücher and other sources, also Du can post any Fragen Du have in "comments" section.
So let's get started.
First of all, Du have to know, that there are two things, witchcraft as a practice and Wicca as religion. Wicca is a polytheist, neo-pagan, nature based belief system often called "The Old Religion", as it's highly influenced Von pre-Christian beliefs, in 1950s and 60s Gerald Gardner (a.k.a The Father of Wicca) started to popularize old religion, Contemporary Pagan beliefs again. Wicca beliefs and practices are based on witchcraft, Shamanism, occult, worshipping and loving nature and paying a lot of attention to things like time of year, moon phases etc, witchcraft which often includes casting spells and performing rituals. Every Wiccan has their own practices and beliefs, main Wiccan belief about afterlife is belief in reincarnation however not all Wiccans believe it, the main deities are Triple Goddess and Horned God, there are many Mehr options, mostly influenced Von ancient mythology deities, however it's everyone's individual choice which God/Goddess to choose and worship (if any at all), now I'll definitely have to mention that, despite the beliebt misconception Wiccan and Witches doesn't believe in/worship Satan oder Devil, Satan is mostly viewed as a thing Christians believe in existence of, it means - it's not a part of Wiccan religion. Wiccans believe in magic (spelled as magick, to not to confuse with stage tricks), they often work with different energies to achieve what they want to achieve, they believe that things coming from nature (not only) have special meanings, power, energy and can be used in different ways, for example stones/crystals and herbs, that also have healing abilities, they believe in power of 5 elements - fire, water, earth, air and spirit. (I think you're now remembering ritual scenes from "The Craft" which is actually a pretty accurate witch movie... Well about 60% accurate I'll say). Wiccan practice different psychic and esoteric things, every Wiccans beliefs and practices are completely unique and different, things like rituals to get rid of bad energy in places, people and objects, and protect yourself from it, divination, fortune telling, using cards, pendulum, crystal ball and other types of scrying, meditation, visualization, lucid dreaming (Astral projection), aura readings, work with spirits, astrology, chiromancy etc. There are literally so many things Du can choose from and practice.
So now Du might be asking, do I have to change my religion to practice witchcraft??? The answer is no - and now I'm talking about witchcraft as a practice, not a religion, the truth is, Du can practice witchcraft, while having completely any religious views, Du can be Christian, Buddhist, Jew, you-name-it, and be a witch as long as Du are comfortable with everything you're practicing, find your own unique combination of beliefs, practices and lifestyles and be happy. All the Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccans. Speaking about Wiccans again (as well as witches in general), there are many different types of witches, küche witches, green witches, sea witches and many others, the ones I want to tell Mehr about are Hereditary witches - witches that are born in witch families, they have their own family traditions that are passed down from one generation to another and mostly exactly their witch parents are the ones who start teaching them witchy things since early age, however it's their own choice whether to choose their own, different life path, oder accept and Liebe their families lifestyle and practices. There are Solitary witches, it means that they doesn't Mitmachen Covens - groups of witches who tech each other and practice together, they prefer to practice alone (or just doesn't have any Covens to Mitmachen available), also Eclectic witches, who usually create their own unique combination of beliefs, practices and preferences, instead of dedicating themselves to something specific like moon, water element oder work with herbs. There are also many types of spells and magick, despite beliebt belief I don't think it's correct to divide all magickal practices into two groups - white magick and black magick. Everything largely depends on everyone's individual choices, needs and cases. (That's why I like that there actually are so many different kinds).
Unlike many other religions Wiccans doesn't have any strict rules regarding moral oder ethical rules, the only thing many Wiccans follow is 'The Wiccan Rede' that says "An it harm none, do what ye will", so as long as Du don't harm anyone oder anything, do whatever Du like, however there's a very important thing called "The threefold rule" it means that anything Du do, any energy Du release comes back to Du three times, it can happen both ways, positive and negative, simply explaining it, there's a chance that if Du curse/hex someone your curse might come back to Du multiplied Von 3...consequences. In Wicca there's also no sacred text like Bible oder Quran, instead every witch (or even non Wiccan witchcraft practicioners) collects information about the craft and things they are individually interested in and want to learn and practice, also they record, write down information about their own practices, experience with spells, rituals etc, their methods and many other things they do and discover through their journey in witchcraft, such book is called "Book of Shadows". Information about Wicca and witchcraft practices nowadays can be found in many different sources like internet and books.
Symbol of witches/Wiccans, also used in rituals and spellwork as a protection sign and sign of 5 elements is a Pentagram oder Pentacle, it's a 5 pointed star, sterne (each strahl, ray represents one of 5 elements), with kreis around it (pentacle) oder without (pentagram). It's always placed with one end upwards, unlike a pentacle with two ends upwards (called Baphomet) is a symbol Satanists use (those are two completely different things with different meanings).
Spell casting is usually based on wishing for something to happen, the most important thing is to imagine the every single detail if the thing Du want/want to happen as if Du have achieved your goal already. Many people tend to use spells from internet and Bücher and follow the instructions, but most of the experienced witches doesn't like doing so, yes, following instructions to perform spell casting rituals might be good option for a learning beginner, but many witches think that it's the best to customize spells and rituals, depending on your individual personality, preferences and needs, one spell can't suit and work equally good for everyone.
Also a a part of rituals, spell casting and other practices, many witches like to cast a kreis of protection before doing certain things, to create little, energetically purified, safe, sicher and sacred space, where bad energy and spirits can't disturb them.
Many witches have altars in their homes, a Weltraum where they keep their tools, do practices, every altar is different but placement of certain things is mostly influenced Von directions and elements (south-fire, west-water etc), altars can be any size, they can also be temporary.
Wiccans follow the Wheel of the Year, and celebrate 8 Sabbats during the Jahr - Imbolc on 1st February, Ostara, also known as the spring Equinox on March 21st, Beltane on 30th April, Litha (summer solstice) on 21st of June, Lughnasadh oder Lammas on 1st August, Mabon oder fall Equinox on 21st September, Samhain (we call it Halloween) on 31st October and Yule (winter solstice) on 21st December. Some Wiccans also celebrate moon phases (Esbats).
Witches use many different tools in their practices, rituals and spells, many of us believe that things like wands, cauldrons, broomsticks are just some fairytale stereotypes but that's not true, of course real witches doesn't fly on broomsticks and perform instant spells with wand like Harry Potter, but those things are actually used in many practices, broomsticks mostly have symbolic meaning and use, they are used to purify energy of the place, they can even be miniature decorative ones witches use to symbolically wipe away negative energy from your workspace and altar before rituals, wands are used to concentrate energy, they can be as simple as just a branch from a baum Du love, Du can attach a crystal to it, just like a ritual messer called Athame both of these tools are associated with God and 2 elements, wand-air, knife-fire, and are often used to draw a sacred circle. Cauldrons also have symbolic meaning, they can be used as a place where to put some herbs and other spell ingredients, as well as candle holders. Candles themselves are a very special tool for every witch, witches tend to burn candles, incense, herb smudge sticks (sage), to do many things, to purify energy, to do rituals and healing works. Candles can be used in every witchcraft practice, witches pay attention to color meanings so the color of a candle Du use might depend on what spell you're doing and what energy Du want to work with. Crystals, stones, herbs, essential oils, can be used in different rituals and healing practices, witches believe the power of nature so anything that comes from nature has special energy and meaning. There are tools that are used for divination and other practices, like different cards (Tarots, Oracle, Playing ones etc), pendulums, rune stones, crystal balls, astro dice for witches who like Astrologie etc. Du might be asking, so I have to buy it all to be a witch? The answer is no, Du definitely don't have to spend enormous amounts of money on tools, New Age shops are expensive, that's a fact. And Du don't need any special tools to practice, everything can be done with just spell words, your energy and will, however if Du decide to get something, there are so many ways to save money, many things can be DIY ones (it's much better to buy them since Von making your own tools Du put your unique energy in them), Du can find herbs, stones and wooden branches for wands and besen in nature, there are also many ways to get cheap tools online. To not to get many useless tools just remember the essentials, that any other thing in the category can be replaced with. If Du need a crystal Du can use clear quartz instead of any other crystal Du don't have, if Du need a candle, a white candle can be used for completely any purpose, no matter what color spell instructions recommend to use, if Du need a herb rosemary is universal, however that doesn't mean that Du don't have to get any other tools if Du wish.
Anyway, I think I have told everything I can tell here already, there are some things that I maybe didn't tell enough about but this Artikel is long enough anyway, this is just basic information, just my point of view. I can't give any detailed spell oder ritual instructions here since as I sagte it's the best to create your own ways to practice and there are just too many things to tell (wait do Artikel have length limit?). It's just an outline of all Wiccan and witchcraft practicioner basics. If Du are interested to find out more, just explore internet materials about different topics, like Mehr info about Wiccan deities, kreis casting instructions, Sabbats, symbols, sigils, divination method instructions, crystals and their uses and so on. I can give Du a few nice website, Youtube channel and book recommendations, if Du have any Fragen write them in 'comments' and if Du have any suggestions which topics I could tell Mehr about you're always welcome to ask.
Blessed be. ❤️⭐
