In recent years, there has been a rise in the younger population’s fascination with witchcraft and other forms of mysticism. A growing number of young opinion leaders who have found salvation and purpose in magic are correcting outdated stereotypes about scary demonic worship and frightening cult-like covens. A growing group of young people is working to make witchcraft more accessible online, from novices interested in trying their hand at the occasional potion to seasoned a Witchcraft Teacher wishing to broaden their knowledge.
Make a decision.
Given the wide variety of witchcraft practises, would-be witches have plenty of options to pursue. Avoid becoming flummoxed by ensuring you have a firm grasp on the fundamental concepts outlined here with the help of a Witchcraft Teacher.
- The word “Paganism” describes all religions that do not adhere to the Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam and instead lay their focus on the earth and the natural world. Practitioners of this religion today are commonly referred to as neopagans. There is a complete branch of witchcraft in the pagan culture that dates back centuries.
- Gardnerian Wicca, named after its founder Gerald Gardner, is a branch of Wicca that gained prominence in the middle of the 20th century. In contrast to popular belief, many Wiccans are males who honour both a god and a goddess. What was once seen as an anti-monotheistic gesture has been criticised for espousing heterosexuality and the idea of a gender binary, which helped spur the development of Dianic Wicca in the 1970s for those who wanted to worship the goddess alone and only in the company of women. This policy has proven problematic as many of its covens forbid transgender women from participating.
- Ceremonial refers to the strict adherence to and skilful performance of rites and ceremonies as prescribed by tradition.
- Brujeria is a catchall phrase for the centuries-old, if not millennia-old, witchcraft practises of Africa, the Caribbean, and indigenous Latin America. However, Latinas, proud of their origin, are increasingly reclaiming the word bruja, Spanish for a witch, and updating it with more modern connotations, such as the gender-neutral bruja.
- Solitary: This category includes witches who do not associate with a coven but instead practise their chosen form(s) of witchcraft independently.
- Eclecticism is a less isolating path for people who blend and mash together different cultural practices.
- Acquire the appropriate vocabulary.
- After studying witchcraft for a year and a day, a new witch is ready to join a coven and become a full-fledged member of the magical community through a series of rituals known as initiation. Those who undergo further initiations and demonstrate sufficient knowledge, experience, and commitment might rise to the high priest or priestess position and serve as the Wiccan coven’s spiritual head.
- A coven is a group of practising witches who have been inducted into a particular tradition and are generally governed by a high priest or priestess. Wiccan covens frequently observe sabbats or seasonal feasts that occur regularly throughout the year and are collectively known as the Wheel of the Year (Esbats refer to gatherings that don’t occur on the Sabbath, such as those held to see a full moon).
- Wiccans reserve a particular space, called an “altar,” for rituals, including spell casting, chanting, and adoring the divine. The altar is typically covered in a fabric embroidered with symbols to prevent damage from incense, liquids, candle wax, and other ritual implements like wands, chalices of water, and cauldrons.
- The pentagram is a common symbol in Wicca, and, confusingly enough, the Church of Satan has quite successfully claimed possession of their inverted version. Still, a pentacle is a magical object like an amulet or talisman that appears on an altar (Inverted pentacles need not be satanic; nonetheless, Wiccans have mostly stopped using them because of their negative connotation).