Witches: how do you practice Witchcraft? How do you get in touch with magic? Where and when and what do ..?

Question

...you use?

It seems to me that it is what we DO that makes us Witches. I want to enlighten those who don't know what we do, and perhaps show our practices to some newcomers to the Craft.

Answer 1

I find myself in similar practices to Raji. Magic has always been a a part of my life; I do not differentiate between it and the rest of my day. Magic is in us, around us, in everything we do and see. The key is being able to see it.

The smallest wish or anxiety has magic, and can work for you even when it seems to work against you. Case in point- this weekend, I was supposed to go to a convention as a seller, a panelist and workmanship judge. I'm also in the middle of packing to move. It was to be a three day thing, and I was feeling the anxiety of having to prepare for it, try to stuff in as much packing as I could before and after, etc etc. Well, a messup happened - my table is gone - so no selling. Bad thing? Yep, could have used the money. Good thing? Totally. Now I go for one day to be a panelist and judge, I don't have to pay my fees, don't have to pay for hotel and I get more face time with people, which in the end could bring me more money. See what I mean? Plus I regain two days for packing.

As for tools and rituals and sabbats and so forth- never saw them as a neccessity. Yes, they exist, and on a rare occasion, one comes into play. Most of my magic is done through my work, so whatever needle I pick up, whichever pair of scissors, which hatframe or roll of buckram, whichever cloth - those are my tools for the day. Maybe my toool of the day is a broom and a dustpan. Maybe it's a shovel and some plants. Maybe it's my computer,. or my stove.

Everything and nothing can be used as a tool to help you focus.

Sometimes, where I am now, I feel a lack of nature. and sometimes, it's so hot and humid out I cannot abide being out. Where I'm going, nature is part of everyday life, and embraced.

I have rarely used a formalized spell, with all the gestures and doohickeys. Instead, I am often spur of the moment, as the need arises. But then, I still follow what I was taught and use "spells" rarely - "think three times before using a spell, and then if at all possible, don't do it." But when I do feel a need to use them, I do, and they work.

I would rather live in magic than have it a thing on a shelf that I must purposefully pick up and do.

How long have I been at it? 38 years. When will I stop? when I die.

Oh, and for the fanatical Christians who are about to tell us how horrible we are - two of my best teachers were CHRISTIANS - and energy use and manipulation(which is all magic really is - is done by EVERY priest and every minister who has conviction and firm belief in what they are doing. Don't believe me? Then go to mass, go to service where the minister or priest really believes and lives as a good christian as much as he- or she- can. The magic of it surrounds you, calms you, and fills you. It's as good as a walk in the woods, IMO.

Answer 2

I don't do spells much. I do a lot of meditation now and again, and some of the things I contemplate may take on the nature of spells. Mostly what I do is set up my magical tools in a special place, and have them there as a constant centering.

When My Steve was alive, we did Sabbats. Eight times a year, at the solstices, the equinoxes and the mid-points between them, we did a pretty elaborate ritual which was our adaptation of ceremonial magic. I made robes for both of us, different colors for the different seasons, we cleared and purified the kitchen table and put an altar cloth on it, put out our magical tools in a specific pattern, and had cakes and wine and cast a circle around the table, and did our ritual. Obviously I cannot give you details.

It is perhaps more significant to tell you what I have NOT done: never sacrificed an animal, let alone a human. The only blood I have shed was my own, a mere drop. I have never cursed anyone, although once when I was very new to the craft, I lit a black candle for an old lady to move on. She's still alive and healthy some 20 years later! Now, of course, I am glad she is.

Mostly, I consider myself a witch because these are the symbols I use, the method I use to reach for higher levels of consciousness. And because I have been reading Tarot cards for some 35 years.

Answer 3

I've been aware of magick since I was a small child. I could see and sometimes manipulate auras and other energy fields, and although it was frustrating when I wanted to show someone else and they just couldn't see what I was doing, I never believed them when they told me it was "just my imagination." Not that I didn't have a strong imagination--but I knew the difference.

As an adult, the magick and the mundane, the sacred and the secular, are not separated. I don't use a lot of props unless I'm having a hard time focusing. Maybe a candle, or two if I'm asking the help or blessing of a specific deity. If I'm working for someone else, I'll sometimes ask permission to use a photo of that person. Magick strictly for myself usually takes place in my kitchen, with a cup of the appropriate herbal tea.

I used to cast a circle with an athame or wand, but these days I mostly do it mentally, and I've seen no sign that my spells or prayers suffer from it.

That's my personal practice. Magick performed with the help of my coven almost always involves more props and trappings because it's much easier to work together that way.

Answer 4

witches practice witchcraft touch magic

Answer 5

If what I do makes me a witch, then psychologists be ware!

Lol. I do call myself a witch, since I have studied witchcraft and I do use the spells and rituals therein to effect positive internal change. However, after years of higher education, I suppose I'm too skeptical to really believe that I'm in contact with some greater force or universal energy that I can change with a bit of concentration. I'm a fan of using actions to change the world around me.

That being said, witchcraft is an excellent tool for effecting psychological and emotional change. As a force of internal improvement, I have yet to find anything better. The combination of self-hypnosis, an altered state of consciousness and focus building really allows the user to take control of their own mind and in turn their life.

I use rituals as a way of building my self-awareness of life changes and as goal posts in my life. I use spells to increase my awareness of what I need or want and what needs to happen for me to get there. They are powerful motivational tools. I use chanting for positive message reinforcement. And I use the ritual tools to stimulate my mind and acheive inner focus.

Answer 6

In my practice of Witchcraft, I keep the sacred Wheel of the year and worship on all 8 Sabats. I also worshipfor all 13 Full moons and the New Moons as well. I prepare healing oils, tinctures, Tisanes, Decoctions, powders and other healing remedies from the wild herbs that I gather. In my gathering forays, I only take less than 1/4 of any stand of herbs, to ensure that the stand will recover and thrive. I return to those stands of herbs when they have produced seeds and gather 1/4 of the seeds and search for a similar set of conditions and sow a new stand of that particular herb. I tend BOTH the old and new stand as though they were wild gardens, weeding, watering and generally tidying up the area. I care for the Forest around me as though it were one HUGE garden, removing deadfall and invasive weeds (plants that are NOT native to the area). My surrounding property has been restored to the state that it was in before the Europeans brought in European weeds and non-native plants. I do that because THAT is what Nature (Goddess) intended to grow here.

I offer my healing remedies to anyone who asks for or needs them and I do NOT charge for them. I do it out of love for God(ess) as well as love for my fellow humans. I also do the same for the animals around me, both wild and domesticated. I have nursed back to health MANY wild animals including: A Crow with a broken wing, young fawns whose mother had been killed on the road, young, orphaned rabbits, raccoons, skunks squirrels and other injured or sick animals that always seem to wander up to my front door. They seem to actually KNOW that there is a human that WILL help them and nurse them back to health.

THAT is what MANY Witches do. In more than 36 years of Being a Witch, I have only done spellwork 3 times (All 3 were totally successful). I do meditation and try to use meditation to calm myself, to open my mind to learning new things, to seek the answers withing myself whenever thatis possible, and generally to figure out HOW to just be a better person. In more than 36 years I have NEVER, not even once< worshipped ANY form of the "Devil", Satan, or any other being devoted to Evil. I don't even acknowledge such a being, so how could I worship one? I also do Tarot readings and other forms of Divination both for myself and for friends and relatives.

Oh, and I make some wonderful Mead and Wines. :)

Answer 7

when I practiced I used a lot of green magic. I communed with nature quite a bit and thrived off the energies that earth and mother nature provided. I recommend establishing what categories you fall into such as the elements and your astrological signs and work with those methods that coincide the most with your personality and who you are.

Answer 8

I don't really use magic, but I do like to get in touch with the power of the Earth by going for walks outside on windy days. I absolutely LOVE going outside on summer nights and gazing at the full moon (yes, I know it's stereotypical) but it's so beautiful and cool and peaceful.

As for practice, all of mine takes the form of doing things to save the Earth: recycling, riding the bus or walking when I can, and teaching my 9-year-old to protect and care for our precious planet, and to love and respect all of its inhabitants.

Answer 9

>> go kings go - how very insulting. what if i said there is no such thing as a christian/catholic/mormon? that they are just a fairy tale? and that the very mention of them makes me think of evil? silly boy. of course we exist, we are here talking to each other!!! and we do not go round with pointy noses on broomsticks, that was a christian invention, created out of fear of our powers and abilities. tsk tsk. these folk, will they never learn?

i am in touch with magic at all possible times. it ranges from waking up and smiling at the sight and scent of my flowers, from looking after the environment and Gaia, to performing specific tasks to ask for blessings upon people who ask for healing or advice etc, through to making my oils and creams that help manifest physical healing and therapy. it also emerges in my teaching at work, and my advice to my children, their guidance.
i may use candles to burn and help me concentrate and focus. i may use music, either listening or creating my own,. perhaps i will walk widdershins (anti-clockwise) around a specific tree or standing stone (we are blessed with many of the latter in wales!) to invoke the power of the Creatress.
all is done with good motive, good intent, with kindness and love.
as a solo hedgewitch, i often do these things alone, but i also have friends in a grove who are druids, and i sometimes join with them for specific ceremonies if i feel the time is right or fortuitous.

blessed be

(((lady m)))

)o(

Answer 10

Ummmmmm, you have been watching too much Charmed. Get a life, go outside, turn off the TV. Stop playing with the damn wigi boards. Stop kissing frogs. Put your mom's broom back in the damn closet, you can't fly on it. If you want to fantasize about it, fine, read a nice book about witches. BUT THEY DO NOT EXIST IN REAL LIFE, except on Halloween.