So, you've decided that you want to study witchcraft and aren't sure where or how to go about it. Although there are many witch's on TV in various programs that target all ages, from cartoons to teen sitcoms and even programs that are aimed at the adult community, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding the practice of witchcraft out in the real world.
Long gone are the days when witches were burned at the stake, thank goodness, but it's probably safe to say that if you were to walk into your local beauty parlor or other gathering place for people of your age and ask if anyone could tell you where the local Magyk shop was located, you would most likely not get a lot of positive help on the subject. But, this is most likely because, witches as a whole are often loners, or they only share their beliefs and practice their craft with a small group of likeminded people. And the rest of the world is very uneducated on the subject, and its pretty normal for us humans to be suspicious of things that we know little of. Hopefully, someday in the not too far future, you will be able to comfortably speak to anyone about being a witch and not have to worry about them thinking that you are evil, crazy or possibly both. By sharing some of the mysteries that surround the craft with the others we can help make these worries a thing of the past for Witches in the years ahead.
Now, back to those steps for your path to becoming a Witch!
First of all, you should decide what kind of Witch that you want to become, along with the type of Magyk that you want to practice. There are many paths you can follow and there are more paths along the way that you can explore, as well. But, one of the things that make the practice of Witchcraft such a wonderful path is that every person is able to customize their practice to fit with their own beliefs and interests. Isn't that great? Kind of like a make your own religion kit. Many people thing that being a Witch is about performing rituals on full moon nights and casting spells in dark rooms with unknown ingredients mixed together in big black cauldrons. But, there is much more to it than that and even before you can think about casting a spell or taking part in a ritual, you must first learn to opening up yourself to your surroundings and listening to the universe as it speaks to you of the secrets it holds.
My suggestion at this point is to head down to your local library and look for the section that deals with Mysticism, Religions, Etc. There you will find mixed in with the books on all of the well-known and mainstream religions such as Christianity and Eastern religion, as well as books dealing with Paganism and the Occult. The practice of Wicca religion will probably have the most titles, as it is the first mainstream Witchcraft faction that has come on the scene. We all should be grateful for the Wicca way, as it is paving the path of acceptance for Witches everywhere. Now that you have found the books that discuss the craft you should take the time to read thru a few on the different types of Witchcraft, you will most likely want to check of few of them of the library so that you can take your time and really get a good feel for these practices, so that you can further study the one or even ones that you feel most drawn to.
Once you have learned a little or a lot about the various types of Witchcraft practices, and you have chosen those that you identify with most you are well on your way to becoming a real Witch. Actually, by doing this research and selecting your path, you have already used one of the most powerful tools that a Witch has at her disposal. That tool is her intuition. You will find as you progress in your understanding of Witchcraft that trusting your intuition and following the paths that are laid out before you will lead you in the right direction almost every time. I want to share a secret with you that I have learned in my quest for living a Magycal life, allowing myself to keep myself open to the Magyk that surrounds me and listening to the Magyk that lives inside of me are the strongest tools I have at my disposal at al times, whether I am casting a spell at my altar or at the mall. How, you might ask do I do that? I can tell you that the easiest way is by doing something that you may already be familiar with meditating. That's right, by sitting quietly with yourself, you will find the Magyk begins to flow around and inside of you, and with practice you will learn to harness and use that Magyk in many different ways.
There we have it the first step to becoming your own Witch. Look for step 2 in the near future. In it I will go over the different tools that a Witch uses and where to get them. I will also tell you how to make some of them yourself. You will also learn how to set up your own sacred space or alter. See you then!
