Hello, I am a 14 year old teenager and I was wondering: do you need to cast a "Becoming a Witch" spell or ritual to become a Wiccan witch? My friend, whose mom is Pagan and stepmom is Wiccan, says that to become a witch and be able to perform magick you need a initiation spell first? Can an experienced witch well-versed in Wicca explain this to me, please? Thank you and blessed be!
-Ichijou Komachi
no. 'witch' is just a title [like 'christian' or 'buddhist' you follow the path, you can therefore call yourself a 'witch' if you feel it suits you.]
they might be referring to a dedication ritual where you basically introduce yourself to the deities you work with, explain why you wish to follow the path, and have some cake and ale [or fruit juice and cookie in my case lol] with the deity/deities as thanks.
Wiccans have a year and a day ritual where you study for a year and a day, reflection and practicing so you can understand yourself and the path and choose if it's right for you. but it's not a spell.
I have been a Wiccan High Priestess since 1996. Let me see if I can help you out here.
First of all, there is a difference between "Witch" and "Wiccan".
Witchcraft is a form of magical practice. If you wish to call yourself a Witch and feel that that description fits what you are doing then you may call yourself a Witch. The vast majority of Witches practice alone and do not see a need for any sort of dedication or initiation. There is an excellent discussion about Traditional Witchcraft by Weatherwax at http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=683497
When Wicca was first crafted by Gerald Gardner in the 1930's and 1940's it was specifically a religion designed to be practiced only in a coven setting, and initiation was necessary to become part of a coven. Initiation was never a spell, nor was it done by a person on themselves. Initiation is a ritual performed by a coven to bring a new member into the coven and Tradition's group mind and connect them to the Mysteries.
These days the vast majority of new Wiccans practice as solitaries. In this case initiation is not required and would be essentially meaningless as there is no linking with a group. What is appropriate for a solitary is to perform a dedication ritual in which you promise before the Lord and Lady to follow a Wiccan path. Again, no spell is required.
For more information on Wicca and what it is all about you might want to read the threads in
Again I will point out that "self-initiation" is a misnomer. You cannot initiate yourself. The correct term would be "self-dedication" where you conduct a ritual to make promises to the Lord and Lady to follow the beliefs of Wicca.
