Hello everyone! I've seen a ton of posts made by those new to the craft, and thought it might be helpful to some to create a guide of sorts to get newer witches started.
Disclaimer: This post is by no means comprehensive. In other words, this is not everything you need to begin your practice, and this isn't universal either! This post will contain many commonly provided tips, but depending on your path, some things may not be used or may be treated differently.
Basic Terminology
Some basic terms you should research include but are not limited to: intent, grounding, cleansing, meditation, centering, warding, and circle casting. These are very basic terms that you should research on your own, but I will give brief summaries of below.
Intent: Your intent for a working is the goal you have in mind for something. This is crucial to the success of a spell, ritual, or other task.
Grounding: This involves sort of connecting you energy to the Earth's, which allows you to draw on the Earth's energy to prevent the depletion of your own energy.
Cleansing: Cleansing in witchcraft is the removal of old energies from a space or thing, and can be done in a variety of ways depending on the materials that you have available.
Meditation: This is pretty self explanitory, and goes along with centering. As you meditate, you clear your mind of anything bothering you in order to focus solely on your intent without distraction.
Warding: Wards are protective shields that can be places around an area you frequent, or directly on yourself. They keep out any unwanted energy or entities. You should absolutely ward in layers (meaning multiple types) and be very specific in your warding.
Circle casting: Similarly to a ward, a circle will keep out unwanted energy or entities. These are very temporary, usually only meant to last the duration of a spell. Not every witch casts them for every spell, but at minimum they should be cast for spirit work and more complex spells and rituals, or anything that will take you a longer amount of time. Methods vary on this one especially, so look up many and see which you like best according to your tradition and materials.
Wicca vs. Witchcraft
I am not a Wiccan, so I don't know all of the specifics of a Wiccan lifestyle or practice. However, many mix up the two and think to be one, you must be both. This is false. Wicca is a religion, which includes witchcraft as a practice or component of religious workings. Witchcraft on the other hand is a practice involving magic, of which anyone can participate regardless of religion.
How do I know a spell is fake?
In general, this comes from experience. However, it is very clear that certain types of spells are fake, such as anything other-worldly like werewolf spells, teleportation spells, body-altering spells (ie: eye color, gender swapping), and -kinesis spells. If a spell seems too good to be true or promises amazing results like sprouting a tail, it is likely fake.
Some Beginner-Friendly Topics
Some topics that I personally loved as a beginner included: astrology (can get complex), color magic, sigils, candle magic, plant work/botany, elemental work, basic knot magic, lunar magic, sabbats, lunar magic, crystal and herbal correspondences, and divination. This is by no means all of the beginner friendly topics, but it is helpful to give you a place to begin research. Looking into these may aid you in finding your interests and therefore a path to begin with.
Grimoire vs. BOS
Some opinions vary a bit on this, but typically a grimoire is more of a magical textbook and a Book of Shadows (BOS) is more personal, containing results of rituals and spell plannings and such. You can absolutely have many of each. If you're afraid of messing up a more formal one, have a less formal one (think spiral notebook) for information, then transfer over to the more formal one more slowly. Either way, now is a perfect time to start one, as it will be the best way to sort and maintain your new research.
Why don't my spells work?
Often, spells may not work for many reasons. For example, if you do not ground and center properly, the spell might fail. Grounding allows the spell to have all of the energy it needs, and centering allows you to focus on your intent. If you're not focused, the intent will be less strong. Additionally, dwelling or worrying over a spell too much afterwards can result in damaging the intial intent.
Another reason a spell might not work is you aren't working with the spell. For example, a spell with the intent "I attract love." will not work if you never leave the house and never talk to people online (but please practice social distancing and internet safety!) You sometimes have to meet the spell halfway.
Spells might also fail if they were too specific (ie: This Monday at 2:15pm I will receive $500) or too vague (ie: I will get money.) The first one fails because it doesn't allow the universe to properly manifest your desires. The second would fail because, technically speaking, a penny on the ground is money.
Finally, you might not be giving the spell enough time! A lot of spells may take days or weeks to manifest.
For now, that is all I have in mind to share. Anyone can of course add on as they see fit. If you want me to cover another topic or have questions, feel free to respond or mail me and I'll see what I can do. Again, this is not a flawless guide to magic, and you should research a ton outside of this. I hope this helps someone out!
For Beginner Witches
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