Learn & Grow for Ourselves and the World

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To Learn and Grow is the Third goal of Witchcraft. Whether you’re a practicing witch or just a normal person, its important to continue learn and grow from your studies.

Learn & Grow

Everyone has seen the funny memes about witches and jars. Witches love jars. I will attest to that. I’ve been known to buy food and wine specifically for the jar they come in. It’s like a 2 in 1 purchase. I get the consumable and also the packaging!

Another one of those funny things about witches is that they love books. In all my years networking and making friends with witches all over the world, I’ve only met one whose not that big into books. That has more to do with her ADD than her desire to learn.

Every other witch I know has a large library and a list of books to read. Some are informational and some are fiction.

Witches are seekers of knowledge. They want to know more. Whether they get their education from books, websites, coven members, or experience, they don’t stop consuming ideas.

We as humans are wired to learn. Its what our brain was created to do.

Learn & Grow from History

One thing I can’t stress enough, is to learn the history of Witchcraft. Study the real history as opposed to the Hollywood version. Learn about the Salem Witch trials and the Inquisition in Europe. Research magical practices in other countries as well.

Learn the history from the history books and well researched documentaries. Books on witchcraft may give a brief history to support their own opinions but don’t take it as absolute fact. Do your own research.

Understand how misinformation, jealousy, and fear flavored those times in our history as well as how it still affects the way women and minorities are treated.

It is you’re job to learn and grow from this understanding. It is not your job to teach anyone else. You can if you want, but you don’t have to. Unlike certain Christians sects that are obliged to “Witness” to everyone, witches don’t get brownie points for proselytizing.

Learn the Fundamentals

If you want to practice witchcraft, you need to learn how to do it. Its not enough to know how to perform a handful of spells. That’s a nice start but its important to keep going. Learn more spells. Delve into different aspects of witchcraft. Learn the theory behind them. Read books, ask questions, seek knowledge.

There are some basics skills involved in practicing magic. These skills are where the witchcraft books come in handy. They aren’t the easiest skills to learn but they will be used over and over. Just like learning math, if you don’t get the basics down, you’ll find more advanced work incredibly difficult.

Some of this will be things you can read about but most of it will be learned by doing.

Grounding out extra energy, building up energy, casting protective circles, calling the corners, your ancestors, spirit guides, or particular Deities.

Learn how to recognize the different energies, identify where they’re coming from and practice manipulating them.

Spellwork

Casting spells is actually the fun part of the craft. I find it to be a lot like cooking; you start off following a recipe but as you get better you learn to tweak those recipes to accommodate your preferences until finally, you’re familiar enough with the necessary ingredients and can create your own recipes.

Cast more spells, learn how the ingredients work independently and also together. Adjust those generic spells to fit your needs and what you have on hand. Add more elements, more layers just to see what happens.

Does it improve your results?
Take all that knowledge and experience and write your own spells.

Crystals

Crystals are fun to learn about but be careful, its easy to get addicted. Take a break from the fundamentals of spell casting to learn about the energies and uses of crystals. Pick a few up.

A clear quartz point is useful to amplify the energies of all other elements in a spell or space.
Amethyst is a good stone to help open your third eye, connect with spirit guide and enhance your divination practice.
Rose quartz is the stone to choose if you need to work on yourself or encourage a loving atmosphere in specific place.

Also, don’t be intimidated to find out how those crystals were formed, where they come from and how to take care of them. Some are pretty hardy and some will dissolve in water. Some are 100% safe and some can be toxic if held near the skin too long or dropped into drinks.

Herbs

Herbcraft can be extensive and complicated. Take this slowly. I always felt like I needed to know everything about every herb and then got overwhelmed.

Start with a few herbs. Learn about what they’re used for in spell work, in healing, and in cooking. Is it even edible? Some are definitely not. Some are in your spice cabinet and used every week. Learn to activate their magical properties.

If you’re so inclined, try growing a few. I’ve learned so much by growing and nurturing the plants. If you’re new at the growing part, I would suggest starting with your kitchen spices. They tend to be easier to grow.

Divination

Not every witch can read tarot cards or scry into crystal balls. All of them should work on practicing. Learn to read tarot or oracle cards. Get to know your pendulum. Connect with these tools to better understand their nuances.

Human behavior

You my lovely witch, do not live in a bubble. If you’re lucky, you live in a remote location and don’t have to deal with a lot of people on a regular basis. The rest of us are smack dab in the middle of hundreds if not thousands of people everyday. A person can be reasonable, people are stupid.

Its no secret, I don’t like large crowds. However I do love people individually.

Understanding why people do what they do helps to navigate through the world. Being able to recognize the emotions behind the behaviors has a number of benefits.

First, it’ll help you keep your peace. You won’t feel as much of a need to fix things for them, or take their behavior personally, or get offended.

Second, if you choose…you can help them find their peace but only if its safe for you to do so. If in doubt, throw it out. In other words if you don’t know if you can help or if it would be dangerous for you to do so, stay away.

Study psychology. Seriously, go strait to the source, read the books on behavioral psychology written by the behavioral psychologists.

Witches are curious because we don’t know everything. I actually went to school to learn this and I still advise you to do your own research. I know my knowledge is limited. Trust your intuition when looking for knowledge sources.

Civics and Politics

Being a witch is personal, its spiritual, its empowering but its also political. If you’ve done your homework you’ll have noticed that the real witches, (not the ones that were persecuted in Salem) lived and worked on the fringes.

They knew the herbs and helped the sick. They held space for the grieving and championed for the disenfranchised.

We have an obligation to stay on top of what’s happening in our neck of the woods. We have a responsibility to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves as well as for those who aren’t being listened to.

There’s a lot of information out there. Some of it is factual and some has been twisted to fit personal agendas. Get as much information as possible from as many sources as possible and then weed out the crazy shit. Somewhere in between all the reports is the truth. Find it and act accordingly. We are obligated to learn and grow for our community as well as ourselves

Our Magical Edge

When we’re discussing actions to champion for the disenfranchised, we, as witches, have a magical edge. However we can also partake in the mundane aspects of protest, writing our representatives, boycotting offending business, marching in protests, etc.

Here’s a popular book on the subject:

Revolutionary Witchcraft: A Guide to Magical Activism by Sarah Lyons

Just be sure of the cause you’re supporting. As humans, we sometimes get addicted to being outraged. We like the feeling we get when someone says something that makes us mad or offended. Anger has some powerful energy. Make sure the drama you’re hearing is real and not convoluted or exaggerated specifically to trigger you’re emotions.

As a witch, we manipulate energies to bring about results. When we’re new to it and just starting our journey, we hone our skills by practicing on ourselves and fixing our own lives. As we get better we lend our energies to making our world a better place. We have a responsibility to take care of our Earth and all the occupants on it.

Once you define your own values and ethics you’ll be able to determine where to lend your energies and when to just wish the cause well and get on with your own business.

Learn & Grow from different things

I’ve never been real big in the athletic circuit but I recall a buzz about cross-training and it can apply to whatever craft you practice.

The idea was that after so long doing the same exercise you’re muscle memory has peaked and your workout routine no longer offers the same level of benefits. The cure for that was to switch up and do something different a couple days a week. So if your exercise of choice was to power walk then once or twice a week you should opt for a yoga class or a spin class. This would shake up the muscles and improve the quality of all your workouts.

Einstein called this Combinatory Play and it holds true in all practices. If you’re a quantum physicist and you get stuck on a theory, put it aside and play basketball or plant a garden. Take a break and focus on something else for a while. The answer to the theory will come to you when you least expect it, often times because of the alternative activity.

So your thing is songwriting and your Muse has left the building. You can freak out and panic or you could try something different. Walk away from words and melodies. Pick up a paintbrush and some watercolors. Bake a cake. Plant a garden.

(I’m a huge fan of gardening)

Our craft is only a part of our story

As a witch, if you’re focus is only on your craft, you can get burned out. Your routines can become complacent and lose effectiveness. Take a break and learn something new.

A few years ago my Dad gifted us a subscription to The Smithsonian magazine. I’ve renewed it because it’s excellent for this type of cross training. If I find myself stuck on a topic or mulling over a problem I’ll grab a random issue and vibe. I do the same thing with music and exercise.

Take up a new hobby. Throw yourself into a completely random subject. Jump down a new rabbit hole and get lost for a few hours. It may seem counterintuitive but I promise you’ll gains some clarity and a little energy.