Pretty New Things

I'm at a point where I want pretty new things.

I have a rather long list of items that I want to buy, such as: cast iron cauldron, certain gems and crystals, a new tarot deck, etc.

I made a trip to my favorite Witchy store, Garden of Enchantment in Old Sacramento, expecting to pick up all of the things that I've been wanting. It didn't really turn out the way I expected, though! The things I wanted, plus books that I wanted to buy, would have cost me half my paycheck. Just a tarot deck alone was $20, which is what I spent on a week's worth of groceries just hours later. To keep my shopping simple and cheap, I ended up buying a small rose quartz and a green candle (both for spells I'm planning).

I currently don't work with a whole lot of tools or aids. I typically work with things I find in nature. I get most of my research material online, so I don't really spend much on book purchases. I really wanted to pick up a few new items and books to enhance my practice, but I can see now that I'm going to have to rethink my shopping list. I narrowed it down to just a few essentials:

• Books. Those are staying on the list. There are a few essentials that I want to read. After all, there really isn't much else for a solitary Witch to turn to, I guess.
• Herbs to add to my garden. Rather than buying bunches of dried herbs to work with, I will just learn to grow more of them myself!
• A new tarot deck. Mine got lost somewhere amongst 3 moves and I really want to get back into tarot.

The biggest item being knocked off the list is a rune set. I will make one of my own. The gems and crystals I want can be acquired over time. And maybe I can find the books I want on bargain somewhere in a used bookstore.

 How do you do it? Buying tools and other desired items can be really tough for a Witch on a budget!

Fear of Self

One of the things that held me back for a long time was fear of myself. I spent two years reading about and researching Witchcraft before I got the guts to actually start practicing. I was afraid of my own power.

The idea that I could use my mind and energy to control a situation or otherwise influence the world around me was scary. What if I did something wrong and made something bad happen? What if I accidentally hurt someone or myself? Or worse yet, what if there was a darkness hiding in me that managed to get out?

I didn't trust myself. Not one bit. And that doesn't mix well with Witchcraft at all. One of the biggest powers in Witchcraft is belief; in yourself, in your power, in your magick, in your ability to accomplish what you're attempting. But I didn't have that.

For a while I had a recurring dream that a menacing figure (which I now know to represent my fear of myself) was coming after me. It chased me everywhere and was constantly gaining ground no matter how fast I ran. Finally, I tried facing it. I stood up to it and used some sort of defensive spell that got out of hand. Storms began raging in the sky, floods closed in and squandered all of the life around me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out how to undo the damage I had caused. I had unleashed power that had gotten out of hand and grew far beyond my control. My fear projection just laughed at me.

It was after this dream that I knew I had to make some changes. In the next year, I spent time carefully getting to know myself and coming to terms with who I truly am. It wasn't until then that I realized there was nothing to fear, and I finally felt ready to begin practicing.

I am now seeing this same problem a lot in people who are looking to get into the Craft as a beginner. They fear that they may not be fully in control, or that they might do something wrong and cause unintended harm somewhere. I'm sure it's been this way for a number of newcomers since the beginning of time, but I'm just now seeing that I wasn't alone in harboring this fear when I started.

It is my belief that in order to successfully practice Witchcraft, you must be very familiar and comfortable with yourself. If you aren't, your self-doubt will get in the way and sabotage you and everything you try to do. Nothing will work because deep down, you don't want it to (for fear that it will go wrong). Just remember that Witchcraft is extremely personal, and you can do it entirely your way. Know that your intent and belief is what fuels it, so get to know yourself and what your intentions are. Practice meditation, keep a journal, pay attention to what your inner self says to you.

Am I a Wiccan Witch, or Just a Witch?

"So, are you a Witch or a Wiccan?"

This was the question I was asked recently, and I didn't really know how to answer it. First, I had to explain the difference between a Wiccan and a Witch.

To put it simply, I told the inquirer that a Witch is someone who works with and manipulates energies to help achieve a certain goal. A Witch may use crystals, herbs, tarot, etc to aid in their work. A Wiccan is someone who follows Wicca, which is essentially a nature-based religion. Someone can be a Witch and a Wiccan, or they can be either one and not the other. A Witch may even belong to another religion, like Christianity.

And still the question stands; which am I? I definitely consider myself a Witch, because I regularly practice Witchcraft. Many of my practices are very similar to those who call themselves Wiccan, but what it means to be Wiccan seems to vary greatly with each person who has an opinion on the matter.

I personally do not consider myself a Wiccan just because I do not work with deities. From my understanding, honoring and requesting aid from certain deities is a common practice in Wicca which makes sense because Wicca is a religion, after all. Since I believe that all of my power comes from within me and not from the aid of a deity, then I assume that I do not qualify as a typical Wiccan.

But that doesn't mean that my beliefs don't reflect those of a Wiccan. For example, I recently made and posted THIS IMAGE on Tumblr. I titled it "Witch's Pledge of Allegiance." In a nutshell, it states that I pledge my allegiance to the Earth and Moon, and promise to protect life and do good by all. The end. I immediately got a comment from a fellow Witch stating that this shouldn't be posted under Witchcraft because it was Wiccan and therefore didn't apply to Witches.

Well excuse me! I wasn't aware that Witches didn't work with the energies of Earth as influenced by the Moon, and that they didn't believe in using their knowledge and power to protect. MY BAD.

So I am just going to assume that the definition of Witch and Wiccan differs from person to person. I am a Witch, by my own definition. I am not a Wiccan, but I do share many beliefs with Wiccans. I guess anyone who disagrees should mind their own cauldrons!