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Any witches here?

1000 replies

speakout · 06/05/2018 14:13

Or Wiccans. or Pagans?

I was raised as a witch- my grandmother was born in 1890 and taught me how to scry, knotwork, many magical activities. She was a dresser of the dead and a lay midwife ( before the NHS).
I now practice my craft with enthusiasm.
A little tricky as my extended family are not supportive.

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WizardOfToss · 18/05/2018 10:28

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speakout · 18/05/2018 10:28

Giggorata some great suggestions and ideas.

I am not a big Cunningham fan either, I don't like the fact that he has almost set of this whole neo Wicca stuff.
Yes Wicca is an old term and no doubt an old craft, but frankly a lot of his stuff is fabrication.
I hate the hierarchy, the idea that initiation is important, that there are rules- the Rede, the threefold return that I don't really support.

To me witchcraft is simply an extension of who we are. We mostly do good things hopefully, but sometimes things are not clear cut.

Many acts of magic are " grey" in my view.

Say you do a spell for success in interview - and get the job. In doing so you cause someone else to get rejected. Good magic for them, bad for the other person.
So in all possibly grey. But hey that is what life is about.

I will happily perform binding spells to stop bullies, I may do a revenge " mirror" spell which reflects back bad energies- that may cause harm, but the energy has been manifest from the person themselves, not me.
So although I find Cunningham is worth reading I take a lot of it with a pinch of salt. I think he was a little too keen on self glorification and bathing in the Svangali bath that others provided.

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CiderwithSusie · 18/05/2018 12:54

Speakout - everything you are saying in your last post resonates with me, I looked into wicca a bit but just didn't feel comfortable with it. Maybe I am solo inclined and that's ok!

Thank you for the book recommendations Giggorata I will definitely look them out as I was never quite sure where to start.

VileyRose · 18/05/2018 12:57

Me :-)

PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks · 18/05/2018 13:10

speakout I'm talking more a Wicca, the hierarchy. We must all bow down to Maxine, because she's our Queen. Hmm I now belong to the Loose Association of Druids. No bollocks. 😊

PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks · 18/05/2018 13:12

*more about

gottaslowdown · 18/05/2018 13:18

Ooh so much to talk about. Have fallen into a wormhole of nature-witchery books Smile.

Have NO idea which one to choose. Are second-hand ones bad luck? One has a tear through the front cover, I'm sure that's symbolic Grin

Oddly. Just realised the week-old book on my bedside table is by a Third-generation Witch. Didn't know that when I bought it! Well, until just now actually.

gottaslowdown · 18/05/2018 13:20

I didn't have any wise witchedy folks in my family or ancestors. Sad I'm sure they were there though. Maybe undercover Grin

I would love a wise tribal elder to guide me and share our family healing with.

rightwellthen · 18/05/2018 13:21

Hi everyone, lovely thread to read, thank you. I've always felt magic in the World and never known how to harness or use it. But I have experienced the power of being able to influence a person's life with your own energy. For example when people say "Oh so and so really brings me down" etc.

So I've always tried to radiate positive energy and influence people's lives for the better. I always act with kindness and give everyone as much time and love as I can- it works and has such amazing and obvious results and I am always told my smile and laugh are infectious!

I have tried some spells- one to keep my parents together and one for happiness to come to me during my worst depression, they both worked for me. My parents are still together and happy and I have not suffered so much with depression since.

BlankTimes · 18/05/2018 14:13

I'm not a Cunningham fan either, but would recommend Kate West for anyone who is finding themselves interested in day to day small things that can make a difference. The Real Witches' Kitchen is a good one to start with, easy reading and everyday ingredients, then if that appeals, Rae Beth for more of a tutorial.
If anyone's interested in exploring the ancient places near them, have a look and see what's on your doorstep, you may be surprised.
www.megalithic.co.uk/
For a personal journey through experiences at ancient places, few are as well-documented as this one www.hedgedruid.com/

speakout · 18/05/2018 14:22

PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks oh yes I completely agree. One of the reasons that puts me off organised religion is the hierarchy, and there is a lot of that in Wicca too.
IMO no practitioner is better, higher or more senior to another, we are all on an individual path, and I don't recognise spiritual authority.
Which is another reason I prefer to work alone.
There are some lovely people I have met in covens, but also a lot of Priestess/Priest wannabes, who are too interested in control and power at the expense of others.

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speakout · 18/05/2018 14:24

Blanktimes, thanks for those links, yes I like Kate West too- especially her work around food. It's a very practical way to incorporate witchcraft into every day activities, we all have to eat and cook, and it's lovely to be able to easily put a magical spin on out kitchen activities.

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DoubleNegativePanda · 18/05/2018 15:12

So happy to have found you all. I'm a solo witch, mom and two sisters are witches, dad is loosely Pagan. I was raised with it, but rebelled in my early twenties and became Christian which utterly horrified my parents. I'm now back on the green road and raising my own witchling.

I find it hard to classify myself so I rarely bother. I'm asked by friends to make them healing compounds of one kind or another, which they are aware have spells in them but it's rarely mentioned. Things like a balm for a child's burn, tinctures and teas for heartburn etc or a spell for protection. Obviously not practicing medicine but alongside it. Another thing I do for friends and family are bottle spells and witch balls, mostly for protection but also for things like anxiety.

It doesn't have to be overt; not many other than my close friends know I'm a witch as I live in a very conservative fundamentalist area of the US. My very Christian boss has no idea I've sigils in oil on the underside of my desk.

DoubleNegativePanda · 18/05/2018 15:22

These are house protection bottles for a four-corners spell. Sent one each to mom and a sister and made one for my own house. The little guys to be hung in our cars for safe travel. The broom is only in the pic because I'd just made it for my mom and wanted to show her.

I like pictures more than words Smile

Any witches here?
speakout · 18/05/2018 16:55

It's so wonderful to hear of all these witches coming out of the broom closet on this thread. Very inspiring.
doublenegativepanda I love your bottles- they look amazing.

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ReginaOcarina · 18/05/2018 17:41

@BillywigSting your garden sounds so amazing! I am also drawn to wild flowers and we are looking to move to somewhere with more land where we can plant trees. DH ìs luckily a nature lover so fully supports this!

VileyRose · 18/05/2018 18:05

I agree about grouping and labels. I was brought up in a family of healers and witches so its 'normal' to be to be one with the earth. I had a handfasting in April. It was amazing.

LadyFlumpalot · 18/05/2018 18:51

Oh this is a fascinating thread. I am very much drawn to the ocean - it seems to speak to me. We always holiday by the sea, usually West Cornwall and if I disappear DH knows to find me perched on a rock watching the waves crash in my own little world.

I've also always felt the need to dot Rose Quartz and Amethysts around my house. I've never really considered myself religious but have always held to the quiet belief that nature is to be revered.

Maybe I ought to do some more reading on this!

VileyRose · 18/05/2018 18:54

All signs of hearing and following that call back to our nature, Lady.

That's just it. The word witch is even a negative word these days...yet here we are, little stirrings in the blood of women and we are starting to wake up to claim our rights!

speakout · 18/05/2018 19:04

here we are, little stirrings in the blood of women and we are starting to wake up to claim our rights!

Love it!

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gottaslowdown · 18/05/2018 19:06

Ooh this is really exciting. Have learned lots from you all. I seem to be more witchedy than I realised. Thank you for coming out of the broom cupboard! Star

speakout · 18/05/2018 19:29

gottaslowdown it is exciting. It's lovely to hear women feeling empowered by sharing. I think sometimes it's a dirty little secret that we feel we have to hide.
I guess we would have had to hide it not that long ago- we would have been in the ducking stool!

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LARLARLAND · 18/05/2018 19:31

Can I ask if it's wrong to curse your enemies?

DoubleNegativePanda · 18/05/2018 19:38

@larlarland I personally don't do it, because I was taught that what I put out into the world eventually makes it's way back to me. I would however bind someone who was doing me harm or causing me grief.

I know people that do curse, I'm just not comfortable with it.

@ladyflumpalot I'm also drawn to water. I live in a landlocked desert-y type place now and am very much looking forward to when I can go home to live on the coast again.

GemmaB78 · 18/05/2018 20:10

How appropriate that I stumbled across this thread as I have just started to explore these elements within myself. I would certainly say I am profoundly drawn to nature - yes, yes, yes to feeling that a forest - any forest - is home. Whenever I have had a garden, I have always grown herbs. Always. I am very attuned to nature's cycles: the seasons and the moon. I have always been drawn to the tarot. And I am a healer. If you know your chakras, I always see the Crown chakra is purple, which is indicative of a healer. I always get hot hands after a yoga and meditation time.

And at the moment I am drawn to all things Norse: the Norse mythology (currently reading through Neil Gaiman's rendition), the language, the history - thank goodness I live in York ;-)

What I do with all this is don't yet know. I am drawn to some of the reading suggestions given above, particularly the kitchen stuff. So I think that, and magical herbology, are my starting points.

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