Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Simple Witchery: Don’t Be That Witch

Simple Witchery: Don’t Be That Witch

Last updated on: January 2, 2024 at 8:25 pm by Willow Rose

0 Comments

Simple Witchery: Don’t Be That Witch 2024-01-02T20:25:45+00:00 Willow Rose

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As an elder witch, I try not to let little things bother me. I’m too old to be wasting my energy and squandering my power. Still, there are a few things I see in my wanderings around witch spaces that poke at my peaceful composure like a devil with a pitchfork.

Here’s my trifecta of behaviors to banish if you want to advance in your craft, increase your power and just be a really cool witch.

Ditch the dark and dangerous witch stereotype. Public domain image by Victoria via Pixabay.

You’re a Witch – with a W

It’s not spelled with a B. You know the witch I’m talking about, who never misses an opportunity to tell everybody how dark, devious and dangerous she is. “Mess with me at your own risk.”

These witches use aggressive language meant to intimidate and dismiss others. In the worst case, they humiliate and bully with insults. They look for weak spots to poke a stick in, before somebody can expose their gaping wounds. They are the mean girls of the witching realms. Either you follow their lead unquestioningly, or you can hit the road.

In social media groups, they manifest as one of two demagogues—the administrator who brags about how easily they banish members from the group for even the hint of an infraction, or the member who flounces out in a self righteous huff over some perceived slight, leaving a dire warning behind.

There is a vast chasm between power of and power over. One is self control, the other is abusive control. The self-proclaimed badass witch is on an ego trip with the shadow sitting in the driver’s seat, large and in charge. They are on their own journey.

Don’t diminish your power by calling yourself a baby witch. Public domain image by behrouz sasani via UnSplash.

You’re Not a Baby Witch

I’m pretty sure I never used the term baby witch for myself, even in my earliest explorations into the craft. Nor do I apply it to others. If any witch self-identifies as a baby witch, so be it, but I refuse to reinforce that infantilizing characterization.

Babies are helpless, in need of total care and nurturing from the adults around them. While their brains are little sponges ready to absorb any new information, the information they are capable of processing is rudimentary. I don’t devalue the beauty in that very basic learning process, but there is a difference between learning how to drink from a cup, and understanding the symbology and use of the chalice in ritual. The first is the task of a baby, the second is the work of a novice seeker.

Perhaps more importantly, the term baby witch denies novice witches personal agency, as Sidney Eileen explains in Words Have Power – Why “Baby Witch” Is Problematic.

Words definitely have power. Just think about that for a moment—if we don’t believe in the power of words, then what good are spoken spells? The words you use make a difference. The word you choose to define yourself creates an energy. Do you really want to be a baby?

If you’re new to the craft, just dipping your toe into the magickal waters, there are better descriptors you can choose. You are a seeker, a novice, a newbie or a beginner. You are not a baby.

Your ability to manifest desires depends on the work you put into your craft. Public domain image sourced by the author from Mystic Stock Shop.

Don’t Be A Lazy Witch

There’s a difference between simplifying your witchcraft, and just being too lazy to do the work. As Gretchen Little said in Embracing Imperfect Witchcraft, “I believe it’s (witchcraft is) less about following rules and more about how much time you’ve spent on cultivating your personal power.” That same belief is what set me on the path of Simple Witchery.

We’ve all encountered the lazy witch. They ask for a spell to do this or that, they want to know what they can do with an herb they have, or wonder if everything they see is a sign. And it seems they all want to know how they can vex or hex someone who has done them wrong.

Of course, if you are in any witch groups (online or in person) it’s okay to ask questions. Most experienced or elder witches are happy to guide you, but don’t expect them to do your homework for you. Effort and Experience = Efficacy. Your ability to achieve a desired result is in direct relation to the work you put into it.

Lets look at if a different way. Growing up in a family that embraced mainstream Christian religion, I often heard the adage, God helps those who help themselves. The secular equivalent is, the results you get are equivalent to the effort you put in. For an example, you can’t pray to god for a job, or if not praying then hope for a job, but just sit around and do nothing to get a job. Okay, once in a while, somebody might come along of the blue with a job offer, but most often, we have to make the effort to seek and apply for work.

Likewise witchcraft cannot do for you what you won’t do for yourself. And just like the miraculous job that drops into your lap, you might have some hit and miss success with your lazy witchcraft, but you’ll never really grow in your power.

The most important component for manifesting your desire, is the personal energy you put into attracting it. When I put time and effort into researching what herb best serves my purpose, when I look for examples, but still craft my own spell, when I stop relying on others’ interpretations and ask myself why a particular rock on a beach full of similar stones might be a sign, I’m building that cache of energy that goes into the final working. Over the years, that energy is stored, and like a battery, it charges all the magick I do.

The bottom line is you can be a dabbler, or you can become an adept. By definition, a dabbler is an amateur, trifler or tinker—one who isn’t seriously committed to the practice at hand. A dabbler doesn’t put forth sustained effort and tends to pick and choose the easier or more dramatic aspects of the craft for their practice.

A group can offer support for new witches. Public domain image by Sierra Koder via UnSplash.

A group can offer support and be a place for fun and companionship for new witches, bon’t rely on witch groups, especially online, for your primary source of information. You may find that there are dozens of witches more than willing to answer all your questions, some in great detail, but you don’t know who they are, you don’t know if their information is from practice and experience, or something they just googled. And in many cases, you could end up more confused by all of the conflicting advice.

A good mentor will tell you where to look for answers. If you’re inquiring what herb helps with increasing luck they might suggest you look at mint, or cinnamon. When you do this, you’ll probably notice there are a few others consistently mentioned and that each one has a slightly different nuance—to attract general prosperity, increase wealth, or support health. You’ll learn what herbs you can use interchangeably, depending on what you have available. All of this is charging your witch battery.

There’s a mistaken notion among younger witches, that elders don’t want to share their knowledge. Or that because it was so much harder for us — we didn’t have the internet, and the few books that were available were hard to obtain — that we want it to be hard for them too.

Far from it. Like the stories of Baba Yaga and Vasilisa The Beautiful (or Brave), the crone witch knows that the real magick is in what you learn, not what you are told.

Read more Simple Witchery, at simplewitchery.com.

Follow Simple Witchery on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

About Willow Rose

Willow Rose is a writer, artist and wildcraft witch living in northern WI. After more than 30 years of practicing and exploring many paths, she is distilling her magic to its purest form—practical magic for everyday enchantment. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

December 12, 2023

Between Two Worlds: Belladonna

Next Post

January 9, 2024 Pergamum Unfurled: Review - Magic for Troubled Times

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"My feelings exactly."

JudithAnn L

Simple Witchery: To Keep Silent

"I think women have tried to rebel against male dominated society and church oppression for ..."

EarthGrowl

Simple Witchery: To Keep Silent

"I've never had my past life readings done. But I'm fairly certain unless the practitioner ..."

JenniWest

Simple Witchery: Resistance and Resilience in ..."

"I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed ..."

Cosette Paneque

Pergamum Unfurled: Magic with the Greek ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Lakeside Hearth Adventures in Wortcunning Alone In Her Presence Arts, Crafts & Cooking Birthing Hereditary Witchcraft Book of Blackbirds Book Reviews Born-Again Witch Cauldron, Sword, Spear, & Stone Cermony and Liturgy Columns Community Dandelion Seeds Dear Jasmine Druid Thoughts Editor's Picks Everyday Pagan Family & Household Practice Family Traditions Full Frontal Magic Gateway Goddess Guest Articles Happily Heathen Health and Wellness Hearth of Hellenism Heathen Woman Hills of the Horizon History Holidays Horse Goddesses Interfaith Interviews Irish-American Witchcraft Jewish Witch Lamp & Labyrinth Letters from Midgard Literature, Media, Film, Music Loop of Brighid Love, Sex & Relationships Magic or Magick Making Light Naturalistic Traditions Nature News Outside The Circle Pantheisticon Politics Prayers, Poems, Blessings & Stories Queer Femme Mystic Queer of Swords Recipes Ritual and Practice Science and Research Seekers and Guides Seeking the Grail Socially Responsible Magic Spear of Athena Star Made Witch Syncretic Electric Technology The Blooming Staff The Busy Witch The Cartomancer The Crow's Nest The Dance of Pagan Recovery The Hearth of Hellenism The Lady's Quill The Other Side of the Hedge The Path of She The Rantin' Raven The Witches Next Door The Zen Pagan Theology, Ethics, Philosophy Tree City Witch Urban Earthwitch Wayfaring Woman Witch on Fire Wyrd Words

Select a Month January 2026 March 2025 December 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many years from Abraham to Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

1500 years 2500 years 2000 years 1000 years