Top 9 Rookie Witch Mistakes

New Witch Mistakes that Most Impact Your Spellwork - Top 9

So you’re new to the craft?

Welcome! You are loved, my sister, my brother, you are honored and perhaps most of all…

You are likely overwhelmed & confused!!!

Yes, confused I say, because everywhere you look someone is telling you what it means to be a witch and how you have to do it. And they contradict each other. Right??

I was confused in the beginning too, at least I would have been if the internet had been around back then for sure. The internet is great, but it’s also where we find a mixture of the good, bad and the ugly as well as the redictulous and the down right harmful.

So, what’s a witch just starting out to do?

While mistakes CAN be the best learning experiences, I think I can help you avoid a few. Here’s my top 9 mistakes to avoid when you’re new to the craft:
We’re working backwards to #1, so here’s #9

9. Getting stuck as a Researcher of Witchcraft rather than a Practicing Witch

There is no such thing as a baby witch, you are either reading about the craft - a researcher OR you’re a witch. If you’re doing ceremonies, rituals and casting spells, then you’re a witch, maybe not a very effective one yet because you’re less experienced, but you’ll never get the experience unless you actually practice the craft.

Not that a witch ever stops researching better methods and gathering new tools, but we’re putting those into action, regularly.

Just don’t let the quest to know enough stop you from jumping into the cauldron and testing the waters.

8. Start Small, Safe & Build on Successes

Obviously skills build more easily when you also build confidence with successes. Choose simpler spells you are more likely to have success with because a backfiring spell is a huge, potentially devastating failure. I’m not necessarily talking about the Rule of 3 here, but there are universal laws of energy, energy follows rules.

Gravity does what it does according to physics, so does other energy. If you’re new, I guarantee you don’t fully understand it yet. If you start by trying to raise the dead and fail, which you will, or curse your ex, which will backfire because you don’t know enough about the way energy works to manage it properly, or anytime you do something that messes with someone elses free will, get ready for blowback!

That’s how energy works - you don’t know enough to even attempt it at this point. Every failure acts to solidify your expectations for more failures or worse. And you won’t have the skills to even start to clean up the mess!

Start with something safe, you are more likely to succeed at, this builds confidence and belief which leads to even more successes. It also allows that all-important wisdom and compassion to build along with your practice.
Remember whyat happened in the movie "Practical Magick"? Yes it's the movies, but the same concept applies!

7. Overspending on Witchy Stuff & Spell Supplies

Hmm, it’s tempting either because you just love the archetypal stuff or because every spell you see has so many ingredients that you don’t have on your shelf
Just start with the basics - that’s enough!

Things like:

Birthday candles which are cheap and even come in various colors.
Simple string, You can always use a marker to color it if you like.
Don’t discount what’s available in the standard kitchen spice rack
Or what’s at your local 99c store

Sure crystals, dagars, all those herbs and correspondences, dainty little corked bottles, incense, Tarot decks, runes, crystal balls, scrying glasses and all kinds of other accoutrements are awesome…just not necessary.

In fact, the only thing you need to cast effective spells is your focused intent. You don’t even need a candle! It’s far more important to spend your time and money learning to focus your mind & energy skills, more stuff doesn’t help this.

6. Spell Ingredients Have Substitutes.

Almost any spell ingredient can be substituted with something else
as long as you know the reason it was included in the first place. Knowing this allows you to select something appropriate to replace it with, hopefully something you already have. Some ingredients are listed because they have achieved significance in mass consciousness over centuries, but often, the ingredient only needs to be meaningful to you to aid in your focus & concentration.

5. Protection spells are Optional

Yes, that’s right they are optional...AFTER you develop the ability to determine when they’re required and when they’re optional

In the beginning, they are NOT optional! Better safe than sorry. Without generating fear, put your protections in place before you start. Just don’t set them in such a way that you’re keeping your magick in as well as everything else out. Wording and Intent are important.

An ant won’t cross the salt line at the back door to come into the kitchen, but if that ant’s already in the kitchen, it’s not leaving through that salt protected door either - just an example.

4. Witchcraft doesn’t work by simply repeating a few words someone told you was a good spell

It’s not the words, or the candle or the sage, it’s you! It’s what you’re thinking about and the way you're thinking about it. It takes effort to be in the state of mind and connectedness to make the magick happen.

You need to learn to access and direct the energy around a situation, not just talk about it to be effective. And furthermore, most of the time it takes action, action on your part to follow the synchronicities you have just created for yourself. In most cases, it’s not materializing in front of your eyes while you sleep.

Doing a money spell still means you need to do something, not just sit around the house eating bon bons.

The Universe loves action! You took action by casting the spell, now take the next step to show your continued commitment - take action to move in that direction or at least recognized the doors as they open.

3. Magick is Science, not...well “magic”

While we can definitely manifest our desires more quickly than in days gone by thanks to the changing energy of the planet, it’s still not like pulling a rabbit from a hat.

Magick abides by the rules of the Universe, so learning a bit about those Universal laws will help you use it far more easily.

The speed with which you will see results will vary depending on your skill level of course, but also the type of spell and how many different people or aspects need to shift to bring about that desired result.

If the spell is only related to me and changes in my physical or emotional body, I could see that effect immediately, but if it requires a shift by hundreds or even dozens of people, then it is likely to take a bit more time.

If you’re not seeing movement in the right direction as quickly as you’d like, you can always ask your intuition or pendulum if there an adjustment is needed, maybe something you missed or something that needs more of your attention to speed up the process.

2. Get good at managing your brain wave state.

This results in increased focus and concentration as well as increased ability to enter and remain in that altered state of consciousness where magick happens more easily.

A decade long meditation practice is certainly effective, but today we have faster, easier ways like using special breathing techniques, mindfulness and binaural beats just to name a few.

Even a 5 minute meditation will work wonders for your effectiveness.

1. Learn to Discern Truth

Either by developing good intuition or as a faster route, learn to pendulum dowse. Without a fully developed sense of intuition, this is a cheap, easy, fast and tangible way to get truthful answers to almost any question.

It’s a great way to avoid sketchy spells floating around the internet which can waste your time at best and be downright harmful at worst. There are even hazards and time-wasters in well-accepted classical published works. The energy of the planet has changed, some old ways just don’t make sense anymore.

Once you hone your skills a bit, it can even be used to spellcast much more efficiently and reliably than many other more traditional methods.

These are the 9 most important things I wish I had known in the early days. I hope these help you make your journey more fun and more productive as well!

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