36
votes
Are there any witches on Tildes?
I was gifted a set of tarot cards last year, and found myself quite stunned at how well they seemed to work. The cards led me slowly toward witchcraft as a broader area of investigation and study, and I find myself quite keen to take on the mantle of “witch.”
That said, I have no earthly idea where to begin practising. There are no covens (that I am aware of) in my area to learn from, so I guess that means it’s books and online resources for me!
Are any of my fellow Tilderen witches? How did you get started, and what do you recommend I do as a complete beginner?
I landed in a general agnostic camp, but I definitely dabbled with at least neopaganism if not witchcraft proper, and feel that ideas of will will and intention like spells are as impactful as prayer.
So alas, no, but I am often "witchy" if only due to my friends
...whether by mindfulness or magical thinking, ritual carries power in how we frame our world and choose to engage it...
I’m not, but with your username this seems like a great example of nominative determinism (or perhaps atronym)!
I learned a new word!
TIL that I believe in nominative determinism (or perhaps atronymism)
I'm not one, but as a believer of immaterial powers, I'm convinced if you go looking for magic in any way possible at all, books and video a-plebty these days, the powers behind witchcraft will respond to you, probably sooner than you'd think. If this is what you want to pursue, in all sincerity good luck, feel free to reach out if you run into trouble and need to get out.
Thanks very much :) It feels quite daunting right at the minute, but also rife with possibility!
Yeah I understand that feeling a tiny bit :) during my conversion, it was like a whole world out there opening up to me kind of "Woah". I was fortunate enough to find someone to talk to about it and they gave me some reading materials, a physical practice I can do every day and I think that practice side of thing was the most "orienting" : so much of growing up materialist and western means it's all in our heads and everything has to cognitively make sense first, with no follow up of what it means for our bodies. Intentional physical practice, spending intentional time doing a ritual with sight, sound, smell, taste and touch with careful steps, and following (loosely) a particular diet is a way of inheriting wisdom left by ancients who had previously walked this path. I also found the observing of recurring dates and seasons to be of benefit to me because I tend to "live in my head" too much.
I had a thought the other day, thinking about your request, that if you lived near a university or college campus there's sure to be a small community or at least someone who knows someone? Try posting on their public community boards (digital or analog) or going to their community fairs or club weeks, you might run into something.
I was a practicing Wiccan for about a decade, mostly in the '90s, before my readings and beliefs led me into Eastern religions/philosophies. Today, I am low-key religious, somewhere in the haze between Taoist and Buddhist -- but not in any strict, formal sense, and mostly just philosophically speaking.
The first and foremost (unspoken) rule of Wicca is, kinda, there aren't any rules. Everyone is different, everyone finds their own path, there are no Gatekeepers deciding who gets to be what, etc. So, to a very large degree, anything I say about "this is how Wicca works" ... actually means, "this is how it worked for me, but YMMV".
The first "official" rule is the Wiccan Rede, "An it harm none, do as ye will". And it's worth noting that "none" does not just mean human beings ... and "will" does not just mean "want", but is more of a formal declaration and recognition of the power of Will ... the things you focus your energy on, and put out into the world, have an effect, often more than you realize, and so, choose carefully what those things are.
The second "official" rule is the Threefold Law, which is basically the Pagan version of karma ... your actions, the things you do in the world, reverberate back on you, threefold.
Beyond that, yeah ... read, find like-minded folk, figure it out, make it up when you need to.
Personally, I've always felt that Tarot -- and all such divinatory objects -- are purely tools. In my mind, when you say you were surprised that the cards worked well ... the cards aren't doing anything. You are good at divination, and you have found a tool that helps you focus your ability.
Also, feel free to DM me if you want to chat privately or have more specific questions or whatever.
Edit to add: The Spiral Dance by Starhawk, and Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler were the two books I held closest during my Wiccan Era ... not Bibles, exactly, but close. In fact, my other common online nickname is still "spiraldancing".
I'm still mulling how I feel about Wicca. Having read up on it and read parts of the Rede, there are definitely things that I truck with and that resonate with me. But on the flip side there are aspects that feel deliberately hokey, and I struggle to get past that. The bits of the Rede that I looked at reminded me of the extracts from The Book of the People in Artemis Fowl. That said, a huge amount of that is likely to be my overall aversion to organised religion (being raised Catholic has a lot to answer for), even something as loosely structured as Wicca.
Not me personally, but back before I moved to the city I'm in now I knew a poly group of 3 (triple? as in a couple but with 3) who were/are Wiccan. A male welder/fabricator, a female adjunct professor, and another girl (can't remember what she did professionally).
Awesome friends and (for a time) casual partners. They made wonderful food and I got to enjoy some very unique and fulfilling experiences with them. We had access to a public-use space in the old/retired jail building and did 'dance church' on Sundays - we would go, put on music, and just dance as a group for around an hour or so. They also invited me to a fireside bellydancing / drum music performance they put on in their backyard once. Another time they got me an invite to a larger group meeting at this couple's farmhouse in the country (also Wiccans) for some fun - they had a section of forest that, not sure if it was naturally like that or if they cultivated it as such, but the ground was this huge carpet of moss - walking on that barefoot and lying down on it was so soft.
Triad or (more modernly) throuple would typically be the terms used. Depends a bit on if they're all together or if they're in a hinged V sort of relationship.
Polycule is more generic.
Thank you! I felt sure there was a proper term and I just couldn't think of it.
I am not one (Deconstructed Christian / best current label is probably practicer of kenosis).
But I have really been enjoying the female empowerment of Savage Daughter by Ekaterina Shelehova so now YT music has been giving me a lot more witchy music. Like all things, it's a mixed bag, but I have enjoyed some of it.
I'd recommend SJ Tucker for some similar vibes, especially Firebird's Child. But Savage Daughter is a good one!
If my cat didn't have a couple white toes, I think she qualifies me. Little day rituals help to manifest small joys.