You may have thought to yourself. Where do I start in my research? What tools do I need? Well consider this page an idea on what to start with in terms of research
When researching. I would start with learning what witchcraft is, What Paganism is, What Wicca is. Many newcomers don't in fact know the difference between Witchcraft and Wicca, in fact, I can count countless times I have answered that question. You don't need to go all out. Just a definition will do
Secondly, protection, cleansing, self-care, and grounding. These keep you safe spiritually, emotionally, and sometimes physically. Before partaking any craft it's important to know how to protect yourself, your house, and others from any unwanted forces- I say unwanted as opposed to bad or evil because you may one day be cleansing your house and there is an energy that isn't bad but doesn't have a purpose in your home.
One of the most common ways to protect yourself is by casting a circle. This can be imaginary or physical. Many opt for the salt or crystal circle. Others trace their fingers in the ground, use candles, tarot cards, rope... there are so many ways to cast a circle. Others use Amulets, Talismans and Charms of protection and warding and others use spell work for this.
Cleansing refers to your house, object or yourself, and others. It's the cleaning of energies and depending on whether you burn herbs such as sage, use a cleansing spray or ring a bell ( again there are so many cleansing methods) depending on what you use and how you use it, will cleanse accordingly. One thing I will note is you will come across the words smudging and smudge wands. These are cleansing tools used in Native American rituals and its frowned upon by the native community that people use this term or their rituals.
Self-care refers to your mental and physical state. If you are out of control with your emotions, do not cast a spell as your emotions will fuel your work. You wouldn't purposefully drive angry so why would you cast a spell that has the potential to alter yours or another's life. With your physical health, this can be anything from knowing the basics of medical care for treatments of cuts, burns, and chemical reactions. I say the latter because I recently had an incident with some essential oil in the bath due to its previous owner using cleaning products- what was meant to be a cleansing bath turned into a chemical bath and I was burnt in the water. Accidents will happen and knowing how to predict, prepare, and react to them is incredibly handy.
Grounding is finding your centre and balance and compliments self-cleansing. the science behind it considers it earthing- like with electrical appliances. Since the human body is run from electric signals in the brain controlling our bodies, sometimes there is just a little too much bio-electricity circulation. By grounding/earthing yourself you neutralize this. Many ground themselves through meditation
Finally, I would say from this, start looking at your interests. If you enjoy plants, try looking into green witchcraft, if you like astrology, perhaps look up witchcraft that uses the celestial powers and divination. If you're a baker or a someone who sews - try looking at Hearth Witchcraft. You may come across the label for people who specialize only in this type of witchcraft. Honestly, it's just an unnecessary label, and you shouldn't feel obliged to squeeze your practice into a genre of Witchcraft.
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