Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with Your Coven

by Jaya Saxena

a witch is any woman who understands she has power even when the world insists she doesn’t.

For our purposes, witchcraft means the kind of mundane pursuits that might once have resulted in accusation: enjoying sex, controlling reproductive health, hanging out with other women, not caring what men think, disagreeing, and just knowing stuff.

Ambition, assertiveness, nonconformity, high standards, the ability to say no, control over your own body: all witchcraft, by our definition.

you speak when you’re told to be quiet, take pride when you’re told to feel shame, love what and who you love whether or not others approve, you’re practicing witchcraft.

Witchcraft enables you to find personal purpose, truth and intention. It allows you to discover the crafts, talents, and interests that make you you, without requiring that you recognize any one skill as superior or essential. You already have the potential to be a strong, self-actualized, powerful, ass-kicking witch. All you have to do is recognize your abilities, hone your skills, and channel them into making some magic.

What it can teach you are mantras, incantations, rituals, and other tiny spells that allow you to tap into your latent abilities and hidden power. Even if you know on some level that you can access and experience self-confidence, inner calm, and emotional acceptance, you might find doing so intimidating, embarrassing, or just plain difficult.

We’ll talk about using magic to feel confident, to deal with your past, to envision your future, to break out of negative habits.

Our version of modern magic is a means for navigating any mental obstacles that crop up—essentially, magic is a set of tricks to outwit yourself outwitting yourself. (We said brains were weird!)

Think of our spells as starting points for recognizing all the astonishing ways in which you can communicate with your own brain and change the course of your thoughts and emotions. Of all the elements of a successful spell, your intention and desire for change are the only essential parts.

Every time you get dressed, you’re putting on more than just a clean shirt: you’re clothing yourself in an emotion, a persona, a sense of yourself.

For stability, wear flat or heavy shoes.

For emotional protection, wear layers.

For confidence, wear loud jewelry.

For comfort in times of stress, wear soft, soothing textures.

For relief from worry or fear, wear tight-fitting accessories.

Reds grant strength and power; blues are all about tranquility and peace. Yellow connotes joy, green deals with luck (especially in finances), and purple signifies healing. (The signs of the zodiac are sometimes associated with specific hues, too.)

Instead of hiding what you’re going through, bring your demon to the party and see how that feels. Does being open about a personal struggle overwhelm your group and suck all the air out of the room? Or can all of you look the demon in the eye and help each other not to flinch? Challenge yourself to acknowledge negative thoughts and feelings instead of merely sweeping them under the rug.

“Do you want advice, or do you want to vent?” “Would it help to talk more about what happened?” “What do you plan to do next?” “Do you need someone to go with you?”

You don’t owe anyone free emotional labor—but you can offer the people you love a special deal.

If you are stuck in the habit of competing and comparing, try going outside on a clear night during a full moon for a shine theory ritual. Imagine yourself surrounded by friends, each of you softly glowing in the moonlight. Speak this incantation aloud to each imagined friend in turn, until it feels natural and easy: I’m so proud of you. I’m lucky to know you. I’m lucky I get to be your friend. You may also want to bring a talisman to charge with the feeling of being bathed in reflected light, or a jar or vial in which to collect some of the moonlight and help keep the feeling going.

We often talk about consent as if it’s something handed over at a particular moment, when in fact it’s something two (or more) people build together over the course of a relationship, however brief or lengthy that relationship might be. Consent isn’t just something you grant or deny, it’s also something you manifest, in the way that you manifest your will when performing a magical ritual.

We think will is probably a better word than consent—consent implies giving in to something or someone, whereas will is more about actively wanting something and making it happen.