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July 5 - July 12, 2020
Witchcraft is an empowering practice that any person can learn, cultivate, and personalize.
It is all about stepping outside of our mundane world and choosing to take on a perspective of mysticism and reverence for nature, life, and the energetic forces of this world.
It’s not just about what we can see; it’s about everything in between.
“Being a Witch is about having your eyes wide open and experiencing the whole onslaught of existence.” —FIONA HORNE, Witch: A Magickal Journey
it’s also come to symbolize those in our culture who are willing to stand strong for their beliefs—especially when it comes to human rights. Many people of all races, ages, and genders are standing up in the face of adversity and stating that they are witches.
A pagan is defined as “a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. So, a pagan is anyone who doesn’t follow
Many say that being in nature is the thing that makes them feel the calmest. Witches also frequently report that animals have always trusted them more than other humans.
ECLECTIC WITCHES An eclectic witch takes what works for them and leaves what doesn’t. They may love a ritual from a traditional religion while leaving behind other guidelines they don’t like. This is ideal for witches who find power in exploring everything.
A necromancer works with the dead and spirits. You’ll find that witches from this group communicate with the dead and are skilled in divination practices.
Warlock is an Old English term meaning someone who is a traitor or a liar. For this reason, many witches cringe at the word.
recently started to become synonymous with sorcerer.
“Witches aren’t monsters; they’re just women . . . they’re fucking women who cum and giggle and play in the night and that’s why everyone wants to set them on fire, because they’re fucking jealous.” —ILANA GLAZER, Broad City
1022 CE The first woman is formally executed for heresy; the witch stereotype is set. The king of France, King Robert, approves the trial of over a dozen individuals for practicing religious heresy, including one woman. During this trial, she is accused of orgies, worshipping demonic entities, and killing children, ultimately defining the witch stereotype.
1324 CE The first documented witch hunt occurs. Alice Kyteler, a wealthy Irish woman, is charged with witchcraft after outliving several husbands. She is accused of practicing the dark arts, having intercourse with demons, and using “lotions and spells” with friends to conjure up evil spirits. This trial leads to at least 11 others close to Kyteler accused and put on trial, with some executed.
England lifts its witchcraft law. England lifts the law that imprisoned accused witches. This is the end of the European witch craze, and the event that encourages Gerald Gardner to step out into the spotlight, publicly declare himself as a witch, and share the religion of Wicca with the world, giving birth to many modern Wicca and witchcraft movements.
the Wheel of the Year (the modern pagan term to describe the calendar of festivities).
future was something to celebrate, and
weren’t a time to show off to friends or overindulge in food. Instead, they were about using up the final resources from summer before all the food rotted.
The spell work, rituals, and celebrations that many witches partake in revolve around the pagan calendar. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it: Spells to end things are best done around winter, spells to birth something new should occur in spring, and spells about abundance are most appropriate in the summer and fall.
of Alice Kyteler. She was one of the first people to be condemned for witchcraft and the very first in Ireland. Alice Kyteler was a wealthy woman who happened to outlive several husbands.
The Burning Times was the period between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries when thousands of witch trials and witch burnings took place across Europe.
1486, a book called Malleus Maleficarum—translated as the Hammer of Witches—
It was a bestselling book of its time, second only to the Bible in terms of sales for almost 200 years.
It was even used by royal courts to prosecute witches during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. To this
Margaret Murray (1863–1963): Later seen as an icon of the feminist movement, Murray was an academic who studied anthropology, archeology, and folklore. She wrote papers in respected journals about witches and witch hunts. Though some have questioned her work, she became known as the “Grandmother of Wicca.” Gerald Gardner (1884–1964): After the final witchcraft law in Britain was lifted in 1951, Gerald Gardner came out publicly as a witch to spread a new religion (Wicca) that focused on old Celtic traditions.
Margot Adler (1946–2014): Adler was an NPR reporter for three decades. In the 1970s she began exploring Wicca and witchcraft, became a witch, and published one of the most well-researched and respectful books on the subject, Drawing Down the Moon.
The 1980s ushered in an era of positive portrayals of witchcraft in the media, first with movies such as Teen Witch and The Witches of Eastwick.
ignoring who you are will never bring happiness.
In turn, all energy stems from the world around us—
Earth is the sturdiest. We know that if we dig our feet into the dirt, we won’t go anywhere. It represents stability, healing, peace, grounding (becoming grounded), relaxation,
Spells that work with the earth are typically healing spells, calming spells, release spells, and abundance spells.
Spells that work with air are spells that are associated with freedom, change, knowledge, and mental health.
Spells that work with fire are ones for passion, love, movement, intensity, and power.
Spells that work with water are spells for transformation, purification, emotion, cleansing, and creativity.
Spirit is the epitome of witchcraft, and without it, everything else would just exist without meaning anything to us.
The Earth is the ultimate womb of our known existence.
When the moon is shifting from new to full, it is considered “waxing,” and when it is going from full to new, it is “waning.”
When we fill our minds with positive thoughts, it gives momentum to our personal energy
Remembering that we are all in this thing together will help you direct your energy to what is important.
It may not be malicious or ill-willed, but we’re just busy or distracted. Remember that doing something good for someone else does not take away from you.
“True magic is neither black, nor white—it’s both because nature is both. Loving and cruel, all at the same time.” —LIRIO, The Craft
When it comes down to it, witchcraft is just the ability to manipulate energy to create change and movement.
KARMA A Buddhist belief meaning “the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences,”
“When you start to notice the mystical, the mystical will start to notice you.” —DACHA AVELIN
Meditation is typically done while sitting quietly and letting the mind retreat into itself, forgetting the outside environment and external distractions.
The Naked Witch, Fiona Horne speaks about a time she engaged in vipassana
for 10 days. She meditated for hours every day, did not speak, and ate only vegetarian meals. In the beginning her mind struggled to slow down, but over time she gained an appreciation for things she had never even noticed before. “I was completely and utterly at one with the world
Vows of silence in particular are a tool frequently used to enhance their perspective on the world and on themselves.
Scrying is the act of gazing into the surface of an object (a crystal ball, a black mirror, a body of water, or another uniform surface) in order to pick up on information.
