Witchling tips

• Read all the books and other info you can, but learn to read critically.
• Don’t be afraid to read things you might not agree with or identify with. Study is study and just because you read it doesn’t mean you have to believe it or incorporate it into your practice.
• That being said, don’t appropriate cultures or cultural practices that do not belong to your or that you have not be trained and/or initiated in. There are ways to study cultures that are not appropriative, pay attention and be respectful.
• Let your personal curiosity lead your study. What are you interested in about witchcraft? History? Divination? Plants? tarot? sigils? candle magic? charms or talismans? knot magic? Energy work? Study what you are interested in and see where it goes. There is a learning theory called “unschooling” that believes humans are naturally curious and that we should follow that curiosity to create our study. So, seek what interests you about witchcraft and find information about that.
• You don’t have to buy all the fancy witchy stuff, especially if you don’t know if you are even going to use it. Stuff you already have is fine.  Things from thrift store are cheap, and work just as well. You might not ever use that cheap athame from the witch shop, but you might fall in love with a thrift shop mason jar.
• You don’t have to spend a lot of money to practice witchcraft. Walk around your neighborhood and get to know the plants and animals, even urban spaces have unique magical things. Check out the spices in your spice rack and look up their correspondences. There are lots of books on witchcraft online for free as well as phone apps that could suit your needs.
• Check out your local library. If they don’t specifically have books on witchcraft they will still have books on plants, history, and folklore. you might also be able to check things out with inter-library loans.
• You don’t have to publicly document your path. I’m really happy there isn’t a public documentation of my witchling years or my baby punk years. Seriously, so much stumbling embarrassment. However, it is always helpful to document your progress for yourself; a hidden blog, a notebook, or google doc are just fine to start.
• There is no universal witch. If you don’t want to work witchcraft in a religion, don’t. maybe secular witchcraft is for you. If you don’t want to work with deities, don’t. If forests give you the creeps and you love cities more, great, maybe urban witchery is for you. Make your witchcraft, your witchcraft.
• There is little good in arguing with people that disagree with you, especially on the internet. If someone is not being hurtful and they just happen to believe differently than you, leave them alone. A witch that believes differently than you does not diminish what you do.
• Remember that witchcraft is a collected set of skills and practices. These are things that you hone as you find what works for you. It is not something that will be given to you or that you will have instantly. It is something to be worked at that you can always learn more.
• Basically, if you study and practice witchcraft, whatever that means to you, you can call yourself a witch. Also, if you do those things and don’t want to call yourself a witch, you don’t have to.