teaching yourself?

[takootsubo]

people who taught themselves witchcraft, where did you start?
is there any books you recommend? websites? anything really. i’ve been around people who practice witchcraft all my life but i was never a believer until recently so i want to learn.
would appreciate comments with help! thank you 🙂 💜

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Discussion

[NewExpensive_Trouble]

Most of the witchy subs have a lot of good resources on their menu tabs. Personally I started out with meditation and visualization. Visualization meditations are great ways to start off as it teaches you to feel the energies in and around you and direct them in useful ways. Magic is nothing but energy we direct through meditation and ritual work so it’s a really good way to not only connect yourself to your magic but helps in later spell work

[LadyLaura13]

I started with what I had an interest in, which for me was Celtic lore, herbs and crystals. I’m a nature lover, so faery witchcraft also really spoke to me. I’m obsessed with cats too, and stumbled upon cat magick. I started with basic books about herbs and their magical/traditional uses, same thing with crystals. I read a few basic witchcraft books as well, mostly Wicca based, but they didn’t really jive with my own beliefs. I would say to go for things you have an interest in, or areas you’d like to learn about. In my experience, starting somewhere small often leads to many doors and paths being opened!

[RedShirtGuy1]

Scott Cunninghams Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner. Even if Wicca doesn’t appeal to you, there are many good ideas to be mined from this book.

[hermeticbear]

Read everything and then just do it.
Doing it will show you more about what is your flavor and preferences.
Reading everything and you start to develop a critical mind and what is good and quality and what isn’t, which is especially more important these days as AI mass produced texts by faux authors are starting to flood the market.

[Prestigious-Ad9877]

I found a book at a local occult shop that is a step by step guide to ritual and paired that with what I could learn on the internet about creating an ancestor altar. I also made a lot of strides when I researched my ancestral spiritual practices and implemented them in my practice, for example I am Italian, Scottish Irish, Choctaw Native American and Japanese so I try to include the customs that stick out to me in my practice. the book is called Low Brow High Magic, link here: https://curiaarcanum.square.site/product/low-brow-high-magic/174?cs=true&cst=custom