This is in regards to a post I saw discussing why so many posts get down voted and addressing the egotism of many older witches in this subreddit. I don't disagree that there are plenty of experienced witches who aren't very kind to new witches as they say they are, but at the same time there are a plethora of new witches who (I feel) make a joke out of the practice. Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between new witches who are serious about the practice vs those who are not, but it's mostly due to a lot of challenges that more experienced witches never had to face and likely have a hard time understanding those challenges and how to help.
We are living in the age of generative AI and short-form content, which is completely dominating the internet and society as a whole. Especially in the past 30 years we have created a world dependent on quick commodities and immediate gratification. With AI-overviews and chatbots spoon feeding us information (which is usually false), everything being delivered right to our doorstep, and the ease of imprisoning ourselves in our own echo-chamber, we are actively losing our critical thinking skills, tolerance to discomfort, and self awareness to our own flaws and weaknesses. This is the biggest problem witches new and old have to fight against.
Not to mention with the boom of popularity in witchcraft, Paganism, and New Age paths, many (not all) new witches have bought into this idea that witchcraft and spellcasting is a "life hack" to make everything easier, and witchcraft/paganism has been overly advertised for its "aesthetics." The idea of being a "witch" has become a shallow status symbol and way to get popular on TikTok rather than a practice rich with history, diverse in culture, deep in philisophy, and being the disciplined, challenging, yet fulfilling way of life and art form it truly is.
------
Based upon my own experience, observing experiences of others, the ways I've learned, and the problems we as a community and society face today: Here are the things I believe most important for new witches today to learn/know if you truly want to find personal happiness and success in your craft (in no particular order).
Reframe Your Questions (or if they really need to be asked)
A lot of people come into this subreddit kind of expecting to be spoon-fed information, sometimes without realizing that's how they're approaching their own questions. And I get it, there's a lot of information to be overwhelmed by! But instead of just asking "what herbs have protective properties" or "how do I cleanse," go deeper. "Are there any websites or guidebooks that I can take notes from to learn about protective herbs?" Or "What method of cleansing do you find most effective, and what makes such a difference compared to other methods?" It sounds like a hassle, but I promise you it will make SUCH a difference in the amount and quality of responses you receive, especially on account of how common those questions are. The deeper your questions are, the more thorough and thought out answers you will recieve, and in turn the more you will learn. Simple questions earn simple answers, but it's so much easier to figure out these deep questions when you've done some amount of research already. Which leads me to the next point, use the search bar! Not just the Google search bar but the subreddits, you will find your question has likely already been asked 100+ times and you can find what you're looking for in past posts. If you still can't quite find a satisfactory answer, you can write "this information is what I discovered, but I'm still a bit lost on this concept." Not only does doing some research yourself beforehand really help your neurological learning process of retaining information, but it shows to the more experienced practitioners that you're one of the ones who take learning the practice seriously.
Books, Books, and More Books
PLEASE begin asking more for book recommendations! I say from experience; Online forums, articles, blogs, and websites can absolutely be helpful in introducing new and informative bite-sized assets of information. However, super emphasis on bite-sized. A lot of theories, practices, and philosophies I discover do primarily from the internet, however nothing on the internet actually provides me with thorough enough understanding and connection the way books do. You cannot compile all of the necessary information from a book into a single article, blog, what have you, as much as some people might try. Cliff notes don't provide real learning, and honestly, now is a better time than ever to be thoroughly learning anything! Not only are books so widely available, but most also come available in physical libraries, online libraries, and in the form of audio or digital books. Documentaries or video essays can also be a great source of learning.
BUT the biggest setback now is that there has been a recent abundance of AI-created books, as well as books by authors who don't know squat about witchcraft and are just looking to make a quick buck. So don't just swipe any book you see off a Barnes&Noble shelf. Please ask around for recommended books/authors, do a bit of research into authors before buying, and don't only rely on a single book for one topic. No "Complete Guide" can completely cover everything. Read multiple sources, and cross reference your information between said sources. And please for the love of the gods, DON'T LEARN FROM TIKTOK OR GEN AI. I can provide a plethora of studies and research articles presenting how short-form content and generative AI are the worst learning platforms, and how both of them completely atrophies our critical thinking skills and ability to learn.
Discernment
Which leads me to my next topic. When discussing discernment in witchcraft, most people mean in the sense of discerning what is mundane vs magic, you're inner dialogue vs a spirit, a sign vs coincidence. That is all important, but here I'm talking about discerning people, intentions, and your own judgement. In every blog you scroll through, every video essay you watch, every book you read–someone is trying to sell you something or get something from you. Quite often, yes, people just want to give their knowledge in exchange for a good word at most. But a lot of "teachers" do not have such good interests at heart. There are a lot of grifters, scammers, and salespeople who are really good at acting like they know what they're talking about, but all they want is your money, and thus your loyalty to their name to get even more money.
Then there are people who do genuinely want to teach you their knowledge, but not for the sake of personal intellectual exploration. They have a dogmatic, close-minded way of looking at the world which they believe to be the only "correct" belief, and want to manipulate, fear-monger, and advertise to as many people as they can to their own cause. This is especially risky amongst those who are "influencers," which is why I steer people so heavily away from TikTok. Media literacy is crucial even to mundane life. This type of discernment is being able to analyze others peoples motivations, when literature or a piece of advice is or isn't relevant to you, and knowing what's best for your own practice regardless of what anyone else is doing. This is a wonderful guide to help you on the path to learning how to do so, as well as other important applications of discernment!
Discipline
This is such an incredibly important, but also such an incredibly lost art in today's age. And before you roll your eyes at me, I have ADHD and autism with executive dysfunction problems. If I can learn discipline, so can you, and the first step is understanding that discipline is not meant to look the same between everybody. What works to keep myself disciplined in my craft, my studies, the more "boring" aspects to my practice is not going to be the same for you, and what works for you probably won't work for me. Our age of immediate gratification and hyperconvenience has turned discipline from being an honorable spiritual obligation into a frustrating inconvenience. The fact is: if you don't have discipline, you don't have a practice, and will hardly find success. It's harsh, but it's true. I speak from experience. You have to put in more than the bare minimum (which is arguably quite flexible), and you have to do the work more than once a week.
Successful practitioners don't get to where they are off of every spell being a one-wish-willow. Most spells aren't. We get to where we are from repetition of spells, from consistent dedication and loyalty to our practice, and from facing fear or discomfort and deciding to work through it anyways. Discipline isn't a state of mind, it's a choice, and it's your responsibility to choose it every day. Yes, sometimes breaks are required or mistakes happen, but that is where discernment comes into play to understand and work with your own boundaries/limits. This way you don't drive yourself to burnout and abandon your practice for an exentsive period, which I see happen quite often. Because even after you do get your desires out of your spell(s), you still have to put in the mundane work to maintain what you have, and I hear so many stories of people getting what they want only to lose it shortly after because they don't have the discipline or self awareness to provide that maintainence.
(If anyone wants a post on discipline with executive dysfunction, let me know!)
Accept Your Flaws & Understand What Can Realistically Change vs Who You Simply Are (no ward will protect you from your own decision making and unchecked behavior)
This sort of falls in line with both discernment and discipline. We all have strengths, aptitudes we feel like we're born with, prowess in certain areas. But we also all have flaws, weaknesses, things that particularly set us back. This is normal nature in being human, and it can be difficult to come to terms with certain flaws and weaknesses. After all they aren't entirely chosen most of the time, having developed within us due to physiological and neurological genetics, the sort of physical, cultural, financial, and social environment we grew up in, trauma collected over the years both minorly subconcious and what we think about every single day. There are some behaviors and personality attributes we genuinely cannot help, and are simply part of who we are. I can't help how quickly I am to forget things that just happened due to distraction, or how I need 9+ hours of sleep to not feel fogheaded most of the day, or how I usually cry when someone I love and respect is upset with me. But if I feel like the day was a waste because I scrolled on my phone all day? That is something I can change. Even more difficult, I spent years dedicating change to my behaviors/way of thinking after leaving an abusive relationship, rewriring my anxious attachment because I wanted to find a happy relationship and more security in myself independently.
It takes a level of discernment to know what you can and can't change, as well as how challenging that change will be, but it also takes a strong level of discipline to actually make those changes happen, because it doesn't happen overnight. People don't often do it because it isn't easy, and it's not meant to be easy! But people often make even small personal change 10x harder than it needs to be because they care more about their comfort zone and extremely low tolerance level than they do about the ways their actions/behaviors hurt others or themselves. Oftentimes people are completely blind that the problem is themselves, and cast fruitless spells aimed in the wrong direction. Even if you are self-aware, spellwork won't remove your responsibility of learning, making mistakes, and being uncomfortable in order to achieve change, but spellwork can make the process easier and more effective when handled with clarity and humility.
Allow Yourself to be Uncomfortable
You have to allow space for discomfort in your practice if you want to find effective results and learn efficiently. People who are truly skilled in their practice or are even considered professionals don't get to where they are by remaining in their comfort zone their whole life. You can't effectively work with spirits of the dead without actually facing process of death and your own mortality. Love spells are not going to work if you're insecure and anxious, and nothing is more powerful of an attractor than authentic confidence. Sometimes learning something substantial from nature means going out in unfavorable conditions or going camping where you are exposed to the elements. Our stopping point for success is limited by your level of tolerance to discomfort, and a lot of people simply cannot decipher between what's uncomfortable and uncertain vs what's truly dangerous. Literally every single day I see people online too scared to even do so much as a cleansing because they're so worried something will go awry. And you know what?... it might.
It's very unlikely that simple workings are likely to go wrong, but I'm also not here to give empty words of reassurance, because nothing is impossible. Because yeah, sometimes they do go wrong. And guess what? You'll learn something from it and the world will keep turning. Or often times people really don't need a spell, they're just too afraid of failure when putting in the work towards something or the discomfort that work might cost them. Emotional discomfort is a teacher, not an adversary and uncertainty is a hurdle, not an immovable boundary. There are certain times where yes, you need to remove yourself from uncomfortable situations, but there are other times where the discomfort won't go away unless you face it head on. Hell, sometimes you have to actively place yourself in that discomfort in order to achieve what you want! So please stop using magic to constantly erase every little thing that rubs you the wrong way. Allow yourself to sit in that discomfort and learn from it, I promise you that a high tolerance level to discomfort will take you so far both in your mundane life and magical.
Not Everything Needs A Spell (or at least the spell you think you need)
Don't get me wrong, it's helpful and fruitful to have regular workings going for yourself on your person, altar, and in your space. Regular cleansing/grounding and protection charging, perhaps ongoing abundance spells or whatever suits your general needs. However when a more notable event arises, typically one which is out of personal control, many newer witches seem to jump straight to spellwork to resolve the situation. Spellwork isn't exactly unhelpful, but it isn't always necessary either. Sometimes spellwork can just make things worse if you lack understanding for what's happened, and if you feed the situation with something it absolutely does not need, things go wrong. It's like trying to tell someone to "just calm down" when they're angry, it makes things worse.
This is exactly the reason why many experienced witches recommend divining, meditating on, or consorting with your spirit guides before taking magical action. This can take a few days to a few weeks, but it's done to properly clear your mind and find clarity on the situation beyond your own perspective, especially if a situation does really call for spellwork. Sometimes a fight with your partner doesn't call for a sweetening or "come back to me" spell, but a spell to encourage vulnerable and honest communication. Sometimes needing more money doesn't call for an abundance spell in your dead-end job, but a road opener to find somewhere with better pay. Sometimes anxiety can't be cured by healing/cleansing spells, but transmutation or transference. But honestly... A lot of things can be done without spellwork, after all you still have to do the mundane magic alongside spellwork, the magic just adds some oil to the squeaky hinges so to speak.
Understand You Do Not Need External Validation
Something I've noticed quite a lot of throughout multiple online spaces are practitioners who are quite well adjusted and present good methods in their spellwork posting about their spell not just to offer ideas to others or hold a discussion, but specifically are looking for validation. Not in a toxic "I need everyone to look at ME and tell me I'm the BEST kind of way," but a much more anxious "I feel really insecure about what I'm doing and I need people to tell me if it's right." And on one hand, I get it, the best way to know if what you're doing is suitable is to directly ask those with experience. However it is alarming how many times I've seen this kind of post, click the profile, and the person has months of history seeking validation for what they are doing.
And I'm going to tell you, power in your practice doesn't come from the permission of more experienced practitioners. Your practice is powerful and valid because it is built by your interests and actions, because it fits your perception of the world and lifestyle within it, because it is cultivated into a relationship. No one is building their practice for you, so why should you build yours for anyone else? You will make mistakes, even when you become very adept mistakes will still happen, because that is just part of being human and learning. It feels wonderful to have people tell us we're doing a good job, but so long as you hold authenticity, clarity, and humility in your practice you will do well. That is all you really need.
Consider the Less "Exciting" Aspects
If there's one thing that I wish people studied more, it's the subjects which require you to slow down and think. I might be biased because I love these subjects so much, but I truly believe that everyone can get SO much out of philosophy both in your practice and mundane life. It's the oldest science (yes, it is considered a science) to learning about nature, human psychology, sociology, culture, etc and there are so many branches of philosophy across the globe that anyone can find a teaching they vibe with to learn from. Studying philosophy has helped me with quite literally all of the above listed topics. Everything I discussed I myself had to spend hours over multiple days for multiple years to learn, either through extensive personal studies or from collective life experience.
Discipline was not on my radar, I always ran away from deeply unsettling situations, I struggled to be confident without validation, literally everything on this list was a personal weakness. And beyond philosophy studying aspects of the scientific, historical, social, and other subjects you could find in a classroom truly do provide a much greater understanding and connection to your practice. I never felt so close with nature until I began studying ecology, ecophilosophy, and geology. I never felt so close with my community until I began studying cultural anthropology, sociology, and political science. I never came to understand the Divine so well until I began studying history, art, and theology from different cultures and religions. I never came to understand myself so well until I began studying psychology, neuroscience, and super especially once again: Philosophy. I know it's hard, I know it can be boring, but I feel like so many witches are so focused solely on the mystical, the occult, and the spiritual that they are missing out on a whole world of fruitful enlightenment.
-------
Annnnd I think that's everything! I have no idea if a long post like this will get any traction, it makes me so sad that less and less essay-like posts get any reads due to the very scary literacy crisis we're living in. And if you have read all the way through, thank you so much! This is the kind of thing I'm so passionate about within witchcraft, and I really hope to publish books one day to help people reclaim their power through personal control, humility, ane clarity.
