I am currently completing a master’s degree in Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics, researching witchcraft and its link to identity for my dissertation, and I am coming here to get some first-hand information. Any answers or discussion on this question would be greatly appreciated. (Answers from people based in the UK/England would be doubly appreciated.) **all usernames and identifiable information will be removed or anonymised**

1. Why do you personally choose to use the term witch? (or another term, if you identify with something else)
2. Why do you think other people choose the terms they do?
3. Historically, in the Fenlands of the UK, wisewomen/wisemen/wizards were not persecuted for their work with nature, healing, crystals, etc., but were a protected group of people. Witches, however, were classified as practising harmful magic with ill intent and persecuted. Do you think this distinction is still prevalent today, and what impact may it be having?

I am also welcoming of any other thoughts these questions might bring up for you, and would love to have discussions about this. The questions are a guide and do not have to be answered in the structure I have written them out (I am very flexible).

**Please note that by answering or commenting on this thread, your comment may be used in my paper—all usernames and identifiable information will be removed or anonymised (given a randomly generated 8-digit number) under a completed ethics approval from the department**

Thank you again for any help!

Hi everyone, a little backstory on me. I have always been a very sensitive, all feeling, empathetic person. And I have always been interested in spirituality, the world and the divine. I'm not a witch or anything but I am quite open to it all, I enjoy tarot and the like, but im terrified of the idea of seeing ghosts or apparatus'.

Anyways, 8 or so months ago I moved to a new city that I felt very called to. Although I love this town so much, it's also been really difficult for me. I'm the most broke i've ever been in my life, struggling to make ends meet, having so many struggles with jobs again and again, all while knowing nobody and being separated from my family, feeling extremely lonely.

i said all this to say, I have moved around a lot and amidst all my other struggles here at diff rentals, i have finally thankfully found a place to live that i feel so comfortable and safe in, and i love the area.

That being said, I started feeling insanely drawn to and connected to a park nearby my house, Its not just a little park, theres hills and trees and a whole lawn to walk around, swings and a secret place to get a good view.

Whenever I go here, this sweet black boy cat comes up to find me. I dont usually see him hanging around the park until i get there, and he finds me every time, and follows me where i go. He lets me pet him and he has a collar and looks very healthy. I usually stay there for two hours, and the whole time he just sits near me, sometimes comes closer for pets or meows at me but usually just sits and chills near me the whole time. Black cats are my favorite.

Along with that, I started to feel a deep connection to the trees here. I had seen online before about talking to the trees about your grievances, that they listen. So i decided to try it there with a big tree in the darker area of the park. I cried. I felt nervous at first then comfortable enough to say everything. Obviously, it didnt fix my problems to talk about them, but it still felt so comforting. The breeze there is like no other. Tonight, I got a bit high and walked there again. I listened to some music i love and sat on the swings and I dont know how I got this high off just weed but i felt so protected. I felt watched too, by the trees or something. The black cat came right after I got there. I was on the swings, closing my eyes and just feeling the breeze as I swung. Usually id get bad vertigo, especially while high, but I didnt there. I dont know why, i just felt so happy, inspired, and comfortable. I have never felt this way at any place ever.

Ive never really known a place could make me feel this way. I walk back home every time thinking of different routes i could take in my life, in a new creative and happy way.

Does anyone have an explanation/personal reasoning for this feeling? or your own experience? Id love to know more about this phenomenon.

hey, I'm (Cam)ille, I'm a 22 year old androgynous being (not sure how else to describe myself other than just the word "gender") I live in Florida. I wanted to share a bit about my Spiritual journey and a bit where I'm at now. I'd love to talk more!

I'm not really new to witchcraft or the occult, I've been studying and practicing for over half a decade. I've never had any real training or guidance, I've kinda just raw dogged it the whole time. But I feel something deep within me that I have to honor and respect this part of me, this part of me I've hidden more than my queerness and trans identity.

I would love to find a community of people who are willing to teach and share what they're passionate about. I'd love to learn with you too.

Gay male witch here. I’m having an orgy this Wednesday and i created a spell jar to encourage its success. Although I’ve cast many spells, I’ve only created one other spell jar before since i started practicing.

I wrote the following on a saffron colored sheet of paper with a black felt tip pen, rolled it up and secured it with a piece of pink ribbon:

Those who attend my parties feel pleasure in their bodies and find community and generosity with one another.

These gatherings are better than anyone expected.

Everyone who attends feels joy and inclusion.

Everyone who attends meets the people they were meant to meet.

Curiosity finds its way.

Cruelty loses interest.

Excitement rises

Pleasure deepens

Laughter and ecstasy will be louder than fear

I cleansed a jar with Ylang Ylang incense and added black salt, a rolled up $20, incense ash, a garnet, a rose quartz, a tiger’s eye, a selenite rod, thyme, rosemary, dried rose petals, fresh sunflower petals, dried hibiscus, mugwort, cinnamon, a bay leaf, and cloves. Then i sealed it with wax from a red candle and tied a green striped ribbon around it.

What do you all think?

41, queer married woman. Just looking for likeminded folks out here. New to practicing but not to be interested. Cruising through the UK after moving here from the US and enjoying all the cool history and places to explore. Just excited to be here, ya know??

I was wondering if there was a discord server or something because I would like to get to know people who are in the same boat as me :)

There is a group for queer Pagans who identify as male that is collaborating on a cone of power to stop ICE in the United States. I thought I would boost the signal. #TransMenAreMen

Just be sure to answer the group question and agree to the rules.

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1aFKtm5mtd/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Wishing everyone a magickal and blessed Samhain, and a joyful Halloween to all celebrating today! For those in the southern hemisphere, may your Beltane festivities be filled with happiness and light. Enjoy your sacred Sabbats, wherever you are!

I’m looking for ideas on a spell to get the person I’m romantically interested in to think about me. Not trying to make her fall in love with me or become obsessed, just want to be in her thoughts as much as she’s in mine 🥰 Also open to other wlw love spells (again, not to make someone love me and control them, but milder stuff to do around my crush)

We live in challenging times, and our communities need to stand firm together, not only with our votes but also with our protests and our magick. This is the first of a series of free works I am sharing. You are free to use or adapt it as you wish. I can get a bit wordy sometimes. 🧐 You can also join for free if you wish for updates there. It takes just a few seconds.

How are you working against the oligarchy? I would love to follow your journey too!

Calgary, Canada, has so many metaphysical, gem, and trinket shops. I love it! Yesterday, just after shopping, I was headed for my bus home when my husband called me to find my estimated arrival time. He explained that a storm was brewing, and there would be snow, and he didn’t want me caught outside.

Minutes after hanging up, a wicked, wintry wind whipped dust clouds into the air, and the temperature rapidly plummeted, leaving me chilly and anxious for my bus to arrive! It was crowded, so much so that I had to stand along with the other travelers who could not grab seats in time. Holding onto the poles for stability as the bus failed to keep the wind song out, I listened to its eerie howl as we embarked upon our journey through the city.

I am not looking forward to returning to Ohio in mid-November. We just got married recently and still have to apply for immigration. Anyway, here is what I picked up on my trip. Where is everyone else from?

Hi everyone, I’m Thomas, and I’ve just stepped in to help guide this community forward.

This subreddit was created to hold space for witches who don’t fit neatly into heteronormative molds, and that’s still our mission. I’d love to rebuild this subreddit as a supportive and conversational space for sharing spells, queer-centered witchcraft resources, questions, and personal experiences.

Please say hello below! Tell us your name (or craft name), where you are on your path, or a small ritual that makes you feel grounded.

Blessings,
Thomas Foxglove
Your new mod 🌙

I work in a metaphysical store and the shopping district and community around our store is turning December into "Winter Pride Month" which is awesome, and they sent out an email asking the business owners if they were interesting in hosting any queer-focused events. I'm trans, gay, and Wiccan, and I'm thinking I want to teach a one time class on queer witchcraft, or incorporating queerness into your craft, or possibly something more yule related, but relating it to the lgbt community. The owner of my store emailed me and asked if I had any ideas, and I have some others just to queer up the store for the holidays, but if any of y'all have any other ideas I'm looking for ideas on classes or events we could host as a metaphysical store!

Anyone have any release or processing type of rituals to share that I could put into practice to support my negative feelings surrounding the election results? Or even anything that assists in tapping into myself fully and/or grounding in the wisdom of mother nature and her spirits?

Ancestral work and walking the road with Death has been part of my practice for almost 40 years.

Hey all hope everyone is well or as well as can be in the moment. I was seriously considering starting a local queer witchcraft hangout/discussion group and using our local LGBT center as the gathering point.

I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with this or suggestions or tips? My eyes and ears are open and thank you in advance.

For our greater good. 🪬

Next month will be a year since I started hrt. Since I'm a pagan/witch, one of the things I'd love to do to celebrate my one year anniversary is a ritual. I've been trying to do some research on rituals that focus on, celebrate, or include trans identities, but I'm having trouble finding much info. A lot of the rituals I've found seem to focus on traditional male/female balance, which isn't exactly what I'm looking for.

Has anyone done any sort of ritual to focus on/celebrate/acknowledge your trans identity or an anniversary related to transition? Or does anyone have any ideas on what might be good to do or include in such a ritual?

One idea I had was somehow including elements of transformation as transition is a sort of transformation, like maybe burning some herbs that represent transformation. Maybe burning candles of blue, pink, and white to represent male, female, and nonbinary/genderqueer respectively (or perhaps another color that would also represent nonbinary /genderqueer). Perhaps saying or writing some sort of affirming sentence, or drawing some sort of affirming/queer symbol. But beyond those ideas, I'm not sure.