I hope you are feeling better!
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Thank you. I feel so much better today, but according to the test I just took, Iām still positive.
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Gorgeous books!! I may have to try my hand at making my own!
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Sorry to hear you are still testing positive.
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@Phoenix_Rose this is good stuff! I totally, totally agree!
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Oh. My. Goodness. @Satu_TheGreenWitch these notebooks might be the most beautiful notebooks I have ever seen. I am a notebook person. I have a stack of unused āemotional support notebooksā on my desk and now I feel like I might need to look into this! They are breathtaking!!
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I think in a way Iāve always believed in magic. From the time I was a little girl, I was fascinated by mythology, tales of the Norse gods, and Greek heroes fascinated me.
As I got older and I became convinced that the pizza place I was working in was haunted and had ābad vibesā my Mom took me to Spencers and bought me an ankh, a cross, and a pentacle just to cover all the bases to protect me.
By that time I had dropped out of the church, frustrated by the trappings of religion. I had the questions many of us had if thereās a Father God, why isnāt there a Mother Goddess? A few years later my Mom was watching Good Morning America and saw a book being hawked. It was a book on Supermarket Magic.
She went and bought me that book and it opened my eyes. My next book was True Magick by Amber K and it got me even more excited. I started reading and even did a few daily devotionals but never took the next step to do any real magic.
Years went by and I had a nervous breakdown. As I came out of it, I got interested in reading about magic again but again, never took that final step. I was always afraid of doing something wrong, of making mistakes.
It wasnāt until after Mom passed that I got really interested in paganism again, after a dream I had. By then my depression was better but I was lonely and without many connections. I joined Facebook but while there were other pagans in my area they didnāt really talk to me. Before Witchvox went down I tried to write some letters but no one answered. Meetup was a dud too.
I was watching YouTube though, and that helped. Thatās how I found Spells8 and I joined two years ago and I havenāt looked back.
The biggest change was figuring out through the weekly challenges that magic doesnāt have to be this big production. That rituals donāt have to be this big pageant if you donāt want them to be. That I could just focus my intention and light a candle and magic would happen. \
During this time another change came over me. I was calmer. More zen. Before I would go to the store with an MP3 player going constantly because the music helped calm my nerves. Being around people had me constantly on edge and that gradually changed. Something Iām thankful for.
So Iām not sure if Iāve changed all that much or just become more ME. If that makes any sense. I think if anything I came back from changing and remembered those lessons that childhood taught me. When you grow up you forget that wishing on a dandelion head makes wishes come true and that dragons can be real. Iāve remembered that and Iām changing even now to someone who can sense energy and see magic circles. That change means a lot to me.
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Oh my, thank you @AileyGrey! Iām very humbled by such lovely praise 
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@Amethystā¦ I wanted to give you 
hugs & to let you know that I will properly respond in a little bit. 
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What led you toā¦
ā believe in magick?
My curiousity led me to magick and in all honesty it was actually my husbandās nephew who prompted me as he too was interested in witchcraft of a different kind.
ā take the leap to begin practicing magick?
My excitement and initial need for more in this world.
What are theā¦
ā biggest hurdles/challenges youāve overcome in your practice?
The biggest hurdles related to my practice is the stigma of other non-magickal folk and the self-doubt i have in myself about not being a bigger and better witch due to family and life commitments.
ā biggest achievements/successes you have accomplished in your practice?
Having spells actually work when i needed them to the most, overcoming the fear of sharing my witch path with family and friends. Not being ashamed and actually proud of who i am and who i have become.
Is there anything on your magickal journeyā¦
ā that you regret?
Not having enough time to do my daily rituals as much as i would like
ā that you would change if you could go back and do it again?
I wouldnāt change a thing and am so happy i found my witch path and Spells8 too to assist me along the way.
How has your magickal practice changed youā¦
ā as a witch/magick user?
As a magick user it has changed me in the sense that i need time and that the craft is not a subject to ]be learnt and then that it and in actual fact it is a life-long journey to be savoured and enjoyed like a delicious piece of chocolate.
ā as a person?
As a person i have become more aware of my surroundings, the environment, the feeling animals, nature and people around me, i have found ways to cope and even cured my chronic depression. And the biggest one is it gave me the stength to believe in myself and as a result i lost 46kg and am more fitter that i even have been!
I just want to lastly thank my craft and also all you guys here at Spells8. I couldnāt have become the person i am today without your support! Love you all!!! 
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What led you toā¦
Believe in magick?
I think that I have always had an interest in magick since I was a little girl. Even though I had no clue what real magick was. I remember I loved visiting the crystal shop even when I was small. The sounds of the flute music smell of the incense all of the pretty things to look at. I loved mythological creatures such as dragons and mermaids. I have always had a very strong passion for history and old things. I love to collect antiques. I love the fact that all items can carry a story. I think what helped me to believe in my own practice was the fact that all the dabbling I have been doing, playing around with my tarot and oracle cards was pointing to signs that my ex was going to try and come back. And he has tried but thatās another story. I think that was my earth shattering moment that I could not deny the power around me. I was really a wake up and pay attention moment. I donāt know what shook me to my core more, the notification on my phone from my ex or the fact that it was all true and it really did come to pass.
Take the leap to begin practicing magick?
My story to begin practicing magick properly is a little bit of a clichĆ© really. I stumbled upon the Spells8 website in October of last year. Scrolling the internet to try and find a way to heal my broken heart after I left my ex. So I joined. I started the online courses and I began to practice. I was so hesitant at first because I had always admired others from afar who did practice but I never wanted to try for myself because I didnāt want to disrespect anyone who did practice by being completely rubbish at it.
What are theā¦
Biggest hurdles/challenges youāve overcome in your practice?
I think just coming to the realization that you donāt need all the āwitch kitā to practice, you donāt have to have a fancy altar and all the bits - like right now! To begin to practice. The tools donāt make you a witch. Just learning to chill a little and practice with what I have available to me is one of my challenges. I believed that you had to have the whole kit and caboodle to have your spells work.
Biggest achievements/successes you have accomplished in your practice?
I think working on me has been my biggest accomplishment. Putting myself first and realizing that in order to care for others I have to take care of myself first. The whole aspect of self-care and self-love within magickal practice has helped me in more ways than I realized that I needed.
Is there anything in your magickal journeyā¦
That you regret?
I regret feeling like I wasnāt ever going to be good enough to be a witch. I regret secluding myself on the sidelines for fear of upsetting those who do practice by jumping on the witchy bandwagon. I regret not taking that leap sooner.
That you would change if you could go back and do it again?
I would tell myself to slow down. Donāt go stupid spending money to have all the witchy kit. But other than that, no I wouldnāt change anything because the path I chose led me here, right where Iām meant to be.
How has your magickal practice changed youā¦
As a witch/magick user?
One thing I learned is that magick is for everyone and it doesnāt matter where you come from in life we all have magick within us and this group helped me to lean that if you believe in it then thatās all you need. I have come to trust my intuition and go with my instincts.
As a person?
Patience and trust and faith in divine timing, everything happens for a reason at its own pace as it is mean t to happen.
I would just like to take a moment to thank my Spells8 family. I have had the privilege to make some truly amazing friends and a whole new family that have given me nothing but unconditional love and support from day one. If it wasnāt for each of you, I wouldnāt be where I am today. I am truly grateful to each and every one of you xxx
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Aww, thank you, love! Take your time. I know youāre busy.
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A Journey of Change
Not sure what exactly led me to practice magic. Having been brought up Catholic, I really had no connection there so most of my adult life, I have been looking into all religions, and trying out a lot of them. I just know dogma, in anything, isnāt what I want
For a number of years I have been fascinated by witchcraft. I would find myself looking at different books at the half priced book store. I looked into different sects (?) of witchcraft but something never quite connected. I watched videoās and tried doing the year and a day book but still nothing.
Nothing seemed quite right. Fast forward to a couple of years ago and a mindset coach I had sort of followed on facebook - came out as a witch (at least in business, she wasnāt in the broom closet, it just wasnāt part of her biz model before) and was offering a small course on witchcraft. So I did that, and found my way to other people and websites, slowly over the last couple of years things seemed different when I looked through the lens of witchcraft only.
Now I have been educating myself and doing rituals. I have also chosen to filter most things out (like working with deities) because I was getting overwhelmed. I have chosen a couple of books that I am re reading and working through exercises + rituals in the books to define my practice and beliefs.
Witchcraft is not what I thought it was but what I am doing now feels right.
I also did the book of mirror course and realized that the way I am making my BOS, I sort of have a book of mirrors going, so I reset that up in a binder to be a little more organized and have a more active process for using a book or mirrors. Got some good ideas from the course. 
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What led you to believe in magik?
Iāve always believed in magik. I would read everything i could get my hands on about the Greek gods when i was child. I also knew i was different, but didnt know or understand why. I knew who was calling before caller ID was invented. I knew a personās ailment just by touching them. I could sense when something was wrong with one of my siblings when we were apart. I had visions of future and past events. But i wasnt supposed to talk about it to anyone outside of my family, bc these gifts were seen as evil. So i thought i must be evil too.
What are the biggest hurdles youāve overcome in your practice?
Realizing Iām not evil was a huge one for me. Also realizing not everyone is nice. Ive been very naive. Even tho im 42, im too trusting. I give away too much of myself, and keep nothing back for myself and ppl take advantage.
Is there anything on your magikal journey that you regret?
Yes, not choosing my friends more carefully. Early on i became friends with a druid who was supposed to help me. She was friends with my sister so neither my sister nor i saw the harm in her helping me in my journey. Boy were we wrong. This chick is an energy vampire and when i told her that she needed to put her big girl panties on and make a decision about her marriage, and that her problems were martial not magikal, bc she was trying to get spells to make her husband āfall in lineā she didnt like that and assumed i was casting against her. Which at that time i didnt know how to do and she knew it. She decided to put a slow death curse on me. She also cursed my dog. She also sowed discord between my husband and i.
Lesson learned. And yes she got her come up-ons.
How has your magikal practice changed you?
I have become stronger in myself. I trust myself. I believe in myself alot more. I still have doubts. Im still my own worst critic. But im no where near as bad as i once was. I feel whole for the first time in my life. Even when my own dad said i will burn in hell when i told him im a witch, even tho he already knew, i didnāt even hesitate with my response. Before i wouldāve been so concerned about being disrespectful. My husband supports me 100%. Even tho heās a Christian. Shoot my husband is the one who got me started on my journey. Lol
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Hello,
What lead me to magick
Awhile ago I got into Astrology which lead me down a rabbit hole eventually I learned of the tarot in the beginning stages of the tarot I was the fool and still to this day I see myself in all the stages of the tarot. I am a seeker of knowledge. I just love symbolism in the cards. I basically found a treasure trove of excitement during my fools journey into the tarot the number 0. When I got to the magician the number one in the tarot. I had a sudden realization that I could do anything I wanted to do if I could learn more about the stories behind the mythology and apply the myth to my own life. I found myself archetypally engaging with the tarot. I remember like it was yesterday. The Magician who has all of his tools laid out on the table. The cup, swords, wands and the pentacles. I really just engaged with the cards like spirit much alive. The cards would just spoke to my left side of the brain, and I could received messages. I had many blokages at the time but my creative side was starting to emerge.
I really like the magician card because it reminds me of the past and how it changed my own life. I started to make a wand out of a Japanese maple tree. It made an impact in my own life. I Iearned allās I needed to do it make an intention with my wand and point out my goals. The magician has a infinity symbol above his head. I started to unpack the symbolism, and I saw in my own mind that I could have many possibilities! As above so below! I wanted to have my creative spark be magickal! I learned more about trees because I wanted to learn more about the craft and the correspondences.
In the beginning stages of my journey as the fool, I wanted to play with my perception of life. I wanted to play with the idea of getting my health and believing in my own magick! See I had been stuck for awhile and I cant tell you everything in my life is perfect. I just know that I am seeing myself in the cards and started to learn and play with the spreads to accompany me with my own direction in my life. I wanted to be my own shaman and healer. I was inspired to take a leap of faith and dispend my own disbelief in my shawdow self. I wanted to navigate my life through the tarot, astrology and diety. I wanted to be my own director of my own story. I wanted a magician in me to spark and be new. I am a initiate!
My biggest hurdles and challenges that I had to face is my own truth of the heroās journey which was again my own disbelief in myself.
The biggest achievements and successes I have accomplished are my tools like my journaling has been a great way to express my lows and highs. All of my badges that I have received is a great accomplishment because I am going inward into the highprestess! Learning to use my intuition that everyone said I did not have. Everyone has intuition and wisdom its really using the empress and the imaginative side to help bring it out! I have learned to take good care of myself which is the greatest accomplishment. I donāt listen to all the proprganda that society wants us not to believe inn. I know who I am! I am a witch and if people donāt like it then ow well. It is what it is right! I am still learning to be brave and be who I am without worrying what others think! I trust myself in my spiritual journey and that is most important! The biggest success is learning the tarot and how to read the oracle cards because they help me deal with the scars of the past and the present. I AM LEARNING TO LOVE MYSELF!!!THAT IS A HUDGE ACCOMPLISHMENT!I am grounded!
Is there anything is my magical journey that I regret!
Yes Sometimes I regret not recording everything that I did I just missed some of them. Most of the time I get upset that I donāt have an ingredient for an spell and then I wonāt even participate. Since the big tower hit my household all my stuff is in storage and its upsetting that I just donāt have my things. What are we to do when your resources are very limited? I know just use a plain white candle or just use sage! But what I regret is not making the spell my own sometimes! I am just saying be creative make it your own!
Jeannie
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Itās time for a friendly reminder!
I am cheering along with every entry Iāve read so far- everyone is so amazing! 
It is always an honor to be able to see how far each of you have come and to appreciate the wisdom, lessons, and encouragement shared in your stories. It is a delight to celebrate what makes each of our practices unique while also enjoying the similarities and shared love that brings magick-lovers together 
If you havenāt already shared an entry but would like to join in, please know that you still have some time:
This challenge will close TOMORROW
If you would like to participate and havenāt done so already, please post about your challenge experience(s) by the deadline: Tomorrow: July 12th, 7:00 AM CET (Central European Time)
Blessed be! 
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Challenge Entry - A Personal Reflection into Magick
What led you toā¦
ā believe in magick?
My path seems to have begun similar to many others here- there was always an interest in magickal things, although I didnāt consider it to be magick at the time. From obsessing over lessons on ancient Egypt to devouring fantasy books (especially Harry Potter, but pretty much anything with dragons and magick 
), traveling the world and studying various religions and spiritualities, and eventually finding my way into tarot- I was unaware I was following what I now see as some kind of stepping stone path into the Craft.
ā take the leap to begin practicing magick?
I honestly didnāt have a big revelation or official switch from āmundaneā into āmagickā- Iām really casual with my Craft, and it likes to meld into the rest of my life and character in ways that make it hard to draw lines. I ask myself: did I begin when I started using herbs in medicine and cooking? Was it purchasing the first tarot book? Was it the first formal spell, or the first meditation? 
Itās tough to pick out just one moment in the sea of small changes, so I guess my āofficialā start to magick would best be defined by joining Spells8 and becoming part of something bigger. Itās been just over two wonderful years here with the incredible coven! 
What are theā¦
ā biggest hurdles/challenges youāve overcome in your practice?
Accepting that itās okay to change beliefs and thought processes over time- we grow and change and learn, and that is naturally reflected in our practices.
Things Iām still working to overcome are fitting my practice into a life of constant movement- working with few or no magickal tools, having to pack things up and relocate, and finding ways to practice magick when stress and anxiety are high. Sometimes I feel success with these things, but they are still very much a work in progress! 
ā biggest achievements/successes you have accomplished in your practice?
Tarot! It was so baffling at first- there are still some things Iām struggling to memorize, but Iād like to count my tarot studies as a success 
Over the past two years Iāve tried many new areas of the Craft- not all āclickedā for me (sorry palmistry and numerology), but Iāve picked up plenty of new things to explore, which is exciting
Is there anything on your magickal journeyā¦
ā that you regret?
I have the scholarās kind of silly regret of wishing they had started things sooner, or that I spent more time learning than I did. But the past is the past- and rather than spend time worrying about it, I try to tell myself its better to use that energy and focus studying now! 
ā that you would change if you could go back and do it again?
I had a lot of impromptu garden lessons from my mother, who is a gardener, that I wished I paid more attention to.
How has your magickal practice changed youā¦
ā as a witch/magick user?
My practice has changed a lot over time- some things that I used to believe have faded or changed (especially Dream Magick), while Iāve taken on or adapted other things. My magick has helped me to connect more with the earth and seasons, but it has also helped me connect deeper with myself and my own spiritual needs and beliefs.
ā as a person?
Magick is observant in nature- it makes us more aware of ourselves, the people around us, and the environment and world we live in. Magick is manifestation, and how can we change things without being mindful of what is around us? 
The mindfulness and meditation practices that are central to my Craft have helped me in so many ways itās hard to write them all down. Luckily, I think I spent enough time blabbing on about the benefits of meditation in other posts, so I probably donāt have to do so again here! 
Iāve been ruminating about the stepping stones of my Path over the weekend and will probably continue to have it bubbling away on the back burner for a while. Itās been a journey, but itās a journey that has been so much better for the community here!
For all the inspiration, love, encouragement, support, and wisdom shared- youāve all helped this witch get to where she is today. May we continue to learn and grow our magick together! 
Much love and blessed be!
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Martje-Music works for me too I like listening to pay frequencies meditations and the flu, Indian music! You can take a lyric that you like from a song and write about it.
Wysterteria- numerology is very fascinating I try to memorize them in my mind so I just learned of the number 333 only because someone in a coven had the number on there name and so I searched it and it meant that angels 
and Angelic of a higher vibration and if you saw this number Itās good luck333
Phoenix Fire 
I really want to spend some more time on past lives to myself possibly asking before I go to sleep to show me my past life would be a good way I think. I think thatās awesome that you work on affirmations I need to do more of that. I really love your poetry good job.
Ostara- Hope you feel better sending you love and light! I Really liked that you keep it open mind!
Jeannie
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Very cool challenge. I donāt remember making a conscious decision to start practicing magick. I mean, it was the '90s so thereās that, haha! I was probably around 16 and after trying out a few spells (and having them work) I freaked myself out so badly that I let it go for many years. A couple of years ago I started having dreams that felt āwitchyā for one reason or another. I toyed with the idea of getting back into a practice again, but never really took any action.
Finally, I had a dream that required ZERO interpretation. Very much a āgirl, grow up and get your witchy self together, itās been too longā kind of dream. I havenāt looked back since and I can honestly say a lot of aspects of my life have improved. So Iāve really been my own greatest hurdle to my craft, but Iām also proud of myself for picking up where I left off. Iām very lucky to have a supportive husband who really digs living with a witch!
Of course, with that does come the regret of having not engaged with that part of myself for about 20 years. Itās hard not to be a little frustrated with myself when I think of how much more I would know now if I hadnāt been so frightened by my own power. But I suppose thatās life. Better late than never, right?
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I love the Artistās Way. I read it a few years ago and still try to stick to my morning pages and artistās dates. I always struggled with getting three pages, but the days that I do I think I come up with some juicier stuff. Itās such a great habit, but definitely not easy. I hope you get as much out of it as I have!
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