🪢 Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - The Eclectic Witch: Interdisciplinary Magick

[brandy20]

Challenge entry:
This is my longest entry yet!

Before I started my Wiccan journey I always believed in one God. Was always told the other Gods/Goddesses, Deities were all just make believe living in the south you were an outcast if you believed any differently. Well me I believe in every mythical creature, deity, story everything until I’m giving SOILD PROOF that it’s “not real” then you can’t convince me otherwise. Then once I started the Wiccan journey and started reading more I realized I can believe in all of these things, I can worship/work with all of these things if I please. I’ve been talking with different Gods from different cultures. I’ve been exterminating with my Dragon guide, I’ve been exterminating in making spell jars by taking different items from different recipes, I’ve been incorporating a little bit of everything from everywhere into my practice. I will probably continue to practice like this because I find it unique and fun. I’m getting to make my own rules and follow them, getting to make my own jars, potions, baths, teas and so on. But I really have to thank all you on the forum all your post whatever it might be I take notes and study from everyone of you and it helps me practice better. At first I didn’t know there were so many different types of Witches I thought there were only 2 Good and Bad but now that I have learned I definitely right now am an eclectic witch and proud of it. My family ask me all the time what kind of witch are you and I tel the Eclectic and then explain what it means and even they say sounds like a great fit for me!

I was told when I was younger that my grandmother and her mother and some other of her family members dabbled in witchcraft until they messed with something that they wasn’t supposed to and it scared them so bad they never practiced again. What it was they messed with I’m not sure. My mom told me stories of how my Nana(grandmother) made little men dance in the fire, how she knew what was gonna happen before it happened and how she made her own medicine for us when we were really bad sick. By the time I was born she had stopped practicing but there were still signs that showed up to her. Animals all kinds of animals would come up in the yard when she was the only one awake then she’d wake us up to come see them, like a bear was in our yard and we live in southern Alabama why was a bear there, snakes would always be in our bathroom and birds we had so many birds in our yard. When storms would hit she’d get so nervous like it was overstimulating her, but even in the worse part of a storm it also seemed to calm her when she went out on the porch to see how bad the storm was. I wish she was here since I’m practicing to maybe share some of her stories but I know she’s watching me very closely.

As some of you know the element Fire holds a special bond with me! I’ve always been attracted to fire it is my comfort zone. I’ve always loved fire and before I found out about the zodiac and my sign I never put anything together I just thought I liked fire. I’m an Aries my whole birth chart is made up of all the fire signs. I thought that was interesting because I didn’t know what anything meant until my mom explained to me and showed me and then put it together. Well then in school learning about Greek God/Goddess I was very drawn to Ares God of war and I thought maybe it’s because his name is Ares I’m and Aries but then I found it he is associated with fire so there’s another way fire has showed back up in my life. Well when I meet my husband I looked up his zodiac sign he is a Leo(fire again) flash forward to us having our son his zodiac sign is Sagittarius(fire again) and then our daughter we thought was gonna be Aquarius and level out the household a bit, but boy was we wrong lol she came early and decided she wanted to be a Sagittarius to! So now my whole household is Fire Signs! I’m starting to see me and fire have a great bond it’s always circling back to me one way or another!

I have come to love making spell jars and experimenting with crystals! I never thought this would be my favorite area of magick but I love the different combinations you can do with herbs and crystals there so many! I even incorporate herbs and crystals into my small candle/soap business. I use different combinations for different situations, muscle pain, eczema, self love, clearing out negative energies, increasing positive energies, it’s my favorite part! It has also given me the chance to help others and give them a more educated opinion about Wiccans! I’m so glad I found this path I’m enjoying every minute of it!

[Estrella]

Thank you so much!

[Estrella]

Aww thank you!

[Estrella]

Thank you!! Ill be adding more

[Estrella]

Thank you all so much ill be sharing more for sure

[Susurrus]

@christina4 I always enjoy seeing you in the forum I’m so happy that so many great things have been coming your way. You definitely deserve them!

It sounds like a lovely bath sachet too! I really need to get a spiritual shower cleanse in sometime soon.

@Garnet I love Part 2 as much as Part 1 great entries & insight!

@TheMuslimWitch I really like how you addressed each part of the suggestions for the challenge with how they each play a part & the witch you are today!

@BryWisteria well, now I think I know where to start with my entry

@brandy20 I like how you went from where you were to where you are with your entry. It’s always great to see how our witches have evolved from start to where they are now

@Estrella you are very welcome & I look forward to it!

@CelestiaMoon I’d say thats a grwat entry idea, its a part of your craft & important to your practice!

I’ll have to work on my entry when I get home now that I have an idea where to kind of start & move with it. Thank you everyone thats shared their entries so far!

[Garnet]

Brandy20,
It would seem that your grandmother was very sensitive. They may have been frightened because they didn’t put up a circle (and probably didn’t know about it) to keep out the things that are drawn to magick from the darkness. This happened to me very early on, using a wiggy board, and I stopped for a long time.
As far as what was taught to us as children? I’ve read the Christian Bible many times and after many decades of the old “I believe” to the “That’s nonsense”
I came to the conclusion that I would keep what rang true and ignore what didn’t. I’ve lived my adult life with this concept.
That includes Paganism, I.E. I don’t kill any living creature and this may go back to the 10 commandments. At the same time, I’ve convinced myself that animal protein grows between styrofoam and cling wrap. If that’s not self-delusion, I don’t know what is. I’d probably be a veggie-tarian, but I fear, that Like a zombie, chasing cows for a bite. Sigh… , , ,
Garnet

[Nixi]

This is another one that grabbed me on the way out.
I looked at it and thought "Darn it there is no way that I can do this one, I’m still rebuilding myself and I barely remember who I was. There are a few areas that call to me equally but I’ve been doing way more book (re) learning than practicing, I can’t do this one. Then I swear somebody grabbed my arm and a fabulous idea flew into my head and sort of bloomed.
Now to actually do it, I haven’t exactly been what you would call productive recently

[TheMuslimWitch]

Thank you and it really helps when you are trying to think of what to say too

[TheMuslimWitch]

Thank you but you have given me more here than i can express so thank you

[TheMuslimWitch]

Aww thank you and like wise It is never too late and i believe if a witch does not want to share than that is just fine. No one should feel obligated to have to explain their self if they are not comfortable

[Medea]

Welcome Estrella! You have found a wonderful family of Witches that are amazing. Each and every one has been so very helpful as I am fairly new here. If you have any questions, just ask. There will always be someone to help you. I am very elated to hear how well the ritual with your sweet cat and brought you closer.
I am looking forward to learning with you.
Blessed Be,
Medea

[Susurrus]

Challenge Entry

After reading the previous entries… I think I’ve come up with a way to explore this challenge. As of right now, I just say, “I’m a witch”… not necessarily a labeled witch, but there are many things that have & do influence my practice & it’s been quite the evolution since the time that I first embraced it & then joined the Spells8 family. However, I am not Wiccan. I use different tools but not all of the ones that some other witches may use. I’m also very what I have on hand & if I can make it myself… that’s what I would rather do. I have always loved crafts & making things so working them into my practice just makes me feel so much better.

• At the very beginning… I was so excited! I knew this was how I felt I aligned but I needed a bit of a refresher. I had practiced in my teens but stopped when my life sort of happened… I started learning & found Spells8 & the courses. I was a sponge. Soaking up & wanting to do, have, practice, & know ALL THE THINGS. I printed every printable there was available, read books, just all the things.

• I found Brigid. My focus shifted a bit as I wanted to learn more about this Goddess & she was so inviting & balancing for me. I was so… intrigued. I read whatever I could get my hands on & learned a lot from the lovely @MeganB… but that connection… it was there… & stronger the more I learned & worked with Her.

• Brigid is a Celtic Goddess & I am Irish , very connected to Ireland, the land, lifestyle, old & new, their practices… also old & new. So I started to learn more about that too. I also have been doing my genealogy since at least the very early 2000s. Over that time my tree has grown by leaps & bounds. It has taken to times & places, I never thought I’d be able to connect to… but I have a history & a deep-rooted one there before the Christianity movements. (anyone who has ever attempted Irish genealogy, this is not an easy thing ) The connection got stronger, and I realized my family, DNA, and even my own beliefs… highly aligned with those of the area my family stems from too!

• After a while & some life things the Morrigan (another Celtic Goddess) found me! It was a rush of I need to know what this Goddess is all about & then sorting through what is & isn’t necessarily what or who she stands for… as with all of the dealings with Goddesses/Gods when I also found that I am very drawn to the Irish Celtic pantheon & connect with them in a way that doesn’t happen with others. I love to learn others’ stories & correspondences, but it’s not the same… taking their stories & events because of the time between… needing to sort of modernize those practices & what those meanings would look like today. My connection with Her is also a strong one & I know when she has something that she needs to tell me or when she is around & I need to connect with Her. I’m also still continually learning about Her also. I love re-reading about either of them either as a refresher or maybe something that I missed or put away somewhere.

• Crystals! One thing I have always been drawn to is crystals! My mom was the first person to kind of introduce me to them. She bought me my first pieces of Tiger’s Eye stones & from there a few others came into my possession, whether through her or as gifts from others. I was totally enamored & just needed to know how to use them to further my connections & practice for my benefit. As it turns out, I took courses to learn more & how to use them… I am now an Advanced Crystal Practitioner! Certificates & all! I can’t imagine not using them in my practice! Plus I mean… pretty most of the time shiny

• Astrology was another thing that my mom had originally brought to my attention. More in a casual way, we were both Scorpio sun women. Which made for some epic butting of heads in the house (Also known as: World War 3, I can laugh about it now, but when it was happening oh did it make my blood boil when it was referenced that way because, to me, that’s not what it felt like… it was we weren’t seeing eye to eye & neither of us was backing down or really hearing the other one) As I got back to my practice, I learned about Birth Charts & aspects & events. So I took some free classes on the basics of Astrology & I have read a few books on it also. I tend to run my birth chart, my children’s, & my husband’s regularly because Cafe Astrology is constantly updating the information included in the charts. Then I compare them & looked at shared signs between us, which is also very interesting to me to see. The weekly astrological forecasts by @Abs53 are one of my favorite topics when she can post them & I have learned so much from them! Then I learned about Solar Return & was completely fascinated that there was such a thing! I had never even heard of it!

• Divination… specifically tarot… I was so interested but had no idea where to start. I wanted to learn though… I bought my first deck to kind of learn with… The Rider-Waite tarot deck. It wasn’t really doing much for me though. I bought the Light Seer’s Tarot & I just fell in love. I took the courses, I looked forward to @Amethyst’s Tarot Poem posts… I was trying so hard to connect & learn to read them. I took the Whole Tarot course on Spells8… So for a long time, my readings were… very… from the book & I wasn’t feeling the connection to my readings & sometimes couldn’t understand them. But I tried & kept at it. More recently I decided to take a course on how to read them intuitively & from there decided to continue my education on reading the tarot to become a Certified Tarot Advisor. After starting with Tarot, Oracle decks so many beautiful decks, only so much in the wallet , I did a deep dive into the Elder Futhark Runes. Then I learned about Witches Runes & just love them too! Now slowly but surely, even though this started when I really started learning about Celtic Paganism, the Ogham is something I am learning, though not as steadily as the others. I learn, then have to put it down. Family life will do that to you I also use my pendulum to connect with my ancestors, check energy centers, & practice Lithomancy, mostly with stones but sometimes with charms too. I don’t use them all at once, but I do use them in tandem when I feel I need to.

• Intuition… really this has been a thing for quite some time as well as being an Empath, but due to some events, I had kind of put up a wall. Once I started taking down the wall, things made more sense. Everything just seemed to fit. I had a better understanding of what I wanted to practice, what I do & don’t connect with well, and how to use & protect it… also being a Highly Sensitive Empath… I learned that part of the wall, was I took on too much of others’ energy. So I learned how to protect my own, healthy boundaries & sticking to them, how to shield myself from other things & when to know… it was time for me to exit stage left. However, it wasn’t always that way, I knew I had these differences & things that I guess for lack of a better explanation I just knew or felt or picked up… but I didn’t know why sometimes I didn’t know where they were coming from. So learning to get that under control & more manageable was quite the feat… on the other side… it has really helped me with my tarot reading abilities.

• Meditation… oh how I love a good meditation now, but that was a HUGE learning curve for me. When I first started… I was lucky to sit through 5 minutes… the guided meditations… loved them… but when I had made it that far, anything over 10 minutes & I couldn’t do it. Now though… I have some calming music & another kind of ambient playlist… I can sit & meet with my deities, calm myself, grounding, center, release emotions… I can do it. I like to do it with music & ambient playlist, sometimes I use guided depending on what the meditation is meant for or what is going on… but the value of being able to meditate is immeasurable in my practice.

• Candles… Love me some candles … I use them just about daily. While I’m in my space, for my ancestor altar, connecting with deities, spellwork, or any kind of work at my altar. Whether crafting something or doing something specific.

• Incense is another favorite of mine. I do use some commercial incense, but my absolute favorite is making my own to burn on a charcoal disc. I have made up specific incense blends for each of the deities I work with & for the 4 sabbats that I do celebrate. Particularly Imbolc & Samhain.

• Elements… currently I am working on strengthening my connection to Air & Earth , I have always been extremely connected to water & then fire … I’m also learning how to use them with each other too!

My practice is a bit unconventional with the things that I do work with & do whether daily or otherwise. I’m learning to use the Moon phases a bit better. For the longest time, the New Moon has always been the absolute favorite that I felt most connected to & then the Full Moon … so I’m working on integrating those between phases into my practice. I’m also practicing what feels right & comfortable for me. I’m learning more & more about essential oils & herbs so I can use them in other ways than I do currently. They have always been a part of my practice but I know that there is so much more that I can do with them! Overall of this… my practice is heavily Irish Celtic based practiced with some flair. I don’t mind, it makes my practice my own! I’m sure I’ve missed some things, but in all honesty… this is quite long enough & if you made it this far, thank you for reading about my eclectism within my practice!

[Phoenix_Fire]

Challenge entry 1
So ive been looking at what an ecclectic witch is, kinda like going back to the beggining with fresh eyes of experiencesand knowledge gained on my journey so far. Sometimes life can get messy, busy and just plain all over the place and you can feel scattered and a little lost in your practice especially when things like excessive work make your practice exists in the little pockets of time you have or some days fall off the tail end of a very long todo list because everyone elses needs and demands come before your own needs. Sometimes itsgood to ho to the beggining and look at the information again and reevaluate where you are and where you want to go. So ive been looking over some videos on types of witches and ecclectic witches to see where i am at and then plan out where i want to go in the next chapter of my life. Id say id probably describe myself very much like an ecclectic witch because my interests in magic span from divination, crystals, moon cycles and sabbats, elemental magic ( all elements though perhaps i may lean more to some than others at times). There are other elements i would include that might fall into hedge witch territory but i dont soley focus on that area, and herbs and other things. I thought maybe if i could maybe look at ecclectic witchcraft and how it incorporates elements from different areas of magic and figure out what makes up my eccletic practice maybe the scattered patterns of tge past might be able to be honed and defined better going forward in order to allow myself to grow and flourish in my practice. Maybe by finfing better balance in my own life to fit in my own needs as well as meeting needs of others, then maybe i might better help others to do the same. So step one, was to get this far and step two is to create a map of my magical practice and what elements ( as in types not the elements themselves as i wish to incorporate all fire water earth air and spirit) to focus on and then i can plan how to balance work and other demands with things i need, not only to help myself have a more balanced and healthy life but also to help others do the same. Ill post something once ive done my map of magical practice (which might also require some rearranging or refocus in inner temple)to share what ive figured out.

[Cosmic_Curiosity]

CHALLENGE ENTRY 1

I LOVE this challenge because my practice is very eclectic. Also, I am a primary school teacher and hear in Scotland, a huge focus in the cirrculum is something called IDL (interdisciplinary learning) where pupils combine skills from different curricular areas for the purpose of achieving an outcome or solving a task. This is something that is part of my daily work as its may job to facililate the application of these combined skills. This has also worked its way into my magickal practice. I am new to the craft so do not have a partixular “label” or “style” of working. It is very much combining asspexr of differnt magick that are suited to my purpose or needs.

This was illustrated this week when i was hit by a headache. I knew it was one which had the potential to develop into a full blown migraine so took action before hand.

The first thing i did was to kneel at my altar and pray to Auset, one of my deities who is a patron of healing. I asked for her assistance in helping me to heal, offering her rose petals and lighting a white candle, also a symbol of healing

I sat the white candle on my side table by my sofa. I then mixed coconut oil with basil essential oil, applying it to my head, temples and back of the neck.

I played a track on spotify called ISIS and kept it at a low volume. I then lay on the sofa with the candle on the table by my head. I placed a wedjat (eye of horus) on my chest and I meditated as the music played, imagining Ausets golden wings wrapping around me and healing me and allowing the oils to do their work. I lay for about 30mins, afterwich my headache had eased a bit.

I thanked my deitiy and blew oit the candle. I lay back on the sofa with some more oil applied. Thankfully it eased fully and no migraine transpired.

This was me combining deity work, candle work, meditation and essential oils, all for a single purpose.

I am currently working on a scrapbook.showing the different areas of magick i have used or do use snd will share it before the deadline.

Blessed be

Alan

[catherine11]

Challenge Entry: Interdisciplinary Magick

I’ve hinted at it a bit before, but I’ve never outright said it. I was raised Christian, and if you had asked me even as recently as 2 years ago if I believed anything else, I would have said no. But as a teen, I was hearing the calling to witchcraft, but I kept pushing it away and ignoring it until it faded. Finally, late last year, I was disconnecting from the church due to some issues at large, but I finally gave in to the calling, and I did the self-initiation class here.

So since then, I’ve been on this crazy journey of trying to blend the Christian part and the Wiccan part of me. I feel like my beliefs are Christian but my actions have a Wiccan tilt. Mom taught me that there are 2 churches: the visible church (those we physically see) and the invisible church (which is the believers all around the world past, present, and future). Due to some issues with the visible church at large (bad policy and practice), I’m taking a step back from the visible church and staying with the invisible one for the time being.

So many times as a Christian I would pray, but then the counsel seemed to be just wait for it. That doesn’t suit me at all, and no matter how many times I prayed for patience, it just would not come. With Wicca, it’s a marriage of the magical and the mundane, you can do a spell for x result, but you also have to take mundane actions to make it happen. It gives me something to do while waiting.
I hope that makes sense to you, it doesn’t always make sense to me.

[Kasandra]

Challenge Entry

I was raised as a Catholic, but left the Catholic Church approximately 11 years ago. Everyone asked me why I didn’t go to a nondenominational church or one of the many Protestant sects. Christianity, in general, has a lot of beliefs that don’t sit well with me. For example, why would an all-loving God send you to Hell to suffer for all eternity for disobeying him? They say you have free will, you send yourself to Hell. Well, can you really say you have free will if you are being threatened with Hell if you disobey God?
Even though I no longer identify as Christian, I still try to follow some of Jesus’ teachings in my Craft, such as treat others the way you want to be treated, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. That includes not placing curses or hexes on anyone.
Christianity is eclectic, since many of its practices were taken from pagan practices. Easter, which celebrates Jesus’ resurrection, coincides with the spring equinox when everything is coming back to life.
The dragon statue I have that lights up is turned off between Samhain and Yule. This came from the Catholic tradition of lighting a candle next to the tabernacle, which houses the Eucharist. From Good Friday to Easter Sunday, the candle is blown out to signal that Jesus is not on earth, right now.
I will sometimes leave offerings of tea for the deity that I am working with and will ask them to pour their blessings over this tea. When I drink the tea, I like to think that I am consuming a part of that deity, similar when taking Communion.

[heather75]

Definitely!

I’ve seen a lot of Italian, Hoodoo, and Haitian Vodou tradition witches integrate the saints or Roman Catholic deities into their practice, which I think is such interesting syncretism.

Catholic religion has a lot of beautiful rituals, chants, art, and so on. I’ve always felt like it’s so similar to modern witchcraft.

I’ve often wondered if I feel good about taking the parts of the religion I was raised in that I like into my practice, because I have developed a profound disdain for the organized religion. I’ll look forward to reading your challenge entry!

[heather75]

Challenge Entry

I’ve loved reading everyone’s beautiful posts about their personal paths. I’m so inspired by you all!

I’ve recently been exploring the pagan traditions of my Irish/Scottish/Germanic heritage and incorporating some of those deities into my work. I’ve recently been learning about Brigid and the many ways she has been syncretized by different cultures and religions.

I incorporate many witchcraft traditions or types into my personal practice.

I certainly identify with the Green Witch. I have my own beautiful living indoor apothecary that provides me with energy, a meditative practice, and of course, herbs for correspondences!

My favorite rituals are smoke cleansing/incense, tea, and candle magick. My green witch practices help provide the materials for these spells, so that every ritual is imbued with materials that I have a spiritual and energetic bond with.

I also consider myself a learning hedge witch. I love trance/flow/altered consciousness states and exploring other realms, meditating, and communicating with spirit for guidance. I also have an uncanny sight or intuition to those physically near me, but that feels more like a parlor trick. (Hubby likes to play “what color or number am I thinking of”). It’s more of an empathetic magick than like, being able to predict a card before it’s pulled.

I identify as a non-traditional hearth/cottage/kitchen witch. Low magick is some of my favorite. Stirring intention into my recipes with my consecrated spoon and spatula, baking with correspondences, cleaning with incantations, blessing my home, etc.

Sea witch also resonates, I love the power of the lunar cycles and the power of the sea, which I’m fortunate enough to live near in the PNW.

I also do quite a bit of art witchery with my magic! I adore Amy Cesari’s coloring books and use her pages to record my BoS, and use coloring as a meditative practice or to raise energy during a ritual.

Its interesting consider the phrase “eclectic witch”, I’ve heard it many times, but I’ve always just considered my practice “witchcraft”. I borrow practices when they make my witchy sense tingle and make them my own (as long as they aren’t from a closed practice).

Woo! That feels like a very long post. Blessed be!

[heather75]

Part of my magickal garden that I’m just so proud of.