What does it mean to be a Witch for you?

Witchy Wisdom
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I’ve been thinking about these questions, and I wanted to share a little bit about my own journey. :crescent_moon:

About four years ago, I started meditating. During meditation, I sometimes experienced things that felt like insights or messages coming to me. I even had an experience that I later came to understand as what people call astral projection.

At the time, I didn’t know anything about Witchcraft, magic, or even astral projection​:sweat_smile::woman_shrugging:t3:

I also lived on an island for several years. Whenever I felt sad, overwhelmed, or simply wanted to pray, I would go to the sea and talk to the Earth and the ocean. I had no idea that some of these practices could also be found within Witchcraft. It was simply something that felt natural and meaningful to me. :ocean:

About two years ago, while looking for books, I accidentally came across Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn. That was when I first started learning about Witchcraft more consciously. I was fascinated, but at the time I didn’t have enough time to really work on myself or explore the practice deeply.

After discovering Witchcraft, I had a strong feeling that I was, by nature, a witch and that I had certain abilities. However, those abilities felt completely beyond my control, and they sometimes seemed to cause distress for the people around me. For example, whenever I briefly felt envy or a sense of lack in relation to someone, something unfortunate would happen to them afterward. these things genuinely scared me because I worried that somehow my thoughts or emotions could affect other people.

That is actually one of the reasons I became more interested in Witchcraft.

I don’t want to learn Witchcraft simply to get everything I want or to control other people or circumstances. I want to understand myself, become more conscious of my thoughts and intentions, and learn how to work with what I experience in a positive and responsible way.

This is where I am on my path right now. :black_heart::crescent_moon:

I’d really love to hear from you:

**What brought you to Witchcraft? And what does being a Witch mean to you

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Thank you for sharing and i find your story so inspiring :heart:

So to answer you questions: What brought you to Witchcraft?

I came across witchcraft by circumstance i thought at the time, which years later thinking back it was not by chance and was as it always should have been. My husband’s nephew overseas in Iran was talking about witchcraft and i was explaining how i have heard of it and there are witches here in Australia too, so i started to reseach and when i say i was glued to my screen on my laptop and so obsessed, i mean i was obsessed and felt such a pull i spent all my time researching and that is how i initially came across Spells8. From there, i ordered bits and pieces and started to build a makeshift altar which i now think back on, and even to this day there is a specific incense smell which reminds me of my initial days which gives me such a lovely feeling.

What does being a Witch mean to you

To me it means life. This may sound corny, but without it i just wouldn’t be me. I have grown so much in these past five years both in my craft and in my mundane life, that i feel i have not gotten anywhere in the prior 31 years to that. I breathe, eat, and sleep witchcraft even though my family life can take over my whole personality and life, but i will always have magick i feel in everything i do for me.

Like many others, i found my craft (or rather my craft was just waiting for me to wake up) at hard times and i have never looked back!

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It was really nice hearing about your experience! :heart:

I think we’re actually from the same country! I haven’t heard many people in Iran talk about Witchcraft, so it’s really interesting to hear that you first came across it while you were in Iran.. I actually discovered Mat Auryn’s book for the first time in that country too! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

I actually have a personal question for you. Of course, it’s completely private, so please only answer if you feel comfortable.

Have you ever felt that your Muslim beliefs and your Witchcraft practice conflicted with each other in any way? Or has being Muslim ever made you feel afraid or uncertain about practicing Witchcraft?

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I always find myself lucky that while other people’s families may not be accepting, my Mom was the one to start me on this path.

I’ve always talked to the moon and bitched about God being male when it’s the female that creates things. My Mom was a layperson who was licensed to preach in the Methodist church in case the pastor was out. She always tried to point out that Jesus came to the women first on Easter morning, and they were the ones he first told to go and teach people. Of course, not a lot of people like that message. LOL!

But yeah, I talked to the moon and tried for months to do telepathy with trees. I spent six months when I was twelve trying to connect to the Force because the thought that everything was connected made sense to me.

When I started seeing shadow people at the pizza place I worked at, my Mom took me to Spencer’s of all places and got me my first pentacle along with an ankh and a cross to protect myself. She was covering all the bases she could.

Then one day some Wiccan priestess came on Good Morning America to sell her book on Supermarket Magic. It was just a small, short thing, but she told me about it and said that paganism might fit me better than Christianity. From there, I went to Waldnebooks at the mall, which shows how long ago that was, and got into Amber K. and Scott Cunningham, and that was that.

So to me, being a witch is about acceptance and protection. I can be myself and follow my own drum. I like being unique and different. I like the fact that I can talk to the gods whenever and however I want. I like not having to respect people just because they’re old men and know better. That always got me as a kid.

So yeah, being accepted as a unique individual is a big draw to witchcraft for me.

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Yes i do find that my witch practice and religion do conflict with each other in the sense firstly, in Islam witchcraft is a sin full stop, and secondly in Wicca/witchcraft we see both sexes as equal or in some cases it attracts lots of feminists. As i am an Aussie and brought up in a very open environment, i had no issues choosing what i believe with my family, however, as my husband is a very religious man, it does cause issues.

To me, religion is not something i should feel forced or ashamed of, and as i tend not to care what other fellow Muslims think, i am content not being part of a community if i feel judged. I also believe i am not sinning as well, as when you look at how Islam sees witchcraft, it makes witches or jadoo to appear as evil and hexing people to harm, but as i strongly believe not harming others, i do not see myself as doing wrong. In addition, Muslims also see the value and properties in stones as shown by ring wearing dating back thousands of year as well as using herbs for their properties and benefits, even more, and they go to a sheik or religious individual to obtain ‘prayer/dua’ or what i consider as spells too. They also smoke wild rue to keep the evil spirits out and hang certain evil eyes, and what not for protection. There is also lightinng candles for ancestors on a Thursday too i have noticed.

Me myself am not Iranian, however, my husband is Afghan and grew up in Iran, Karaj mainly and also Bandar Abbas. Bandar Abbas (Minob) is where i saw with my own eyes a jadoogar/witch and also saw a relative of my husband in Karaj trying to plant a curse of some sort.

No matter what people have opinions of, it cannot be denied elements of witchcraft exist within Islam, and i believe whether they cannot accept is totally up to them, because at the end of the day, i have eyes for myself to see the truth. Also as you might know, in Iran people even today still jump over fire for fun, and in the past Iranians were believers of Ahura Mazda (Zoroastrians) or fire whispers they are called, as were Hazara Afghans Buddists before Islam.

So to me, i feel content at believing what i do, and i am very open minded when it comes to religion and beliefs, but at the end of the day it will only open my mind or altar it based on my personal beliefs, not completely change it :blush:

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For people who have never learned about Witchcraft and have only heard about it from the outside, I can understand why it might seem like a sin or something dark.

But the more I learn about Wicca, the more I see how spiritual and meaningful it can be.

I was in Minab once, and I saw people going to a Molla and asking for spells, including what seemed to be harmful spells, like trying to destroy someone’s family. I honestly don’t know whether those things actually work or not!

But from what I’ve learned so far, Witchcraft also has a strong emphasis on responsibility and not intentionally harming others.

I’m actually a baby witch and very new to this path, so I’m still learning and questioning a lot of things. But personally, I don’t feel that there has to be a contradiction between my faith and exploring Witchcraft.

At the end of the day, I think what matters most is understanding yourself, becoming aware of your own abilities and potential, and learning how to use them in a positive and responsible way — without intentionally harming yourself or anyone else. :crescent_moon::sparkles:

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I couldn’t have said it better myself. I think it all depends on the person interpreting witchcraft, and in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with what i am doing and more benefits :blush:

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Ok how to answer. I work with a Trickster god, Loki who has dragged me through a hedge backwards quite literally and metaphorically, stepped into my life without permission, changed it, and showed me all the spells, wards, sovereignty etc etc is BS when it comes to warding him (he even physically removed the :algiz: rune from a protective circle once just to prove a point :laughing:). :person_shrugging: So, what is witchcraft to me - chaos, utter chaos BUT I’ve no regrets, I’ve loved every journey, learnt loads, met great people and would do it all over again.

Hail Tricksters.

With love and mischief

Skal :green_heart::clinking_beer_mugs:

Tracy

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