Beginner Witch! Where do I start?

If you’re just stepping into your witchcraft practice, it can be quite daunting. Perhaps you’ve been interested and curious for quite some time and dabbling in research here and there and you’re ready to jump in and see if this is something that really resonates with you. But even after your research you still don’t know where to start. 

Please know that you are not alone! Even in this day and age of social media and having information at your fingertips, you can still feel quite alone if you don’t have somebody there to guide you.

Rest assured that you can still begin your practice. One of the wonderful things about witchcraft is that each practice is unique to each witch. If you feel that it resonates with you and it feels like you’re being guided then just trust yourself more and go with what you feel. You don’t need somebody next to you telling you this is right or this is wrong.

Now I know just trusting your gut is easier said than done, so I’m hoping with this post that maybe I can help give you a guideline as to where to start.

Let me preface the following information by saying that the most important piece of your practice is going to be your own intuition and the belief in yourself. Anything you do in witchcraft has to come from the strong foundation that you believe wholeheartedly in yourself, if there’s any doubt in your own abilities, then it will reflect in your practice and you may start to think that witchcraft isn’t doing anything for you but the truth is it’s the doubt that you have in yourself that’s prohibiting you from excelling. 

While I will definitely say that you need to have a certain level of caution when following others on social media that teach witchcraft, I will also say it’s a great tool, and it may even be a great tool for you to determine what you don’t want rather than what you do want Because there may be things you watch that just don’t resonate with you and that’s your intuition telling you that that practice is not for you.  There are also a lot of really great books on witchcraft, but you’ll want to be cautious there as well. Many books are not for beginners, and if you start off with those books, it can be quite daunting and have the opposite effect. So you’ll want to check out books that are geared more towards beginners.

When thinking about your practice and what kind of practice you’re wanting to have you’ll want to think about your ”why “. Like why are you attracted to witchcraft? Is it nature, is it energy work, is it divination, is it herbalism? The list goes on, but if you have your why then you know where you can start your focus And learning, and then you can branch out from there. You don’t wanna overwhelm yourself by going and buying books on all these various topics. You have plenty of time to learn each topic that you wanna learn but focusing on why you are interested in witchcraft to begin with is just a great place to start.

Now I’m gonna be completely honest here, one of the main things that I recommend especially to beginners is also one of the things that I lack discipline in the most! But journaling is a really great way to see how your practice is growing. Journal your dreams when you first wake up and you’ll start to see if there’s any messages that you’re receiving. Are you having random thoughts pop into your head throughout the day and you don’t know why? Journal that too. You’ll be able to reflect on this journal and you’ll see that you’re starting to receive messages and you maybe didn’t even realize it at first. I am horrible about journaling, but I do highly recommend it.

One of the often overlooked parts of practice that you really should hone in on first is protection and grounding. You don’t want to start any type of practice, regardless of what it is without grounding yourself and protecting yourself first or you leave yourself vulnerable to anything happening.

Now, you can do research on grounding techniques and protection techniques, but I’m going to share my favorite with you here.

Grounding 🌿

1. My absolute favorite way of grounding is literally to connect with the ground itself. It is the strongest way, in my opinion. Now I live in Texas, so the weather, the majority of the time, cooperates for me to be able to do this. I will take my shoes off, and I will go stand in the grass. The grounding really comes in with closing your eyes, breathing deeply and steadily, and letting your feet feel the ground beneath you as if you’re rooting there yourself. I do this for as long as I feel like I need to in that moment.

2. Another way, I like to do it if I can’t actually go outside is to visualize it wherever I am. I still close my eyes and breathe deeply steadily and then I just envision roots, leaving my body through my feet and rooting down into the ground. If it helps when you’re indoors, visualize those roots breaking through your floor, through the foundation, through anything that’s between you and the ground, and visualize them just growing deeply into the ground.

Protection 🔮

I will share a little bit about how I do my protection. But I want to preface it by saying that I do not divulge my protection practice in its entirety because if others out there know everything you do they can undo it or find a way around it so then it defeats the purpose. So this is just a baseline of what I do for protection and I encourage you to do your own research and follow your intuition on how you need to go about protecting yourself in your practice and then I encourage you to keep that to yourself. 

1. I quite often do this on the tail end of grounding while I’m still grounding myself. But I will visualize a white warm light entering through my crown chakra, and it enters through my entire body and comes out through the bottom of my feet and then surrounds me like a bubble. 

As I said before, there are other pieces to my protection, but that’s the baseline. And once I’ve done this, I’m ready for my practice. In addition, this grounding and protection practice is something that’s good to do every morning if possible just to generally start your day and the more you do it the quicker you can be at it. 

I do want remind you that it is completely OK to identify as an eclectic witch that does not follow any one singular practice. Don’t let anybody tell you that something is right or wrong, that’s where you need to lean into yourself and trust your own gut. If it feels right to you then it’s right.

It is also OK to question anything that you’re hearing to shape your own practice.

⚖️ A Gentle Reminder

• Witchcraft is deeply personal. It’s best approached with respect for culture and tradition, while finding what feels authentic to you.

• There is absolutely no rush to your practice. You’re not a baby which trying to become a full grown witch. You are a witch and taking your time to develop your practice is part of your journey.

2 to 3 Minute Daily Practice

☀️ Morning (Set the Tone)

• Light a candle (or just hold your hands together if no flame is safe).

• Take a deep breath and say:

  “Today, I walk with awareness and intention.”

• Think of one word to guide your day (peace, clarity, strength, kindness).

🍃 Anytime During the Day (Stay Connected)

• When you touch something natural (a tree, stone, cup of tea, even running water), pause for 3 breaths.

• Whisper or think: “I am connected.”

• This keeps the magic present in ordinary life.

🌙 Evening (Release the Day)

• Before bed, close your eyes and imagine roots growing from your feet into the earth.

• Say: “I release what no longer serves me. I rest in peace and renewal.”

• Blow a kiss to the universe (or just smile) to close.

  
  

This is a really great way to continue your practice throughout the day even when you’re focused on your regular duties like your day job, taking care of your household, your family, and it’s a great way to fold in your practice without taking up too much of your time. 

As always, continue to do your own research. Don’t follow just one particular person, branch out and find what resonates with you and don’t take what doesn’t resonate.