How To Become a Witch

I consider it something of a gift that I wandered away from my witch path, to return twenty years later. That break in continuity, along with lessons I have learned along the way allowed me to see something I had not before.
When I first became a witch, the internet was a very different beast. I had a website about witchcraft then, but it was a rare thing and as such was popular with pagans desperate to be acknowledged and welcomed. There was no social network.

Now I find witches, brujas, wizards etc everywhere of every persuasion and description. The beautiful thing about witchcraft is that it is the very essence of creativity and as such, we witches are free to define that however we choose.

But there is also something troubling in the witchcraft community that I see now: the desire by some to share how they are hereditary witches. While I think heritage is important, especially if your heritage has been disregarded for too long, there is nothing that makes one witch more valid than another. Add to this the idea of initiation. Initiation again, does not make one person more of a witch than another. High priestesses, initiation etc. are great if you are into it, let’s not forget however that these usually come from wicca, a very specific type of witchcraft promoted by a white British male.

I was drawn to witchcraft as someone who sees danger in hierarchical structures and felt that witchcraft is ultimately an expression of freedom and free will. I don’t need any other human being to approve or applaud what I am doing. I also don’t need to claim some kind of fictional, exclusive rights to the moniker. It is not within my interest to discourage anyone.
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If you have someone identifying as a witch who wants to scare you by claiming this is dangerous unless you really know what you’re doing, then they, in my humble opinion are doing this because:

• They don’t see magick as empowering and/or therapeutic
• They want to scare others to make themselves seem more powerful

OR

• They want to be different and this is a way of keeping others away from the path

If you want to be a witch, I have a simple ritual that you can do that allows you to go through this transformation. Sit somewhere, anywhere, maybe in front of a mirror if you like and say these sacred, powerful words.
“I am a witch”.
Welcome my fellow magick maker. Welcome. Everything else is now your choice.