Becoming a Witch

I outlined these steps for those who are interested in becoming
Witches, but just don't know how to go about it. You'll notice I
don't mention anything about covens or groups until the last
step. That's because I strongly believe all Witches should start
out as solitaries. Learning about Witchcraft and practicing
magick by yourself will teach you what works for you and
what feels right to you. Once you figure that out, you can find
others that you are comfortable circling with.
Becoming a Witch is not something that happens overnight.
These steps that I've outlined that lead to your self-initiation will
take you at LEAST two full years to complete if you do them
right. If you think you have to initiate yourself by this time next
week, then this probably isn't the right spiritual path for you.

Step One - Discovering your Path
Read and study. Read everything you can get your hands on
that will tell you more about beliefs of Witchcraft, such as
books, web pages or online magazines. Only by learning as
much as you can about the basic beliefs and tenets of
Witchcraft can you decide if the religion is the right path for
you. Books that I recommend can be found here.
While reading books and studying the written word are highly
beneficial, Wicca and other forms of the Craft are nature
religions. Get outside and experience the Divine's creation. Go
camping. Take hikes through the mountains. Swim in ponds
and lakes. Bask in the glow of the sun and moon. Watch birds.
Go stargazing. Learn all you can about the Earth and Sky,
which are the bodies of the God and Goddess. This step alone
should take you at least a couple of months, if not longer.
Changing your spiritual path is not a decision to be taken lightly
- you should know as much as possible about the beliefs of
that religion before you go any further.

Step Two - Defining Your Path
OK, so you know the basics and you've decided it's definitely
something that fits into your belief system. In a notebook or
journal, begin writing down some reasons why you think
Witchcraft is your path. What does being a Witch mean to
you? What do you hope to achieve and learn through
Witchcraft? What do you fear if you follow this path? How do
you visualize the God and Goddess? What does the Divine
mean to you? Be completely honest. Nobody will ever read
this but you. (This notebook will eventually become your Book
of Shadows.)
There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. It's not
a test, but simply a way to help you define your spiritual path.

Step Three - Exploring Magick
You'll notice I haven't mentioned anything about spells or ritual
yet, because you need to complete the first two steps before
you think about working with magick. Magick is not
hocus-pocus, it's not bending the natural order of things to fit
your needs. Magick is simply raising and channeling energy that
is found in yourself, in nature and in the Divine to achieve a
desired result.
Before you begin working with magick, you need to understand
what it is, where it comes from and the ethics involved in magickal
workings. Remember that you are responsible for your own
actions. If you harm someone with magick, you will face the
consequences, probably sooner than later.
You also need to understand the basic structure of a ritual: casting
circles, calling quarters, invoking the God/dess, raising and
directing energy, grounding and centering and closing the circle.
Know the moon phases and how they affect magick. Learn them
well enough so that you always know when the moon is waxing,
when it is full, when it is waning. Learn to feel how the moon
affects your moods and your body. Keep records of all you have
learned in the journal I mentioned above - your personal Book of
Shadows. This step will probably take you another couple of
months of studying.

Step Four - Learning to Focus
Now you should start working on meditation and visualization
exercises to increase your concentration. The ability to focus and
visualize will greatly increase the power of your magick as well as
your own inner peace.
Learn to be calm. Learn to pull strength from within yourself and
from the earth, sun, moon and stars. Learn to be still. Learn to
hear the voice of the God and Goddess when it calls to you.
There are some links to meditation sites on my Book of Shadows
page. You can start out by meditating at least three times a week
for about five or ten minutes. Once your mind gets used to being
still and quiet for that long, you can increase your meditation time.
You should do this for at least a month before moving on to the
next step. Remember to keep a record of all your meditations in a
section of your personal Book of Shadows. And don't neglect
your meditations after you've moved on to the next steps.

Step Five - Working with Magick
Now you can begin some basic spellwork. I'd suggest starting with
a full or new moon ritual, but of course you do whatever feels
most comfortable to you.
You should not use word-for-word spells or rituals that are written
in books or posted on web pages. Those spells were written for
the writer, and should be used only as guidelines when creating
your own rituals. Every Witch should write his or her own spells.
For more on writing your own spells, click here. Try doing a full
moon ritual each month and also write and work a ritual for each
Sabbat that occurs from this point on.

Step Six - Self-Dedication
After you've been working with magick and continuing your
meditations and studying for the next five or six months, if
everything still feels right, and if you still feel like Witchcraft is the
path for you, now is the time to perform a self-dedication ritual.
This ritual should be yours and yours alone. Design it however you
want to, and in a way that will be most meaningful to you. A
dedication ritual means exactly what it sounds like it means - you
are dedicating yourself to the Craft and telling yourself and the
Divine that this is the path you wish to pursue.

Step Seven - The year between dedication and initiation
You can initiate yourself when you feel you are ready, but I usually
recommend that the initiation occur at least one year after your
self-dedication. The year you spend between your dedication and
your initiation should be spent celebrating the Sabbats, meditating,
practicing your spellwork and studying, studying, studying. Use
this time to start learning about different forms of divination, such
as Tarot or Runes, and different forms of healing, such as
herbalism. Again, make sure to keep a record of all that you learn
in your Book of Shadows.

Step Eight - Networking
I usually recommend a year of solitary study AFTER
self-dedication before a Witch considers joining a coven or a
circle. This gives you a chance to celebrate one full cycle of
Sabbats, and to learn what works best for you.
Some people may choose never to join any kind of organized
group - that's fine. A solitary Witch is just as much of a Witch as a
coven Witch, and anybody who tries to tell you differently is either
on a power trip because they are insecure or they are trying to
recruit you into their coven. But even if you don't join a group, you
might want to consider finding other Witches to circle with
occasionally. It's always good to learn new ideas. Go back to my
Witchcraft page to learn more about finding other Witches in your
area.

Step Nine - Initiation
There are many differing opinions on the concept of initiation. In
my opinion, there is a difference between initiation into the Craft
and initiation into a coven.
Initiation into the Craft should always be a solitary ritual. This is a
private moment between you and the Divine, where you are fully
committing yourself to the Craft and to the Lord and Lady. An
initiation should be something that's meaningful to you. The ritual
should be written only by you.
A coven initiation is a means of bonding a group together as a
whole, of establishing trust among a "family" of Witches. It should
not be an initiation into the Craft, because, like I said, that is
something that is a private matter for each individual Witch. The
coven initiation should incorporate elements of trust and sharing.

Don't think that your studies are over just because you've been
initiated. The Craft involves constant learning and growing and
changing. If you truly want to be a Witch, be prepared to spend
the rest of your life studying and learning about this religion.