Am I young to be asking about witchcraft?

QUESTION - Am I quite young to be asking about witchcraft, I am a descendent of a witch but I do not have any experience with witchcraft. I believe I am a green witch, I have a strong connection with earth, Mostly water. Where should I start? My mother has also performed witchcraft when she was about 14.

ANSWER - It’s always interesting to hear witches talk about when they first came to the craft. Although many do come to it later in life I would say the majority of witches I have met usually have some awareness of it in their younger lives, be in their teens or their childhood. So it is not surprising to hear someone in your age group displaying an interest in witchcraft.

Are you too young to be asking about witchcraft? No. I don’t believe a person is ever too young to be learning about anything. Fuelling our interest with knowledge and information is what helps us to grow as people and to find the paths we will walk on through our lives. Learning by reading and interacting with those who already practise witchcraft would be a good investment of your time if you have a genuine interest in following a craft path.

Practising as a witch is a different matter and a highly subjective consideration. I have known competent witches in their teens (although usually they have had guidance and support on their path from an elder) but equally I’ve known a lot of witches who believe any form of magical practise should be restricted to adults only. I sit on the fence a bit with this one, I think there are teenagers with the maturity and wisdom to start out on a craft path but I also feel a bit of life experience is invaluable to a witch. I’d support anyone your age who wanted to learn, explore and discover but I’d be a lot more cautious if you were talking about making a formal commitment to what can be quite a challenging way of life at your age. (Think of it like marriage – you probably won’t commit to your first partner and you might want to learn about and try a few other walks of life before you commit to a specific craft path either).

In terms of a starting point - you talk about having a strong connection with earth and water and that is great, that is you listening to your natural instincts which is one of the things that makes a good witch. This is something you can work on quite comfortably at your age. Spending time in nature, perhaps finding way to let it inspire you creatively (painting, poetry, music…) will help you to build a relationship with nature and the elements. Rather than buying introduction books on witchcraft, try reading some books about plants and herbs and even try growing a few. Learn the skills behind the craft so that if your path does evolve into the path of the witch it will be a path of substance rather than style and built on a firm bedrock of your own appreciation of nature and your understanding of how to manage the living world.

Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/Man-and-Nature-136842934

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