I’m a young witch and my witch mother died when I was young. My dad doesn’t know. What do I do?

Well first things first – did your mother leave any journals or writings behind that may help you on your path? If so (and many witches choose not to so don’t be too despondent if she didn’t document her path) then these would be a good place to start. Ask your Dad for any diaries she may have kept – If not, could you talk to any other members of your family and find out more about what your mother practised and any details of her path? It can be comforting for many young witches to follow in the footsteps of a parent or an established tradition before branching out and finding their own feet.

If none of the above is possible, let’s start with the basics. Buy a couple of starting books on witchcraft. You say you are young but you don’t say how young so I’m going to recommend an author I wouldn’t usually recommend to older witches. Try reading some of Silver Ravenwolf’s books. They are very basic and way too Wiccanish for my tastes so I suggest you take some of her super duper love and light ideas with a big pinch of salt. But in terms of steering a young witch through the beginnings of working with the craft, she is a good starting point.

I also think it would be an idea to join an internet forum or two where you can swap ideas and thoughts with other young witches and perhaps learn a bit from those experienced in the craft. Try a website called Everything Under the Moon. The owner – Starwitch – pitches her site at beginners to the craft and there are lively discussions in the forums, many of which cover beginner topics. Getting to know other people on a similar path can help you to feel you are not alone in what you are doing and that there are others who can offer you help and advice on your way.

But the most important advice I can give you is to start practising and see what works for you. Perhaps start with something basic like candle magic. Get some tea lights and begin to focus your intent while concentrating on the flame. This will help you take control of your own mind (so important for a witch) and it will also form a sound basis for spell work. There really is no rights and wrongs in spell work so once you have mastered the basics of visualising what results you want, begin to work on your candles. You can dress the candles in a matter to aid your spells. So if you are performing a hex, you may want to use rose thorns pressed into your candles, if you are performing love magic, you may dress your candle with petals. Experiment with different items, smells, oils, flowers etc that fit the work you want to do and have some meaning for you. Your imagination is the thing that makes you a witch – let it run free. And start a little diary. Note down what worked for you, what didn’t, what you’d use again and how you think you could improve your spell work to get better results. Doing this on a regular basis will help you build up your own personal data of your workings and help you gain confidence in the craft.

As you gain knowledge from your reading, support from forum chats and confidence from your workings you will start to form your own ideas in terms of the direction your path will take. Just take your time and let it evolve gradually.

Image http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1095249 (paoula

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