How to Become a Witch: Full 8 Step Beginner’s Guide!

Any experienced witch will tell you that being one is a constant learning process. Witchcraft is a craft as the name implies, a skill and a lifestyle at the same time.

How to become a witch? Begin by reading books and articles about witchcraft to learn more about it. Practice by casting spells and creating herbal remedies based on instructions from grimoires. Meditate in order to raise your consciousness. Join a coven and share your experiences with other witches.  

Here are 8 essential steps to becoming a powerful, reality-bending witch as quickly as possible:

1. Read books on witchcraft

There are three types of reading materials in witchcraft: theoretical, practical and fiction.

Theory provides valuable knowledge on WHY the methods used in witchcraft work for getting the desired results. Practical reading material includes instructions for casting spells and preparing rituals as well as recipes for concocting magical potions and other herbal remedies.

Usually, non-fiction witchcraft books contain a mixture of both theory and practice. However, some books are exclusively about theory while others, also known as “grimoires”, are often only a collection of spells, rituals, recipes and so forth.

You might be wondering how fiction could help you to become a witch. Fiction is where people put their heart and soul on display. You can learn about what it means to be a witch through relevant characters in stories, and this can motivate you to emulate them better in real life as an aspiring witch.

So be sure to check the book description, table of contents and reviews from other readers to find the right information before buying a book. Especially if you’re ordering more than one book, so you avoid getting ones that are too similar. It’s best to mix it up and read one book from each category at the same time for a more balanced progress and to retain motivation.

2. Learn from other witches

There are many online resources for witches: free articles, Youtube channels and premium courses are the most valuable. By seeing what others in the community are doing you will learn quicker and become familiar with the culture.

Furthermore, this is a good way to get in touch with like minded individuals, share experiences and ask questions. Here are some resources worth checking out:

Youtube channels:

The Green Witch – One of the most popular witch channels on Youtube. Spells, great recipes, lifestyle advice, all presented in a very slick way with top notch production.

Black Witch Coven – Hannah the Witch is one of the most experienced players in the game. She has experience in both white and black magic and is freely sharing information on both.

The Witch of Wonderlust – Another great channel, with a greater focus on book reviews and tarot readings.

Orlee Stewart – Orlee is pretty chill and fun to listen to. Her magic is very Goetia oriented, meaning that she prefers ceremonial and summoning magic in her practice over other forms.

She Walks Between The Worlds – This is a very creative and more of a lifestyle channel. She provides personal insights on her practice, demonstrations on how to cast spells, tours of ritual items such as magic altar, bookshelf, candles, witchery cabinet and much more.

Courses:

The Universal Circle – This is a great course for learning how to create a strong magic circle. A magic circle is an essential requirement for many rituals. There are many intricacies, based on whether you’re casting a protective circle or in order to increase the energy current of your spells and summoned entities etc. All of this and much more is demonstrated in this video course.

The Ars Goetia – This course by Orlee Stewart is a great starting place for Goetic magic. Many witches and magicians (myself included) prefer demonic ceremonial magic to all other forms. Demons can be incredibly powerful allies and Ars Goetia provides 72 demons renowned for their powers to influence reality on our behest. To put it simply, this course will make you want to summon a demon first chance you get.

3. Join a coven

The old saying that you are the average of five people you spend most of your time with is very true. If you want to become a witch introduce a few witches into your social circle.

If there’s a coven available in your local area it might be worth joining or at least checking out to see what the members are like. Covens are essentially groups of witches that spend time together, share insights and information, perform group rituals etc.

If you don’t have access to a coven, an alternative is to create your own or simply become friends with people who are interested in witchcraft. Online forums are a good place to meet people, and perhaps there you will stumble upon your destined mentor.

You might also wish to check out social media accounts, for example by typing #witchesofinstagram on Instagram, joining relevant FB groups etc.

4. Choose your path

There are many paths, belief systems and skills that you can focus on as a witch. Some witches are very much into herbs, others prefer ceremonial magic, wiccan rituals, astral travel and so forth.

Most witches you are likely to encounter are pagans or Wiccan, while others believe in some form of Satanism. There are also those who are atheists or agnostic, and I’ve even met a few witches that are Christian!

Witchcraft is a very unique and individualistic process so don’t feel bogged down by definitions or labels. However, you may wish to hone down on a specific belief system or craft your very own unique system by combining elements from other systems.

As a beginner, it’s best to learn a bit of everything and see what you like best and then go from there.

5. Embrace the lifestyle

Witchcraft requires regular practice. Because it’s not only a skill but also a lifestyle, it’s very helpful to become engrossed in the cultural aspect as well. This can include your clothing style, home decorations, choice of people you associate with and things you decide to focus on.

All of this can be considered  as practice. On top of that, there is the aspect of practicing magic itself, creating potions, taking care of your herbal garden if you have one, meditating and much more.

The more you practice, the easier it becomes to magically manifest what you desire in reality, whether it’s healing, manipulation of events or simply feeling more empowered in day-to-day life.

6. Write a magic diary

This is a very simple and effective practice that will allow you to track your progress. A magic diary is a notebook in which you write down your magic related goals and experiences, spells, rituals and other practices.

For example, if you a cast a spell you can write down the effects. Or you can write down your experiences in astral travel and lucid dreaming, recipes of your potions and herbs etc. Consider this as a sort of autobiography sketch that will be a wonderful way to look back on your journey in witchcraft.

7. Keep it on the hush

Proclaiming yourself as a witch to people who are not supportive of witchcraft isn’t exactly the best idea. Your family and friends might be scared or prejudiced of your new lifestyle choice. They might have a negative impression of witches built on horror stories and religious beliefs.

Instead of alienating the people that are close to you, it’s best to go slowly by keeping your practice secret or by introducing them to certain aspects gradually, without proclaiming yourself as a witch.

For example, you could share your fascination with magic crystals and herbs or even magic spells. They might find that intriguing or consider you a bit eccentric, without passing moral judgment like they would if you presented the same ideas with the controversial label of witchcraft.

8. Gather your ritual items

Ritual items include various materials that are used to perform rituals, spells and create different types of atmosphere depending on your present needs.

Some often used items are: candles, incense, magic crystals, crystal ball, roots and herbs, cauldrons, scrying mirror, wand, staff, ritual dagger, ceremonial ritual robes, grimoires, tarot cards, potion ingredients etc.

Of course, you don’t have to get all of these items. It also depends on the type of witchcraft that you practice and the requirements of the spells and rituals that you conduct. But most will come in handy sooner or later so it’s good to stock up.

It’s also the case that having more items opens up the opportunity to conduct more complex spells and rituals which you would otherwise have to replace with simpler and less effective alternatives.

Final Word: How to Become a Witch

Practicing witchcraft is not for the faint hearted. You will discover the dark spiritual underbelly of reality and hopefully use it to your advantage instead of being destroyed by it.

As a beginner witch it’s important to take gradual steps and enjoy the process of discovering yourself and the environment from a new, magical perspective.

Don’t force yourself into any practice, because enjoying this transformative process is the most important thing. After all, being a witch is a 24-7 endeavor so you don’t want to feel overwhelmed.

You will shift from magic robes into regular clothes and behaviors based on social requirements, but once you tap into the witchy mindset of personal power and higher intuitiveness it will never leave you.