The witch consciously harnesses these symbols (and is likely to learn a multitude of symbol systems) for use in spellcasting, creatively combining them to direct their focus and personal energy or power.

It’s when they belong to outsiders that they become suspect and are likely to be relegated as magic—and therefore crazy, wrong, stupid, or impossible. The ritual cleansing of a person through the application of special water, or the transformation of wine into blood before a room of onlookers isn’t dismissed as magic because these particular

In any case, the casting of spells is a highly symbolic process that depends on the witch having a sophisticated vocabulary of both personal and cultural symbols.

Witches with heavily land-based practices may work to learn about local wildlife and native plant life in order to serve as caretakers. Many witches believe that incorporating a local element into magic makes it more effective and personal, for example using native plants or minerals instead of importing herbs or crystals from other parts of the

The witch is an outsider figure and has served as a symbol for marginalized groups of many kinds.

Sometimes, in an extension of our own human creativity, we come to see our emotions, proclivities, passions, and challenges as spirits too. In making such abstractions a little more concrete, it becomes easier to manage and direct them, allowing witches to live more balanced, fruitful, and joyful lives.

Eclectic forms of witchcraft pull from a variety of sources, including the creativity of the individual witch. Sometimes the end result is a carefully researched and organized practice, consciously developed over time.

Witches as a whole—regardless of their particular persuasions—abhor proselytizing, and this is reflected in how they relate to their gods. Usually it is the individual who must approach the deity, as the accrual of followers is not thought to be a central desire.

you probably don’t assume the English King Charles is doing the same when he’s holding a scepter and being declared ruler because of his special blood. A wand is a wand is a wand, but it’s only magic in the hands of the wrong person.