Beginners Guide To Witchcraft: For The Solitary Witch

By Tash Capazorio

Beginners Guide to Witchcraft is exactly that. I wrote this book especially for the solitary witch as it can be very daunting when first starting on your path of learning and discovering. In this book you will find all the relevant topics and information needed to get you started, from the point of view of a solitary eclectic witch. I cover topics such as Spell Crafting for the beginner, Type of witches, Colour Magick, Potions and Notions, Deities, Animals and Insects, The Psychology of Colour and more. I have included a glossary as you will start to learn a whole new vocabulary on your chosen path. This book is designed to be informative and can be used as an aid as your journey starts to unfold. But the most important part of all is to have fun, and enjoy the new magickal life about to unfold in front of you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781471768989

Book preview

Table of Content

1       Introduction

2.       Types of Witches

3.       First Time Spell Casting (for dummies...maybe)

4.       Witchcraft, Crystals and Chakras – Psychology of Colour, Magick of Colour

5.       Divination

6.       The Magick of The Moon

7.       Potions and Notions for the Modern Witch

8.       The Sabbaths

9.       Deities

10.        Animals, Insects and Witchcraft (Creatures and their Features)

11.       A Final Thought

12.      Glossary

© Copyright Notice

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the Author.

All images used in this publication are the sole property of the Author, Astara D’Angel (Mystic Spirit) and may not be reproduced, stored or shared across any platform.

Copyright © 2021 | All Rights Reserved

Introduction

When it comes to witchcraft, there is a level of secrecy. We hear the word witch and we are transported to a time long gone, when witches were persecuted and burned at the stake. As children our fairy tales had the wicked witch who spent her days hiding in the shadows, eating small children and plotting the demise of the beautiful princess, destroying kingdoms along the way. They had houses made out of candy and cakes, all to only entice poor innocents into a final doom. Poor  Hansel and Gretel. At least now when we say witchcraft, the taboo may still be there, but society is more accepting of the term, with many people fighting for the rights of the pagan and wiccan community. Growing up many of us didn’t have internet to quickly search for information. We didn’t have anyone who we could ask questions, no mentors, nothing.  Some of us were born into this without even realizing it. And yet somehow, with limited resources, we made it.  This book is a guide for the new witch who may want to have some added information from someone who didn’t understand what I was or what to do with it.  It is filled with first-hand knowledge of success and failure. What to do when things go wrong and how to manifest to change your life. I do know one thing for sure. This is going be a journey of a lifetime.

As a child I was never scared of the dark, but rather what was hiding in the dark, waiting to get me.  I could sense it just on the edges of my dreams, tearing at my legs as I would try and run from it.  At this point you are probably thinking OMG what is this chick smoking???? I’m just being dramatic, for entertainment purposes.

But in all seriousness I was very different from my piers’.  They would all have happy dreams of chasing butterflies and riding unicorns. I would dream of death, destruction, lies. I was 13 years old when I had my first set of dreams, long story very short, my dreams would actually happen. I would often sense spirits around me, and as years would pass, I would get to a point where I could feel and see and even talk to them.  I have faced lost souls crying for help, and never known how to help them.  My whole life pagans and witches would find me and tell me I needed to embrace my super powers, but fear held me back. 

One day I was thoroughly bored as we Gemini’s tend to be, and decided to log into good old Facebook again. Nothing good,  just mindless scrolling.  And then a face jumps out at me, like a long forgotten memory you fondly smile at.  So I do what any self- respecting person would do, I hit the LIKE button. A short while later I got a message. It was the 16th September 2019.  The very next day I crashed my car.  Coincidence? I think not.  In my opinion, now I sit and write this, it was a great big neon sign from the universe that things were about to change, clearly the universe doesn’t do subtlety. I had no choice but to slow down and take notice. The photo I had liked on Facebook belonged to a long-time friend, Dyrk D’Raven. I discovered that he too was into the occult and one thing led to another, and the dance of learning to use my gifts, started. 

Types of Witches and Practitioners

We have all heard the saying variety is the spice of life, well this is indeed very true of witch craft and witches. As you will see, we all practice differently. I am an eclectic witch, which you will learn more about below.

Below is a list of the types of witches:

TRADITIONAL WITCH

TRADITIONAL WITCH

Traditional witches focus on the old ways–the ways that came before witchcraft based religion. Ancestral folklore and the historical accounts of witchcraft are important to traditional witches, as they want to honor the old ways of practicng their craft.

ECLECTIC  WITCH

The eclectic witch draws inspiration from the many different types and styles of witchcraft and infuses them into their craft in a wonderfully blended mixture. An eclectic witch tends to make their own path, and it varies depending on the individual witch.

KITCHEN WITCH

Kitchen witches work much of their magick in the home or in the kitchen, and love to bake, cook and welcome new guests. The home is the focal point of their magick, and the offer a warm, nurturing and beneficial environment for anyone in it.

GREEN  WITCH

Green witches are drawn to the energy of earth more than most. They use plants, herbs and flowers in much of their magick and are often practicing their craft in gardens, wooded areas and anywhere that contains natures essential energies.

SOLITARY WITCH

A solitary witch chooses to practice their craft alone. Where many witches will be drawn to gather in a coven. Generally, solitary witches choose to work their magick alone, because they feel a strong connection to their craft early on and have less of a need to work with others.

 HEDGE  WITCH

Hedge witches practice astral projection and other forms of communication to jump the hedge between this world and the spirit world. They send and receive messages between both worlds more easily than other witches.

ELEMENTAL WITCH

Elemental witches work their craft heavily based on the four elements of water, fire, earth and air. They call on the elements to bring about their magick and incorporate these elements with various items that represent each element respectively.

DIANIC  WITCH

Dianic witches worship the Goddess Diana through three aspects of the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. Typical Dianic witches have heavily feminist values and infuse their craft with these values as well.

SEA WITCH

A sea witch practices their magick as they draw power and inspiration from the ocean and the moon. It’s the deep mystery and steadfast energy that draws many sea witches to this type of witchcraft and they often use elements of the ocean as tools in their practice.

 CEREMONIAL  WITCH

Many witches prefer the aspect of ritual more than others. These witches are often referred to as ceremonial witches, and they invoke many different spiritual aspects in their ceremonial magick to assist them in their practice and spell work.

SECULAR  WITCH

Witchcraft doesn’t ask for any specific belief system to be followed, and that goes for witches who are secular by their nature as well. Secular witches don’t attach spirituality to their craft or worship spiritual aspects to gain power from them.

HEREDITARY WITCH

The hereditary witch is one that is born into witchcraft is one way or another. They are part of a lineage of witches and the craft has been passed down and accepted by them.

 COSMIC  WITCH

Cosmic witches use the stars, cosmos astrology and astronomy to work their craft and look to celestial energy to bring power and purpose to their work. Cosmic witches are generally infatuated with cosmic events.

CORRELLIAN WITCH

Correllian witches follow Wiccan tradition of the line founded by Caroline High-Correll. The tradition is based upon the teachings of members of the High-Correll family.

GARDNERIAN WITCH

Gardnerian witchcraft is a Wicca school of witchcraft that became know in the 1950s when Gerald Gardner began teaching what he had learned in his own journey. Gardnerian witches generally have strong ties to nature and strongly ritual based.

Alexandrian witchcraft is a Wiccan tradition that was founded by Alex and Maxine Sanders Maxine Sanders in the 1960s. Alexandrian Wicca is similar in many ways to Gardnerian Wicca, and receives regular mention in books on Wicca as one of the religion’s most widely recognized traditions.

From the witches way

So as you can see, there are many options available and besides this list, many many more options out there.

My advice would be to do your research, and again, follow your intuition

First-Time Spell Casting (For Dummies? Maybe…)

When attempting to cast your first spell, it is vitally important to remember a few things.

Next scenario. You meet the person of your dreams, not really knowing much about them, you rush off to buy red candles, red flowers and everything hearts and flowers. You have Googled all the BEST love spells the internet has to offer and off you go. Mixing here, shaking there, the spell starts to work. Maybe it starts with a simple hello on Facebook.  Maybe a friendly cup of coffee. Regardless of the events, you go with it to see what happens, and BOOM!!!! They’re actually married! And yes people quite easily hide this fact on social media so don’t be fooled. Or they turn out to be some kind of psycho. Now it may seem I’m being overly dramatic here again, but I have had to step in for friends and do spell reversals which will be a section on its own.  This is probably the single most important rule in all of witchcraft.  Do Not Take Someone’s Free Will.  After all the old saying if it’s meant to be it shall be is very much true and you will learn this as you go forward on your chosen path. Trust the process.

Saturday 12 October 2019

The scene is pretty normal.  Just a bunch of us sitting around talking and me getting to know everyone.  The braai is lit.  more talking and its just awesome people.  But the mood changes suddenly and I am so tired I could just curl up and sleep for days on end.  I was tapping into the empath as she will be called from here on out.  I later found out she is going through some hectic shit which explains it.  Now the problem is this, as we were both in training we were just bouncing energy off each other.  When she got up and walked away I was immediately better.  I could focus again.

This brings me to an important part of being a witch in any form. Once you start to embrace who you are, things will affect you differently. You will be more in tune with the environment around you. So it’s crucial to learn shielding. Shielding is exactly what you think it is. It is a way of preventing unwanted energy from penetrating into you. A way of keeping yourself safe from those who will try to drain your energy. And yes there are those who do try. So before you go into a flat panic, here are a few shielding techniques and also some ways of cleansing yourself from these unwanted energies.

Image supplied by author Astara D’Angel

Copyright 2021

Image supplied by author Astara D’Angel

Copyright 2021

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Image supplied by author Astara D’Angel.

Copyright 2021

The mood became more relaxed at this point.  We had dinner quite late but was worth the wait, lol witches know how to braai. Then I had my first ever Tarot reading, WOW is all I will say.  We had our crystal lying on the table under the full moon with a white candle burning and the soft scent of white sage burning.  It was a truly magickal evening.  It was now time to perform magick.

We all stood together, Dyrk started to call the corners and the angels.  My body started to tingle and I had goose bumps all over, and I felt alive. The air around me was charged.  One by one we placed our spells into the flames. From there each person collected our crystals, but my most prized possession was hanging around my neck.  A beautiful gift from  Dyrk.  A smokey quartz charged for protection.

This was just the beginning of this journey, and even now, years later, I still learn new things, which I will gladly share in this book. One thing I did learn is that we all have two sides. We are both light and dark, as life is about balance. There is balance all around us, night and day, sun and moon, good and evil. So why only try to be light? Why not embrace both sides of you? Because we were taught as children that having a dark side is wrong. I’m here telling you that it’s not. You need both.

The Secrets to Spell Casting

Remember growing up and watching the Wizard of OZ, Charmed and if you are like me, overdosed on Harry Potter. The intricate and elaborate spell casting, I mean who can forget the first time we saw Harry cast a beautiful Patronas from his wand in the Prisoner of Azkaban! These are all beautiful creations of the imagination. Stories told to excite and create a sense of awe as children. And even now sometimes.

Reality, however, is a little different. This is where the fun starts. I added this section to the front of the book as most will just skip to the juicy chapters anyway. I know I would. One thing you will notice is that people will come to you and ask you to perform a spell for them just quickly. No. That wont happen. Real magick takes time to produce results. There are no quick fixes, even in Chaos magick, which I have found to be the fastest performing magick out there. There are in fact, hundreds of spells easily available as we have mentioned, but when it comes to creating your spell, make it personal. Make it something that has meaning for you. Use items that are special to you or resonate with your intended spell – Red candle for love etc. Another thing to try and keep in mind is that once the spell is out there, it needs to run its course. Remember in the teen cult move The Craft (1996) where the white witch in the esoteric store tells Sarah that a spell needs to ‘Run its Course’? This is true. Very true. I once had a baby witch (new witch) contact me about a love spell gone horribly wrong. It was a seven day spell and about half way through, she realised this person was NOT the one for her. She had made a huge mistake. He too became a little obsessive the way Chris Hooker did with Sarah Bailey. The only thing she could do at that point, was to extinguish the candle, turn it upside down and burn it, as a sign of reversing the spell. Lucky for her it worked. Others don’t get off as easily.

Also be aware of your thoughts. I was at my previous job and one day I got so angry at the boss. I was lighting a candle and in my head thinking to myself I hope you lose your money. Mean I know. Well the events that followed led me to where I am today so all’s well that end’s well. But it could have ended very differently. Long story very short, we were held up in an armed robbery and they took all our possessions and yes, money from the place I was working. So be very careful about your intentions and what you put out there.  There is also no secret ingredient to make spells work. The only real thing you need, is intent. Thats the REAL secret to magick that works. That and believing in your spell and believing in yourself as a witch.

Spells For Every Day Use

By this point of the book, you will have learned that magick is not to be performed lightly. That intention is everything and also learned the rules of spell crafting. Now we get onto the fun stuff. Crafting spells. I have added a few here but at the end of the day, they spell is what you make it. You can try these and add your own twists and flares to make it uniquely yours. Remember this though: HARM NONE BUT HAVE FUN

Spell to bring a lover into your life

For this spell you will need several rose petals. Take the petals to a nearby steam, hold the petals in your hand and imagine the qualities you are looking for in a lover. Drop the petals into the flowing water, and say the following: 

As these petals drift downstream 

Send me the lover of which I dream 

As I say my wish, so mote it be. 

You can create your own variations of this spell by referring back to The Magick of Colour

Manifesting

Write down what your intent is.  Best to always keep it simple when starting