Raising Little Witchlings

By Amanda Wilson

Raising Little Witchlings: Parenting the Witch's Way is a witty, raw, and realistic guide for magical parents who wish to raise their kids as witches. Raising Little Witchlings is part autobiography, part research project, and a completely transparent discussion about raising children in a magical environment. Witchcraft is a p

• Language: English
• Publisher: Witch Way Publishing
• Release date: Aug 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781088024423

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Parenting the Witch’s Way

Raising Little

Witchlings

by Amanda Wilson

First Edition, 2022

Tonya A. Brown

3436 Magazine St

#460

New Orleans, LA 70115

www.witchwaypublishing.com

Copyright © 2022 by Tonya A. Brown

Editor: Tonya A. Brown

Copy Editor: Carrie Pitzulo

Internal Design: Emily Barta

Cover Design: Tonya A. Brown

Graphics: Anna Babich and

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. There is no guarantee that the advice and strategies contained herein will work for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the Publisher does not provide medical, legal, or other professional advice. A competent professional should be consulted if professional assistance is needed. Neither the Publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. An individual, organization, or website mentioned in this work does not imply endorsement of the information the author, organization, or website may provide or the recommendations they/it may make. Additionally, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared since it was written.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: Print 978-1-0880-2439-3 | eBook 978-1-0880-2442-3

For Joshua, my beloved first born son, who inspires me with his passion for life and unwavering confidence; and for Logan, my precious baby, who taught me that love makes miracles.

Acknowledgments

I want to express the immense appreciation I have for Tonya Brown (author, The Door to Witchcraft ; Editor-in-Chief, Witch Way Magazine ; Host, The Witch Daily Show podcast). This book, Raising Little Witchlings: Parenting the Witch’s Way, would not exist if it were not for Tonya. Raising Little Witchlings started as a monthly column in Witch Way Magazine , and in 2021, Tonya approached me with an offer to turn almost three years’ worth of monthly articles into a book. My gratitude for Tonya goes beyond this and all the other opportunities she has offered me, though. I am both in awe of, and inspired by, her creative mind, impressive skill set, and her ability to establish and achieve goals with confidence and grace. The way she maintains balance between her responsibilities, passions, and pursuits motivates me. This book would simply not exist if it were not for that inspiration and motivation. Tonya, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

The other person I want to thank is Jody George, the love of my life and father of my child. When life became too heavy, and the fear of failure started creeping close, his love, respect, and confidence gave me the strength and courage I needed to continue. Moreover, he sees me for who I am. He made me realize that I am worthy of being seen, and that I have purpose. I discovered that I hold within me the potential to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Knowing this enables me to relentlessly pursue my goals, fearlessly pushing past obstacles until I meet my objective. The love we share is so strong, so deep, and so rare that it has removed a veil that adversity put over my eyes, allowing me to see the vibrant magic of life. Jody, my love, for that, and so much more, thank you.

Parenting the Witch’s Way

Raising Little

Witchlings

by Amanda Wilson

Introduction         

A child is a seed of the future…they are our desires made manifest. They are our sacred responsibility.

-Dr. Hannah E. Johnston

Parenting is a journey—a beautiful, soul-fulfilling, albeit trying, journey. From the moment we find out we are expecting— whether it be pregnancy, surrogacy, or adoption—parenting becomes our life. Once the little ones arrive, we become consumed with meeting their physical and cognitive needs. We often forget that they are whole people who need just as much spiritual nourishment as we do. What better way to address these needs than to involve them in your own magical practice? We are witches, and many of us are Pagans, so our lives are intricately interwoven with our spiritual journey. Involving our children forges a deep connection with them. We establish a foundation upon which our kids will develop their own path as they grow into adulthood. Moreover, we provide for them a stable environment that is encouraging, supportive, and that prepares them for the real world.

If you are reading this book, then you have probably decided, or are trying to decide, whether or not to raise your child as a little witchling. Or, perhaps, you are considering starting a family and want to know what it could be like as a witch parent. Regardless of where you are on this path of parenthood, I am confident that many of your questions will be answered here. This book offers advice that is grounded in a combination of personal experience and copious amounts of research spanning sociological, psychological, and metaphysical fields of study. After meticulously going over years of writing, research, and experiences, I have carefully crafted this cohesive guide for raising little witchlings.

I am not a licensed psychologist, nor am I a professionally trained child-rearing expert. But I am a parent, (at the time of writing this my boys are 6 years old and 6 months old). My elder son was only a few months old when his biological father left, so for almost 5 years I was a solo parent. The one redeeming aspect of 2020 for me and my family is that my partner, Jody, and I got together. He has a 12 year old son, and in September of 2021 Jody and I had a son together. I was proud of being a solo parent, but I was/am honored to now be a stepparent (well, technically, as we aren’t married yet), and a co-parent. The transition from one kind of parent to another has been incredible, and if I’ve learned anything from this experience, it’s that, no matter how much help you have, parenting is hard. I know full well that, ultimately, we’re just trying to do our best. So, think of this not as a prescriptive guide to parenting, but as a friendly conversation among parents, who may be or are considering becoming, fellow witches or Pagans, who have been down the road you are considering.

I will be frank with you: I am not a perfect parent. I do not have my shit together all the time. I am parent who occasionally cusses, who lets the dishes pile up in the sink, who cries. A parent who will get on the floor and make a total fool of herself just to make her kids laugh. If you want a book written by someone who has perfectly behaved children who say wise things, who feeds their family only organic, locally- or home-grown food, with a beautifully organized house that sits on acres of well-manicured land, then check out my bibliography for a different book. Because you will not find perfection here. Instead, you will find advice, anecdotes, and the accumulation of wisdom gained from years of experience as a witch and a mother, and from writing about being a witch mother in the Raising Little Witchlings column for Witch Way Magazine, this book has one objective. It is to support you in navigating a path of parenting in which you include your kids in your Craft. Raising a little witchling is not like teaching a student. This process is built upon much more than lesson plans and mentoring. It is an emotional journey of inculturation. Witches have a unique way of viewing the world, of thinking, talking, acting, and relating to each other. It is an investment in the person, and thus the world, you want to nurture. As a witch, magic is likely part of your daily life. As a parent, it will infuse most, if not all, aspects of your childrearing. Conversations about intuiting messages will be as normal as talking about receiving a text or an email. Making plans to look for elves will be as common as going bowling or to see a movie. Witchcraft can be blended seamlessly with ordinary family time because it is a way of life.

When I Decided to

Raise Little Witchlings

I began to consider this journey when my elder child was about a year old. He had just learned to walk and had toddled over to my ancestor altar. He pointed to a photo of my grandmother - who had passed away when I was fourteen - looked up at me with his big, blue eyes, and said,Gah-mah! I immediately burst into tears. I cried because I knew he recognized her despite having never met her. It made me question if he had psychic ability. We had never talked about her. And the photo was of my grandmother as a 30-year-old, so my son was not seeing a woman who looked like a grandmother. Most members of my family have naturally strong psychic abilities. I do, as does my mother, grandmother, her mother, and so on, up to my great-great-grandfather, who was the seventh son of a seventh son. So, it came of no surprise that my son had inherited this predisposition for magic.

What did surprise me was how difficult it was to decide if I should raise him as a witch. I knew I did not want my son to struggle the way that I did as a child. Having spiritual gifts can feel isolating and I didn’t want him to go through that. I worried that he might be picked on or bullied because he was ‘different’ as a witchling. I spent months carefully considering this decision. I read anything I could get my hands on and utilized divination and meditation to process and clarify all that I was contemplating. Finally, as we often have to do as parents, after long and thoughtful considering, I decided that this was the path I wanted to take. This path is one that will nurture his spiritual gifts, sate his innate curiosity about and seemingly magnetic attraction towards magic, and would raise him see the world in a way that took me a long time to adopt. I was raised to see anyone different from myself as strange or unusual. Learning witchcraft and adopting paganism shifted my view of the world to one that appreciates the differences between every person on earth. It is one that understands that beauty is not a matter of skin, hair, or body shape, but determined by who someone is on the inside. It’s a way of life that encourages empathy, caution, and acting carefully. Finally, my son is, in some ways, so much like me, and in others, he’s the total opposite. But even in ways he is different, I know in my heart,