Witchcraft Therapy: Tips and Tricks for Using Witchcraft Therapy to Overcome Life's Challenges

By Genesis Gonzalez

That is witchcraft? If you have an idea that witchcraft is all about old crones pouring the eyes of newts into a cauldron and cackling, prepare to be amazed. Witchcraft today is more refined than ever, and there are witches across the US and the world who practice their craft without dogma or judgment. They are more concerned with keeping the Ea

• Language: English
• Publisher: Genesis Gonzalez
• Release date: Aug 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088263945

Book preview

Introduction

What is witchcraft? If you have an idea that witchcraft is all about old crones pouring the eyes of newts into a cauldron and cackling, prepare to be amazed. Witchcraft today is more refined than ever, and there are witches across the US and the world who practice their craft without dogma or judgment. They are more concerned with keeping the Earth healthy and connecting to the universe than doing evil deeds or casting a hex.

Modern witches are more likely to be found in their kitchen or their garden rather than in a wood dancing naked. Witchcraft is an eclectic practice that has evolved into a magical way to improve your life and make your wishes come true. Modern witches know that their intent is the most important part of their craft, and their spells are fueled by belief. Some people think magical ingredients are the most important part of a spell, but they are wrong. You, the witch, the magician, or the caster, whatever you call yourself, it is the essence of you that is the power behind the magic.

So, what is therapy? It is the work you do to improve your life and make things better. Therapy helps you to let go of the past and decide what your future looks like. In ancient times women were so oppressed they turned to witchcraft to gain control of their destinies and use magic to improve their lives. Do you start to get the connection now? Witchcraft or magic should never replace therapy, but it can be used alongside traditional therapeutic methods to make your life more emotionally stable and filled with positive emotions and energy.

Chapter 1

Witchcraft –

The Earliest Form of Therapy

Imagine life in the Middle Ages. You are probably living in a small village with a male-dominated hierarchy, so if you are female, you don’t get much of a say in anything. Your husband will expect you to prepare all the food and do the washing while looking after the kids and be at his beck and call night and day. You will be responsible for growing all your food and looking after animals that will probably share your home and use your front yard as a toilet.

Even though you know you are an intelligent and valued human being, you feel your societal position is lower than your cattle and sheep. So, what happens when someone gets sick? They turn to the wise women of the village to benefit from their experience and knowledge of nature and herbs to cure them. The villagers would also seek help to deal with other problems like bad weather and blights that affect their crops, so they were using these wise women as the answer to their problems, an early form of therapy. They would ask for advice about their marriages and having children, how to keep their husbands and wives interested and faithful, or how to help their kids succeed.

Witches and wise women were regarded as important members of society despite their sex but all that changed when the Church became more aware of the prolific numbers of these women. They believed that females were weaker-minded than men, so their powers must have come from an illicit and demonic source like the Devil. The idea that women possess the depth of intelligence to learn these powers was so outrageous that the Church decided to condemn them and declare them heretics.

Gender played a huge role in shaping the stereotypical ideas that accompanied the term witchcraft. Men were so much smarter than women according to the doctrines of the Church that they were far less likely to succumb to the Devil’s temptations, but women lacked the mental strength to resist. They were so weak and stupid that their skills or knowledge must have come from a nefarious source.

These beliefs changed the history of witchcraft and made witches into characters connected to the practice of sorcery rather than the wise women they were. Their teachings and work became vilified, and anybody identifying as a witch was persecuted and punished.

Modern Witchcraft

Today attitudes have changed, and witches have regained their true position in society. Anyone can be a witch, and in the next chapter, there is all the information you need to help you decide what form of witchcraft suits your personality and crafting. But why is witchcraft so popular in the modern age? In the last two decades, the number of witches in the US is believed to have risen to over 1.5 million. Wicca and other pagan belief systems are the religion of the 21st century, and younger people are turning to them to find a way to break away from more traditional practices and regain control of their lives.

The modern world is different than it was twenty years ago. The generations of people born after the baby boomers have become disaffected and disillusioned by life. They were children who suffered from absent parents and inherited the belief that they would never fare better than their parents. Increasingly high percentages of them would take Prozac or other drugs to deal with their emotional distress. They became numb from exposure to violence and disturbing images in the media. They had access to illegal mind-bending drugs and needed to find something to regain their power and control.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that younger people started to turn to pagan beliefs rather than mainstream religions. They chose to shape their own fate and be part of a movement that encouraged them to determine their futures. Witchcraft teaches that actions are accountable and that taking responsibility for them is part of the power of independence. This realization has been missing for decades, and the blame culture it created is slowly being eroded and cast aside by the craft. The mere realization that responsibility lies within your grasp is the basic tenet of therapy.

When considering witchcraft, it is essential to leave behind the Hollywood image of fantasy and magic as a fantastical experience and embrace the more transformational aspect of the craft. Effective witchcraft is about magic, but its roots are all about connecting to the Earth, the Universe, and higher beings. Witches won’t actively seek to recruit people to their craft because they realize that most people aren’t sincere about their intentions and lack the discipline to become true witches. Those that do come to witchcraft for the right reasons will find a community that welcomes them and encourages their efforts.

One of the greatest lessons you will learn from witchcraft is that everything you do, say, and feel is valid. The actions and intentions you embrace are sacred and will lead to outcomes solely based on your beliefs. The ingredients you use are merely aids to your magic; they can only be used to boost your power, not to create it. The power of witchcraft is in you and your intentions, which is the most effective form of therapy available.

Chapter 2

Types of Witches and

Their Therapeutic Qualities

Just like traditional therapies, there are so many types to choose from when it comes to witchcraft. Choosing what kind of magic suits you can be a magical and intense journey, so it is important to understand what different witches believe and how they work. Most practitioners will identify with more than one type of magic and describe themselves as eclectic. They understand that all kinds of magic have benefits and that some practices will be perfect for them while others are more suited to others. The likelihood is that at least a few different types of witchcraft will call to you and appeal to the experience you are looking for. It is important to remember that there are no limits to the amount of magic you try, but the power you find will be the strongest when you respond to the practices that you are instinctively drawn to.

There are so many types of witches out there that it would be impossible to list them all. You may feel that the magic you want to practice isn’t covered exactly, and you want to identify as another type of witch altogether, and that’s fine. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to witchcraft; it’s all good; provided you have the correct attitude and intentions, the magic will take care of the rest. It is part of the process to do some research, and the types of witches listed below will give you a comprehensive idea of what is out there for you. You don’t have to label yourself or stick to specific details, so dive in and see what type of magic calls out to you.

The distinctions aren’t absolute; there will be some overlap with magic because witchcraft has never been formally categorized, so globally, different types of magic have developed