i really want to start doing spells and making charms and doing witchcraft shit but i’m horrified that it’s going to backfire and i’m going to look like an idiot. does anyone else feel this way?
If it makes you feel any better, a LOT of witches feel this way when they’re starting out…and even some who are well into their practice have moments of anxiety and uncertainty.
The good news is that witchcraft doesn’t work like you see on TV and in the movies. The chances of your average everyday spell going catastrophically awry are slim to none. In fact, in most cases where a spell doesn’t work, the end result is that it just fizzles and nothing happens. Like a call that doesn’t connect or a webpage that doesn’t load. Error 404: Charm Not Found.
A certain amount of failure should be expected in your practice. Magic is not a guarantee of successful or desired outcomes and every witch at some point will cast a spell that just doesn’t end up working. And that’s okay! Failure teaches us what doesn’t work so we can get one step closer to figuring out what does.
Don’t worry about looking foolish either. You don’t have to publish everything you do or rely on the approval of others to mark your progress. I know it’s tempting and that validation can be very satisfying, especially early on, but it’s also good to practice in private. Get to know yourself as a witch and get comfortable with your craft without the worry of existing in a performative public space. Share what you’re comfortable sharing, but don’t feel like your work is contingent upon some invisible community grading system.
My suggestion is to start simple. Try a few protection spells. These are generally easy to do and the techniques involved (i.e. visualization, grounding & centering, construction of charms, attaching magical intention to objects & structures, etc) will be very useful in other types of magic. And if a protection spell doesn’t work, the worst that usually happens is the equivalent to forgetting to close a window all the way when it’s raining. And that’s if there’s any kind of noticeable fallout at all.
If you need to build up your confidence, there’s always research. Read about different types of spells, especially simple charms that require either very few materials or none at all, and see if any of them spark your interest. You could start as simple as setting a ward when you lock your front door or stirring a blessing for the day into your morning coffee or cleansing your space when you tidy up or take out the garbage.
You don’t have to jump right into big elaborate rituals or complicated magical workings, and while failure may seem scary, it’s not the end of the world. It’s just part of the journey.
(If you’re interested in developing your craft and you like podcasts, I have a show called Hex Positive that has lots of tips for beginners that you may find helpful. You can also browse my Advice for Beginner Witches tag for additional posts on this topic. Also, my inbox is always open for questions.)
Hope this helps! 😊
this helps a lot. thank you so much! it kinda helps to put things into perspective and remember that not everything has to be perfect.
