New to witchcraft? Awesome! Here's some things you should pursue.
An understanding of sympathetic magic: Correspondences, their metaphysical and theoretical framework, and their derivation.
Magical systems that incorporate the entire gender spectrum.
Energy work that isn't based on visualization.
The means of manifestation: How, where, and when spells affect physical change. The physical mechanisms through which witchcraft manifests beyond just willpower/intent/wishes/etc.
The history and subsequent influences of, and on, popular contemporary practices like Hermeticism, "Ceremonial Magick"/Golden Dawn, Wicca, and New Age/New Thought/LOA/Reiki.
How to approach and practice magic with critical thinking skills.
Influence of consumerism on contemporary practices.
Divination as systems: all methods of divination beyond tarot, their statistical applications, and their different methods of use.
The anthropology of medieval Arabia, Europe, Near East, and Asia relative to the magical or occult publications of the era. What is purely religious, parareligious, or syncretist and what does that mean for the interpretation of the text?
The genuine limits of our knowledge of the ancient world, what's possible for us to know and what can't we know?
Conversations with practitioners of closed or semi-closed practices and perspectives of POC when it comes to what the western world would label as "witchcraft".
The differences and similarities between superstition and the practice of witchcraft.
An understanding of the influence of colonialism on modern witchcraft and the language used to discuss magic.
Critical Race Theory (CRT), Queer Theory, and systems of oppression.
Botany and herbology: An understanding of the physical and medical properties of plants.
Building a personal lexicon for modern and/or colloquial terms used in and by the witchcraft community to describe and discuss practices.
Spell design: What makes a spell a spell? What is the smallest or slightest action that can be considered a spell and why? What are the most important and influential elements of the design and application of a spell?
Altars: Their use, design, and potential; whether or not an altar would benefit your practice or goals for practice.
A critical approach to spirit work and astral projection, being able to discern between personal narratives and probable experiences.
A safe and solid community to become a part of. One that does not allow the influence of personal narratives (Without addressing them as such), doesn't allow for the mixing of adults and minors, and with established and enforced logical and reasonable rules.
Collect and cross-reference correspondences from as many sources as possible, then start to create your own.
Try to find a STEM subject that interests you and study it through any non-dogmatic avenues available to you.
The items highlighted in blue are things I highly recommend!
Here is a list of things to avoid.
This is, of course, not an end-all-be-all list of possible responsible and healthy pursuits.
You can learn more about me, find my master-post, check out my Patreon, and suggest content here.
