Buried within the path of the witch is a smorgasbord of options. There are so many different techniques and skills, that it is easy to bounce from one to another, which is a valid place to begin. After all when you first start studying and practicing, you don’t know what you don’t know. Exploring the variety will help you to find what works for you. However, once you are familiar with the landscape of Pagan practices it is important to take the time and dedicate yourself to truly learning and understanding the skills and techniques that work for you. Many of these skills are built around deep mysteries and it is through in depth exploration that we begin to understand the deeper truths of magical and spiritual practice.
Let’s look at some of the things a witchcraft curriculum program may encompass:
Theology/ Thealogy- within this topic there are so many different sub-topics, this covers the mythology of the vast number of pantheons out there that a witch may work with, as well as the different creation myths and theories of existence. You could spend years studying just this one topic.
Elemental work- this topic works with aligning with the energies of the foundational elements of existence. An introduction to this may include traditionally attributed characteristics as well as theory on how to work with them. Again work with this topic could be a lifetime endeavor.
Ritual Theory- Here we begin to understand the why and how of creating and performing rituals, you may learn the many different forms that rituals take as well as the many different cultures that still influence ritual.
Divination- This topic comes with a huge variety of options and techniques, including Tarot, Runes, Palmistry, Tea leaf reading, just to name a few. Each system of Divination has its own traditions, symbolism, rituals and mysteries attached to it and many witches spend their life refining their divination craft.
Herbcraft- Here we learn about the uses of herbs, whether you wish to pursue alternative health benefits of herbs or magical uses or both.
Spellcraft- Here we learn how to work spells, the guiding principles of using our will to create change within the world around us.
Meditation- There are as many ways to meditate as there are people on the planet.
Ethics- Here we explore and outline our own moral code, as well as examine the many different models of ethical codes that exist.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of what you can delve into, all valid parts of a witch’s spiritual practice. It is up to each individual student/seeker/ witch to weave it all together within their life and their practice. While it is important to explore the possibilities, one lesson I have learned over my twenty plus years of walking this path is that commitment, dedication and practice of each skill or technique has offered a vastly more satisfyingly spiritual experience.
I have learned more with the repetition of a simple breathing exercise than reading fifty different books about fifty different topics. Now to be far I have done both of these and one of the most valuable skills a witch can have is to read voraciously, so I am in no way saying that you should shun reading. What I am saying is once you find a skill that interests you, for this example we will say Tarot Reading, you should read about it, try different techniques and work with a deck of cards so that you gain your own personal understanding of the cards, their patterns and how you communicate with them.
So new witches I encourage you to explore; seek and find those things that resonate with your spirit and then work towards mastering them!
The Frith Wytch 