Modern Witchcraft: Beginners Guide

What is Magick?

Magick, sometimes spelled "magic", like witchcraft is not easy to define. Every witch you ask will have a different answer. Obviously, we know that natural magick is not the same as supernatural magic like what you see in movies and TV shows. If you are looking to cast spells like Harry Potter; transforming one object to another, telekinesis, and turning yourself into a werewolf - you will not find that here, or anywhere! Because it is not real. Anything that is physically impossible is not real magick; natural magick works within the confines of reality and the laws of physics.

💡 A good rule of thumb is: if it breaks the laws of physics, it's probably not real. 💡

Magick or Magic?

To differentiate natural magick from fantasy magic, some people like to spell the terms differently. In this book, natural magick, the kind that modern witches use, will be spelled with an extra 'k'. Fantasy magic that only appears in books and movies will be spelled without the 'k'. Do note, however, that some witches use "magick" and "magic" interchangeably, so sometimes you will see "magic" in reference to natural magick in other resources.

You've already seen magick

Magick is all around us and lives within us.

Have you ever looked up at the stars on a dark night and felt the awe of your narrow slice of existence in the endless universe?
Have you ever watched a nature documentary and marvelled at the vastness of the natural world and the animal kingdom?
Felt the sense of community when strangers band together for a common cause?
Observed how mother nature ensures perfect balance so that life always prevails?
Seen the devastation of wildfires, earthquakes, and flash floods?
Fallen in love? Got your heart broken? Hugged someone and wanted to never let go?
Felt overboiling rage at all the injustices in the world?
Stepped outside and heard the first whispers of winter in the chilling wind?
Listened to a song that gave you shivers?
Sat by a tree and swear you could feel the earth's heartbeat?

This is magick. It's all around you and lives within you. It doesn't start at the wave of a wand or the boil of a cauldron. Its presence has always been here and always will be. Magick never stops.

Magick is what gives life its meaning. It's the thing that makes small moments special, makes you smile or cry, decide what is good and bad, give you faith to keep going.

Let me put it this way; if logic is the thing that gives you the facts, then magick is what dictates how we interpret those facts. It allows us to observe the world with intuition, setting aside letters and numbers for emotions, sensations, dreams, and desires. In rituals, we blend logic and emotion together to work magick and produce the desired effects.

We perform ritualistic acts all the time (even non-witches). Yes, some ritualistic acts are steeped in logic (we eat to survive, we work to get money, etc). But some ritualistic acts are not logical, yet we do them anyway: kissing a child's booboo, crossing our fingers for luck, wishing upon a falling star, mashing video game buttons during the loading screen because somehow it makes it feel faster.

Witchcraft encompasses specific ritualistic acts that we assign meaning to. Some of them may be logical (e.g. using a herb's medicinal properties to treat illness), and some may be less logical (e.g. giving physical offerings to spirits and deities that do not exist physically). The important thing is that these ritualistic acts serve a purpose; they have meaning to us. And when our minds believe something so strongly, it can become real (1). The belief doesn't even have to be on a conscious level; as long as the subconscious mind believes something on some level, then it can become true.

Magick in Witchcraft

I have found that the best way to explain how magick is used to perform witchcraft is to first explain that there are two main schools of thought on magick. On either end of the spectrum, there are two main camps: the energetic view on magick, and the psychological view on magick.