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What Are Correspondences and How Do I Use Them in Spells? (Baby Witch Bootcamp Ch. 7)
In my last post, we talked about casting spells. In that post, I said that the only things you need to cast an effective spell are your will, your intention, focused energy, and a ritual action. But if that’s the case, why do witches include so much stuff in their spells? Why include herbs, oils,…
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How To Cast Real Spells That Work (Baby Witch Bootcamp Ch. 6)
In her book Wicca for Beginners Thea Sabin says, “When you do a spell, you are telling the universe that you intend to bring about a certain change and you are putting the energy in motion to achieve that end.” A spell is sort of an energetic shove to get things moving in the way…
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The Ethics of Witchcraft (Baby Witch Bootcamp Ch. 5)
Before you begin practicing witchcraft, it’s a good idea to establish a set of ethical guidelines for your magical practice. It’s also a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the big ethical debates/controversies within witchy communities. When you’re talking about ethics in witchcraft, it’s kind of impossible to get around Wicca. Even though…
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How to Find Good Witchcraft Books (Baby Witch Bootcamp Ch. 4)
This post is loosely based on the fourth episode of my Baby Witch Bootcamp series on YouTube. In that video, I recommended some of my personal favorite books on witchcraft and spirituality. But, after some thought, I decided it would be more helpful to give y’all some guidelines for how to find worthy resources for…
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How Find Safe Groups, Teachers, and Authors in the Pagan and Witch Community
In my last post, I talked about how to recognize if a group is a cult or is using cult techniques to control its members. As I pointed out in that post, cults can be based on any ideology — including pagan spirituality or secular witchcraft. So now that we know how to identify the…
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Cults? In my life? It’s more likely than you think.
In my last post, I talked about how the Law of Attraction and Christian prosperity gospel both use the same thought control techniques as cults. I’ve received several public and private replies to that post: some expressing contempt for “sheeple” who can be lead astray by cults, and others who say my post made…
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The Law of Attraction, Prosperity Gospel, and Other Ways of Controlling How People Think
In the words of Rhonda Byrne, who brought the Law of Attraction to popular consciousness with her book The Secret:“Life doesn’t just happen to you; you receive everything in your life based on what you’ve given.” Or, to put it even more bluntly: “You attract to you what you think about most.” At…
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How to Ground Yourself (Baby Witch Bootcamp Ch. 3)
Grounding as a practice is not exclusive to witchcraft and other mystical traditions. It is a tool often recommended by psychiatrists to help manage stress and deal with mental illnesses like anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. According to Psychology Today: “Being grounded means that we’re content with who we are. We’re sure of…
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Meditation for Witches (Baby Witch Bootcamp Ch. 2)
Meditation is the act of engaging in deep focus, reflection, or contemplation in order to achieve clarity and awareness. Meditation is an ancient practice that spans multiple spiritual traditions. It can be practiced as part of a religious path, as part of a spiritual practice like witchcraft, or as a secular activity to increase mindfulness.…
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What is Magic? Why Does It Work? (Baby Witch Bootcamp Ch. 1)
Note: Baby Witch Bootcamp began as a series of informational videos on my YouTube channel. This series is my attempt to meet a need for free, accessible, and well-researched information about witchcraft and other forms of magic. My background is in journalism, and this is the approach that I take with this series — I…
Sam Wise 