As someone who has been practicing witchcraft for many years and now mentors other witches, one of the most common questions I hear is very simple.
"Where do I even start?"
People feel drawn to the craft but once they begin looking into it they quickly become overwhelmed. There are endless spells online, countless traditions, and a huge amount of information that often contradicts itself.
When someone asks me where they should begin, my answer is almost always the same.
Start with reading and research.
That answer might come naturally to me because I am a teacher and an academic, but there is also a very practical reason for it. Knowledge is one of the most important forms of protection you can have in your magickal practice.
One of my biggest fears is seeing someone attempt a spell without understanding what they are doing. When you are working with symbolism, correspondences, intention, and ritual structure, you are interacting with forces that deserve respect and understanding.
Using the wrong correspondences, saying something incorrectly, or performing a working you do not fully understand can bring in energies you never intended to work with. Because of that, spellwork is rarely the first thing I recommend for beginners.
Before you begin casting spells, it is important to build a foundation.
Practices like grounding, protection, cleansing, meditation, and research support everything else you may eventually do in your craft.
Why I Made These Guides
Over time I realized that many new witches are not lacking curiosity or dedication. What they are missing is simply a starting point.
They know they feel drawn to magick but they are not sure what direction to explore first.
So I created a few simple flow charts to help guide people through some of the questions I hear most often.
These guides are not meant to label you or box you into anything. They are simply tools to help you think about your interests, your intuition, and the foundation you may want to build first.
What Might Your Gifts Be?
Many people feel that they might have intuitive or spiritual gifts but they are not always sure how to recognize them.
Some people experience intuition through strong emotional awareness. Others receive insight as sudden inner knowing, visual impressions, physical sensations, or subtle energetic shifts.
These experiences are often described using terms like clairsentience, claircognizance, clairvoyance, and other intuitive abilities.
The purpose of this guide is to help you notice patterns in how intuition may already show up in your life.
Once you begin recognizing those patterns, practices like meditation and reflection can help strengthen those abilities over time.
Where Should You Begin Practicing?
Another question I hear frequently is what type of witchcraft someone should practice.
The truth is that there is no single path that works for everyone. Your practice may grow through personal interests, cultural traditions, academic study, spiritual experiences, or a combination of many influences.
Some people feel drawn to herbs and plants. Others feel connected to divination, meditation, spirit work, or ritual structure.
This guide is meant to help you explore those possibilities and think about where your interests naturally lead you.
Exploration is part of developing a magickal practice.
How Should You Practice?
Before focusing on spellwork, it is important to build a strong foundation.
Practices like grounding, protection, cleansing, and meditation are core skills that support nearly every form of magickal work.
These are practices you will return to many times throughout your journey.
Building these habits early creates stability and awareness within your practice. That foundation helps you approach any future spellwork with intention and clarity.
Take Your Time
Magick is something that develops over time through study, reflection, and experience.
If you are just beginning your journey, move slowly. Read widely. Research carefully. Take the time to understand the traditions and systems you are exploring.
A strong foundation will support every part of your practice moving forward.
If you want deeper organized research to support these foundations, you can continue into the Manuscript and explore cross-linked correspondences, entities, rituals, plants, and more.
Explore the Magick Manuscript