Newbie to Wicca and Magick

[AmethystMoonFlower]

Hello! I'd like to ask this question since I'm not having much luck to be completely honest with you. I've asked several people and they didn't know how to direct me. I'm looking especially for Healing Magic. The reason I'm drawn to this is that I'd like to heal mother earth, heal myself, and gradually work towards helping others when asked.

Is this Witchcraft or Paganism? I'm pretty confused about this, but you'll begin learning by asking questions.

What books do you recommend? I'd like to get started by reading certain books. I'm okay with crystals, herbs, and meditation. If there's anything else, please recommend it to me. I'm pretty open minded about this subject.

How should I start following this path? Are there certain tools I should work with?

Any information will be helpful. Thank you very much.

[Firebird]

Hi there!
Let me begin with the paganism question. Pagan is an umbrella term for religions that are Not Abrahamic.
Witchcraft falls underneath that umbrella.
Then you have the many facets of Witchcraft, some practice Wicca, some do not. Some are healers, some are not. At this website we practice benevolent witchcraft. That which promotes goodness in the world and our lives.
There are several different paths of the witch, and healing is a large one. Green witches are frequently healing witches because they utilize the plant world in their spells and work to promote health and healing.
The Spiral Dance, by Starhawk is a pretty basic first book, and we have a really great book section here,
viewforum.php?f=154
Maybe see if there is something there that sounds like what you are seeking.
Bb, Firebird

[RavenClaw]

Hi there and welcome.

For healing magic there's a lot you can choose from. From the top of my head, you might want to look into Reiki, crystals, aura reading, chakras, aroma therapy, herbs and homeopathy. On a personal note, I crafted my own spell to heal a chakra so it's very possible to use spells for healing.

Judy Hall wrote a lot of books and she also made an oracle deck for crystals. Her most popular book is The Crystal Bible which has three editions. You could probably find the first edition as a pdf.

For herb correspondences, a popular book is Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.

There are many ways to meditate so you can search here in the forums and google. Feel free to experiment to find a meditation that works for you.

There is a lot for "anything else" that you mentioned. For example, if you want to get into divination you might resonate with tarot but that's not the only divination system available. Maybe you'd like the Elder Futhark runes or a pendulum. How do you feel about connecting with your spirit guide and/or a Deity? What about spirit allies like the Elementals? Then there's scrying which can be done cheap with a bowl full of water. If you want to spend a bit more money, you can make a black mirror. All you really need for scrying is a shiny surface.

Moving on to tools. You don't need to get everything at once if you really do want to use tools plus you don't need to buy certain tools.You can find a stick you might feel like crafting into a wand. The tree it came from becomes an ally. Some items you have in your house, like spices and bowls.

You can use candles but you don't need anything fancy.

The above barely scratches the surface. If I knew what more you were interested in, I might be able to recommend more books. The short answer is, read up on what interests you and experiment.You might also want to start writing about your journey which could be the beginning of your Book of Shadows or whatever you want to call it. I consider paganism and magic to be separate but they certainly can be combined.

[AmethystMoonFlower]

Hi there and welcome.

For healing magic there's a lot you can choose from. From the top of my head, you might want to look into Reiki, crystals, aura reading, chakras, aroma therapy, herbs and homeopathy. On a personal note, I crafted my own spell to heal a chakra so it's very possible to use spells for healing.

Judy Hall wrote a lot of books and she also made an oracle deck for crystals. Her most popular book is The Crystal Bible which has three editions. You could probably find the first edition as a pdf.

For herb correspondences, a popular book is Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.

There are many ways to meditate so you can search here in the forums and google. Feel free to experiment to find a meditation that works for you.

There is a lot for "anything else" that you mentioned. For example, if you want to get into divination you might resonate with tarot but that's not the only divination system available. Maybe you'd like the Elder Futhark runes or a pendulum. How do you feel about connecting with your spirit guide and/or a Deity? What about spirit allies like the Elementals? Then there's scrying which can be done cheap with a bowl full of water. If you want to spend a bit more money, you can make a black mirror. All you really need for scrying is a shiny surface.

Moving on to tools. You don't need to get everything at once if you really do want to use tools plus you don't need to buy certain tools.You can find a stick you might feel like crafting into a wand. The tree it came from becomes an ally. Some items you have in your house, like spices and bowls.

You can use candles but you don't need anything fancy.

The above barely scratches the surface. If I knew what more you were interested in, I might be able to recommend more books. The short answer is, read up on what interests you and experiment.You might also want to start writing about your journey which could be the beginning of your Book of Shadows or whatever you want to call it. I consider paganism and magic to be separate but they certainly can be combined.

Hello and thank you!

I'm helpful for anyone's help. I'm already working with crystals, but I'd like to work with Reiki, aura reading and aroma therapy, and herbs. I've recently already bought a book on chakras. I'm glad that healing with chakras has helped you. I plan on working on this, I'm just reading the book as of right now. I recently bought: Chakra Healing: A Beginner's Guide to Self-Healing Techniques That Balance the Chakras. I'll buy another book if you recommend me too.

I own the Judy Hall Crystal Bible book already, but I don't own the deck as of right now. I'll look for that herb book by Cunningham. I've heard of that before. So I'll be sure to add it to books to get for myself. For Divination, I usually work with Oracle decks only. I feel connected with them anytime I use them.

I'd rather connect with a spirit guide, but I have trouble trying to connect with one as of right now. Is there a book I should buy to learn how to connect with spirit guides? This is something I've always wanted to connect with. I'm sure I'll learn eventually. I've never worked with Elementals before, but I will if it's necessary. I'm very new when it comes to scrying, this is something I've never done before.

Should I be nervous when doing this? I don't want to do this until I know what I'm doing. I'm sure I'll get around to this soon. Thanks for answering my questions and being direct with everything. I'm such a newbie when it comes to this.

Here's one last question I'd like to ask. Is it okay to read about Green Witchcraft, while also reading about Chakras, Spirit Guides, and Reiki? My main focus right now is Herbs, Crystals, Chakras, Spirit Guides, Candles, Oracle Cards, and Reiki. I just wanted to ask this, since I'm a newbie. I'd like just to work with all of these things and hope it's okay to work with all of these subjects when learning about Witchcraft.

[RavenClaw]

You're most welcome and there's nothing to be nervous about.

I don't know what is necessary for you as practices vary from person to person. You don't have to have spirit guides or work with Elementals. The same goes for Deities. Since you asked, here's more books for your consideration.

"How to Meet and Work With Spirit Guides" by Ted Andrews. I used a couple of his meditative exercises and found them to be effective. You can also use this to meet Deities, angels, etc.

"Earth, Air, Fire and Water" by Scott Cunningham.

"The Four Elements of the Wise: Working with the Magickal Powers of Earth, Air, Water, Fire" by Ivo Dominguez Jr. He walks the reader from beginner to advanced so can be a deep dive. He includes the Elementals. I did end up buying clear quartz carved as platonic solids to add power to spells.

I just finished reading "The Art of Black Mirror Scrying" by Rosemary Ellen Guiley. Her main focus is contacting the dead which is something that doesn't interest me. She does, however, mention other reasons for scrying. You don't have to limit yourself to mirrors.

You might be interested in "The Chakra Bible" by Patricia Mercier. I have it as a pdf.

I left a book review in EUTM about candle magic. It's two books written by Lady Rhea so if you want, you can look for that.

Of course you can read whatever you want when you want. Happy reading and exploring!

[supremz]

My recommendation is what people told me when I started out: just do it. Some people even discover the craft that way- but, not only does it guarantee success; a beginner actually fares far better than us elders, because you don't have a giant assortment of spells in your mind. Be willing to learn, make mistakes, and have fun!!!

I would also like to point out that if you would like to help the planet, it is not necessary to do it with a spell— nor do you have to own a thousand square acres of land– instead, it is best to understand that simply having the desire to do it has already opened the door which leads the way.

Please practice safely, and I wish you success...
!!!

[Ethelrande]

I totally agree! I can say that Wicca comes from within, not from outside. It's just that at some point we suddenly notice it distinctly. Those things that we take from outside only feed us and, with a little luck, direct us in the right direction! For example, I can also be considered a beginner in Wicca, but it turns out I practiced a lot on a subconscious level a long time ago, so it seems SO familiar!