Prompts from Write Your Witchcraft:

How do I believe magic works?

At its core, I believe magic is the union between thought/intention, emotion, and universal/spiritual energy. It’s clearly not enough to simply want something; we have to put in the energy to receive it, body, mind, heart, and soul. That magic is magnified by emotion, the feeling of manifesting the magic, and the energy put into it. Our little rituals can hold so much power as a result. Energy for energy.

I  could go into a lot more detail with this belief, but I don’t think I need to. This is a simple enough explanation for me.

Simple or elaborate spells/rituals? Why?

Presently, simple spells are my favorite, and that’s mostly because I don’t have the time or resources to perform more elaborate spells. I work part time, 25-27 hours a week; I’m trying to start an intuitive art/reading business; I’m trying to write books; and between all that, I’m learning, blogging, researching, crafting, and indulging in self-care to ensure I don’t run myself ragged. Time really flies when you start juggling so much.

I honestly can’t figure out when I would ever have the time to perform spells more elaborate than clearing the energy in my room or programming my crystals. There would have to be sacrifices elsewhere in my life, and I don’t feel like that’s necessary at all. I don’t want to spend more than half an hour on my magic — not when I have so many things to accomplish in a day.

The other obstacles are resources and living space. I have no personal transportation and I live in a small apartment with a roomie and her two dogs. There is no space for big, elaborate spells. No room for storing dozens of witchy items. I can’t afford to accumulate these things when I live in a shoebox.

What are my views on cursing/hexing?

I have never been in a situation where I felt it was absolutely necessary to curse or hex someone. I’m basically of the belief that you attract what you put out, and that you’ll get what’s coming to you eventually if you’ve done something worthy of cursing/hexing. I try to approach other people with a back-burner sense of compassion. I may not like someone or their attitude, but more often than not, there’s a reason for someone’s behavior. That reason doesn’t excuse their behavior, but I try to remember that everyone is fighting their own battle, perhaps their own war, and quite honestly, I just prefer focusing my energy on the positive.

With that said, I don’t have anything against cursing or hexing, so long as it’s not abused. I just don’t ever see myself wasting energy on someone who treats me horribly.

Do I want to practice something similar to my ancestors?

I don’t know enough about my ancestors to know what they practiced. The last few generations of my family (on both sides) were Christian, atheist, or something in-between. I’m not sure what came before the Christianity. Heck, my mom’s family grew up believing they were almost entirely Native (as part of the Houma people in the south), when in reality, they were more Mediterranean than Native.

I am more than okay with practicing my own path, especially since I’m a bit of anomaly with my beliefs, anyway. Christianity is and was so prevalent on both sides of my family, and if they aren’t Christian, they don’t really believe in anything. Any concept pertaining to divination, spirits, witchcraft, and so on was labeled evil, demonic, or just plain silly.

I’ve always been a fan of working with what I’m drawn to, or what I resonate with.