How to Become a Witch, Amber K. [new books to read .txt] 📗

We are all connected, and what you do to or for someone else will come back to you threefold.

Now write down how you want to behave toward each of those people you listed before. Will you start thanking the cashier at the supermarket? Will you listen to your little brother instead of shrugging him off? Will you respect your parents’ religious views and not flaunt your Witchcraft in their faces? What will you gain by changing your behavior, and what will it cost you? Is it worth it?

Let’s turn to how you feel about yourself. If you are comfortable in your own skin, you will be confident and centered with other people. This applies not only to your feelings about being a Witch but to how you feel about being (choose any that apply): female, male; tall, short, or medium; straight, gay, bisexual, or transgendered; skinny, average, or chubby; white, black, Asian, mixed race, or other; very educated or not much; a dog person or a cat person; a sci-fi or romance fan—in short, how do you feel about who you are?

The Goddess and the Old Gods like you just fine—and expect you to be constantly improving yourself. If you want to change, you have found the right path, because the Goddess changes everything she touches, just like the chant says. If you have achieved perfection and don’t want to change or grow in any way, you may need to find another path.

Get out your Book of Shadows again, and write about how you feel inside your own skin, then what you would like to change. Then ask yourself, and write down, “What would that do for me?” and answer it. This will help you get to the roots of what motivates you toward change. Now for the tricky part. Do it six more times, up to a total of seven (magick number there)—answer “What would that do for me?” Each time you answer, you come to a deeper level of what is important to you. When you can go no deeper, you have found your true motivation, what’s really at the core of why you want to change. It may be as simple and profound as “Then I would like myself” or “Then I would be okay.” So, to bring this around full circle, if you did make that change, and you are okay, how would you be in the world differently than you are now? Write it down.

Example: What you would like to change. I want to get more exercise.

And what would that do for me?

I wouldn’t huff and puff up the stairs.

I wouldn’t be embarrassed when walking in a group.

I would be able to hold my head up high.

I would feel proud of myself.

I would be self-confident.

I would be self-confident. (Same answer twice in a row, end exercise)

So what I really want is to be self-confident, and exercise is one way I can improve my self-confidence. What are other ways?

Then start acting as if you have made that change. Your actions define you. Some people call this strategy “fake it ’til you make it,” but if you are changing, it’s not fake—it’s as real as it gets. Once you start acting and speaking from the new you, the real you, taking responsibility and speaking with honesty, the world will begin to treat you differently. Of course, you can’t expect everyone to come along for the ride without questions—most people don’t like change; it upsets them when people change too fast. Be gentle with them.

One of the biggest changes you are making is that you are becoming a Witch. Depending on where you live and with whom, and your job and social circle, you may not want to leap out of the broom closet (come out as a Witch) right away. Let’s look at that decision.

The Broom Closet

In or Out

Once you have become a Witch, you may feel like spreading the word about this cool path you’ve found! We would urge caution and careful thought. The average person still thinks green skin, warty noses, and evil spells when they hear the word Witch. Even the word Wiccan is misunderstood—not everyone has read the chapter on ethics, and some even equate Wicca with devil worship. Seriously. Life can get very complicated if you are not careful, so consider carefully before telling the world that you are a Witch. Here’s our first piece of advice: choose whether to be in the broom closet or out of it—you can’t easily straddle the threshold. To rephrase: halfway out rarely works.

You can be in the broom closet (except with immediate family and covenmates) or completely out. Being in the broom closet is a lot of hard work, and you need to come up with creative answers to some inevitable questions. Let’s take a look at some of those questions.

If you practice at home and maybe travel to Pagan festivals, and someone asks what you’re planning to do for the weekend, you can always say you’re going “camping with friends.” True as far as it goes, and avoids the whole clichéd “Pagans dancing naked around the bonfire” image.

Likewise, when someone asks, “What church do you go to?” you can’t tell an outright lie—bad for your karma and your magick (words have power, and your magickal self hears every word you say). You need a response ready that’s true as far as it goes but won’t get you in trouble. For example, “My spirituality has always been a very personal and private thing.”

If the question is broader, your answer can be as well. To “What is your religion?” you can say: “I’ve found that most religions have something valuable to teach, so I study several different ones.” Which is probably true, since much of Wicca is based on so very many sources. If they really get in your face, answer: “I’ve found that discussing religion or politics can lead to arguments, so I