10 (Loose) Rules For Witches

Wanna know the code that I live by? Well, here it is. Adopt it, modify it, or reject it. Your choice.

Witches* are an eclectic bunch. And, yes, I am including male Witches in this as most Witches I know are men. Because I know how different every single Witch is from the next, I call these “loose” rules. I think these could benefit every person, not just Witches. But, Witches especially.

Witches tend to eschew rules. And there are reasons for that. We have been hunted by societies all over the globe, we are sometimes embarrassed of our practice, and our personality types tend toward high openness**.

Some rules are good. Too many are bad. I am not trying to hem anyone in, here. These are general guidelines that, I think, would put the world on a better path. Witch, or not.

*Some do not like the label of Witch. For those of you who prefer a different label, substitute it in as you read. I can’t please every one.

**Openness to Experience is one factor on the 5-Factor Personality Scale. It is important to know who you are when practicing, so I suggest taking a 5-Factor Personality Scale Test. If you implement self-awareness into your practice, you will thank me later.

Rule 10: Spirituality is Daily

It is easy to forget this, which is why I put it up top. Spirituality is the most important aspect of our lives that we have rejected in modernity. It is easy to focus on the material and the mental—it’s everywhere!

Our movies preach it to us, advertising tells us to be a certain way, and we grow up in a school system entirely focused on the two: mental with teaching facts* and material with teaching how we get a job to buy things.

And yet, in our Westernized world, we have a lack of any kind of spiritual sophistication.

Most people pray, some meditate, and even less have a daily Magickal practice. All of it is seeking the same goal: positive change. For me, spirituality is spirituality. However you want to practice is great, as long as you practice.

Do something every for your spiritual wellness. Stop ignoring it.

*It is my understanding that some public education has been refuted lately. I’m not here to argue any of those points.

Rule 9: Own Your Energy

When something happens, good or bad, you can approach it from three ways: the material, the mental, or the spiritual. I, being a witch, tend to approach it from the mental. In other words, I try to figure out the who, what, when, where, and how. I think most Witches are built this way. My practice requires that I have a detailed mind and over the years it has become second nature.

An example of a material reaction could be losing your home. Now, all you can think about is the stuff you can no longer hold or play with or touch. Sometimes a material approach is good. Without it, the world’s economy wouldn’t exist (even if it is taking a hit right now).

I have to remind myself daily to see the energy in things. Keep the “losing-the-house example” going. What about my energy caused me to lose my house?

What things have happened to you that your own energy is to blame for? That is a question worth considering every single day.

Rule 8: Understand Sacrifice

And Witches, I know how you are. You are thinking about beheading chickens on an altar, aren’t you?

That’s not what I’m talking about.

When Witches sacrifice things, they are merely making a metaphor physical. This was first talked about by alchemists in the 19th and 20th centuries. A sacrifice is giving up something now for something better in the future. And we do that every day.

We don’t overwhelm our spirit companions so that they will like us. We don’t eat the whole fridge even if we’re hungry. And we don’t kick our cats so they will like us. Although, I’m not sure if my cat likes anyone anyway…

You make a sacrifice every single night: You sleep. You give up your waking time for the tomorrow. And everyone does it! Not just Witches.

We all engage in sacrifice. But, we don’t understand what we are doing as we do it. We have made our mental processes reality with spells and ritual. And that’s a good thing. But, understand what you are doing: you are playing out a complex, multi-layered thought pattern in the physical world. And it comes out as Magick.

Get to understanding what you are sacrificing and what you are sacrificing for. With that information, we can make better decisions as Witches.

Rule 7: Put Out Good Energy

This may be me complicating the old adage: treat thy neighbor as thyself. It is more than that. Promise.

When you do good things, good things will happen. Notice how I said “do.” Action is required in our lives. The Secret is a powerful book and it will probably change more lives than I could ever dream of, but I do not like it. If you don’t know what The Secret is, it is a book about how positive thinking will get you where you need to be in life.

And it works. To a point. In order for those positive thoughts, or good energy, to manifest you have to take action.

Recently, I started publishing video content with the help of my son. Editing video takes a lot of work and it is not something I am particularly good at. My son helps where he can, but this content is still being put out under my name. I have to make sure it is (relatively) good.

And I am doing this to help distract people from the economic shutdown and the pandemic. According to studies, video content gets far more reach than text content, like this blog you are reading. So, I thought if one person could be made less anxious by watching a little 2-4 minute video, then I could help. I make no money doing it—in fact, I lose money if you count the time it takes to make them.

Put out good energy. Help people if you can. Your practice will benefit. And you, yourself, will benefit.

Rule 6: Find Other Witches Who Wish You Well

You do not EVER have to deal with someone who does not wish you well. Ever. Period.

There are people out there who may be our parents, spouses, partners, or even our grown children who do not want the best for us. And you, being a Witch, should understand how sensitive we are to that energy.

As a Witch, you are the average energy of your coven. And if you do not have a coven, you are the average of the closest people around you. How do you think that average plays out in your life?

Are you around anyone regularly that is always down or negative? That influences you in ways you do not understand. And the influence is so deep that it takes years of work to rectify. Stop victimizing yourself to others, witches or not, that do not want you to thrive in your life.

This incarnation will only last so long. Spend it with people and Witches you enjoy.

Rule 5: Read + Write

This might be the most important rule on the list. And I put it right smack-dab in the middle.

First of all, when you educate yourself, you are getting better. Better at what? Everything. I think this is from the Book of Five Rings, and I am paraphrasing, but Musashi says something along the lines of, “If you can be skilled at one thing, you can be skilled at anything.”

If you become good at educating yourself, your potential knows no bounds. So, read up on Magick. And I have no recommendations here*. Any source of Magickal thinking is a way to change your thoughts about our reality.

And secondary is writing.

Writing is how we organize the junk whacking around in our brains all day. It is what I’m doing as I write this blog entry. We all have ideas that need to get out. My teacher once told me, “I don’t believe in sin, necessarily, but an unexpressed idea is a mortal one.” I agree with that. And expressing ideas may help someone. This ties back into Rule 7.

Put out your good ideas and reject the bad ones. Journaling is a good habit. And anytime you feel upset, eat something and write down what you are feeling. That is a ritual. Even if it does not seem as grand as others. If you need to, light some candles or something. I know how you Witches are.

Writing is alchemy. It is making physical what was previously not. Read and write.

*I plan on making a reading list. Eventually.

Rule 4: Don’t Be a Vampire

Part of me was hesitant to include this one because of how it might be taken, but here goes:

I know vampires; physical and spiritual. If someone says they do not exist, I will direct them to a group of around 20 I know in New Orleans. They subsist wholly on human blood. It is not a myth or a legend. Vampires are real.

But I am not talking about that kind of Vampire.

The kind of Vampire that I am bringing up is the kind where you enter a room and you can feel the energy being sucked out of your body. Sure, Psychic Vampires are a thing, but I have met more people that seem like Vampires than actual Vampires.

Don’t be that kind of person. be the person that fills a room with energy, rather than vacuuming it all out. Positivity is key here. And it is easy to be this way and not even know it. When people are around you, how do you treat them? How do they treat you?

Answering those questions brings self-awareness. And no self-aware person can act like a Vampire without being a sociopath.

Rule 3: Give Your Best Self to the World

Idealization is almost universally harmful. I think it is to blame for most of the partisanship the United States of America is facing now and has been since World War II. I think it is responsible for the damnation of Witches in the 19th and 20th centuries (and before and after). And I think it is responsible for most generalized depression and anxiety the world is currently gripped in.

We have a way we want the world to function. When it doesn’t go that way, our brains buck like rodeo bulls*.

We react with emotion and anger and fire & fury. The problem is, all that stuff is out of our control. And we seek control. With the idealization that we have placed within our own expectations comes devaluation.

We devalue, or think less of, the things that do not function to our standards. And it is completely normal.

And we also do that to ourselves.

We devalue ourselves when we do not reach our own ideals. We cannot all be super heroes, I’m not saying that. And do not put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect. That does not help things in the slightest. You cannot achieve perfection, so do not attempt it. Attempt better.

We are all a gift to the world. You are a gift that took trillions of years to craft. Atoms and molecules from stars coalesced into the body you inhabit today. And inside that body is a spirit older and more unique than the anything in our universe. You are an animated consciousness brought to life by forces that no one will ever have the hope of the faintest grasp.

You can be your best self. And you can give yourself to the world.

*I’m from the south, okay? Give me a break on my analogies.

Rule 2: Have Work, Art, and Connections

There is always a trilogy, isn’t there?

When most people think of the Yin and Yang, they think of duality. I recently spoke about this in a newsletter, but it bears repeating. There are three layers to the Yin and Yang: the Yin (the dark swirl), the Yang (the white swirl), and the space it inhabits.

There is a reason it takes a trilogy to accurately describe a concept. It takes at least three legs to hold up a table. Three parts to an atom: electrons, neutrons, and protons. It takes three things to hold up a motorcycle: the two wheels and momentum. And it takes three things to keep you standing: your legs and coordination.

Spirituality boils down to three factors: you, your practice, and the results.

Most things can be broken down into three parts. And I think life can be, too. And I am not claiming that I have life figured out. Far from it. This little categorization just helps me get along a little easier.

For me, I need to have work, art, and connections in my life in order to function.

Work can be whatever you like it to be. It can be anything that gains you resources to allow you to persist in life.

Art is something that brings emotion out of you. It can be creating art or experiencing art. For me, I like Magick (obviously) and writing and photography and watching movies when I have time. I would say any hobby you have would qualify. My son loves video games on about the same level I love Magick. That’s his art.

And connection is what you are doing right now. You are connecting to yourself and to me as you read this. You need to have personal connections with others. I know I do, and I am about as introverted as they make people.

Rule 1: Make Magick Fun (Again)

Finally at number one. And I want this to stick with you.

Magick does not have to be a solemn affair. It can be a joyous celebration of the spiritual. I find most people come to Magick in an effort to fix a problem. And that is a fine enough reason. That will bring many people into the fold. But it doesn’t always have to be that way.

Problems manifest in the world to give our consciousness hope that one day they will disappear. And hope is special. It is what drives human betterment—It drives us to find novel solution. Without problems, there would be no computer for me to reach you with. There would be no medicine. There would be no Magick.

I say all that because I want to illustrate that Magick can be more about solving problems. It is an art form and a science. A hammer and a nail. A book and a reader.

Remember when you first realized ritual could be undertaken to attain a final result? Remember the rush and the flutter? That can be present in every intention you make. You just have to be cognizant of it.

Sure, Magick is a pathway to problem-solving. I get it. And drinking alcohol is a way to make you forget about whatever is bothering you. But you don’t only enjoy a drink when you are sad, do you?

Magick can be ceremonious and grand. Do not let that slip your mind. If you do, your practice will devolve into a mess of what it could be. Have fun. And thank me later for the reminder.

Love + Blessings

Laci

If you are practicing alone, I urge you to look into the Mysticmagicks Facebook Group. It is full of practicing witches and spirit keepers looking to help others.

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