Pittchcraft: Self-discovery and self-care

I was born a Witch, as all Witches are.

But I didn’t acknowledge that power within me until I was in my late teens. Throughout my entire childhood, I went to church with my Christian family every Sunday, and I even completed CCD schooling and volunteered at a monastery. While I am still happy to participate in the volunteer work, I fear the nuns can see that I have fallen from Christianity. I still believe in a godlike power of the universe, but my beliefs do not fit a set religion.

Despite my highly religious family, I recently had a conversation with my mother in which she told me after years of protesting Christianity that she would accept my leaving the religion, but she would not accept me disregarding any belief system.

Religion aside, I obeyed her wishes. I no longer have a set faith or religion, but Witchcraft is a very strong and holistic belief system that works within myself as well as within the universe. As I discussed in my first post, Witchcraft can be practiced alongside any religion or none at all. As of now, I fall into the latter category. My Witchcraft is a belief in the power of the universe and the elements.

I have used this belief system to ground myself and learn more about myself. Taking this time to learn about my inner self and the universe is quite possibly the deepest form of self-care I have ever experienced. Instead of forcing myself to believe in an ancient religion purely because I was told to, I now practice my own form of Witchcraft that is ideal for me alone. I firmly believe that religion is not one-size-fits-all, and that is what makes the totally customizable experience of Witchcraft so important to many people, including myself.

I am personally a Green Witch who uses gardening, teas and herbs as a way to decompress. My idea of self-care is tending to my plants — making myself project my own positive energy to my plants to help them grow. It is also a time to be calm and tune out all of my problems. Making teas is a more direct way to calm down and warm myself. I often like to meditate and ground myself as I sip on a warm cup of tea.

Self-care is very important in every sense of the term. The most rejected form of self-care seems to be the kind that happens within oneself. Self-exploration is no easy task. It is certainly not an easy thing to do, but it is necessary to do. For me and many others, practicing Witchcraft is a natural and easy way for us to explore ourselves.

That power that I felt inside me from a young age was my key into self-discovery. I highly encourage anyone that feels the same or anyone that is even slightly curious about Witchcraft to try it out. Googling some basic spells and potions is always a good place to start. There are many books, websites, and even Facebook pages dedicated to the art of Witchcraft, and they contain vast amounts of information for every level of Witch. The best thing to do is to start somewhere and keep at it; building your own Witchcraft practice takes time. Even if just simple meditation is the starting point, that alone is a great way to begin to care for yourself from the inside out.

Healing face mask:

• 2 tbsp oats (not whole)
• 2 tsp milk or cream
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp finely-chopped lemon balm or lavender
• 1 egg white

Focus on healing your skin and taking time to love yourself as you mix the ingredients and apply them to your skin. Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing.

Makeup Magick:

A form of self-care and grounding can even be something as simple as focusing your energy as you apply makeup. Focus your energy and intentions and make very clear to yourself why you are applying makeup and what you hope to get out of it. Using concealer and foundation, you can draw sigils on your face before blending them in. One such sigil might be the one below, which is for confidence. Another makeup trick you could keep in mind is that using a brighter-colored lipstick will make others pay more attention to the words you’re saying.