The Book of Shadows of a Broom Closet Dweller *EDITING*

PART TWO: Witchcraft & Religion

Witchcraft itself is not a religion, but there are some religions with followers that explicitly include magick as part of their faith.

These religions include, but are not limited to:

• Wicca
• Norse paganism
• Celtic paganism
• Hellenism
• Kemetism
• LaVeyan Satanism
• Vodou
• Shintoism

I will be covering all of the above-listed religions, but I will focus on Wicca in the most detail.

Warning: While I make it my place to have a basic understanding of as many religions as possible, I am by no means an expert on any of these religions. I will be sourcing my information from books and websites, and I'll give you links to where I got everything so you can verify stuff for yourself. Please tell me if you think any of the information is incorrect, especially with religions like Vodou where it was very difficult to find non-conflicting information.

My intention is to point lost souls in the right direction. You may have a calling to a particular religion, so I want to give you the basic concepts and beliefs of religions that practise magick. This section is designed to inspire you and expand your knowledge.

Of course, you don't have to follow a religion to work with magick, but some people like to follow traditions set by certain religions and work with certain pantheons, etc (I follow the magickal traditions set by Alexandrian Wicca, for example, but I'm not Wiccan).

EDIT: 16/9/18

If you don't follow any religion, you can still follow a particular path. Here is an Instagram post that gives a breakdown of some of the different types of witches:

So it can definitely be a bit confusing when starting down this path as to where you might "fit" or what kind of witch you are! First off I just wanted to say that you don't need to feel pressure about this. This is a personal choice and may change over the years you practice. It's also perfectly fine to call yourself a witch with nothing added! But I thought I'd do this post and go over a couple of the kinds of witch you might come across or want to maybe explore! These are by no means all of them!

Eclectic Witch - Someone who explores different paths, aspects and parts of the craft (And sometimes outside of it) and creates a path completely personal to them.

Green Witch - A free flowing path that's very nature based and orientated. Often works with herbs, the elements and natural areas such as forests.

Elemental Witch - Often witches work with the elements and sometimes favour one or more over all (or just all!) and focusses their craft on working with that element.

Solitary Witch - This is someone who practices alone rather than with others or a coven.

Kitchen Witch - Of hearth and home, kitchen witches are often family and home orientated and create magick from every day actions and objects as well as incorporating plants, cooking and baking into their craft.

Hedge Witch - Some aspects of green / kitchen witchery. Hedge witches are often drawn to nature as well as spirit. Sometimes described as a spiritual midwife, one eye in spirit the other in nature. Often drawn to healing practices.

Faerie Witch - Someone who works with the Fae folk in their craft. Often nature based.

Secular Witch - This is the term for a witch who doesn't ascribe to a particular deity or group of deities. However they usually work with energies in general for their practice.

Source: www.instagram.com/p/Bny1xJNnHMU/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet