Everyday Witchcraft: 6 Tools to Make Your Practice Your Own

Witchcraft is often associated with people who use magic, spirits, and herbs to harm others. But you’ll also encounter witches who see themselves as helpers, scholars, loners, and healers. Witchcraft is as varied as the cultures and traditions in which people practice it.

In this golden age of information, it’s easier than ever to explore grimoires, spellbooks, journals, and occult tomes. These basic tools for modern witchcraft can help you begin your exploration of the arcane.

Witchcraft Begins With Relationships

First things first: this approach to witchcraft is about relationships. Relationships with plants, the land, spirits, stones, water, sky and stars, clouds and wind, animals, and people.

At its heart is animism: a worldview that recognizes spiritual presence or personhood beyond the human world. For witches who follow this approach, living in a harmonious give-and-take with the world forms the foundation of magical practice.

Rosemary you grow and tend can become an ally in cleansing work. A river stone you find, speak to, and smooth with your hands can represent solidity. Within this worldview, the spirits of the forest work with you in balance because you tend to the forest, and the forest feeds you. As you explore witchcraft, consider the relationships you’ve already formed with the other-than-human and more-than-human beings in your life.

Even in the most urban setting, you can build relationships with the world around you. Through an animist lens, the building you live in has a spirit. So does the tree you walk by every day and the spider that lives in your cupboard. Approach these relationships with respect, authenticity, and care.

Basic Tools for Witchcraft

Basic tools for witch work include altars, candles, divination, meditation, sacred smoke, and sacred waters. Don’t get overwhelmed! You may already have some of these things at home. Others cost little or involve skills rather than supplies. You don’t need everything at once. Start with what you have and the practices you’d like to develop.

Altars

An altar is a place to do your witchcraft, make offerings to spiritual allies, and keep your magical supplies. It can be as simple or complex as you’d like.

Choose a space that’s out of the way but easy to access. You might cover it with a beautiful scarf or a piece of fabric you enjoy. Arrange icons, statues, or photos of spiritual allies you’d like to work with. You can also include things you find in nature.

Keep fire safety in mind as you arrange your altar. Place candles in suitable holders, well away from fabric and other objects that could catch fire.

Candles

Think of candles as energetic spotlights. In candle magic, lighting a candle with intention or prayer helps focus your ritual. That can differ from lighting your favorite scented candle for an indulgent bath, though the two can overlap!

Candle magic is a whole discipline of witchcraft, with practices ranging from simple to elaborate. When you light your candle, express your gratitude to the flame, your intention, and your desire for protection.

Use a stable, heat-resistant holder, and keep the flame away from anything that can catch fire. Never leave a burning candle unattended, and extinguish it before leaving the room or going to sleep.

Divination

Divination is another skill you can explore. You may be familiar with tarot cards, but other methods use pendulums, coins, or dice. The I Ching is another divination tradition, with its own history and methods.

Choose a system that calls to you, and take time to learn its cultural context. If you’re drawn to learning to read tarot cards, regular practice can help you become familiar with their symbolism.

Books, teachers, and courses can support your learning. The goal is to practice and develop your interpretation over time.

Meditation

Meditation is free. All it takes is time and practice to develop the skill. For many witches, meditation helps quiet the mind and creates space to listen to intuition or explore spiritual connection.

There are many forms of meditation. Here, the focus is an approachable practice of awareness. Set a timer for no longer than seven minutes if this is your first time meditating. Sit, lie down, or stand comfortably, focusing on your breath. You can keep your eyes open or closed.

As you focus on your breath, your mind may become very busy. Let the thoughts pass like clouds in the sky or rain dripping down a windowpane. You may notice sensations in your body, your heartbeat, or places that feel tense. With your breath, acknowledge that your body is there.

Meditation can feel unfamiliar at first. You’re practicing returning your attention to your breath, so you don’t need to force your mind into silence.

Sacred Smoke

In some practices, sacred smoke serves as a cleansing tool, an offering, or a way to call in energies. It can come from incense, resins, or herb bundles.

Practitioners may choose natural materials for their spiritual associations. For cleansing, options include lavender, rosemary, or eucalyptus incense, as well as juniper or mugwort bundles. You can explore these herbs used for smoke cleansing as you learn which materials suit your practice.

For calling in helpful divine energy, some practitioners use frankincense, dragon’s blood resin, cinnamon incense, or cedar bundles. These associations vary by tradition.

Use a fire-safe vessel, keep the space ventilated, and avoid breathing in the smoke. You can skip smoke altogether if it doesn’t suit your home or the people and animals who share it.

Sacred Waters

In witchcraft, sacred waters can serve as tools for ritual cleansing and empowerment. Moon water is simple to prepare: start with a clean glass jar, a lid, and fresh water.

During a full or new moon, set the covered jar in a safe place as part of your lunar ritual. Offer prayers or speak to the Moon about your desires. For a new moon ritual, the connection is symbolic rather than a matter of receiving visible moonlight.

Label the jar with the date and intended ritual use. Treat it as ritual water rather than drinking water, and make a fresh batch when needed. You might use it to symbolically cleanse a water-safe ritual object or support spellwork.

Some practitioners work similarly with solar water, rainwater, or melted snow. Florida Water, a scented cologne, also appears in spiritual cleansing practices. It’s a different preparation from moon water; follow its product directions and keep it away from flames.