Green Witchcraft and Healing

Green witchcraft is a modern form of witchcraft that places a strong emphasis on nature and the natural world. It borrows heavily from traditional witchcraft practices and beliefs, but also incorporates ecological and environmental principles. The term "green witch" refers to the practitioners' deep connection to the earth and their use of herbs, plants, and natural materials in their spells and rituals. Green witches often view themselves as stewards of the earth and work to promote environmental sustainability and conservation. They believe that nature is a powerful source of wisdom and healing, and seek to tap into its energy and power. Many green witches incorporate gardening and foraging into their practice, growing their own herbs and plants for magical purposes.

THEorigin of Witches dates back to antiquity, and in this very distant time the witch was a kind of shaman and pagan woman, who lived in harmony with nature; she communicated and invoked the spirits of nature; and she worshiped the two great lights, that is, the Sun and the Moon.

Chances are good that she grew or gathered them herself, harvested them, dried them, and has experimented with them to see what they can and cannot do all the while, she s been writing down her notes for future reference. They then admit to their judges that they fly in the air on Thursday evening, fornicate on the Sabbath, put children on spit and eat them with garlic.

Many green witches incorporate gardening and foraging into their practice, growing their own herbs and plants for magical purposes. They see the act of working with the earth and tending to plants as a sacred and spiritual practice. Green witches may also use crystals, stones, and other natural objects in their spellwork and rituals, believing that these items carry their own unique energies and properties.

How to Be a Witch

This article was reviewed by Stina Garbis. Reverend Stina Garbis is a Psychic Astrologer and the Owner of Psychic Stina. With over 30 years of experience, she specializes in providing personal and professional advice through astrology and tarot card readings. Reverend Stina has experience working with high-profile celebrities, sports figures, politicians, and CEOs. She has been featured in many publications, including Bustle, Vice, The New York Post, and Readers’ Digest and she also has a 200k+ following on TikTok. Stina holds an Ordained Minister License from The International Metaphysical Ministry University Seminary.

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Forget the pointy hats, broomsticks and corny incantations; there is a lot of misinformation spread about witches. A complex and personal practice, witchcraft is a method of folk magic, involving an in-depth knowledge of the natural world, the spiritual world and the self. If you've got a connection with those worlds and are unsatisfied by traditional beliefs, learning more about what it takes to be a witch might be right for you. It's a lifelong practice and journey.

Learning about Witchcraft

• Wicca and “green” witchcrafts are popular in the United States, often revolving around Gaia-study and nature-based spells and meditation. The earliest Wiccans were followers of Gerald Gardner, a British magic scholar in the 20th century, whose ideas and works were popularized in the 1950s and 1960s. If you've got an interest in crystals, the use of herbs, rituals, and essential oils, this might be right for you. [1] X Research source
• Neo-paganism and Druidism, or other ancestral witches are interested in history and tradition, specifically practicing in accordance with the seasons and with rituals. If you want to get back to the source of "traditional" witchcraft, these styles might be right for you.
• Regional and esoteric witchcrafts, like Santeria, Stregheria, Fari, Pharmakos, and other cultural witchcrafts are also common, depending on where you live and your culture's traditions. If you've got a strong connection to place, research the local practices where you live.
• Keep in mind that some religions/practices are closed. " A culture or religion is considered “closed” if you are required to be born or formally initiated into it into order to be considered a part of that community or faith and to have the right to participate in their spiritual practices. Easy examples of this include some orthodox sects of major religions, i.e. some Hindu sects, and some various Native American religions and cultures. Wicca, in its traditional form, is considered closed, due to the fact that is it a mystery religion and formal initiation into a coven is required. (Neo-Wicca, on the other hand, is an offshoot that is much more open and accommodates solitary and uninitiated practitioners who follow Wiccan principles and practices.) The best way to know if a culture is closed is to ask someone who is part of the culture. Generally, as with so many other things in life, it is best to ask permission before picking up something that seems exotic or mystical.
• Secular Witchcraft, which is unaffiliated with any religion, philosophy, belief system, etc. Any person from any religion (or lack thereof) can practice secular witchcraft.
• There is also divination witches, who try to interpret the future, mostly with tea leaves and other things.
• Sea witches, contrary to popular belief, are actually gentle and docile people, always ready to help. They love being near the water, as in their name, and usually use sea shells or anything related to the beach in their magic. They are also closely related to astral witches, since they also use the moon for their practices, and astral witches use the stars and planets in their own magic.
• Witchcraft is for everyone. No one is prohibited from practicing witchcraft. Some people want to act as gatekeepers, but the truth is that other people don't get a say in your personal beliefs and practices, no matter what they say. There are Atheist witches, Christian witches, Jewish witches, Luciferian witches, Wiccan witches, agnostic witches, etc. The only person who can decide what works for you is you.
• You can be a lot of type of witches put together! You don't really have to be a fixed type, but a wanderer, and that is just perfectly fine

• Aleister Crowley
• Colin Wilson's The Occult: A History
• Malleus Mallificarum, an ancient text on witchcraft
• Montague Summers' Witchcraft and Demonology
• Check out Wiccan writings by Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente and Scott Cunningham.
• Nigel Jackson, Nigel Pennick, Carlo Ginzburg, Robin Artisson, Gemma Gary, Andrew Chumbley, have written widely of traditional witchcraft. (Be aware that many books and/or authors are coming from a Wiccan/neo-pagan viewpoint. There is nothing wrong with this, but if you are looking for information on, for example, secular witchcraft- that is to say, witchcraft that is not associated with any religion, philosophy, belief system, etc., then books on Wiccan witchcraft won't be as helpful).
• Some authors are known to be, at best, problematic and mistaken, and at worst, willfully ignorant and deliberately misinformative. These authors often include historical inaccuracies (ranging from misunderstandings/misconceptions to outright lies), biased views on various subjects, and rampant cultural appropriation. Some authors to be wary of are: Silver RavenWolf, Raymond Buckland, Laurie Cabot, Margaret Murray, Edain McCoy, and D.J. Conway. If you do decide to read their works, be sure to fact-check anything and everything. These books can be useful, absolutely, but do your own independent research, and don't take anyone's word as gospel, no matter how popular they are.
• Also keep in mind that some authors, while their works are incredibly useful, have been dead for a while, and so their information is likely to be a little outdated. Scott Cunningham is a good example of this. His books can be very helpful and informative, but remember to round out your reading with other sources.

• What do you want from witchcraft?
• What types of spells and incantations do you hope to perform?
• What do you hope to learn about being a witch?
• How to do you hope that witchcraft can improve or change your life?

• What it means to "be a witch" and to "practice witchcraft" will change drastically when you talk to different practitioners of magic. Try to take things with a grain of salt. If other witches don't want to help you learn, or disagree with a particular practice or reading that you find power in, talk to other witches. Find a group of like-minded practitioners and ignore the dissenters.

Casting and Using Spells

• Select a wand. Wands are often selected for their personal connection to the witch. It's a simple matter of finding and charging a stick, but it's also much more than that. Spend a lot of time wandering the woods to find a short stick that works for you, that you feel some connection with. You'll know it when you find it. Don't feel like you aren't a "real" witch, though, if you don't use a wand or any other tool that another witch uses. Your practice is yours alone and no one else can tell you what works for you.
• Mortar and pestles are important objects for spell casting. Used to mix herbs and other ingredients into a heady potion, a mortar and pestle are available at any housewares store, and in most kitchens.
• Herbs. Witch hazel, mugwort, sage, lavender, and many other herbs are commonly used in witchcraft. Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is an essential guide for the novice witch. You can learn about the powers and the uses of many different common herbs and how to use them.
• Mineral spirit and salt. Used in cleansing and keeping your spell castings safe, mineral spirits and salts are common barriers against the world of the spirits. You can help to protect yourself by charging your tools with all-natural mineral spirits and circling yourself in salt.

• Different traditions will offer different techniques for accomplishing this, but in general, many witches use lunar energy to charge or cleanse wands, letting the stone absorb the energy of the moon by sitting out in the moonlight overnight. Wiping your wand down with mineral spirits is also a common practice to cleanse and clear out any bad psychic energy.

• Meditate for several minutes, according to your practice. Offer a prayer of protection, requesting that evil spirits and negative energy stay away, and invite positivity and light into your circle. Meditate on the task to come.
• Light candles and prepare other objects that will be necessary for the ritual that you're going to perform. If other people are around to perform the ritual with you, gather together, hold hands, and complete the cleansing prayers together. Join as one.

• In many traditions, a circle must contain candles at each of the four cardinal directions–North, South, East, and West. It's also a good idea to keep a representative of each element in the circle with you. A handful of earth, a glass of water, the fire of a candle, and other elements should all be present.

• Raise and release the energy you're invoking. The purpose of a spell is to make your circle a conduit, through which you contact the unseen world of energies and spirits. When you connect with those energies, you've got to contact them safely and detach yourself from them safely as well.

• Wiccans practice what is called the Law of Three: "Evermind the Rule of Three, What Ye Sends Out Comes Back to Thee." The law of three states that anything you do comes back to you threefold. So please, be wise, and think about your actions and how they affect others. Keep in mind, though, that not all witches are Wiccan, and non-Wiccan witches are not required to believe in or follow Wiccan guidelines. Do not bash or bully anyone else for their practice just because it isn't the same as yours.

Developing Your Practice

• Never lie about your experience or your expertise in witchcraft. If you don't know a wand from a cauldron, don't Try to cast yourself as an experienced witch. Others will respect you less and will see through it. It's better to be honest about your knowledge and be willing to learn. [3] X Research source

Keep your own Book of Shadows. When you first get started in practicing witchcraft, it's a good idea to start your own book of shadows. Again, it doesn't need to be bound in ancient leather and stained with goat blood–just get a composition book. Adorn it as you would a journal, with images you find powerful, moving, or full of witchy wisdom. Use the book to record spells, observations, and incantations as you pick them up from your readings and research.

• If you're a green witch, or a Wiccan, it might be a good idea to put laurels, dead flowers, dried herbs, and other natural things on your altar. Find stones that speak to you, strange seashells, or other objects of power and beauty.
• If you're a druid, or another type of traditional witch, keep lots of pictures of your family, your ancestors, on your altar. If you don't have any, include very old objects–photos of Civil War soldiers, or old pocket watches, things that remind you of the past and help you connect to it.

Practice rhythmically, with the seasons. Many (but not all) witches find it beneficial to be in tune with the changing of the seasons, and with the transitions from one phase to the next. Attune yourself to the moon's phases and practice your spell casting in accordance with the lunar changes, the equinox, and other essential signifiers of changing time. Get an astrological calendar and learn about the shifting planets. Pay attention to the changing of the seasons and your emotional, physical, and psychic responses.

• Herbs and stones are available for purchase, but it's a good idea to learn more about foraging and collecting fresh herbs to dry for yourself. Connecting your practice as much as you can with the earth is an excellent idea. Get a local field guide for greenery in your climate and go out frequently to find useful magick herbs. Go foraging around creek beds to find precious stones.

In addition to their ecological focus, green witches also work with traditional witchcraft tools and practices, such as casting circles, using candles and incense, and invoking deities and spirits. They may work with various gods and goddesses associated with nature and the earth, and may also honor and communicate with ancestral spirits. Green witchcraft is considered to be a solitary and personal practice, meaning that each practitioner may have their own unique rituals, beliefs, and traditions. However, there are also many resources and communities available for green witches to connect with others who share their beliefs and practices. Overall, green witchcraft is a blend of traditional witchcraft and environmentalism, incorporating a deep reverence for nature and a desire to live in harmony with the earth. It offers a spiritual path for those who are drawn to nature and the natural world, providing a way to connect with the earth's energies and incorporate them into their magical practice..

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Green Witchcraft and Animal Totems