Firstly, a wonderful warm welcome to the new year, a new season of life and a wide-open road filled with opportunities ahead. A lot of our focus this season is going to be on the fundamentals of witchcraft, what being a witch actually means and how to step into your magic and honour yourself. Witchcraft and witches themselves often get a lot of bad rep, and unjustly so; there has been negative connotations to both witches and ‘magic’ in media, literature and folklore for a very long time. We’re here to set the record straight, unpick what witchcraft really entails as well as inspiring those who are interested in practising as a witch, paganism, herbalism or anything similar. There are no rules here, no exclusivity or commitments; what’s important is doing what feels authentic and genuine for you.
Witchcraft isn’t just crystals, casting spells and stirring a cauldron
So, what actually is a witch?
A witch translates literally as a ‘wise woman’, a term that is often left out of modern knowledge of paganism and witchcraft. Witches are wise because they honour their inner guidance and practise things such as strengthening your intuition and showing up authentically, both of which we’ll talk about in this article and on this blog throughout the year. Popular media and society often defines the fundamentals of witchcraft and witches as an ‘evil’ being or surrounding dark magic; though that’s not necessarily true. It’s this rhetoric that puts people off or gives the wrong impression of paganism, occult and witchcraft in general, when actually it’s much less sinister and actually a lot about honouring nature, inner guidance and belief. Witches aren’t just an easy Halloween costume or pointy hats! We’re humans on a path to knowing ourselves and stepping into our magic every day.
The Welsh Witch herself, Jade, is a strong believe in trusting yourself, extending kindness and being understanding with others to promote peace and harmony with your surroundings. Kindness is a staple of the witchcraft world, while spells, crystals, divination and herbs may be great, but without the foundations of love, presence and authenticity you won’t have a strong base to start from. Let’s learn together how to truly step into your magic and make 2023 a magical year from start to finish.
Jade, our Welsh Witch, the owner of Wild Moon
Spreading kindness from within
A large part of the philosophy of being a witch and creating a better world for ourselves, our neighbours, the generations that will succeed us, animals and nature, is to extend kindness in every situation. At the Wild Moon Distillery, we believe that, as well as the fundamentals of witchcraft, you should choose kindness from deep within in any situation. Especially in a world that can sometimes feel difficult and cruel, extending a hand of kindness can make anybody’s day better. Not knowing what other people are going through means that one small act of love can make a world of difference; mental health struggles are a global pandemic – life is too short not to be kind to others.
More peace and understanding
Even in the face of narcissism, hate and negativity, peace seems difficult and sometimes ridiculous. But we believe being a witch means honouring freedom of expression and being understanding of others, no matter how hard it feels. Life is too short to spend it being angry at the world, showing up everyday as somebody who makes decisions and exists in peace and understanding is more likely to be level-headed and in tune with the world.
Honouring your boundaries
Being a witch entails protecting yourself when needed to avoid becoming drained, energetically, mentally and physically. Sometimes letting people overstep your boundaries can seem like the easier option than causing conflict in a circumstance. But, a knowing witch remembers to honour their needs and when to say no to an opportunity or situation. This could be as simple as cancelling a plan to rest, or something huge like knowing when a friendship is no longer serving you or a toxic family member needs to be cut off. There are many ways in order to show up for yourself and really learn to trust that you know best for yourself, we’ll explore some of those ways throughout the year through educational posts and guides.
Showing up authentically
Learning to show up authentically in a world that tries to convince you to do anything but, is a hard skill that few master, but it is an important one to practise. A crucial part of being witch includes honouring your true self and showing up as that person. In situations and circumstances, it takes courage to address them authentically and trusting your intuition. An experienced witch has faith in themselves fully; this is done through deep practise and learning. Sometimes, witches use powerful divination tools such as tarot cards, pendulums or the like; these help a witch encourage guidance from spirit, the universe or whomever they ask, which then helps them to trust their judgement and make their own authentic decisions. However you choose to deepen your relationship with yourself if up to you, as long as you do so from a place of genuine curiosity and patience with yourself while you learn.
Want to learn more about being an authentic witch?
Throughout the year, we will be delving deeper into what it means to be a witch, honouring yourself and your needs and fabricating a connection with the universe and others around you to spread kindness and love. We hope you stick around to learn more about nurturing your inner witch and how to connect deeper with yourself and other like-minded individuals. In 2023 we hope to spread more witchy goodness to the masses by encouraging more kindness, more appreciation for the abundance of nature and celebration of the self, we hope you’ll join us!
Of course, if you’re interested in witchcraft inspired and pagan inspired premium Welsh spirits, check out our award-winning tipples over on our shop. Our lunar cycle prepped, reiki infused, magically botanical Wheel of the Year spirits honour the Celtic pagan sabbats celebrated throughout the year, perfect for a baby witch or someone on an exciting spiritual journey.