Being a Natural Witch...

joseph dawton

You are very fortunate. Most people lose any abilities in childhood and have to work hard to gain or regain them, that was true in my case. Like anything - driving a car for instance - it's really more about responsibility than age, it's true that teenagers are often lacking in maturity due to lack of life experience but one can hardly blame one for that, it is not something you have any choice about, one cannot grow up instantaniously... however on the other hand some 15 year olds have innate common sense, some have more cop on than certain adults who will never grow up even if they make it to 100.

Agent J

I'm still trying to grasp the term Natural Witch.

I automatically equate it to what i think when i see the term Organic* on foods in the supermarket...

"Can you point me to the Non Organic Bannanas please?"

Certainly i can accept that some people are more inately aware of it than others and have better control etc etc etc... But the term natural witch just seems a bit redundant.

"Can you point me to the Non Carbon based Witches please?"


*Yes i realise that organic is used to denote that its grown a certain way and free from certain stuff. Still not the point.

coffee_cake

joseph dawton wrote:

You are very fortunate. Most people lose any abilities in childhood and have to work hard to gain or regain them, that was true in my case.

Ditto here, mainly in the case of true dreams

Nevyn

Agent J wrote:

I'm still trying to grasp the term Natural Witch.

Usually it means self taught.

Talliesin

rebelrebel92 wrote:

My mom had told me stories of how when I was three, I would stare off into space and tell her how things were going to happen. Then they would. They were visions or premonitions so to speak. I cant possibly be rebelling with witchcraft at 3 years old, now can I?

No, you can't be rebelling at witchcraft at 3 years old, but then you weren't doing witchcraft at 3 years old, you were having psychic experiences.

Certainly useful for a witch, but it's hardly witchcraft.

rebelrebel92 wrote:

As far as teens not being ready for witchcraft, I think that people shouldnt be so quick to judge.

Including the teens.

I certainly wouldn't say that no teen is appropriate for witchcraft, but I would say that very few are.

Some are, just like some have written critically-acclaimed operas or novels, but most haven't.

Even fewer are ready for a religious witchcraft like Wicca or Feri. For that matter I know of some Wiccan elders taking the finishing of formal education as a starting point - being early twenties if you go through third level - and some taking first Saturn Return - being around twenty-nine and a half - as a starting point and considering anyone younger than that as an exception, never mind teenagers. Anyway, this thread is about witchcraft rather than religious witchcraft, but its worth touching on that since it is a Paganism forum after all.

Witches work to have mastery on all the planes. That means being in control of ones mundane life. If you aren't doing stuff like holding down a job and dealing with your own red tape, running a household and so on (not all of those things necessarily - being unemployed doesn't mean you can't be a witch - but having an adult grasp on that side of life) then you haven't got step one nailed yet. Most teenagers don't.

Nevyn

I disagree I was a witch before I was out of my teen and I was pagan.

But I consider being a 'natural witch' as a misnomer as it is like saying a person is a natural doctor. Both require knowledge and experience in applying that knowledge neither of which a person is 'born' with.

Some people live very packed lives and can cram a lot of experience in a very short space of years.

This would tend to be people who are exceptions but that does ot mean it is not possible.

But the temperance and the gaining of wisdom does take time, research and reflection.

It is all well and good to find yourself doing spontaneous acts of magic but you have to question why and just because you could it does not mean you should.

What motivates you to do such things ?

In terms of religion Wicca and the Andersion tradition are more about being
priest/ess who happen to be witches and that type of responsiblity is never undertake lightly and is for grown ups.

That does not mean a teen can not work on devleoping thier own spiritual practice.

Talliesin

Thaedydal wrote:

I disagree I was a witch before I was out of my teen and I was pagan.

That doesn't disagree with my argument since I stated from the beginning that there are exceptions.

It also doesn't necessarily mean it was a good idea for you to be a witch that young. Doesn't necessarily mean it was a bad idea either. That's a case by case thing. I do think the magic I did as a teen (though I wasn't a witch then, I did do some magic) was more often a bad idea than a good idea.

Nevyn

Which you only see when you look back in hindsight, all babies fall when they try to walk

Nerin

i began my spiritual journey when i was 11,yes wat an odd age u must think,but i feel that since im now 20 that starting so young has helped me personally,altho im not recommending everyone starts so young. special circumstances in my case. anyway myself and a female friend started out,i was more into studying whilst she dove into the deep end.
anyway up until i was 16 i could be pigeon holed as a wiccan,being open wasnt in hindsight a great idea for a teenager,especially in such a small area.
i had two mentors,one male who was very serious and into his gardnerian and alexandrian, very ritualictic stuff,and one girl who was more a big sister than anything,whose family were hindu.
from 16 i studied buddhism islam taoism shintoism etc.
now im in college studying humanities.
and now ive no idea what you'd try label me haha
im a solitary pagan, whos beliefs incorparate alot of shinto and older pagan ways,druidism etc

Talliesin

Oh, for starting to take responsibility for one's spiritual journey 11 is quite a reasonable age.

The general age of around 9 to 13 is an age at which we are very much still children, but begin to think about adult matters rather than ignore them or take answers from adults for granted. For people in this country where the majority of people are either Christian, of a Christian background or at least know a lot of Christians then 11 is specifically a common age to start dealing with such issues since in that religion they tell their members to do so at that age (through the rite of Confirmation in Catholicism and some but not all of the other denominations, which marks them as adult members of that path).

So yes, I'd say 9-13 generally in life and 11/12 specifically in our culture is when I would most expect there to be a particular staring point in spiritual matters and of course there will be important events earlier than that.

That's a different thing from being a witch - a particular type of magical technician - and a different thing again from being a Wicca - a particular type of priest who is also a witch.

Nevyn

nerin wrote:

anyway up until i was 16 i could be pigeon holed as a wiccan,being open wasnt in hindsight a great idea for a teenager,especially in such a small area.

What do you mean by wiccan ?
Do you mean in fact the
"Oathbound, Lineaged, Crossgendered Initiatory, Fertility Cult of Clergy who are Pagans and Witches" which is not for children at all or the neopagan movement that calls it's self wicca and it
just paganism as mostly publish by a certain American publishing house ?

Wicca is not a catch all word for Witchcraft.
Not all witches are pagan.
Not all pagans are witches.
Not all pagan witches are Wiccans.

All Wiccans are pagan and witches.
All Wiccans have proper Wiccan Lineage given by cross gendered initation.
The redes are a poem which gives advice it is not law.
There are laws which are called the ordains.


Wicca is an Oathbound, Lineaged, cross gendered Initiatory, Experiential, Mystery, Fertility Cult of Clergy who are Pagans and Witches.

There are differing Traditions with in Wicca but they are all the same religion and stem from from a particular group of pagan witches in the New Forest area.

nerin wrote:

I had two mentors,one male who was very serious and into his gardnerian and alexandrian, very ritualictic stuff,and one girl who was more a big sister than anything,whose family were hindu.
from 16 i studied buddhism islam taoism shintoism etc.
now im in college studying humanities.
and now ive no idea what you'd try label me haha
im a solitary pagan, whos beliefs incorparate alot of shinto and older pagan ways,druidism etc

I would respect your choice to say that you are pagan.
It is your spiritual connection which makes you that.

Nerin

as i said in my original post,my first mentor was heavily involved in gardenerian and alexandrian.
lets not split hairs,but i do believe that its been stated on many occasions that those two systems are "wiccan".
as for initiation,yes,i was initiated,and no,im not a wiccan,although some wiccans i know share my own personal beliefs.
and as for my main reason of distancing myself from wicca, a)most "wiccans" i knew started really pissing me off, ie spells spells spells, yeah, they shouldnt be called wiccans just because they are "witches" and i think that young people who act foolishly really do drag a religion down. and b) gardenerian and alexandrian "wicca" pissed me off with the rituals,i could see that many of the groups were just an excuse to sit around naked. yeah,woo.
and before anyone goes crazy and gives me crap for my above statement,im just saying that was my experience,and of course there are many gardenerian and alexandrians that are genuine and lovely people,just saying the reasons i chose do distance myself from their groups.
the end
lol

Nevyn

We all have our own spiritual path to follow and it Wicca wasn't for you then it wasn't for what every reason be it your gods wanted you to be elsewhere or you didn't meet the right people this time around.

There are too many people that seem to think that Wicca is the bee knees and what every pagan should aspire to and tbh that is a load of crap.

Every pagan such aspire to follow thier own path where ever it leads them and to nurture thier own spiritual growth no one path is more valid then an other.

Nerin

damn true.
lol i thought u were having a bit of a go at me earlier,hence the wall o text.
i suppose the one good thing about those annoying "wiccans" (faux wiccans lol)
is that they started me out on my own path.

Nevyn

Nah the wall of text I find stops faux wiccans in thier tracks
and we try to have some standards about here and we don't let
people try to claim that wicca is what they want it to be or what SRW spouts.

It can bring clarity to the thread and those posting and spare usually a lot of confusion as to what is being refered to as Wicca.

While those who are Wiccan are beholden to thier oaths to defend thier Brothers and Sisters of the Art there are times when it turns out that either Wicca or certain covens/people is just not a good fit for a person or not what they need or where their gods want them to be.

While this can be a hard process and upseting it tends to be for the best,
joining a coven should be hard to do and leaving one ( esp the wrong one ) should be easy.

Nerin

haha true true
yeah i started a coven in that time of my life,implodedon itself there were only two members who were truly spiritual,the others were crazed lunatics who belonged in a camp bmovie

Talliesin

I'm sometimes a crazed lunatic who belongs in a camp b-movie. Hey, we can't be all serious all the time

On the topic of how the label "Wicca" gets applied, I think it cuts both ways. Not only does it denigrate Wicca by making it one-size-fit-all, but it also denigrates other forms of witchcraft by implying they aren't good enough on their own merits and have to be dressed up in another's clothes.

Klea

I'd like to know more about a Natural Witch's traits, other than dreams, premonitions, tarot, etc. My mother has always been into Numerology and Tarot readings, including using a plain deck of cards. I only seem to have dreams... deja vu type experiences. It's interesting, in my experience, I never know when the dream has taken place in reality...it's just a feeling that I have been there before or that particular occurance has happened previously. And I never know (after having the dream) when it may come true...if it's one of those types. I'd like to work on controlling them better. Also, I always believed if my right hand itched, money was coming and if the left hand itched, I owed money... does anyone believe in this sort of thing or is it simply superstition? Any advise or suggestions would be helpful

Lou.m

All witches are natural witches.

Unless you get a boob job:-)!!



Part of being a witch is knowing that people have a side to them that is beyond this world and part of something else spirit or what you will call it. All humans have this side to them some are choose to be more in tune with it.

Witchcraft is the practise of using this side to change things in many different ways (extreme simplification here!! I know!).

I was born into a family with magical traditions and felt in tune with it all my life later i did receive my formal training.

EVERYONE and i mean EVERYONE has natural talent it just presents itself differently in all. And some people surprise themselves it is often the the ones who show least talent at first who become amazing witches!

I think sometimes people often are trying to give themselves and EXTRA SPECIAL LABEL in saying hey i am a natural witch well ........ WHAT DO YOU THINK EVERYONE ELSE IS MADE OF PIPE CLEANERS:P:P??

I would have practised psychic skills from a young age with my mother and various family members and some magic skills. Later i practised other things that would be from outside my family that i would have researched. I was initiated into some healing traditions. I then met groups of people and started training. That was some years ago.

I do think sometimes people misunderstand the meaning of natural witch sensing things people spirits places and tarot or whatever is psychic ability. Actually using ceremony or spells techniques that is witchcraft.

So often there is confusion between psychic experiences and witchcraft.

I think sometimes when someone comes to the craft they have this idea that they dont want to admit there is always something someone can teach you it is often an ego thing.

I also think Tallesian is right mastery on all planes ... trying to understand all aspects of life whatever your choices are about them.

I think it is wrong for someone to say my spiritual journey started at whatever age .... it begins at the begining for all of us thats all you can say... birth before birth perhaps but definitely at the begining:P:P

Technically nerin Alexandrian witchcraft is not wiccan technically only Gardenarian withcraft is wiccan but there are very few genuine Gardenarians in Ireland.

And i would just like to say if you find someone who is really just there to sit around naked ( and this has not been my experience ever!!) then i feel very sorry about this i think you just encountered a bad crowd!!

Most covens started by inexperienced people tend to implode. And i dont mean to be rude or anything but in my experience this is true .. most covens started from outside of a tradition and not holding to a tradition tend to implode in time much more so than covens with lineage. I think you need the training from a coven and the experience of being in one for a few years at least and then your own journey hard work and research before you start one.

Starting a coven before your twenties is a very very very bad idea there is no way you have the skills needed to cope emotionally mentally or in any other way. Even in your twenties is very young!

Lou.m

Klea wrote: »

I'd like to know more about a Natural Witch's traits, other than dreams, premonitions, tarot, etc. My mother has always been into Numerology and Tarot readings, including using a plain deck of cards. I only seem to have dreams... deja vu type experiences. It's interesting, in my experience, I never know when the dream has taken place in reality...it's just a feeling that I have been there before or that particular occurance has happened previously. And I never know (after having the dream) when it may come true...if it's one of those types. I'd like to work on controlling them better. Also, I always believed if my right hand itched, money was coming and if the left hand itched, I owed money... does anyone believe in this sort of thing or is it simply superstition? Any advise or suggestions would be helpful

A natural witch has generally meant self trained rather than coming from a tradition or rather than following a tradition on your own you come up with your own rituals or ways and beliefs.

I think one of the problems is often 'natural witches take a little from here and a little from there and call it natural witchcraft but it is unfair to take from a tradition without giving credit to it and you cant claim it as your own or natural if you have gotten it from somewhere else really it is not being honest.

I know a lot of witches who have been in traditions and then do there own stuff but they make their own path and their own ways. I think that is something that could be called a trait of being a natural witch.

Being incredibly psychic and having great magical talent does not mean someone will choose to be a witch. Nor does it mean they have the emotional and personal skills.

I was considered incredibly psychic and talented magically by my peers however i had so much to learn (and still do) about life, people and people skills and witchcraft.

Klea you are as much a natural witch as anyone else :)it is just we all have different strengths and weaknesses and we all need to improve different things.There are many courses on magic or pyschic awareness many skills you can practise and as for the life stuff well that is the hard part.

I think people forget other aspects of life are just as much a part of witchcraft and then they bite you in the ass!!