Q&A for How to Be a Witch

A book of shadows, often called a grimoire, as "book of shadows" is a term that has specifically Wiccan roots and doesn't necessarily apply to all witches, is a book in which you keep your personal notes/spells/what have you. It can be as fancy or as plain as you like, and no two are the same, which adds to their charm and power. All that matters is that it works for you. Some witches have big leather-bound tomes with parchment pages, some use spiral bound notebooks, some use the "notes" function on their phones, some don't even use one at all. It's not required (though they are immensely helpful in keeping track of everything you learn and use in your practice).

It depends what type of magic you are trying to accomplish. If you wish to increase your spell's power or gain (money, love, etc), work with the moon while it is full or becoming full. If you want to get rid of something (evil energies, bad habits, etc), use the waning of the moon. If you want to start new beginnings, use the new moon.

Not necessarily. Your family members can choose whether or not to be hurt by your decision. If they feel hurt, it is likely because they do not understand Wicca or witchcraft. Consider enlightening them; once they know how happy you are, they may no longer feel as hurt.

Yes! Witchcraft is not a binding commitment. If it doesn't work out for any reason, you can just stop. Nothing bad will happen to you, there are no spiritual/metaphysical repercussions. It's a practice, not a contract, so don't worry!

In Wicca, part of the witches' pyramid is to be silent. This means not to tell people about any spells you are working because their energies could deflect yours and the spell won't work. However, you can tell people you are Wiccan or a druid or whatever applies to you, because they are legitimate religions.

Wicca is a religion. Some also view as both a religion and a lifestyle.

wikiHow has a helpful article that details the process step-by-step here: How to Create a Book of Shadows .

You are born with energy and when you do a spell, you direct your personal energy to it to create change. Look on YouTube mindofmagick, a witch who goes in depth about this matter.

To make a spell work, you have to believe it will work. In respect of your particular spell, you might have got the words wrong or used the wrong ingredients.

Of course you can. If you are Wiccan, then you can do whatever you like, apart from hurting people or animals or being irreverent to nature.

Any object that you consider to be your wand, is your wand. And keep in mind, that wands, while useful, are not required (unless you want one). Do what works for you. Nobody else can tell you how to practice. There is no "correct" way to be a witch.

There are spells and meditations you can do to find your magickal name. Go online to your main search website and look up how to find your magickal name. Or just use what feels right and speaks to you.

You can try looking online on sites such as Spells Of Magic, or other online communities of like-minded individuals.

Because in this plane of existence magick works with the laws of physics.

There really is no age limit. Whenever you decide you are comfortable enough to choose Wicca, Druidry or any other type of religion that connects with you, you are old enough to be a witch. Just make sure you are choosing a religion like these because they connect with you spiritually and not just so that you can say you are a witch.

Not at all.

It's possibly because you told someone about it. When you cast a spell, your energy manifests but if you tell someone and they doubt it will work, their energies go against yours, causing the spell not to work. It could also be because you yourself doubt it will work. As long as you truly believe it will work and you don't tell anyone about it, it will work.

No it isn't -- you can do whatever you choose to do, either collecting herbs or not, it's up to you.

You should not seek to control anyone's attitude, regardless of how good or bad that attitude is. Do not interfere with another person's freedom of choice or expression. Casting spells on other people is evil. It would be more beneficial to cast spells to strengthen your ability to manage difficult situations.

If you're referring to things like being able to fly/conjure fireballs in your hand/physically make stuff appear out of thin air or anything else that you'd see on Charmed, that isn't real. That's not how witchcraft works. No matter how much you believe in your craft, or how hard you work, or what you hear from other witches, you cannot defy the laws of physics on this plane of existence.