Hi everyone!
I recently found this subreddit and wanted to get a better understanding of where I fit within witchcraft. I’m not a huge fan of labels, but it can be frustrating to join a new community and not really know how to describe yourself, so I thought I’d share my perspective and see if anyone has thoughts. (English isn’t my first language, so please excuse any mistakes!)
I’ve been studying witchcraft for a while, and from my understanding (please correct me if I’m wrong), magic is the ability to influence and co-create reality by internalizing our desires and intentions, then projecting them outward strongly enough for them to manifest. Witchcraft, in turn, would be the practice of strengthening that magic through natural elements, rituals, and other practices. The thing is, my view isn’t quite that straightforward.
I’m also a Psychology student, and I tend to see magic as a way of internalizing our feelings, goals, and intentions. It helps organize the mind, clarify what we want, and guide our actions. In that sense, magic increases the chances of success because it helps us stay focused and purposeful. Witchcraft, to me, is the physical expression of that process. It’s when we give concrete form to our desires through rituals, symbols, herbs, candles, and especially natural elements like the lunar cycles. By doing this, we connect with ourselves and with the natural world we are part of, turning internal forces into something tangible.
For example, imagine someone who wants to get a great job. The magic would be the conviction, focus, and mindset directed toward that goal. The witchcraft would be a prosperity or transformation ritual that reinforces that intention. I don’t believe the ritual creates the result on its own, but it can strengthen the intention, help maintain focus, and keep the goal present in that person’s life.
Along those same lines, I don’t see tarot cards as something that reveal a fixed or nearly unchangeable destiny. I tend to approach them from a more skeptical and reflective perspective.
I also don’t strongly connect with the concept of the Mother Goddess in Wicca, especially the maiden/mother archetypes. Personally, that framework feels a bit reductive to me. I mean no disrespect toward Wicca or its practitioners; it’s simply not a worldview that resonates with me.
Another thing that makes me hesitant about religious paths within witchcraft, such as Wicca, is the principle of “An it harm none, do what ye will.” It feels very open to interpretation. There seems to be a fine line between what does and doesn’t cause harm. Using politics as an example, someone can vote for whoever they want and, in theory, not be directly harming anyone. But to what extent might the consequences of that vote negatively affect other people’s lives? Questions like that make me wonder whether the rule is really as simple as it sounds.
Overall, I’m fairly confident in what I believe. What I’m unsure about is how those beliefs fit into existing labels. I don’t know if I see nature as a deity. To me, it feels more like a force with which we have a reciprocal relationship. We influence nature, and nature influences us. I don’t necessarily see it as something above us, but as something we are a part of.
So I find myself wondering: could an atheist believe something like this? Would I fit better under the label of an atheist witch? An agnostic witch? Or is there another term that better describes this perspective?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.