🌿 Do you prefer to do spellwork during the day or at night? Why?

Neither of them, I largely prefer Dawn & Dusk. I mean ultimately, it really depends on what the spell is about, but my favorite times of practice are the ones standing in-between.

🌿 Do you always cast a circle when working magic?

I used to always cast a circle, and I designed my own rituals and techniques for it. These days though, I have to admit that it’s become pretty rare. Actually now that I think of it, I don’t recall ever casting one since I moved to the Pacific Northwest.

I know admitting that might look like a unforgivable heresy for some people, but isn’t casting a circle a pretty recent construct anyway? Correct me if I’m wrong, but it hasn’t always been a thing in Magic and Witchcraft, and I bet those 16th century Witches didn’t care much about it.

But anyway, the whole point of my Spiritual Practice is to be as much connected as possible to the Living World, so the idea of isolating myself in this way doesn’t really make sense to me. At least, not anymore.

🌿 Do you use herbs and/or crystals in your personal practice? If so, which are your favourites? And why? 

I do use both herbs and crystals in my Craft, but not in the usual sense of looking at their correspondences and build a sort of library of usage and possibilities around it. Yes, I attribute symbolism to different species, but I also see each plant as a particular individual with its specific qualities. I don’t know if that makes sense. Think about Water Magic as a comparison: Water in itself has its own essence, but Storm Water will have a very different use in a spell than say, Melted Snow.

It’s all about observing and getting to know different plants season after season, following their cycles, noticing their preferred places to grow, paying attention to the sort of insects and wildlife they attract… seeing them live and evolve as individuals. And since my Craft is very much local and place-based, my favorites tend to change depending on where I live. Some of the plants I used to work with in France aren’t part of my landscape anymore, but in return I had the opportunity and pleasure to learn about a lot of new ones here, like the oh-so-beautiful Maidenhair Fern.

I’m talking about plants but it applies to stones and crystals too. It’s not really about this or that kind of gemstones in general, it’s all about the individual ones that live with me having specific tasks, purposes, personality even.

🌿 How did you come to your personal path?

The very beginning of my journey involves a random magazine that my Dad brought home, an old attic with a box of vintage leather shoes from the previous owner, plenty of ghost stories and séances with friends, a couple of movies and shows (growing up in the 90’s, you know which ones I’m talking about), and a great deal of curiosity and attraction for the weird and unknown. Maybe I’ll tell you all about it one day. Around a cup of coffee, that’d be great.

🌿 What do you do when you are in a witchy funk?

Always go back to the basics, that’s what works for me every single time. Simplify. Don’t go overboard. Don’t overthink. Back to the simple-yet-easily-forgotten things that used to enchant me and drew me into Witchcraft in the first place.

🌿 What does the term “sacrifice” mean within your personal practice?

It can be as simple as pulling a few hair from my head in exchange for picking a flower from a tree. Sometimes it is deciding that I won’t spend my next free hour doing a thing I really enjoy because I vowed to take care of my House and it’s time to clean. Other times, it’s taking a Wooden Amulet to a Forest Crossroad or an Alpine Lake as a token of reverence for the Spirits of the Place.

It can take multiple forms and happen in various circumstances, but I guess the thing in common is that it always involves an offering of myself, my time, or my crafting abilities.

🌿 Is Ancestor Worship a part of your practice? Why, or why not? 

No, it is not, partly because of Generational Trauma but mostly because I don’t feel the need for it at the time being. Ancestor Worship is a powerful source of magic for sure, but I already get what I need from other forms of practice.

🌿 What would be your golden nugget of advice for a new witch? What do you wish you knew when you first started out?

Don’t spend so much time accumulating books and resources waiting for the day that you’ll finally be ready. Go ahead and try, get your hands dirty, fail, learn from your mistake, try again, experiment, and perfect your workings on the way.

Educating yourself is essential, no matter the topic, but there is such a gap between theoretical knowledge and practical experience, and you have no idea how huge this gap is until you jump.

🌿 Are you out of the broom closet? If so, how has that experience been for you?

I am; family and friends are aware – 20 years since my interest started, it’d be really difficult not to notice. As for the experience of it, I don’t know. There’s been some push back sometimes, but overall it kinda happened all by itself without the need for any big discussion. Spirituality and religion are not topics we engage in when I see other members of my family anyway.

Being self-employed, I don’t have the possible issues pertaining to work relationships, which is great because that can be a whole other level of coming-out as a Witch depending on the circumstances. Plus my clients are often attracted to or practitioners of earth-based spirituality, if not Witches themselves.

Usually I’m quite open about it. I mean, I won’t bring it into a first conversation with someone I don’t know or trust yet, but if you’re observant, you’ll probably notice the signs. Then it’s up to you to either spark the conversation or ignore it completely.

🌿 Do you, or would you, teach the craft to others? 

I don’t, and I have no intention to. I mean, I can share some educational content here and there, which I do from time to time with the topics I know enough about, but it’s really not my vocation, my call in this world. I’m not here to teach; I’m here to spread Beauty and ways to see, feel, and honor it.

Besides, the path I’m walking with my Craft is so deeply personal that I really doubt it could fit anybody else. It’s an intricate thing that can’t be dissociated from my own journey and experiences in this life. There’s absolutely no way I could teach that. It’s up to every individual to find their ways; there are common ground but no such thing as the Craft in my opinion.

🌿 Is divination a part of your personal practice? If so, what tool do you favour? 

Yes, yes, yes! All of it! Bring me your runes, feda, pendulums and decks of cards, give me clouds to gaze at and smoke to read, hand me stones to toss on the ground, and omens to unravel.

🌿 Do you use prayer in your personal practice? If not, do you do anything similar to prayer?

I don’t use prayer, but I chant a lot. It’s the closest thing I can think of. I have dedicated chants addressing different Living Entities: a Song for the Sea, for Dawn, Moon, Raven, and what have you.

🌿 What belief system, if any, were you raised with? How has this impacted your personal practice?

I was raised Catholic, went through Baptism and Eucharist rituals, attended at least 4 years of catechism, sometimes went to the Midnight Mass with my family, and even had an Altar to the Virgin Mary next to my bed at some point. I think I mostly enjoyed the community aspect of it when I was young, but it all fell apart in my teens, when I started to think by myself and question the values, views, and teachings of the Catholic Church.

Today I just see it as a part of my past. No hard feelings; getting your children baptized was just what parents automatically did at the time. All in all, it’s useful to have a comprehensive background in Catholic beliefs and history. But other than that, it has nothing to do with my Spiritual Path now.

🌿 How do you feel about death? How has this been impacted by your personal practice, or how has it impacted it?

Hmh, that’s a tough one to tackle in the circumstances we are currently experiencing. Plus I’m pretty sure that a dozen lines won’t be enough to answer this question properly. So yeah, I’m just gonna pass for once.

But hey, if you want some food for thoughts, here’s a pretty phenomenal Youtube Channel that might interest you.

🌿 How do you feel about the popularisation of Witchcraft in Social Media?

I have to admit, whenever Witchcraft comes back in media or gets trendy again, my first reaction is one of dislike. Like somehow I’m this “old practitioner” that grew up without the Internet and knows about the importance of secrecy and thoughtful sharing of rituals and resources. Then I catch myself, remember the silly things that lead me into Witchcraft, have a good laugh about the assumptions behind that first instinctive reaction. It is so easy to fall into that trap, at least for me.

But once I’m over my own bullshit, I quite enjoy scrolling through Instagram and allow myself to be amazed and inspired by the creativity of new Witches out there, dipping their toes into the water and finding some sense of sovereignty in it. Whatever it may be, these people are sharing some pieces of their path, and that vulnerability is a thing to consider. Even if it’s just scratching the surface and doesn’t stand the passing of time, it’s still valid at the time it exists.

🌿 What is the most important lesson your craft has taught you?

Balance is everything, Beauty is to be found everywhere, and being true to Yourself is mandatory. The three are equally important.

All right, we did it! I’m glad to have participated in this tag. Not only has it been a source of entertainment, but it also made me think about my Witchcraft Practices, what needs a little more attention from me, what could be tweaked a little, as well as a few things from the past that I could include back into my Craft again.

You can find Part One of the #31daysofwitchcraft tag here,
where I answer 15 additional questions and
talk more about my Witchy Practice.