What's Your Craft?

We are lacking in good discussion posts these days, so I thought this thread might be a way to spark some conversation.

I for one love learning about the practices of others. I think it's fun to learn about how we came to walk the paths we do, and what led us to them. So, what's your craft? What helped you decide it was the right path for you? Is there anything about it that you can share with the rest of us? Is there anything about it that you personally find beneficial to you in your daily life?

I personally work with traditional, Appalachian Folk (aka Granny) Magic. Now, this is considered a form of 'low magic' that utilizes a lot of natural and nature based practices. However, there are some ceremonial and high ritual practices mixed in (these are traditional, family practices that are handed down and kept within the family, for obvious reasons).

These practices were handed down through my family and it wasn't until I was in my teens that I realized a lot of what my family did could be considered magical. We work very closely with plants, animals, and nature aspects for divination, healing, protection, etc. I love working with this area of magic because, I personally believe, it allows me to feel such a connection to the flow of the natural world. I feel very in tune with the cycles of nature and I feel that gives me a better understanding of how to work with and harmonize my work with theenergies of the natural world. It also gives me a greater appreciation of nature and the flora and fauna therein.

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My craft is mainly self forged over time. It is a mix of witchcraft and shamanic practice. Much of my practice and faith on the shamanic side revolves around working with and learning from spirits. I have begun a book of spirit conversations. A book filled with my personal experiences. I can remember my niece asking me to tell her stories of my encounters with such things and me saying when she is older. This is something she can look back on.

By shamanic practice I mean it in the initatory sense. I had an initiatory experience at the age of 14. It was an incredible experience.

Within this side of my path is the reason I practice cleansings. I have had experiences with entities over a period of time, that makes it feel that I walk a path of in ordained exorcism.

It isn't an easy path and I do not recommend it for everyone.

On the witchcraft side I practice a mix of Green and Cottage witchcraft. I have been learning medicinal and other knowledge of plants since childhood. Much of where I practice is indoors but I am constantly bringing plants, feathers and other things inside.

Hmm... I've been finding it increasingly challenging to really define my path these days. It has come to be a woven up list of paths over the years;

I started out inspired into energy-working thanks to my great-aunt. Thanks to her picked up interest in magic, symbolism, and new-age philosophies which solidified into the foundation I have built from ever since.

When I found myself to be a part of the otherkin community, Self-realization/discovery became a very large part of the game. I spent many years on a path mixed between past-life exploration and shadow-working while simultaneously doing energy-working in a variety of ways for others. For a while I thought of myself as a sort of... spiritual healer-warrior archetype. Focused on journeying, healing, and upliftment.

After all that, lately I actually feel a bit more adrift. Not really in a bad way, Just directionless.

Actually, come to think of it I have always felt this way on one level or another. I've always felt like it was my path to be pathless- as ironic and contradictory as that sounds. Wandering and learning like a bee looking among flowers for pollen, but incapable of feeling any sense of dedication to any one thing.

Love the forum idea,
My path includes being an elemental witch but I am not just closed for one path I love to learn new things and am always open to try different things one of my favorite passion is energy work and crystal work I also work with spirits but I love it all and always love learning more my practice with spirits would be with ancestor spirits most of the time love all and ready to learn more:)
Blessed Be

Unfortunately, I don't really practice any sort of craft. I love reading about different magical systems and learning about the possible mechanics of magic, but I can't say I practice anything. There was a time when I was more interested in basic energy manipulation and such, but I think I somehow subconsciously shut those abilities off at some point. Whoops!

I forgot to mention what of benefit I find in my daily life.

I mostly practice shamanic and spirit work belief. This I have been practicing steadily for 24 years, since I was fourteen. At fourteen as well I began witchcraft practices, divination with lots, and a little with ouji- which I always felt my friend was moving, and sympathetic magic and pillow or sachet work. I also began making my own candles and soap ( I really want to get back into this)!

The witchcraft practice has been actually quite on and off for these 24 years of practice.

My path has been difficult. Being shamanic in nature it has been used less so for self benefit and more to be of service and help to others.

The reason I am here on Som, is it is easier to try to help others online for me than in actuality. In offline everyday life very few know of my path. My neighbors conjecture and whisper "which" but few ask for help. I prefer it that way.

So for benefiting me it has only through my own spell work benefited me, and recently so. I began practicing witchcraft again as recent as 2018.

Most of the time my path isn't to benefit myself but others. I try to advise kindly sometimes cautionary others daily if they ask.

I honestly most days am not too fond of my practice. I know people have said to those seeking to study shamanic paths especially online that it is difficult, and it may sound condescending to most, but what many do not understand is that truly and like most paths it is.

My own practice waxes and wanes, but there are some reasons I cannot get into most strict traditions. Namely among the list is dogma. Most traditions become quickly rife with arbitrary rules, and it's not something I can get behind.

Eclectic isn't so much a way to describe my practice, though I hae dabbled with a lot, and read about many more. I tend to follow more of the psychological model, though I am not opposed to spiritual things. I'm more deist, though I've seen more than my preference of dogma among deism as well.

Chaos magic is where most of my preference lands -- there and the psychological model. I believe regardless of which tradition a person follows, the ultimate pursuit is the internal world rather than the external. Decoding one's past to find the answers holding one back in the present and hindering the future. It's often difficult, but I believe necessary. I incorporate psychological interpretations of aspects from ritual magic, chaos theory, and the founders of psychoanalysis. A spirit and an archetype are often indistinguishable in this pursuit, so approach doesn't so much matter to me when someone else is talking about their experiences.

I don't really see a whole lot of difference between the old trope of a kid begging Jesus in church for a new bicycle and someone asking whatever other deity to find money on the sidewalk. I do, however, see the motivations for such things as a reflection of the inner world and a possible way to approach that pursuit. That said, I don't think it discounts the possible existence -- and definitely not the belief -- in external spirits, deities, archons, and more, regardless of tradition or belief. It's just not a part of my own approach.

My coming of witch story: my dad's side is Catholic and my mom's side is Anglican. My dad's side doesn't really go to church, but my mom took us every Sunday to the Anglican church and my elementary school, while a public school, was affiliated with the church, so we had bible study for an hour each day. At 13 I had some questions nobody would answer [apart from telling me to read the bible] and I eventually left. I spent a few years studying other religions and mythologies, but nothing really clicked. When I was 16, I took a world religion class, and our independent assignment was to research a group in a list of 100 and determine if it could be considered a religion or cult. Wicca seemed to jump off the page and as I researched it, it resonated with me, so I converted. As I studied, Wicca didn't connect with me as much as it once did, and I branched out into more eclectic views until I settled on witch or pagan [label varies depending on who I'm talking to] My current path follows the wheel of the year, but instead of Wiccan deities, rules, and ceremonies, I define my own celebration for each sabbat, I work with 4 different deities and create my own moral code depending on myself and any input my deities might have. I did work with Dragons and spirits for a long time, but my focus has shifted over the past few years. While I'm still in contact with them, I don't really work with them anymore.

My craft has jumped around a lot and I don't have a specific title, but kitchen witchcraft is my most common type of spell work next to candles and potions. I read tarot cards [don't ask for a reading, I don't do online readings] and recently [like, in the past 2 years] I've begun using oracle cards. Currently, I'm focusing a lot of my energy on shadow work and more grounded forms of magick [instead of astral projection and past life regression]

I am concerntrating on Norse and hindu plus dark at times praying mainly to Shiva and freya. Left wicca to many restrictions for me since my magic is growing I use incense herbs stones and candles I use tarot and runes to divine also read auras my two spirit animals black mamba and African rock python

Plus ottoman turks ancestor warrior elite jannasaries infantry and Turkish warrior saphis ottoman heavy calvary couple jinns cryptids plus couple dark faeries boogies followed me home from a fresh water marsh