In this second "snack sized" episode, I asked listeners to share the stories of their first spells.
I also asked "Is being a witch and practicing witchcraft a choice?"
The answers were interesting!
Snack Size 2.
Choices and Firsts. What's Yours?
Hello and welcome back to the next episode of Your Average Witch, the short in-betweener between the two regular full length interviews I do on the full and new moon every month. In this episode I asked people whether they thought being a witch was a choice and I also asked people to describe what it was like when they did their first spell. I'm also going to give you a sneak preview of next week's guest, Pam, creator of the Tarotorial deck, and you know how I love stories, so she added a story of something that happened to her when she was 19.
The first person to respond was Desertgoddes520, who says "I don't know if being witch is a choice, but I would say acknowledging it and calling yourself a witch can be a choice." I agree with that.
The next responder is WhereTheDeadThingsGrow, and they say "I'm going to have to go with chef Gusteus opinion." I'm not sure if that's a typo because... I don't know, or like an autocorrect thing. I don't know who that is. "Anyone can be a witch, but that's not to say anyone can be a witch, but to say a witch can come from anywhere. My mother has always had visions, but she's a God-fearing Christian woman and would never call herself a witch."
That's the thing. I might call that person a witch, but I don't think she would call herself a witch. That's why I ask at the beginning of every interview, "What makes you call yourself a witch?" because not everybody does. Sometimes it's surprising to me when they say, well, I don't. I'm like, well, how did I end up in this situation?
Another listener says, "Witchcraft can be a calling as well as a choice. Some are born into it, others are looking for something. For me, it's more the journey on how getting there helps you become a witch."
But now let's get to some of the people who actually recorded answers for me. First up, I will play Andrea, who was on last week's episode.
Kim: Hi, Andrea, thanks for coming back for this mini episode.
Andrea: Thanks for having me, Kim.
Kim: Now, would you please answer these two questions? The first one is, do you feel like being a witch is a choice?
Andrea: Wow, what a great question. Let's see, how would I answer that? So I would say, no. I think it's a destiny. I always was intrigued by it, but initially, I didn't know what I was doing. Things were just happening, falling into place, and I just feel like that was just part of who I am, what I was born to do. Nobody in my life was witchy at all. Nobody had any kind of folk magic or superstition. So how I came into it, I just feel like was kind of the rite of my life's passage. So yeah, no, I definitely think that the choice is there initially for us to embrace it, perhaps? But that destiny was long written in the stars, well before we were a twinkle in our parents' eyes.
Kim: Oh, okay, so now the second question is, are you able to not do witchcraft?
Andrea: I would say for me at this point, no. You know, I've gone periods of tucking it away and putting it away through various relationships, or perhaps when I had roommates in times of my life, when I was in denial or scared of things. But now, and the journey I have been on, there's no way in heck I would ever turn my back on it. It is in my DNA, it runs in my veins, and it's going to happen whether I try not to or not.
Kim: I got excited when I thought of this question because I thought, "Oh, shit."
Andrea: Yeah, that really is good ones to make people think.
Kim: Well, it brings up some, I mean, it brings on other questions like, does that mean genetic witch, witch-hood? I don't know what the word would be. Andrea: Heritage witches?
Kim: Yeah, are they a thing or or not? Or can you, can you choose if you weren't? Are you even choosing, or are you just awakening to it?
Andrea: Right. And then you throw in things like the other dimensions, right? And the overlap and like, then it gets really crazy.
Kim: Oh no. I was just trying to do algebra earlier. I can't deal with this too.
Andrea: Everybody's going crazy over CERN. Well, it's a forefront of my mind right now after reading all my notes.
Kim: Well, thanks for talking to me for this little bit of smidge of a snack size episode.
Andrea: Yeah, again, thanks for having me.
Kim: I always love hearing what Andrea has to say. She's very insightful and I'm really glad that I got to know her. Next up, I have Corey B's response. You might remember him from season one.
Corey: With the understanding that for me being a witch means setting your intention with the idea that it will change the world, I personally think that being a witch and doing witchcraft are a choice because of that intention involved. And I think a lot of times whenever we talk about like being a witch, or doing witchcraft or even like anything associated with magic, I think that a lot of times people are put off by the nature of those words. I think that whenever we say things like magic, or rituals, or casting, or even witch and witchcraft, a lot of times people think of like pop culture magic, and pop culture rituals, and casting, and witch and witchcraft. And they don't necessarily see kind of the real world aspects of what those things mean.
I mean, for example, so rituals and casting. Like every religion has some form of rituals. So a lot of these times, like if you think about Abrahamic religions, for example, like praying could very easily be considered a ritual or even a casting, because you are setting your intention out into the world. And it may be a little bit more like structured, it may require different types of things. And even in some Abrahamic aspects, you even have representation of sacrifice during these specific types of prayers. And so with being a witch and practicing witchcraft, you're using what nature provides, and using the tools of this earth to send your will and intent out into the universe.
And I think in order to do these things effectively, you do have to choose to do them. However, I also believe that there is an ability for anyone to choose to do so. That you don't have to be from a long line of witches in order to be a witch. Like, you're a human being. And so in being that type of being, you can easily change the world with just your words. And that can be for better or for worse. And with being a witch, you are specifically understanding that power of your experience of being a human being. And you're being mindful to use that power to obtain the goal you seek to obtain, but also with nature in mind.
Kim: And another season one guest, Theresa, has this to say:
Theresa: Hey, everybody, Theresa here. I'm here to answer Kim's question of, do I think being a witch is a choice? And also, do I think performing witchcraft is a choice? I'm going to start off by saying that I feel like everybody possesses their own special power. And throughout our lives, we go through these experiences that make us question or doubt or grow our powers and live in our truth. So I feel like everybody has a little bit of witchcraft in them. It's just choosing to use it. It's choosing to tap in. It's choosing to acknowledge the energy of the universe around you. So I don't think, to a certain extent, I do think being a witch is a choice. And that is just because I feel some people don't choose to tap into what is innately inside of them. But on the other hand, like I said, I do feel like it is within all of us.
Now, do I think practicing witchcraft is a choice? And I'm also going to say, I don't think that it is. I think that there are people that are out there that does naturally have these beautiful, amazing, manifesting powers or powers just that they don't understand. And even if you are not doing the ritual, setting up the candles, calling in the planets, I feel like we all have a little bit of a witch inside of us. Now, adding all of that ceremonial stuff, I do believe, is very helpful to have something to tether your magic to. But I don't feel like you have to have that in order to hex yourself, hex somebody else, bring wealth and expansion and fortune into your life. I think that we are all a lot more powerful than we know. And at the end of the day, it's just stepping into and embracing that power. Thanks for having me, Kim.
Kim: I find it interesting that both of these guests kind of said no, but also yes. Next up is Pam's response.
Kim: Do you feel like being a witch is a choice?
Pam: For me, it was not, mainly because just weird things that happen. I've always been, and it's not something I talk about a lot, but I've always been able to see things. And I've always been able to like, I don't know if they're spirits. I don't know what they are. I've never really been able to hear it. Like it's not like an actual like human form or anything like that, but I've been able to like see weird stuff. And that happened way before, you know, family was even kind of bringing me into like anything ritual, like, or spell work or anything. And so I started asking my mom about a lot of these things, when I was younger, you know, when she's sort of like, okay, you know, and she's like, yeah, I see that too. And you know, I go through that too. And my other sisters go through it as well.
So I think for some people that, you know, it just sort of happens and you can kind of choose to ignore it or, you know, follow through with it. I think the actual practicing of witchcraft in itself, I mean, yeah, that can be a choice. I know for myself, like after my mom passed away, like I kind of put everything away for a while, things like that. But we're still seeing a lot of stuff and all of that. And I was basically like, Go away, you know, like leave me alone! So, I don't know. I think, you know, for the folks that have like, you know, family ties and things like that, that could be hard for it to, to be something that you don't want to do and to push it away. But for me, it wasn't really a choice.
Kim: Do you feel like, do you feel like practicing which craft is a choice?
Pam: I think practicing which craft is a choice. Yes. I think, you know, I mean, you can be into a lot of this spiritual stuff and not practice. You know, I mean, everybody's practice looks totally different, you know, whether you choose to do it or not. So yeah, I think, you know, you can still be a spiritual person and not practice. You could be, you know, an atheist and whatever, you know, it looks very different for a person to person now.
Kim: Again, love these answers. Super insightful. I'm really enjoying hearing them. And now let's hear her story. There have been instances where like I was going to a, I used to wear the really big JNCO pants. I don't know if anybody is familiar with those or if you know what those are. Kim: Who are they if they don't know what do those pants are?
Pam: Yeah. J N C O. JNCO pants.
Kim: Everyone knows, how can you not know what those pants are?
Pam: Thank you. Right. There's some people that don't know and it makes me sad down in my core. But so I had some with the 50 inch cuffs and, you know, I'm short. Yeah, I'm like five five. So I was going to a, oh what the hell was it? I think it was like a, like, bumper cars or like gokarts or something like that. And they have this chain link fence that you're supposed to walk onto. And I'm always leaning on stuff because I'm a cool kid, you know, I look badass with my JNCOs, you know. So I'm leaning on this fence and then it comes to be my time to go. And I didn't realize that my belt loop had connected to the chain link fence. So I was right by this step and I go to step off and I'm just flipping. And I'm like, "Why aren't my feet touching the ground?" And I was like, "I can fly. What is happening?" And I look down and I'm just sort of hanging there by my belt loop. And so the guy that's working there just picks me up like toddler, directly by the waist, lifts me off the thing, sets me down, and he just shakened his head. And I was, I was like 19. Like I was grown. So there's that. Yeah, I've got a bunch of stories like that. I'm an unfortunate person. I'm a very strange awkward person.
Kim: Make sure you come back to hear the rest of Pam's episode on the new moon of the 28th, where she talks about why and how she created the Tarotorial deck, what it was like to grow up in a witchy household, and tells my favorite SAT story that I think I've ever heard. Next, let's hear the responses that I got when I asked people to describe their first spell. First up is Stephanie.
Stephanie: Hey there. My name is Stephanie and I live in Texas. I work in the public education system. And I saw the Instagram post about tales of first spells. So I came to the game a little bit later in life. As a kid, I kind of already, I always know that's an interest or draw towards the magic, the woo-woo, whatever you want to call it. And definitely dabbled in tarot cards when I was a teenager. But I never fully jumped into it, and researched it, and got into witchcraft until March 2020. That's right. When the lockdown happened, when the pandemic was officially declared, yikes. I started jumping into witchcraft initially, and still to an extent today, to have a sense of agency in a situation where I really had no direct control. And when we first went on spring break that we never came back from, as people have joked, if you know anything about the Texas Education Agency, you know that they don't have exactly five star reviews. And I was concerned about my teacher friends. I was concerned about if the school well, and the school board was going to do the right thing and not force us to come in.
And so I decided to do a, you know, I mean, we're talking beginner, right? Protection Candle spell. I know, right? Queue the fanfaires. Dressed up a white candle, one of those taper ones in oil and kitchen herbs that I had because, you know, we couldn't exactly go out and shop. Everything was locked down. So I pulled together what I could. I researched a little bit online, ordered a book on Amazon. And I was doing a protection spell for my teacher friends. Well, part of that included writing down my wish on a bay leaf, and then burning it. Well, I live in a department and logically I knew dry leaf plus fire means whoosh. However, I wasn't really apparently thinking that, that hard. I was more like focused on doing everything right. That first time nervousness of "I gotta do xyz correctly, otherwise it won't work." And so I lit it inside the apartment, promptly freaked out, threw it in the sink and washed it out. Afterwards I was staring at it. It's, you know, it's half done. You can still see some of the words on the bay leaf. And I'm staring at it going "Crap. Did it work? Did I ruin it? I feel like I ruined it." So I was like, all right, second attempt.
Realized I had no like, you know, little cast iron cauldron that again, all the books say you should have. So I did the next best thing. I grabbed a baking pan. I went outside on my balcony, tried to do it again, and realized, oh, there's a strong wind on the third floor. Yeah, that went everywhere. So I decided to forego the bay leaf. Just focus on the candle, meditate on my friends, and call it a day. Glad to report, knock on wood, it's worked so far, even, you know, at the time and subsequent years. But uh, yeah. So that was my first spell, all the, all the comedic, comedic relief moments that at the time was not funny, but now it's, it's hilarious. It is funny. But thank you very much for listening. I do have another small tale, which I'll have to send in another time about a spell, little love spell that seemed to work. But anyway, thank you very much. I love the podcast. I enjoy it. I enjoy the Facebook and Instagram postings and banter and all that. So ya'll stay safe.
Kim: Thanks, Stephanie. I'm pretty sure that you will find that you are not the only one with a funny first spell story because here is Kristen.
Kristen: The first spell that I truly remember having done, I was in my 20s and my ex-husband and I had been dating for a while. And he dumped me, because he wanted to date around. That's a whole other issue. He's, he needed to, he needed to make sure that there wasn't something better out there. Oh, that should have been a red flag right there, but it wasn't. But I was heartbroken, devastated, heartbroken, um, to the point of being physically ill for a while.
I was, I was in rough shape and I actually found this love spell in a Cosmo, but it was like, you were supposed to sort of write his a name down on a heart-shaped piece of paper and then like, like, hold it to the ceiling and chant "Come back to me" or something. I don't remember these specifics. I do remember holding it to the ceiling. It didn't make sense to me, but I did it anyway. It worked though because we were back together within the month and then, you know, we were together for 15 years, um, married for almost five of those years. Yeah. So I mean, it worked. Probably shouldn't have worked because we probably shouldn't have been together, but then again, I had my son. So we were together for a reason, right? That was my first spell.
Kim: The idea of using a spell from Cosmo makes me laugh so, so hard. Thanks for sending that, Kristen. Next Kacie tells us about her first spell.
Kacie: Hi, this is Kacie, calling in from my own little corner of the world in Texas. My first spell was technically a Samhain ritual. I was 14 years old and had been learning about Neopaganism for a couple of years, and had been gifted a copy of Scott Cunningham's Wicca, A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. I had read it all the way through and I had even built my own Cinderblock altar, just like the lady on the cover of the book and Halloween was all underway.
I just knew it was time for me to cast my cast my first spell, do my first ritual. I decided I had to do it outside because that's where the lady on the cover of the book was. At the time I lived with my dad in the suburbs, and spent weekends at my moms in a camp ground in the middle of the city in the middle of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. It was an RV park down the road from a university and since my dad's home was where I was already being harassed for being a witch, I felt safer at my moms. And that's how I ended up in a drainage ditch in the middle of the night behind a Latin nightclub in Arlington, Texas.
It was a tree covered area and I really always felt safe there. The place was a gated community, technically, and you know. Looking back I admit it probably wasn't the smartest thing for a young girl in the late 90s to do. But I was armed with a steak knife that would act as my athame. It was one of the many adjustments I had to make since I was a kid with a limited access to the typical witchy supplies mentioned in the book. I'd marked up that book with a pencil and a gel pen pen to plan out my spell, circling what I would say, underlining the parts I would use. Instead of a pomegranate, I used an apple. Instead of a cauldron and candle, I had a barbecue lighter and a ceramic bowl from the kitchen. It didn't matter what I used though, by the time I was done I felt like the most powerful creature that had ever existed. I was a mystical being in the woods by the river, casting her spells at the witching hour, just like I was always meant to be.
I walked home that night with my head held high just daring any nasty beastie to try something. I felt invincible. It was silly and naive, I know, but it was the first time I really knew I was a witch and it's a feeling I still get to this day when I'm practicing my craft.
Kim: Thanks again, Kacie. After all the hassle we had to get that freaking audio recording to me, I think it's well worth it to hear that story and the thing about the steak knife for some reason still makes me laugh so hard. Thanks so much to everyone for being on this little mini show. I'm having a good time with these little small answers. I hope more people start responding in the comments, because I will read your comment and then I especially hope people send little audio recordings to me. You can send them to youraveragewitchpodcast at gmail.com, or call and leave a voice mail at 520-230-3896. That's it for this week and thanks for listening.