My interview with Amethyst, a real-life witch, continues. If you missed part one, click here.

Q: What are some of the biggest misconceptions about witches?

A: The biggest misconception is that we’re all the same, we all present the same, we all have the same goals, and we all hate men.

That witches are evil, that witches are actually like what you see on TV, that it’s cool, that if you’re a witch, you can cast shit on people and they’ll leave you alone.

Rule of Three

Q: You mean witches don’t cast shit on people? 🙂

A: I will not curse anybody or wish them harm, because in the threefold rule, it will come back to you threefold. It’s just a bad idea to wish harm on people. Other people are like, “Here’s a revenge spell. Go in and get ’em.” So you get to have two camps of thought. I like that there’s that freedom to choose for yourselves what feels right and fits right. Conversely, witches and pagans are humans. Not everyone is in it for altruistic (reasons).

Witchy Days

Q: What is a day in the life of a witch really like?

A: Witchcraft is not one size fits all. Everyone gets to do what they want to do, how they want to do it, in their practice. It’s a customizable sort of faith (laughs). You really get to decide how this fits for you and how it works for you. There are so many witches out there who are just doing their thing.

There’s never a day where I’m not cognizant of who I am and what’s going on. I have three altars: one is the primary, where I keep all my ingredients and everything I use on a regular basis. Second one is by my back door, and I don’t know why it’s by my back door, it just is—so I don’t question it. And the third one is downstairs.

We don’t have a book, we don’t have the book, we literally make our own book, and that’s very freeing. My Grimoire won’t look like anyone else’s Grimoire.

We will talk about the Mother or Goddess as a deity, as an individual, but we are also referring to the Mother as the planet, the provider, giving us the things we need to take care of ourselves. So, how are you going to repay that? By rejoicing during harvest, by sharing, by continuing to do the right thing, and keeping in balance. Don’t overeat, don’t over-destroy, don’t over-take. Take what you need, but give back. We’ve gone away from that.

It’s more difficult to have an organic religion in the age of technology.

I’m a big one on fire magic. Take minute, just look at the fire.

Witchcraft = Self-care?

Q: Since I’ve started learning about this, I’ve been surprised to discover that a lot of self-care practices have always been a part of witchcraft: meditation, visualization, mindfulness. Can you use your practice to change your mood or way of thinking?

A: Absolutely. If I’m (in an off mood), I may smell sage to calm myself—that scent is going to trigger a calming effect in my head, because that’s what sage is my tool for.

It comes down to self-awareness. When you’re aware that you’re causing a situation, you can be aware enough to stop it. A lot of this stuff does require a metric fuck ton of self-analysis. You have to be so aware of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Bad intentions equals bad spells equals bad juju. And you just never want to go there.

It comes down to altering the water and fire inside of you. That can alter your surroundings. And then you can have considerable control over your environment—we’re all energy. The ground is breathing and alive; you and I are breathing and alive. People have forgotten where we come from and how we’re connected, and that’s the biggest problem of all.

This is what made women witches so dangerous, because these were powerful women who knew themselves. We’re talking about stuff like aromatherapy. Certain spices in your food. This is all organic stuff. Women figured out how to heal things: this will help you; this will kill you. It’s just bringing that back to life.

But we’ve advanced so far with technology that we think it’s all shite. Where do you think most of this stuff came from? Most of the indigenous folks still use earthly based medicines. There’s so much that we’ve forgotten. Technology can make a bit of a mess of us.

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I hope you’re enjoying the interview! Do you have a question for Amethyst? Any witchy readers out there? In Part III next week, we’ll learn where some witchy stereotypes came from, and more.

Thanks for reading!

***Laura from the GhostWriters books stars in her own series!***

As a hereditary witch, Laura Device was raised to trust the deities.

But what happens when they can’t be trusted?

The high priests of ancient Egypt have vowed to protect one of the most powerful weapons on Earth—a collection of spells known as the Book of the Dead. For thousands of years, it’s been safeguarded, but Laura learns of a terrible plot to steal the artifact.

Job Jacobs, a sexy necromancer with a dark past, is Laura’s best chance of keeping the Book from falling into the wrong hands.

Unfortunately, he’s also her ex.

Embroiled in a conspiracy where nothing is as it seems, Laura and Job must overcome their differences.

Will they succeed? Or will an unexpected enemy seize the Book, putting the world in peril?

Buy Book of the Dead here (links are affiliates).

PS: If you liked this post, you’ll love my interview with a real-life ghost hunter!