Chances are you've heard at least one tale involving a witch throughout your childhood. Sadly, many of them depict witches as evil beings who murder and deceive to get by. Almost all of the children's' fables tell of old evil women who want nothing more than to cause harm to an innocent. I honestly can't blame people for giving us a bad reputation after all the bad press.

1.So does that mean you're just really into Harry Potter?

I honestly don't know why this is such a common question I get asked, but I wanted to get it out of the way first. While I love the Harry Potter series for its merits as a great set of books, I don't think it has much to do with real life witchcraft. Some of the topics in the books vaguely discuss real sub-studies of the craft, such as; Transmutation, Divination, Spellwork, and Herbology. The parts they go over in the book are mostly exaggerated for fiction's sake and aren't based on any type of actual witchcraft sadly.

2.Are you okay with God hating you?

Witches have a really loose base on our religion. Pretty much anything goes as long as it doesn't involve harming a living being. With that being said, a lot of us like to practice our craft hand in hand with another sect of spirituality. I've met many Christian Witches, myself included. (I can recite bible verses off the top of my head, so you probably shouldn't judge a book by its cover.)

3.Does it affect your personal life?

Yes. I would think any type of spiritual practice can likely take a few moments out of your day. In the same way that some people have a set routine to go to church every Sunday, read the bible every day, and so on; witches also have routines in which they practice their craft. I've known some to take hours creating and practicing rituals, I've also seen the crafty witches who will mutter incantations to help them as they go about their day. . I don't think it matters the amount of time you put into your craft as long as you have real intent behind it. You also have to go through a year and a day of intensely studying the craft before you can rightfully call yourself a witch, so I would say your first year is going to be when you spend the most time focusing on it.

4.Do witches celebrate holidays?

Everyone is different, but a basic guide for most witches is our calendar. It's quite similar to a regular calendar in the sense that Yule rituals are a derivative of Christmas, Samhain correlates with Halloween, the summer solstice would be summer, and so on. It's pretty easy to understand if you look at them side by side.

5.Can you curse someone for me?

I'll put this as basically as I can. No. No way in hell. The basis of a witchcraft is the law of three. Everything you put out into the world comes back to you three times over. I think the law of three can be pretty much broken down into the golden rule, just a bit more enforced. 'Do unto others as you would have them do to you.' Which is a pretty simple concept. That being said, I would rather not get myself into the mess of putting that negativity into the world.

All in all, Witchcraft is just as good or bad as you make it. No one person is truly good or evil, nor does the faith they claim have much say over if they're any better than the person next to them. Witchcraft is not unlike any other spectrum of spirituality, except in the fact that it can be a lot more personalized to your needs and interests. It's a way to grow and expand your knowledge of not only yourself but the world around you as well. It's helped me grow as a person and become more in tune with the needs of the people around me.