Your Unpopular Witchcraft Opinions - The Devil in Witchcraft, Do you need Spells to be a Witch? 

Unpopular opinion: If a group you are looking to join is telling you that their way is the only true way, keep secrets until you reach a certain level, tell you that you shouldn't have friends outside of their group and tell you to ignore your instincts because they know better they are not a tradition or real group they are a cult. All because they call themselves a coven or other name for Wicca or Witch craft group doesn't mean they are not a cult.

probably not an unpopular opinion but: If you don't feel like the title "Witch" fits with your practice, you can use a different title or even none at all

Possibly an unpopular opinion, but many seem to be divided on this. I feel like the idea of trickster spirits speaking through deities is some type of latent Christian mindset. I'm a worshipper of Hekate and honour her the Hellenic way, so we believe that whenever you call upon our Gods/Goddesses, then you will get your God/Goddess. I suppose it depends on belief systems but this is just unnecessary fear mongering and potentially stops a practitioner who is interested in deity worship/work from reaching out to a God/Goddess they are drawn to.

The thing about people’s spirituality is that it is very personal , individual so no two people’s beliefs are exactly the same, problems come when one person tries to force their beliefs on others.

my unpopular witchcraft opinion is: most are obsessed with working with the dead and don’t see the beauty in working with the alive. dead - spirits that passed and are stuck here, alive - spirits that their home is inside of humans/animals/plants around us. my witch friend is more of a medium, she works with the underworld and the dead, while me personally i never had a connection nor a wanting to get into that and instead i work with spirits that have not ‘passed’ yet. i use my physical cat as a spirit guide, i talk to big alive trees, i talk to the insects that jump on me etc… i think there is a blockage of appreciation when one focuses on the ‘DEAD’. you’re still a valid practitioner if you have no interest in having a conversation at the cemetery and prefer to be guided and spoken to by a spider or a cloud…

This may have been mentioned in a previous video, but I don't think (especially beginner) witches need to be afraid of writing their own spells. Yes, there's a lot of benefit in doing research, learning associations, seeing how things have been done in the past, etc. But I see a lot of people afraid to do a spell unless they have step-by-step instructions written by someone else. The best way to learn what works best for you is to experiment and let your intuition lead. If something does go wrong, you should be able to trust that you have the power to fix it (with a reversal, banishing, what have you). Obviously, this might be more challenging for people who like ceremonial workings, as there needs to be more planning and actual writing of your spell before you do it. Either way, I still think it's the most effective way to learn how your unique magical practice works.

Regarding the devil thing, there are for example theistic Satanists and people who practice Daemonolatry who work with Satan and / or Lucifer who do definitely NOT believe them to be the Christian devil or how he is described in Christianity at all. (I say "and / or", because some people believe Satan and Lucifer are the same entity, some believe they are two seperate, different entities.) Daemons are viewed in a very different way in those religions and there's no belief in the Christian hell or all that. They're viewed by many in those traditions as higher intelligences, as beings that consist of energy and that are kinda "neutral" deities / entities. They're neither good nor bad by nature, they're both and if you respect them, you'll get respect back from them. The whole "devil" thing is a huuuge topic, there are so many belief systems, traditions, religions, etc. out there and like you said, there's a horned deity or spiritual figure in so many different traditions from so many countries... You could talk for hours just about that and write a lot of books on this alone. It's so interesting, I love it! 🖤

"Maybe I should go outside and touch grass or something"😂😂😂 Love your videos Hearth, you are a ray of sunshine ❤

The everyday witchcraft I do engage in each day is sending blessings to friends and family, expressing gratitude for that which I have, and (for lack of a better term) praying for my country.

Just want to say, I appreciate the intros. They kind of give me a chance to settle in especially when my mind is fidgety. I often find if creators just jump right in that I scroll back the video, sometimes multiple times, to catch what I've missed. It's Thanksgiving here in the USA. Expressing my gratitude for you and your channel.

my UPO's: 1- Skyclad was never a historical thing, it simply wouldn't have made sense and would have been very impractical but wiccan founders liked the idea and so there it is. 2- someones rituals are just that, some other persons, It's a good starting point but should only be a starting point something researched and made for you by you with your purpose in mind floor up will be much more powerful than anything out of a book. 3- Spell jars, not everything should be one. 4- I really wish they would stop using green witch, kitchen witch and hedge witch interchangeably .

I agree about spellwork. I never found spells necessary in my practice, maybe because through my practice i found my inner strength and my life has never been better. The only times i perform spells is on the Sabbats and i usually do them in order to express gratitude for the past and ask for abundance and protection for the future (if there is something specific i want i include it in the spell of course). Also, i usually do spellwork on New Year's Eve because the energy around me is just so positive, i just feel the need to use it yk. 😅

With the wheel of the year, I wait until I ‘feel it’ sometimes it’s for example Ostara, but I don’t see and feel that in the nature around me. When I feel like the wheel has turned then I celebrate 🎉

To your last point, I get my best results from either creating my own spells or adapting someone else's to my needs. Like using a basic pasta sauce and adding your own ingredients. Really good channel, Hearth. One of the best resources on RU-vid.

It would be great to have a video about the folklore devil. Having previously come from an Abrahamic tradition, I don't know anything about this particular subject currently

My unpopular opinion: not all Deities and Spirits enjoy traditional offerings, some are actually gonna feel hurt if you give them "insert random dead vegetable", and many will ask for offerings in the form of acts and behavior. Or work with you in exchange for the behaviour they've seen you displaying in your daily life until then. I don't really hear people mentioning this and it has been key in my practice for many years.

I grew up in the 90s, and definitely got the message that conflated Wicca and witchcraft as the same thing. I had heard otherwise since then: witchcraft is not specific to a particular religion, you can be a Christian witch, Jewish witch, etc, but for whatever reason, that didn’t actually click in my head until almost a year ago! Once that clicked, everything else started falling into place…

Im one of those people who have a rough time being around any kind of smoke (I have asthma) so smudging and incense is out. I’ve substituted using an essential oil tea light where you put oils in the top part and the candle warms the oils- so if it calls for sage smoke I’ll put sage oil instead. I’ve also made a spray with different essential oils and spritzed it around my space before beginning- I’d love to hear any other ideas to substitute for smudging or incense etc😊

I'm 26 years old and grew up in a family of witches that had been witches for many generations. Only recently have I found my celtic paganism path. Don't rush into a certain path.

About gods. You know, sometimes I feel like a fake wiccan. I sometimes miss sabbaths because of life and/or low energy. I praise Hecate when I have energy, or when I remember, and the Cernunnos (my horned God) I feel like I abandoned him and mention or pray so rarely. My everyday practice is making extracts and herbal remedies, not even magical, although I do charge it with a simple spell or intent. My most usual practice is protection, and the second one is divination. But because of the circumstances I feel more like an alchemist rather than a witch. I’m generally much better than before, but even though my practice is more present than before, I have a distinct disturbing feeling as if I will never be THE witch, but a low energy small practice mentally ill witch.

Heres an unpopular opinion, at least in the mainstream world. Practitioners of abrahamic religions are practicing magic while also looking down their noses at it.

Sooo true! On the topic of not harming oneself, so many books recomend blood for rituals! Please if you aren't 110% sure how to do that safely and hygenically just DON'T do it, it really isn't worth it, you can get an infection or worse, and for what??? Mostly everything can be substituted.

Hekate is my Patron and a tough boss. Persephone is better with beginning people for loads of reasons, and is going through a resurgence if I believe Etsy. On The Devil I must suggest Chapter 15 in Crowley 'Magick in Theory and Practice " as he discussed this with a mix of Honesty and Humor.

on the topic of signs, i remember the day i first decided to practice witchcraft after spending my whole life southern baptist. i was about to drive home and i looked up and said, "please tell me you're okay with this". on the way home that day, the largest rainbow I had ever seen appeared ahead of me, and one end of it appeared to be coming from my house. i took it as a "you have my blessing", and havent looked back.

Adapt the seasonal holidays / also acknowledge the indigenous peoples of your home. Learn how to observe respect the seasonal customs of those who lived on the sacred earth we now reside on.

Beautifull video as always. I just want to add a thing about what you said on satanism (just because noone talks about it in witchcraft community, letting preconception festering alone in the dark): it's a really nuanced topic, expecially the figure of Satan. There are likely as many facet of this god as there are practitioners and a lot of the one who are not atheist work with a figure that is not the christian devil nor the witchcraft one, but another facet of Him. As all gods, expecially trickster one he has a lot of faces and aspects that different tradition inside traditional/spiritual satanism. Thank you again for your videos and for the beautiful community that you builded, expecially on discord where there is a really nice, accepting satanic group.🖤🖤

Don't know how unpopular this is but I use virtually no correspondences for things (plants, elements etc.) that are generally accepted. In fact, I make it a mission to not read any correspondences until I do my own work with a plant energy, a particular type of spirit or whatever and only then will I sometimes look up the ''accepted'' correspondence, but a lot of the time I never do because I value my own perception of the energy more than what a book might say. The only area I use some of the more common correspondences is with the planets in our solar system.

I agree with so many of these. It brought me comfort to hear that I am not the only one who agrees w/ these unpopular opinions. Thank you.😊

Thank you for clearing up some of the unpopular opinions. I grew up in a strict Pentecostal home, so hearing about the difference between witchy devil and "THE devil" helped me feel a bit less triggered by the religious shame that comes with my first three decades as a human. My form of magic comes out in art, cooking, writing, singing, cleaning, and learning new things. There's magic in science and there's science in magic. We just haven't found the right way to study it. Your bonus scenes were adorable! I do random singing when I'm in a good mood, usually after I've accomplished a task or two.

The folklore devil is hard to understand.... He is (or they are) mostly local entities, folk characters.... That went into the label devil. In my deep countryside France, we have a local devil name Gorgeon that is said to be... An hobgoblin 😉❤️

I love how supportive you are to individual beliefs

I have a feeling this video is gonna be super interesting! Family is currently over rn though, so I can’t watch this until they leave, but I’m excited to watch this later! Edit: I am back 10 hours later, gonna watch this as I get ready for bed bc it’s almost midnight 😅

I love your unpopular opinion and discussion of the others. May the Magick and blessings be with you!❤

Thanks for the last point, which is rarely mentioned. I sometimes wish someone would write a Manual for the Allergic Witch LOL!

This is off topic but I gotta know... Where did you buy those gorgeous earrings? ❤

Speaking of the Devil, HW, would you consider doing a video on the movie "The Witch" (2015) and what aspects that movie got right in regards to black magic, perhaps? I think that would be especially interesting, as the movie is portraying Witchcraft through the lens of the negative depictions from the Christian perspective, but at the same time, I couldn't help enjoy the way it portrayed the use of familiars, the casting of illusions and black magic. It definitely touched on a lot of that medieval folklore.

Finally someone said this 👍🏻💚 I have been always wondering how people do that celebration all around the world because harvest season is makes sense in my country

I don't know whether this would be an unpopular opinion but... The first thing beginner witches should learn is their magical model or their paradigm what do they think makes magic work? This will tell you the skills you need to focus on developing and how you go about your practice. The skills usually listed (energy sensing and manipulation specifically) belong to the Energetic model of magic. Where the "fuel" is energy. But in a spiritual model the "fuel" are the spirits and so spirit work would be the thing to focus on. In the psychological model the "fuel" is the mind and so learning about placebo effect, LOA, etc. would be things to focus on. Your model defines how you do things and shapes your practice. Take enchanting an item for example: The spirit model would call upon a spirit to bless it. The energetic model would channel their energy or energy from other sources to charge it. The psychological model would create and enforce a specific association between the object and the desire effect. Pick your model, define the skills you need to make it work, learn them, practice them, change models if it doesn't resonate or work for you. Then you can go into the other models and create a unique blend of practice that is yours.

I always wait for whoever comes through as in deities or guides.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of us celebrating this year! Blessed be ❤

Unpopular opinion: Anyone can identify as a witch; there is not exactly a set criteria to be one, it's just a label. And, just because you practice spell work, doesn't mean you HAVE to identify as a witch.

Great Video Hearth! I am new to witchcraft but I still had a better understanding of witches than most people especially the energy side of things so I naturally agreed with you on these opinions haha.

I'm glad you mentioned about seasons! I also get super confused why I see witches doing new month rituals on the 1st of each month- they're going by the Roman calendar. To me, it makes more sense to go by lunar months and do new month rituals at the new moon.

I think you don’t have to do spells everyday maybe use the energy for meditation,divination or devotion.

Thank-you, Hearth, for explaining all this! 🥰🤗💖 Hello from Southern Québec, Canada! 🇨🇦 I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your cat-singing! 🤣

I just stumbled across your FB channel today and so happy that I did. This was a very fascinating video topic to me today as it answered many questions I have had that nobody could really (clearly) give me guidance on. Loving the channel!

I think the reason people thought Wicca and witchcraft are the same thing is because Wicca was designed to be a religion that incorporated witchcraft. Now that doesn't mean that is the only way to be a witch. Witchcraft has been a practice that fits nicely into a lot of different spiritual and religious lifestyles, but doesn't require either to be practiced. My understanding of it is the a person can take the witchcraft out and be an eclectic pagan, or take the religion out and just be a witch, but Wicca, particularly traditional Wicca, is both. It's important to understand that just because these practices are not the same, it doesn't mean they are any less valid. If it works, run with it.

When you were speaking about the seasons and the wheel of the year celebrations being different relating to where you live, I just wanted to say that I agree and also feel that this is true for correspondences. I live on the East coast of America, so I always think of water in the East. (That said, I am not Wiccan and don't really call corners)

I really really enjoy the unpopular opinion videos, if you do more, I'm there!!! Learning a LOT from all your videos (and others videos, books, etc..) as a newbie 😊

Hoooo boy! the "harms way" one is a BIG deal for me at the moment. I'm working on learning how best to adapt some work so that I can be safe out alone at night - so difficult when my mind is so rigid about doing things "properly".

Great vid as ever Hearth, love these unpopular opinion ones ❤✌️

I'm totally confused about casting protective circles. On one hand there are the people who say you have to because everything out "there£ is out to get you, and other people who say there 's nothing out there to harm you and it's fearmongering from lingering Christian belief systems and is not part of their ancestor path anyway. Any views about this and why?

Really good informative video…my fav part? The end bit after the actual vid is done, 😂 love the outtakes, lol!

Unpopular opinion: Christian witches are a thing. Coming from a Gnostic Christian student of the fullness.

Good video, I just wanted to make a comment on the 2nd opinion. It's true that you shouldn't do magic just for the hell of it but it is beneficial to do various exercises, meditations, & visualizations to keep honing your ability to manifest into a potent tool. You can never get to good at the witches pyramid.

i start setting up my wheel of the year altar when it feels right to me like yesterday i just set up my yule one

I would love to see a video all on its own where you address & expand the whole belief that witches are devil worshippers. I have many conservative Christians in my life that I am not able to articulate the explanation that you just gave to them. I think they are open minded, but just believe what the church has told them. They also view the pentacle as satanic too. Any help you can give in an explanatory video would be greatly appreciated. As always, great video! Thanks!

Unpopular opinion: spellwork for others for pay is acceptable.

I seriously LOVE your end of episode bloopers!! Thank you for being a genuine, down-to-earth person 💜

I loveeeee these topics! ❤ what I discovered was connecting to ancestor work. Being biracial and fixated on connecting to my Celtic Nordic ancestors, so desperately that I wasn’t being open-minded to my Mexican side ancestors (indigenous/arbaic/ nothing African). Now in my practice, I utilize both of my ancestry, DNA blueprints of witchcraft and profession energy healings.

learning and even practicing aspects of another culture's witchcraft doesn't automatically make it cultural appropriation. if it isn't specifically a closed practice where one isn't invited, there shouldn't be any gatekeeping, and as long as one is respectful of an open culture's practices, there is no harm in doing so. and even if the practices you are curious about are closed to you in practice, you should still be able to learn about it from a cultural study perspective and i actually highly encourage this to further understand where people are coming from:)

As a solitary art witch who uses knitting and crochet as my practice in the southern hemisphere, I feel incredibly validated by this video

The interesting thing is that they are unpopular opinions when they really are common sense and should be popular and disseminated.

Thank you so much for the frequency issue (~8min)! I'm in my 50s, never really pursued the craft until recently, I have a full time job with commute, housework, shopping, arthritis - I wish I could throw myself into a practice but I'm so tired! I try to say hello to the magnificent oak tree every day tho. 🥰🥰🥰

The quarter days are also aligned with celestial events (the equinoxes and the solstices) and there's value in recognizing them, though that needn't be with a harvest or planting festival. In Florida, we had three (very clear, very obvious) seasons (not four) and, though I recognized them and worked with them, I never quite sorted out how to celebrate them. In Israel, we had two seasons (rainy, and not).

i think it´s interesting that the monotheistic god is usually shown as male, while the devil is also male.. so that means that there´s no offspring coming from those dual creators, it´s literally the end of the line! they might still have had great sex.. probably why our totems / creators (the horned ones) were almost always male and female, often siblings but, you take what you can get in those circumstances.. there are hermit gods too but c´mon (they´re wankers).

thank u for the deity topic, i started a little over a year ago and only recently opened myself to deities

Thank you. I readed a book of Kelly-Ann Maddox (Rebel Witch) that happens to be a really good guidline for people who want to build up a very individual and creative magical practice, but she states in it that you are not a real witch if you don‘t practice regulary because witchcraft is a craft and a craft is about practice, and that you will not feel well if you call yourself a witch altough you just do spells when you think it‘s really necessary. That got me very angry because I don‘t practice often, and I also got unsure for a short time if I maybe did understand witchcraft wrong.

I just started the video, also not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or just a rant but for the love of Lucifer do your own research! Noone wants to put the work in anymore. I see the most basic questions asked or people wanting step by step instructions for every thing they do. In the time it took them to ask what they can do with salt, pepper and a black candle in a Facebook group they could have taken 5 minutes and researched the properties of their own items and figured it out for themselves. Instead they post in a forum and wait for people to answer. It drives me absolutely insane.

Also, watching any witchy show, showed the witches doing spellwork for everything every two seconds. They didn't drink tea or have a conversation without magic. It makes it hard to feel witchy when you forget it's staged or you are mass-watching witchcraft.

tottally agree with everything you say ...thank you.

I really appreciate the nuance around Wicca.

My unpopular opinion is that the phase of the moon isn't all that when it comes to ritual or spellwork. For some people, it is very much necessary and certain phases are needful for when to plant, when to begin something, or end something. But, for me over the years, I've discovered that a bread knife works as an athame in a pinch and the phase of the moon matters less than the energy and motivation I put into a working. To the question of deities, my experience is it is better to be approached than to walk up and announce "You're my God/dess." It may work for some, but for me - I actually resisted the first Goddess who approached me when I was beginning because I was afraid I was being arrogant and just like every other beginner who thought The Morrighan was "cool" as a Goddess. Fortunately, I did listen to Her and She has been part of my life ever since. The other unpopular opinion I have is that your deities if that's how you work, will not necessarily all be from the same mythos. Many tell you that "you shouldn't mix pantheons." At the same time, I always have and so far there's not a problem. I personally think that sometimes a good place to start is with your ancestry. I am a combination of Irish, Scottish, English, German, and other northern European lines as well as a small percentage from sub-Saharan Africa. My deities echo those genetics and it works for me. Others will have different experiences and be drawn to deities for a variety of reasons. But, I think if you aren't sure, examining the deities your many times ancestors followed might be a good place to start.

Absolutely agree on adaptation, great video.

I enjoyed this video! I can’t always practice either. As you said some of us have many jobs and you do need energy to do it. Thank you for making it:)

Your outtakes are always so much fun. Thanks for the smile!

I think the opinions you mention were more unpopular back in the early 2000s, but thankfully not as much anymore.

Unpopular opinion: It is generally okay to use sigils you find online/didn’t create yourself. This one is probably one of the least popular witchcraft opinions that I personally hold, so let me explain. Firstly, sigil magic is highly experimental by nature. If you don’t try different things, you will never figure out what works for you. The best way I have found to find your own unique style is to use what other people have created and see what works. Personally, this is how I found my own style, and this is just my own UPG, but I’ve never had any problems in this regard. The second gripe I have with this mentality is in regards to motive. Why would someone create a sigil and put it on the internet just to curse anyone who happens to like it and tries to use it? What would they get out of that? It’s not like they’d ever get the gratification of knowing whether or not it actually worked, anyway, and baneful workings such as curses often carry the risk of exposing yourself to the same energies your using to lay the curse. Yes, every time I go outside, there’s a chance that some random person will walk up to me and punch me in the face for literally no reason, but this is obviously an irrational fear when you consider the likelihood and potential consequences of this theoretical occurrence. Third, even if a sigil was made with this specific intention, how potent could a curse of this kind actually be in practice? Like so many other forms of magic, intention is one of if not the most important means by which to power your spells. If someone made a sigil to make someone fall ill, and passed it off as a sigil to protect from illness, I would argue that the person using the sigil’s will being incongruent with the sigils original intent is far more likely to cause the spell to fail than anything else. Fourth, I feel there’s a bit of a double standard here. If it’s a bad idea to use sigils you didn’t personally create, than why do people do that exact thing all the time with the sigils found in grimoires? No one is ever worried that one of King Solomon’s seals are going to end up doing something completely different than it says on the package, or whether a spirit’s seal or a lwa’s veve is going to call the wrong entity, so why is this suddenly a problem if it comes from an expirienced, online practitioner instead of a medieval magician writing under the name of some renowned biblical figure? And finally, damage control. If this did end up happening, and you end up with a sigil that hurts you, what can you do about it? Well, stop using it, of course. Preform banishings, cleanse your space, ground, meditate… basic spiritual hygiene. Most of the time, you need to continue recharging and pouring intention into a sigil to reap its long term effects, so naturally, if you’re not continuing to recharge the sigil to keep hurting you, it’s effects will fade. Damn, this was long as hell! I might come back later to synthesize the key points into something a bit less daunting, but on the off chance that this does make it into a video, feel free to paraphrase or just straight up ignore certain points. To anyone who read all that, you have a lot of patience… here’s a cookie for your trouble! I probably didn’t bake any sinister intentions into it! ;3 🍪

i have a question i dont know anything about witchcraft except what i heard in history.. i was wondering....what is the difference betwen spirituality/ religion/ witchcraft. and im trying to learn on u tube/books about pendulums. i currently have 4 but im drawn to only 1.which im trying to bond with....is dowsing/ divination the same? and is it part of the witchcraft history? i dont currently "follow a religion" so i guess im trying to fig out what all this is about. thank you for all that u do...

I've been practicing witchcraft on and off for 20 years but it's been a huge part of my life only for the last 5 years or so and I've only done maybe 10-15 spells this whole time. You don't have to cast spells to be a witch. I think it's wasteful to do them unless you really need to. 🖤

Can you do a video about how to know if a deity is wanting or asking to work with you???

Putting your dreams or signs you see out there online for interpretation is asking for trouble. If you can't figure it out right away, ask someone you know and trust who believes at least in sign interpretation. Better yet, if you have a grandmother, Mom or your friends have one that will listen, ask them. Eventually you will have enough experience to interpret these things yourself but until you do, find a Wise Woman. Sometimes a father or grandfather is also experienced in interpretations too.

Unpopular opinion: when you have a specific deity in mind to work with then that's the pull and that's all the signs you need. just go ahead and work with them instead of inventing signs or asking 10 people what this or that sign might mean until you got the answer you were looking for! That wouldn't work anyways cuz no one can read your signs anyway. I gotta say Hearth is a witch with an angels patients for explaining the most obvious things!

You covered all mine, great video as always, Hearth! Thank you!

Unpopular opinion: you are not born witch but you become witch and everyone can become a witch but some people have more potential due to the environment they grew in and etc. having witch ancestors can give you a little push maybe but you wont become a witch as long as you as yourself start the craft

Unpopular opinion: I think that being a witch is by blood therefore I don't claim to be a witch. When working magically I feel waiting for life to show me spontaneously in my humility is the purpose of training myself and magical practise. Like starting a new routine.

I have a question about determining if/whether someone has cursed or put a hex on you and, this is based on an experience I had as a teenager, maybe 31-32 years ago. I'll try to make this quick and my story is as follows. I am currently 45 years old. When I was 13-14 years old, I went camping with my then-stepbrother, his wife, a friend of theirs and a new woman that he just started seeing and introduced to us for the first time. They were all in their 20's at the time, so 10+ years older than me. When I was younger, I tended to hang out with people older than me. I liked to hang out with my stepbrother/sister and their friends when they partied and they would let me drink and occasionally smoke weed with them. On this camping trip, as it got dark, we settled around a big fire and were having drinks. My stepbrothers friend, let's call him Zack, liked to brew his own moonshine and we were drinking that mixed with coke, the soda not the drug. I was enjoying my second drink when Zack's new girlfriend, let's call her Jane, who was sitting next to me, reached over to hand me something. It was dark and I couldn't see what it was, until she placed several small, smooth stones in my hand, maybe 5-7 stones total. I could not really SEE the stones, but noticed how smooth they were. Zack, sitting on the other side of Jane, immediately snapped at her to NOT let me hold those and to take them back, so I handed them back to her and she put them in some sort of little bag, which looked like maybe made out of felt. As I finished my second drink, Jane asked me if I wanted another drink. I already had a solid buzz, but decided another drink sounded good, so I said "sure, thanks!" and handed her my cup. I watched her pour the moonshine into the cup, followed by the Coke. Then I notice her pull something out of her pocket and glance back in my direction real quick, to see if I was looking. I had my head turned straight ahead, to look like I wasn't paying attention, but I watched her open what looked like a small vial and pour something into my drink. She puts the vial back into her pocket and then hands me the drink. Honestly, I remember thinking that was pretty strange at the time, but I guess I just assumed that it was nothing harmful, I mean she SEEMED nice. In hindsight, I should have just gradually dumped it out and pretended to be drinking it, but hey I was a kid hanging out with the cool older crowd, right? So, I drink the drink. From that point, I go from being buzzed, to tripping balls lol. Things were kind of swirling around, I was also hallucinating a bit and thinking I was seeing/hearing all kinds of stuff. I go into my tent and just lay there taking in the sounds and visuals, until I eventually fell asleep. The next morning we were all a bit hungover and we packed up and went home. I never did find out exactly what those stones were about, why Zack was so mad at her for letting me hold them, or what it was that she poured into my drink. I don't believe they were together for very long. Anyway, this experience has stuck with me ever since, because of how peculiar it was. I don't recall if any significant events occurred to me in the following days, weeks or months to suggest that she may have possibly cursed me or something. I will say though, that my life, since then, has been filled with a lot of "bad luck", if you want to call it that. Lots of struggle, lots of heartbreak, many failed relationships, numerous failed jobs and opportunities. Not many things have really worked out for me and, I've been dealing with some pretty bad depression and general anxiety issues for the last 12 years or so that has really made it difficult to work the way I'm used to. It seems like everything that I've ever done has been a struggle, though I will say there have been a few occasions where luck really did seem to be on my side and I was able to dodge potentially dire consequences. The logical part of me believes that any "bad luck" or misfortune in my life was just my own fault, poor decisions, not seizing opportunities, laziness, procrastination, whatever, basically it was my own doing. There is still a part of me though, that remembers that camping trip and wonders if maybe Jane really did use some kind of witchcraft on me and put a hex on me. I didn't even know her, so not sure why anyone would want to do that to a random kid. I've made some attempts at researching curses and hexes, but I haven't been able to find anything that talks about handling stones as a way to curse someone. What was that she put in my drink, was that part of the same cursing process? It's all pretty weird. Does anyone here have anything that could shed light on what she may have been doing and whether I could possibly still be experiencing the effects from that, even after 30+ years? Thanks in advance, for reading my story and any enlightenment you might be able to offer me.

Unpopular opinion: Witchcraft IS a craft. And always has been. Which means, while you have a ton of freedom with the details, there's still a craft to learn. Which means people telling about craft aspects aren't gatekeeping. And in my experience, it's a lifelong journey. I'm 60 yrs old. Everyone is still my teacher and I NEVER shun their knowledge or experience. Don't shun knowledge simply because it doesn't currently resonate, or sound like what you currently prefer.

Another great informative listen. Thanks !!! I love your outtake’s. 😂

A unpopular opinion is that everyone can choose their own path, without any ones input. No gatekeepers! Love the videos BTW.

This one gets me. I don't know if you've ever done it, since this is the first time you've posted(edit, that i've seen). A few weeks ago though, I got really sick. I had one of my friends ask me if I was going to do a spell to get better. I said no, sometimes the body just needs to rest - all that will help is to sleep it off and drink some ginger tea. While magic is incredible, it is supposed to work with nature. Allowing the body to do its own magic is incredibly healing. For me, I slept for essentially 18 hours that day and was multitudes better the following day. Allowing ones natural magic is a powerful thing, as well.

Unpopular opinion: witches think that can practice witchcraft without studying books of Paracelsus, Jung, Agrippa etc.

Really enjoyed the second ‘hearth’ of this video ❤

Unpopular opinion Signs wont always be super OMG this is your sign sometines the signs can be super subtle. For example a few months back i was watching charmed (its honestly my comrort tv show) and i was watching the episode where phoebe speaks to her future self when she loses faith in her premonitions and when her future selt said to her that she woulr still have the child she had forseen her having and in this moment i felt like my spirit team/ Hecate spoke to me in that moment because a few years ago id been foretold to have a future with my soul mate that i believed id messed it up and never got to meet him. Another example of signs not always being super obvious is when im doing tarot readings for myself il sometimes notice a angel number among the cards ie get 3 3 cards in one reading Also yes I only do spells when I absolutely need to. Heck most of my magickal practice these days is more focussed on manifestation instead of spell/ ritual work

About the suthern hemisfere. I am brasilian. The Sakurai trees here flower in the fall, pimpkin seazon is in spring. We get no snow here. I refuse to pay extra, to have out of seazon pumpkin on samahin.

My unpopular opinion is, it's okay not to be a witch. I'm no longer call myself a witch. I don't do any spell anymore, but sometimes I do some energy works. Magick can be overwhelming and unpredictable, we may think we can control it somehow but the more we do it the more we create the ripples and suddenly we're in a complete mess. I don't do witchcraft anymore since my deity came to me and now when I need something I'll just pray.

"Evil begins when people are treated as things". Granny Weatherwax.

Cool outfit. (I don’t believe in the devil. They made him up, to control people).

I was so surprised when you turned around and adjusted the shelf from your seat. The perspective makes the room look much larger. Or maybe you just have extraordinarily long arms, ha!

Is what Sandra Bullock in practical magic right when her character says "there is no devil in the craft?"