Essential Witchery

Essential Witchery is a website for demystifying magic, empowering witches (or anyone with an interest) with easy to understand information and helping you to connect with your spiritual roots.

If you're new to the craft and feeling lost, don't panic. There is so much information out there it gets confusing and it needn't be. I hope to help share the knowledge necessary to make magic a part of your daily life. Whether you're seeking to connect with the universe or simply seeking a new sense of self.

I was born into a spiritual family and helping others find their path and discover their connection is important to me. I believe that everyone has the ability to live a more fulfilling and enchanted life by reconnecting with nature and in turn, yourself.

Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or just starting out, I hope you'll find something here that resonates with you and inspires you to deepen your own spiritual journey.

My Journey

I don’t know where my journey as a witch actually began, it’s always been there, life has never been ‘normal’. My mum was a podium medium, a tarot card reader and helped run the local Spiritualist church. The people that used to visit our house were...I’ll use the word eclectic. That certainly is one word for them. But life was rarely dull and never normal.

I’ve always been an oddball, weird, a loner, and that’s fine. I was the child making potions to make people well - they wouldn’t, they’d have killed you with one sip as they were normally made from shampoo, ‘Old Spice’, dandelions from the garden and topped with shaving cream. But the intention was always there. I used to take in stray animals, or those I considered stray, they rarely stayed more than a few nights and likely returned to their actual owners with a fuller tummy. My father taught me how to fix a bird’s wing but also tried to teach me to skin a rabbit, that certainly didn’t catch on.

I was a lonely child who found companionship in books, and solace in magic. Be that talking to the friends that only I could see or writing spells in books that would sit under my bed in a box with shells and feathers, and as a teenager in the 90’s I fully embraced my weird. I was anyway so why hide it. I dressed in black and spent my Saturdays in a local spiritual shop called Yin Yangs, hidden away down a back street and reeking, as all good shops should, of incense (at least I thought it was back then, now I’m not so sure!).
From being very small I’d always had a group of ‘friends’ that only I could see and hear. I can’t say it was encouraged, but my mum made sure I didn’t think I was mad. I know at least one of those now to be my Spirit guides, a Native American Medicine Woman who has presented to me in several ways throughout my life.

I am married to a wonderful man who also follows this path, and we have two grown up sons, who very much do not follow this path! But that's fine too, maybe they will reconnect at a later part in the journey.

Here we celebrate individuality and uniqueness in our individual journeys and paths. Labels don’t matter much, but if I had to choose, I’d say I am an eclectic hedgewitch. I don't follow a Wiccan path, I don't work with deities, and I lean towards Paganism.

I believe that the practice of witchcraft and magic is personal and unique to each individual.

Witching with a
Chronic Illness

I don’t think of myself as disabled; I forget the fact if I’m entirely honest. Until I need to do something, for example, I have a small cauldron fire that is progressively becoming a VERY LARGE cauldron fire and I didn’t remember to have water, sand, etc to hand. As the fact is I can’t run into the other room to seek extinguishing equipment!

I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis in 2006. I was twenty-six and had two very young children. I quickly went from an active young person to someone who was effectively bed ridden within a couple of months. All was not lost though, as I received a diagnosis and good medical help and treatment which has made my illness very much liveable. I need to have regular physical therapy and am on some strong medications, but my condition is now stable.

However, I have used a wheelchair for a long time now. I can get around the house a little with walking aids, not always that safely and certainly going nowhere fast, but I give it a go. My illness massively depletes my energy levels and gives me, at times, crippling fatigue. My car is fitted with hand controls, and I have several adaptations to our home which makes life much easier for me, and I have the most wonderful understanding husband anyone could ask for, and I am grateful for him and the other help I have beyond words.

But please don’t mistake my explanation for a pity post, it’s far from it! It’s me telling you that if you have a chronic illness, a disability, something that makes you feel alone or like parts of your life are spiralling out of control in some way, and are finding things tough, you’re not alone. Having a healthy mind space is to question, to rage - if need be, to have periods of introspection and shadow work, to not attempt any kind of toxic positivity and the ultimate in mental wellbeing in my opinion is to reach a level of acceptance. "This is what I've got, this is how I'll deal with it."

It can be hard watching people live a spiritual life, visiting temples and deep sanctuaries and wells hidden beneath the ground that you know despite all your best efforts you won’t be able to visit, having long rambling walks along the beach finding sea treasure, or doing challenging yoga positions that for you are just impossible. Reading that the best way to ground your energies or connect with nature is to stand barefoot on the ground, lie in the dirt flat on your back and meditate, go for a 'long walk in nature' or climb a tree and hang upside down like the Hanging Man. When you are living with a condition that makes you feel isolated, being physically unable perform what should be basic functions, such as walking on your own in nature, feels brutal.

However, the worst for me is the best meaning of people telling you that you have this illness/chronic pain because there is a spiritual blockage somewhere within your life, and if you cleared that block then somehow you will miraculously run a marathon/be free of pain/recover. I’ve got to admit that they’re the ones I really want to throw a heavy crystal at.

What has helped me regain control over my disease is a form of chemotherapy to suppress my immune system and stop it attacking my central nervous system, I have been told by certain holistic practitioners that I need to stop taking this medication and try living a natural life which will cure me. I ask them to metaphorically walk in my shoes (what an ableist metaphor that is!) I wonder if they would gamble with their lives then? Anyway, my point to that is that I also struggle to attend group-based activities because of catching germys, so that can also be a bummer, but there is always something online which I can substitute for good old human contact!

It can be hard and often difficult to lead this life while living with a disability or chronic illness, but I do find with a little preparation there can be a way to incorporate most things into your life, disability or not. Some ways I manage:

Meditation is my finest form of therapy, reiki helps, crystals also help. I’ve tried reflexology and it’s very relaxing, but I don’t find it has any impact on my condition, again the same with acupuncture.

Chair yoga and seated tai-chi are excellent and can be done at home easily, although even here in rural Lincolnshire they do chair yoga classes, but there are several on YouTube to try in your own front room.

I have a little mobility scooter that fits into the boot of the car, it certainly won't go off road but can do many accessible woodland trails.

Coping with fatigue can be tough, especially if trying to balance work and family life, but rest and acceptance are key. It doesn't matter that it's a full/new moon, or a sabbat, if you're tired then the wheel won't stop turning because you haven't had the strength/energy/will perform a ritual. If you can simply light a candle and take a minute for yourself then that's plenty. Anything more is to be celebrated, anything less doesn't matter at all. Energy matters more than timing, if you're having a good day, you can perform any spell you choose, this is witching your way, and if that means adapting it, so be it!

If I’m feeling out of sorts and can’t get out in nature, I have a whole house jungle full of easy-care houseplants like Sansevierias, I have some more tricky plants too, but I know them well enough to balance their needs. I ground by cleaning their leaves, taking away any that need removing, or re-potting those that need it if my energy levels allow.

Growing herbs in small pots or window boxes can be simple to do and easier than trying to get into the garden, providing you have a sunny enough window and give them adequate water and drainage.

Beeswax candles are a lovely low energy level craft you may be able to try. The sheets are reasonably priced and are available to buy in kits with the wicks, they are easy to roll and far safer and less messy than making candles by heating wax. Infusing your intention into a candle and being able to burn it is one of the most beautiful magical activities.

Keeping a calm and clear mind, living in the moment and realising that stages pass really does help. If I’m having a bad day when everything hurts, I’m tired, I’ve had a fall or I’m feeling really pessimistic I hang on to the fact that tomorrow will be a better day. I mean it might not always be a better day, but some days it would have to do some heavy lifting to be worse so that’s got to be a bonus...

Also, what helps me to get through is I like to believe that before I incarnated down here this was all pre-decided for me, by me! This is my karma, or my learning curve, or whatever its reason. I feel it’s all part of my spirit having a human existence, my growth. I also feel it’s made me a better person; I have more empathy; it’s slowed me down and it certainly helps me to celebrate the good days!