Why “Mainstream Spirituality” Was Killing My Magick — And How Witchcraft Brought Me Back to Life

How Witchcraft Fixed What Therapy Couldn’t: Why I’m Over “Mainstream Spirituality” And You Might Be Too

Last Tuesday, I ugly-cried into a chipped mug of chamomile because my “mindful morning routine” felt like a performance review with the universe.

Gratitude journal? Blank.

Breathwork? Felt like I was suffocating on vibes.

The yoga app said “open your heart,” and my chest said “respectfully, no.”

So I did the only logical, entirely unhinged thing: I shut the lights, lit three stubby candles that smelled like “Forest Boyfriend,” and whispered a half-made spell to the kitchen sink.

And something shifted.

Not fireworks.

Not TikTok witchcore theatrics.

Just a clear, witchy click in my bones that said: oh, right—this is the path.

Here’s the hot take: if mainstream spirituality feels like a performance, witchcraft feels like permission.

And I’m done pretending they’re the same thing.

What Even Is “Witch” In 2025? Spoiler: It’s Not About TV FX

• No, you can’t flick hex glitter out of your fingers like a Marvel character. Witchcraft isn’t special effects. It’s practice, ethics, and intimacy with reality.

• Witch, Wiccan, Pagan—people use them interchangeably, but they’re not identical.

  Quick definitions

  • Pagan: umbrella term for nature- or polytheism-leaning paths

  • Witch: practices magick and spellwork

  • Wicca: modern nature-based religion with its own ethics and rites

• Also, shocker: Wiccans don’t believe in Satan. That’s a Christian cosmology plotline, not ours. Our pentagrams are upright because balance and respect, not edgy rebellion.

Why “Mainstream Spirituality” Can Gatekeep Your Power

Here’s my thesis, bestie: mainstream spirituality wants you to outsource your knowing.

Witchcraft teaches you to own it.

When wellness trends say “trust the guru,” witchcraft asks “what does your gut say at 2 a.m. under the moon?”

When hustle culture says “manifest it with a 10-step routine,” witchcraft whispers “align your will and act like you mean it.”

Witches take radical self-responsibility.

We don’t blame Mercury retrograde for texting our ex.

We know magick works when we work—intent plus action plus alignment.

And yes, sometimes it works sideways.

The Goddess has a mischievous streak.

You ask for courage, she sends a situation where you need it.

Ask for abundance, and suddenly your budget spreadsheet becomes your favorite spell tool.

Cute, right?

Annoying, also yes.

Quick Stats And Easy Truths

• About half of modern pagans and witches are solitary practitioners. Translation: you are not broken if coven life isn’t it. Solitary practice is legit, powerful, and honestly drama-free for many of us.

• The core ethic a lot of witches hold is the Wiccan Rede: “An it harm none, do as thou wilt.” It’s not about following a rulebook. It’s about cultivating wisdom and responsibility so your will doesn’t stomp on someone else’s sovereignty.

• Witchcraft is nature-based. Not nature-aesthetic. Think earth cycles, seasons, elements, reciprocity, and living in rhythm with actual ecosystems, not just houseplants and a sunrise lamp.

Witchcraft For Wellness, Not Aesthetic: The Practical Bits

If you’re here for “how do I start witchcraft for mental health, energy, protection, and not losing my mind in capitalism,” pull up a chair.

The Elements As A Nervous System Tool

• Fire: channel it for motivation and courage. Candle magic to focus. Burnout check-in to prevent “oops all wands.”

• Water: baths, tears, intuition journaling. Feelings aren’t the enemy. They’re data.

• Earth: food, sleep, money, boundaries. Pentacles energy says “stability is sexy.”

• Air: thought hygiene. Words are spells. Cut the doom scroll. Write your intent like you mean it.

Micro-Rituals That Actually Fit Your Life

• Two-minute candle focus before a meeting. State your intent out loud. Small acts, consistent signal.

• Protection sweep at the door with salt water or sound. Not paranoid. Just energetic housekeeping.

• Moon check-ins: new moon for planting seeds, full moon for release. Yes it’s cliché. Yes, biorhythms love it.

Solitary Witch ≠ Lonely Witch

You can be solitary and wildly connected.

Think one-on-one mentorship, small circles, or even seasonal meetups.

But if a coven feels like high school lunchroom politics? You’re allowed to leave.

Your path is still your path, with or without matching robes.

The Spicy Middle: Skepticism Isn’t Anti-Magick

I’ll say the quiet part loud: you don’t have to believe every New Age claim to be a real witch.

In fact, you probably shouldn’t.

Critical thinking is a sacred tool.

You are allowed to say “no thanks” to spoon bending and celebrity “talking to the dead,” while still lighting a candle and speaking your will into the universe.

My take? Magick is the hidden architecture of nature we haven’t fully mapped yet.

Not an escape hatch from cause-and-effect, but a deeper way of playing with it.

We observe, we participate, and reality responds in complex, sometimes poetic ways.

Science keeps catching up to mystery, and mystery yawns wider.

Delicious.

Ethics: The Non-Negotiable

Let’s be grown-ups.

Power without ethics is just chaos cosplay.

Many witches work with the Rede and a “what you send returns amplified” mindset.

Clean Will, Clean Spell

Whether you frame it as the Rule of Three or just basic consequence literacy, the point stands: don’t weaponize your will.

Your spell is only as clean as your motive.

Nature Religion, Real Life

We honor the earth because it’s not a metaphor.

It’s home.

Practicing Beyond Aesthetic

Your “eco-ritual” isn’t just a mood board.

It’s composting.

It’s donating to land defenders.

It’s resting during winter because bodies are seasonal, not machines.

It’s loving the Goddess by loving the watershed you live in.

Common Questions Modern Witches Google At 1 A.M.

• Can I be a witch without a coven? Yes. Half of us are. Start where you are, with what you have.

• Do I need a deity? Not necessarily. Some witches are devotional. Some are agnostic. Some commune with “That Which Runs The Universe.” Consent-based spirituality always.

• Is witchcraft compatible with [insert religion]? Depends on the religion’s boundaries and your conscience. But be honest with yourself about the texts, the ethics, and the lived reality. Don’t force a fit to appease the family group chat.

Witchcraft vs. Wellness Culture

Wellness culture often treats you like a project.

Witchcraft treats you like a participant.

Wellness asks you to optimize.

Witchcraft invites you to relate—to land, to time, to self, to unseen currents.

If your nervous system is fried, optimizing it like a tech sprint won’t help.

Sitting with a candle, breathing in smoke, listening for the tiny yes under the static? That helps.

Walking in rain.

Touching bark.

Naming your desire and your fear in the same breath.

That helps.

What I Wish I Knew Sooner

• The tools aren’t the magick. The words aren’t the magick. You are. Tools and words are bridges, not the destination.

• You won’t feel powerful every night. Sometimes witchcraft is washing the dishes with intention and going to bed early.

• If it doesn’t align with your will and your ethics, it’s not a spell. It’s a tantrum.

Lesson Learned, And A Slightly Rude Opinion

If your spirituality is about performance, it will collapse the first time life gets feral.

If your witchcraft is about relationship—inner, outer, earthly, otherworldly—it will hold when nothing else does.

So here’s my mildly controversial sign-off: ditch the guru-flavored wellness blueprint.

Trust your will.

Align with the cycles.

Study, practice, think for yourself, and let your magick be both humble and wild.

The rest? Aesthetic.

Pretty, but optional.