What’s your witchy talent?
From divination to kitchen witchery and candle making, the word witchcraft encompasses many skill sets, crafts and subjects.
And though knowing a little bit of everything certainly makes for a well-rounded witch, eventually, you want to learn at least one or two skills in depth.
But where do you begin? With so many disciplines to choose from, the options feel overwhelming.
My advice? Work with your natural inclinations, and go from there. Nothing says you can’t specialize in one or more of the following subjects, but it’s best to focus on the one you’re best at first.
Let’s talk about some of the most common practices in modern witchcraft, and how to identify your potential.
Herbalism Empress
Herbal knowledge builds the foundation of many occult practices.
Most magical practitioners incorporate some light herbalism into their magical habits.
But specializing in herbalism itself takes special devotion.
From learning the metaphysical properties of hundreds of plants to studying horticulture and natural living, devoting yourself to the path of a green witch means learning, quite literally, from the ground up.
Is herbalism your natural specialty?
Is herbalism your witchy talent? It might be, if:
-You spend a lot of time in nature.
-Hiking, camping and outdoor yoga are your jam.
-Gardening is among your favorite past times. You love to cultivate unique or exotic plants, and people often call you a “green thumb.”
-Natural remedies interest you.
-Your apothecary collection is beginning to take over at least one shelf in your home.
-You ditched the synthetic cleaning chemicals and bath products a while ago and like to make most of your own from essential oils.
Herbalism Empress: Resources & Articles
10 Tips for Beginning an Herbalism Practice
17 Books for the Beginning Herbalist
How to Balance Your Mood with Essential Oils
Holistic Healer
Warning: Stay in your lane. When it comes to healing, know that the unlicensed practice of medicine, including clinical therapy, is and should be illegal. Always check with your local jurisdiction to find out what regulations apply to you.
Healing the spirit and mind from trauma, emotional turmoil and the plain old everyday wear-and-tear of the soul requires a balanced, well-rounded approach.
Your community offers many opportunities to contribute to the healing of others, including apprenticing to be birth or death doula, volunteering with patient services for the American Cancer society, or, my personal favorite, volunteering to cuddle babies in the NICU.
Also bear in mind that witchcraft-based clergy is rare. Consider getting ordained as a minister and offering your services to hospitals for patients who share your faith.
Is holistic healing your witch talent? Consider whether:
-You are an empath.
-The experience of serving people in pain is rewarding to you.
-Meditation, yoga and natural eating habits make up the foundation of your approach to personal wellness.
-You frequently use spiritual cleansing techniques to remove blockages and liberate yourself from negativity.
-You believe strongly in the mind-body connection, and know intuitively that what you think effects how you feel.
Holistic Healer Resources & Articles
–A Beginner’s Guide to Holistic Healing
–Death Doulas: Riding the Veil Between Worlds
–Assuming the Role of High Priestess in Your Coven
Divination Diva
Divination, or the art of seeking knowledge through an oracle medium, ranges from using tarot cards to reading tea leaves.
Learning any one system usually takes years of careful study and practice.
But those with a knack for it deepen their skills much more quickly.
Is divination your witchy talent? Consider whether:
-You tend to experience premonitions, or a “sixth sense” awareness of things that happened but you were not present for.
-You enjoy fine art, and contemplate paintings and sculptures that speak to you for long periods of time.
-Dream interpretation comes naturally to you.
Divination Diva: Resources & Articles
Think you might have a gift for divination? Check out these resources:
Learn Tarot: A Free Online Course
Moody Moons Tarot Spreads & Divination Archives
Paranormal Princess
The thrill of ghost hunting appeals to seekers from every spiritual stripe.
But assisting homeowners and the haunted with ridding their home of unwanted entities takes a special sort.
Is paranormal investigation your witchy talent? Consider whether:
-You work well with people from other belief systems—including Christianity and atheism– in a spiritual context.
-Throughout your life, you’ve had intermittent encounters with what you recognized as paranormal activity.
-You’re diligent about ruling out more mundane causes of supposed haunting, like carbon monoxide poisoning, and balance open-mindedness with skepticism.
-You’re comfortable with or very interested in learning techniques to dispel negative energies.
-Spirit boards, pendulums and communicating with ghosts doesn’t scare you or intimidate you, even though you maintain a healthy respect for them.
Paranormal Princess: Resources & Articles
–The Witch’s Guide to Ghost Hunting and Paranormal Investigations
–Meetup.com Ghost Hunting Groups
–How to Conduct a Paranormal Investigation
Kitchen Goddess
Although skilled cooks certainly have an advantage in the arena of kitchen witchery, kitchen-based witchcraft is about more than just knowing what flavors complement each other.
Intuitive kitchen witches know how to work with both the flavors and the energetic properties of cooking ingredients to weave positivity, correct energetic imbalances and heal domestic strife.
Put your talent to proper use, especially if:
-People often refer to you as a “peace maker” or tend to come to you when struggling with conflict.
-You prefer coming up with your own recipes. Even when you follow someone else’s recipes, you almost always make adjustments and substitutions to suit your purposes.
-You tend to emphasize food in ritual. For example, you like to come up with creative versions of the cakes in cakes-and-ale rituals.
-The sourcing of ingredients is very important to you. You live at the local farmer’s market, and occasionally even order exotic ingredients from overseas to experiment with.
Kitchen Goddess: Resources & Articles
Beginning Kitchen Witch: An Introduction
Kitchen Recipes for Every Sabbat
Kitchen Scraps: The Spell Ingredients You’re Throwing Away
I guess for someone who just started digging into witchery this is still confusing and even frustrating when one doesn’t know from where to start. I am learning a lot from you and yet lost. I really appreciate your posts and get excited each time I get the chance to learn a new thing or even a new word. I can not consider any of these skills to be my strong one (in case I do have ) since I have inclination for 2 or 3 and none of them deep as it should be. Thanks again for your blog, I will keep reading you and enjoining your publications. (If you have any recommendation of blogs for spanish speakers please let me know).
This was so interesting and it was good to have a think about my own talents as I’ve never thought about it before. I was quite surprised to realise that I’m a Divination Diva, lol. Cartomancy is my speciality; I’ve read playing cards for decades, and I have that sixth sense and interpret dreams too. Thankyou for the opportunity to understand that. 🙂
Thanks for your sharing your insights, Eileen!
thank you for sharing!! i love educating myself futher on these topics! 🙂