STOP Following All the Rules!

Yes, you read that right. STOP FOLLOWING ALL THE DAMN RULES.

You may be wondering what I mean by "rules" and why the hell I would tell you to stop following them. Well, when we talk about witchcraft--and often magickal practices in general--the community loves to say "there are no rules in witchcraft!" Is this true? Yes. And no. Well, it really depends.

When I talk about rules, they typically fall into one or more of the three following categories:

1. Rules that dictate how to perform magick, magickal practices, and techniques

2. Rules to follow for your own safety

3. Rules that dictate the ethics of your practice

If you follow a particular path or tradition, then you likely do have a set of "rules" that you abide by that dictate at least one, if not all, of the above. Wicca, for instance, is a good example of this. But in general and eclectic practices, there are no laws or governing rule books. A general practitioner must follow their own moral compass. In regards to this particular article, the rules I am talking about fall into categories 1 and 2.

Magick is not an exact science. There is no one single way to get things done in regards to techniques for performing effective magick and practices for personal safety.

Getting around to my ultimate point, if you read five different books on astral projection, for example, you will receive five different sets of instructions on how to astral project as well as five different guides on how to keep yourself safe while doing so. Not a single one is the absolute only correct way to do it. They will likely all be effective in varying degrees, depending on the person following the set of instructions. What method works for one person, may not work for another and vice versa. And if you try to follow all five sets of instructions mashed into one homemade Frankenstein's monster of a system, you're probably going to be overwhelmed and not very successful in your astral projection endeavors.

Additionally, here is another example of why having too many rules can be problematic:

Let's say you decide you wish to summon a spirit. (For the sake of this example, interpret "spirit" however you like--land spirit, ancestor, entity in your home, daemon, it doesn't matter.) You read a book on the subject and it instructs you to cast a circle prior to the summoning for protection. Pretty basic, right? Well then you remember reading in a grimoire a while back that you should also cast a triangle and summon the spirit into the triangle so it's not just free floating in your home. Okay, still not too bad. You do a Google search just to be sure all your research bases are covered, and you come across a Reddit post that insists that you must provide an offering of food and wine or the spirit may not show up or they may show up and be offended. But in the comments of that post, someone claims that wine might actually offend some spirits! Water is the only way to go. But someone else replies to them and says that water is hella basic and that will offend the spirit because they can get water themselves any old place and that it must absolutely be brown liquor and food is fine but a cigar is better. Then in another Google search you can't find any consistency in what kind of incense you're supposed to burn and whether it's for cleansing your space, protection, trance, an offering, or a spell component for the summoning or if you're supposed to burn a different incense for each. Then you see something about covering mirrors before performing a summoning and OF COURSE the myriad of ways it is suggested (and stressed with the utmost urgency) that you dismiss the spirit at the end of the summoning in a manner that doesn't offend them while also being stern enough that they do not remain lingering in your home.

*pauses to catch breath*

Do you see what I'm complaining about here? Not only is all of this extreme overkill, but some rules contradict others and some of them come from the practices of specific traditions or even cultural superstitions that you may not even follow or believe in! Plus, sometimes the rules are just another form of fear mongering.

Okay, so you're given all this advice and all of these rules. Instead of following each and every one, what do you do instead?

• If you are following a specific path, tradition, or religion, you likely already know the rules within that tradition and you can just stick to those.

• If you are using a particular spellbook or grimoire, perhaps try following the rules within that text for the duration of time when you are exercising the practices you use within it.

• Use your own discernment to find what works for you. Do your research, yes, but don't drown in it. Take precautions for safety, but don't fall prey to paranoia. Use common sense, be polite and respectful, and follow your instincts and you will be fine even if you don't do things the "right" way. (You can also feel free to experiment in order to find what works for you. Some things will be more effective for one practitioner than another and what works for you may change over time. Trust me, you're not going to accidentally triggered the apocalypse or a generational curse along the way.)

A further note on fear mongering: Yes, there are people who will claim that if you don't do something (summon spirits, perform a spell, divine, collect graveyard dirt, etc.) exactly as they do then your spell will "backfire", you'll attract negative energy or piss off a deity who will curse you, a spirit will haunt your home or possess you, you must do a thorough divination reading before EVERY spell to make sure it doesn't harm anyone or blah blah blah. This is fear mongering, which is unfortunately rampant in this community (which is why I made a video about it here). But if you approach everything with respect and your best intentions, then 99.9999% of the time, everything is going to be fine.

At the end of the day, no one "rule" is completely right or completely wrong. Everything is right for some people and wrong for others.

If you want to get involved in discussing this topic with my YouTube community in the comments, you can find the video here.