Some of the Basic's Part One - Meditation - Witch

I have noticed there is a need for some basic witchy guidance. 

I will list a few basic witchy books in another blog for new witches, but I have decided to put together a small starter list here as well, some witches are still in the broom closet and cannot buy some of the books I will list. That is where I come in. 

The first thing I have to recommend is what to do first. Every witch has their own ritual or "to-do" list to start before they begin their spell. Witchcraft is a very personal practice so the thing to remember is, make everything you do, personal, bring in your own thoughts, own comfort, own ideas into everything I recommend. This blog is my own personal practice, you are welcome to do everything step by step, however, I recommend making it your own. In the beginning this may seem hard, or overwhelming, do not over think it. You will soon get a hunch to use Rosemary instead of Lavender, do it. Just because I use Lavender, does not mean that it is the only herb you can use. Every herb has many properties, not everyone uses the same thing for the same spells.

The first thing you should do before doing any spellwork or energy work is to center and ground yourself. This simply means planting your emotions/energy stable with the ground/earth. I do this by meditation, the book "Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn" is my go to book for beginner meditation. He gives many meditation techniques and explains it in a way that beginner's can comprehend it. 

I first, gather all my herbs, crystals, and any other tool I will be using into a pile/circle in front of me. I start off my grounding by standing, I'm not sure why but this has always been my best way to center and ground myself. I place my hands over my tools and close my eyes. I visualize myself reaching my "energy roots" into the ground, visualizing roots reaching from my feet into the ground, to the center of the earth. Bright white tendrils then come from the center of the earth reaching through me to my heart. My heart is where all my emotions/energy comes from. (Every witch feels their magick in a different way, just because you do not feel an orb of warmth in the center of your heart, does not mean you are not doing it correctly.) I feel a warm bright orb of light gathering around my heart, an overwhelming feeling of warmth and happiness begins to overflow from my heart. When this orb begins to give my fingertips tingles, this is when I know I have centered and grounded myself. I will open my eyes slowly and look at my tools. I will then begin with the rest of my spell work. 

I recommend new witches mastering their center and grounding before doing any spellwork. You will be so excited to begin doing spells and magick, but you have your entire life to do magick, it's important to remember you need to protect yourself. Centering and grounding is how you protect your energy and emotions. Mastering this first, will ensure you're set up for success before you begin your spellwork. 
Keeping a meditation book can also benefit you while you master your meditation. In this you'll write down the date, your emotions at that time, the time, and the environment around you. After your meditation, you'll write down the same items, however, they may be different this time, you may feel more relaxed than you did before. This allows you to go back and visualize what benefits you in meditation. I am by no means a master at meditation, I am learning everyday, if my technique does not work for you, please google meditation techniques. There are tons of examples out there, no one will do the same for everyone. 
Disclaimer for the below: I am in no means recommending beginners to go against their parents rules, however, if your parent's do not support your life choices, I have a recommendation. If you are worried/scared about keeping anything journal related, worried someone may find it and scold you for it, or read it and you then, get into trouble, think about setting up a different email account. I personally use google, you can create one that only you know, log into and log out of when you are not using it. In google they have google docs, here you can keep an online journal of your notes and thoughts throughout your learning experience. I know this isn't ideal and I am sorry some of you may have to resort to this, but, I will support those who do not have their own support system. Just remember to log out once you're done. 

This is all I have for the first step you should master before beginning spellwork.
If you have questions, please feel free to let me know, I am by no means I professional writer and the way I word things may not make sense to you, I can try to put things into a different word phrase and try to help if I can.