Solo witch solitary magic is a guide to 6 areas that will help you fly high in every day life.
I wrote this guide for all you highly sensitive empaths + introverts.
You who are drawn to the mystical, but don’t let your faery flag fly too high!
It’s a reminder of exactly how + why to look after your highly sensitive superpowers, rather than disown them.
Do you:
• Like crystals, tarot cards + personal development books?
• Marvel the natural world + have a love of animals?
• Imagine or sense magical happenings, invisible to the human eye?
• Feel attracted to stories of wise women in fantasy, fairytale + myth?
• Have an inkling of the history of witches, or witchcraft stories from the past?
If so, you’ve found this page for a reason!
Are you a solitary witch?
Whether you live in a city, town, village or tent, a solo / solitary witch is simply a woman who prefers to do her sacred work alone.
Sacred work is self-care, cleansing, inner healing, reflection + manifestation, i.e. bringing ideas into the material realm + materialising your dreams from seed to bloom.
A real witch understands that EVERYTHING IS ENERGY.
She works within natural cycles + takes care of her energy field.
To be a real witch, you don’t have to cast spells or do witchcraft.
You don’t have to virtue signal to other witches to prove yourself either.
To be a real witch there’s no exam or certification.
The old ways I talk about in this guide are millennia-old. Therefore, they belong to everyone – especially women.
However, you can even be a real witch without having a womb.
(Yes, it’s more than okay to be a non-binary witch!)
Being a witch is really about having a personal relationship with the divine!
You may be a solitary witch if:
• You have good friends, but avoid being tied to any social group.
• You have a strong desire to remain free of human entanglements, gossip + social / group politics.
• You have an introverted streak + recharge your energy by having alone time. (I have an element of INFJ which is Introversion, Intuition, Feeling and Judging in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, MBTI).
• You prefer the intimacy of one-to-one time instead socialising in large social groups.
• You identify as highly sensitive, intuitive or an empath.
• You take an interest in the mystical while holding down a job, raising a family, doing the grocery shopping, or whatever else must be done. You don’t get about on a broom!
• You admire women who, in the words of Marian Green, author of A Witch Alone, follow the path of “…The wise-woman, the hermit, the folk healer, druid or shaman“. You even have your own ‘go to’ wise woman for emergencies!
If you relate to the above points + want to know how to fly higher, this solo witch solitary magic guide is aimed at YOU.
When you remember your inner witch, you become a REAL witch, you see.
Like me!
Add your own strategies and wisdom to the pot below. And see the book recommendations at the bottom!
I am a woman who loves nature, working with natural cycles, and solitary magic such as self-care, manifesting and healing.
Blessed be.
Solo witch: Reclaiming the word witch
I wrote this solo witch guide about habits that have helped me recover ownership of the word: WITCH.
I don’t view being called a “witch” as an insult.
For me, the word ‘witch’ needs to be reclaimed from the patriarchal religious take-over that occurred in the medieval times!
Back then, women who healed with natural remedies, helped people emotionally, honoured their rhythms + the wisdom of nature, were systematically persecuted + killed.
Naturally, a woman with special abilities, who could heal + help, who lived outside the confines of society, had unusual power and freedom.
Such powerful women coming together posed a threat to other structures that controlled ordinary people’s lives: the church, royalty, government + wealthy rural land owners.
Power was stripped from these real witches: they were demonised, trivialised, brutalised + finally, sidelined by the medical establishment, science + academia.
It’s hard to know exactly how many witches were killed in Europe, but it was a lot. You could have been branded a type of witch for simply having a witches mark, which is any little bump, mole or wart on your body.
Yet, despite centuries of suppression, this ‘Devil’s work’ persists. Energy healing, alternative therapies, natural remedies, communicating with unseen realms, coming together in sharing circles, and divination – which is simply bringing relief and comfort to people using cards, pendulums, channeling, scrying or any other method of psychic ‘seeing’.
If you believe in past lives, you may have been one of these real witches in history yourself.
If you understand about inter-generational trauma + how information is passed down through the DNA of our ancestral line, you may also sense an echo in your cellular memory.
We’re all hereditary witches to a greater or lesser extent, after all.
I invite you to reclaim that part of yourself.
Do it for you.
Do it for your ancestors.
Do it for your sisters.
Do it for the earth.
Do it in the name of self love + empowerment.
Before you dive in…
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Solo witch solitary magic guide: #1 Honour cycles
Honouring cycles is about being aware of your own micro-cycles (energy levels, menstrual, daily, etc) and macro-cycles such as seasons, daylight hours, the moon/tides and planetary.
The number reason it is important to be aware of + work within natural cycles is simply: energy efficiency.
A flower doesn’t get frustrated trying to bloom in winter. A wolf doesn’t tire itself by hunting at night.
Likewise, you can make the most efficient use of your limited time and energy by not pushing against natural tides + flows.
If you rest at the right time in your cycle, you will have abundant energy supplies when it’s the right time to push.
Learn to recognise your own rhythms and bodily needs. Stay in tune with nature, instead of over-riding the ‘off’ switch + getting stuck in the wrong gear.
Urbanisation and electricity mean that we humans are no longer tied to rising with the sun and sleeping when it sets. Many of us haven’t seen the moon for years due to street lighting and may be divorced from nature in many ways.
Yet, if you record times when your energy is lowest over a period of months, you may find it happens at a regular time every month and you can plan accordingly.
Likewise, if you notice you feel less outgoing from autumn to spring, the you can use this time carefully, instead of trying to force outcomes that feel unnatural.
Furthermore, an awareness of human life cycles will prepare you for the inevitable – if unwelcome – changes you are destined to face.
• Birth
• Childhood
• Adolescence
• Early adulthood
• Midlife
• Maturity
• Old age
As a starting point, notice how the moon and other astrological influences affect you. For example:
New Moon
Introversion, new ideas + insights, planting seeds, setting intentions, visioning, retreat.
Waxing Moon
Action, nurturing, growth, expansion, progress, building.
Full Moon
Extroversion, culmination, flowering, connection, results.
Waning Moon
Letting go, releasing, consolidation, clearing, decluttering, reflection, reviewing.
Solo Witch Tip – How to Honour Cycles:
• Download, install + sync this excellent moon calendar! Creator Canton Becker curates this calendar by hand at the beginning of each year to highlight full moons, new moons, eclipses, solstices, equinoxes, mercury retrogrades, plus a meteor shower or two + some other surprises!
• Create an evening + morning routine.
• Reduce caffeine and listen to when your body wants to rest.
• Batch activities to certain days of the week. For example, Monday to Wednesday are my ‘get stuff done’ days.
Solo witch solitary magic: #2 Sacred Space
The everyday world feels drab + glum if you live somewhere that doesn’t inspire or uplift you. Modern towns can be ugly, with urban planners favouring concrete and tarmac over green spaces and trees.
Alternatively, you may feel fantastic about your life + the place you live, until you step through your own front door.
Highly sensitive people must create uplifting cocoons to come home to.
Whether it’s due to too much stuff, unfinished household jobs, dirt/dust, possessions that don’t bring joy, not having control (i.e. renting or lodging where there are restrictions on what you can do to your home) or living in conditions your dislike…
The state of your personal space has a direct link to the state of your inner world.
Science has now established a link between stress levels and clutter. Clearing your space can have a profound effect on your mood, anxiety levels, clarity of mind, ability to cope + levels of organisation.
Solo Witch Space Clearing – Example:
Throughout 2017 I was living in the midst of a renovation project. Our recently purchased apartment had only a temporary ‘camping’ kitchen and bathroom. The 1970s bathrooms had old showers, dilapidated toilets, a really stained bath and decrepit fittings.
The general chaos + dirt inside my personal space impacted my capacity to focus + get things done. I had to take time out of my business, because I felt overwhelmed and disoriented. I was worried I would not be able to support my clients – it affected my mindset so much!
If you don’t have your own place, your sacred space might just be a corner of a room, a simple alter or window ledge with your cherished objects on it.
You can burn essential oils, and use lighting and pretty fabrics to camouflage any ugliness until things can be changed or left behind.
Every solo witch needs her sacred space to feel safe, happy + powerful.
Solo Witch Tip – How to Create Sacred Space
Actions that will greatly help:
- Decluttering
- Cleaning
- Create art to cover the walls and purchase fabrics to bring colour to sofas and beds.
- Have key symbolic + uplifting objects on display.
- See your space through a child’s eyes: is it beautiful or functional?
- Use smell: invest in essential oils Lavender + Tea Tree.
We delve into space clearing in my Home School + Community.
Solo witch solitary magic: #3 Self-awareness + shadow work
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates.
Gaining more self-awareness can be both a joyful + painful procedure.
Yet, the reward for seeking the deepest truths about yourself is a better life.
Reflection and self-enquiry give you the power to heal your wounds, balance your moods, avoid negative patterns, attract healthy experiences, improve relationships, get things done + avoid destructiveness / drama.
All this, while embodying increasing levels of peace, contentment and harmony in your day-to-day life! Yeay!
Furthermore, if you are a professional healer, you must conduct a deep review of the shadow part of your being. Your stories + wounds. Without this, you risk being triggered, or attracting re-enactments of unfinished business + difficult clients who hold a mirror to your blindspots.
It’s all about bringing your unconscious material – baggage you’ve pushed away, repressed or denied – into the light of awareness. This includes examining your history, familial connections, programming and beliefs.
Every positive characteristic has it’s shadow. Confidence can segue into egoism. Humility can bleed into martyrdom. Righteousness can distort even the purest desire to serve.
Solo Witch Tip – How to own your shadow:
• Remember, every negative you find, has it’s positive:
• Challenges ALWAYS contain gifts and your shadow side has plus-points.
• For example, your inner bitch may be useful to know in certain situations!
• Meditation, journalling, working 1-2-1 and reading can help. Debbie Ford’s Dark Side of The Light Chasers is an excellent introduction to shadow work.
Solo witch solitary magic: #4 Healing
You can’t heal your relationships, your work, your money or your life – until you’ve healed your past.
Despite best intentions, your hidden wounds will surface during any heartfelt relationship, attachment or endeavour.
Optimistic fresh starts can be derailed by flashbacks of old experiences, unless you have the courage to face your internal world.
Your baggage influences outcomes, the way people respond to you + what they feel in your presence.
Similarly, suppressed emotions from the past can cloud your judgement + crush your natural intuition.
When pain arises, you may ask yourself: why am I here AGAIN?
Fortunately, the more responsibility you take for your own healing the more secure your long term happiness is.
As a side effect, your healing process condenses a lifetime’s joy and despair, gratitude and pain, into a medicine that others can imbibe.
You capacity to help others depends on the extent you have healed yourself.
If you have already started your healing journey, remember that the most difficult paths often lead to the most beautiful destinations!
Healing is a feminine superpower + the stuff of miracles.
Solo Witch Tip – How to Heal:
• Start with acts of self-care that turn your attention inwards.
• Educate yourself on any situation or relationship that has caused you pain.
• Keep an emotional diary to form a stronger link between your mind and emotions.
• When you feel ready to go deeper, see out a healing professional to work 1-2-1 or in a group. Don’t lose hope if the going gets tough. Providing you have the right type of support, you WILL come out the other side.
Check out my guide to find a good healer – or work with me 1-2-1!
Solo witch solitary magic: #5 Honour Nature
I’m a strident supporter of Mother Earth / Gaia, and a fully-fledged, card-carrying, tree-hugging hippy witch!
(– Though, if you met me in the street, you wouldn’t know about the witch bit!)
I grew up in the countryside of Lancashire and DREADED living in a city.
Weirdly, I ended up carving out a career in central London for 20 years. It would take a minimum hour to reach any kind of rural environment.
I had to be inventive and resourceful to replenish my soul with regular nature contact. Without it, I withered.
You are part of nature and will return to nature when you die.
The domination and decimation of nature is the cause for much of humanity’s inner desolation and hopelessness, as well as the current planetary trauma you are witnessing.
We – wo/mankind – must learn to respect mother earth.
Solo Witch Tip – How to Honour Nature:
• Walk, hike, picnic, camp or garden in nature.
• Try to do it daily: in a garden, park or field.
• Get to a rural or semi-rural area once a week.
• Plan your holidays in nature, instead of a city break.
• Believe in the healing power of nature.
• Bring nature into your home – get a hard to kill house plant.
• Support environmental activists, with cash or time.
Solo witch solitary magic: #6 Harm none
When many people think of a ‘witch’ they think of the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz.
Or some other crazed, power-hungry maniac; casting aspersions and creating trouble.
Oh dear.
Centuries of religious prejudice, domination of women, demonisation of healers and fear of the unseen/unknown, has led to this sad stereotype.
Most true witches are quiet, harmless and pure-hearted. They only want to help and heal, albeit using somewhat unorthodox means.
Even the most basic of witches understand and abide by the threefold law: what you send out will come back to you three times.
If you intend to harm someone, then expect harm to come to you. It will: usually when you are least expecting it!
Never focus your energy and intent in this negative way.
Whatever short term victory you achieve, long term gain will NEVER come of it.
Solo Witch Tip – How to Harm None:
When you understand your unconscious motives and drives, you avoid sending negative energy by mistake. (See Tip #3 – Self-awareness + shadow work, above.)
Be really honest with yourself when difficult instincts arise – such as jealousy, envy, rivalry, anger or fear, before acting on them.
Always focus your energy and attention on the good.
If that choice is denied to you in any situation, then withdraw until you find the opportunity to advance in a more positive, life-enhancing way.
Solo witch solitary magic: Book Recommendations
Three epic books on solitary magic:
Hedge Witch by Rae Beth (Robert Hale, UK, 1990) is written in a series of letters, from an experienced witch to her apprentices. She shares what she knows on the sabbats, moon cycles, the Book of Shadows, using an altar, guardian spirits, the dead, the Goddess + the Good, ritual, visualisation and more.
A Witch Alone by Marion Green Marion covers many of the same themes as Rae Beth’s book, but in a more structured approach. Less like a novel, more of a handbook. Marion’s chapters are divided neatly into themes, all of the above plus divination, dowsing and plant power.
Power of the Witch by Laurie Cabot explores the history and science of the faith, while dispelling the myths. She goes into detail about the Craft, including a section on ‘Spells’. The book is intelligently written and enlightening.
Article copyright Amy Garner 2020.
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