Here is Ask Black Witch! Where you ask me questions, any question, and I answer them! Want to submit a question for next month’? Send in a question using the Ask Black Witch submission form on the side of your screen or through the QR code, available on the BW Mobile Media page. Want to choose other ways to get at me? Check out the About Me/Contact Me page! This Ask Black Witch answers questions from both September and October, thank you to the September askers for being so patient.

Also a note to anyone who would like to send in a question: Please, please double check what you write. I understand it’s the internet but please remember that you’re writing to A) An actual person who has to read this B) Someone with a degree in English and C) Someone who shouldn’t have to hardcore grammar check what you write. Everyone makes mistakes, I know Black Witch has a few typos here or there but full blown poor writing? I’ll still answer your question, I just can’t promise there won’t be a mild ribbing about the writing though. Not asking for the King’s English, just basic English. Or at least find your Shift key.

The questions!

I want to become a witch. Yes I been doing my homework and it is truly want i want. I already believe i am a witch, in my head but i know there is a proper way of doing so.

– Robin R.

Anyone can be a Witch. Yup yup. Just like how anyone can be an astronaut, a painter, a doctor or even a president. However, while anyone can be these things, it doesn’t promise they’ll be the best and it may come super harder for some than others due to the process. Some people can take the grueling training of a moonwalker and some can’t without some serious determination. It varies person to person because no one is good at everything. Then there’s the whole personal differentiation between being a casual fan and researching magick is your hobby versus researching and practicing magick. I guess a good way to put it is when do you call someone a baseball player versus a person who really likes to play baseball?

Now, there are different processes to being a Witch. Some are more grueling than others, some easier, some more personal, some fairly public. You have the ritual where you trance through meditation and find your “craft name”, there’s the ritual where another Witch has to induct you as a Witch, there’s also the process of forgoing the ritual and just feel confident and researched enough to call yourself a Witch. Tons and tons of ways to be a Witch, regardless of whether you’re solitary or in a group.

What’d I do to become a Witch? Totally the latter. All the rituals I knew and learned kinda squicked me out some for some reason or another, or I didn’t know another Witch to consider me one and I’m a solitary so I went, “Meh, I’m a Witch.” Meh, not very ceremonious, certainly anti-climactic if you thought that becoming a Witch would involve a hat-sorting ceremony or a cat leading you into another world or something like that. It depends on what you believe makes a Witch a Witch and whether it rings right for you.

In short, the proper way of doing so is doing what feels best for you. You already believe you’re a Witch and if you practice it, I would say that you are one. If you want a big ol’ ritual for your induction and you know a coven and you’re part of it (they don’t induct anyone, y’know), go for that. But in the end, it’s all up to you. Either you’re a person who is a Witch or someone who really likes to study and research Witchcraft – and again, you sound more of the former.

I have gotten what is so far the stupidest question on Black Witch. Because the question was quite idiotic and either the kid is emotionally stunted at 12 or ate paste until he was 12, instead of posting the question, here’s a macro that could best describe the inquirer:

Seriously readers, I enjoy your questions but think a little so it won’t be used as fodder. I know, I practice Witchcraft and stuff so I can imagine I’ll have a couple people running across this site to cause issue or because they think my life resembles Charmed or some other fictional show but for ABW, please keep in mind that I do have my own sense of humor and I don’t mind questions about “Hey, how do I come out to my family?” or “This person is picking on me, would it still be wrong to hex?” but questions that clearly are stupid: “Can you tell me how to get into Hogwarts?” I may either throw up here because I find them funny or keep off the site. Remember, I like good questions. And a clear attempt at spelling.

Hey, I have only one question: I wonder, there are so many spells on the internet, but none of the sounds believable. anyone know how I can find the ones that are more credible, from the Old Grimoire`s. I wonder if it is possible to put a spell on a necklace, so that as long as you wear it, so will the spell work for you, is it possible?

–Heidi G.

Hm, protip: don’t go to the internet for spells. It’s quite the cesspool out there and it reeks of dabbling, something else that isn’t good. I always refer books (that I have read) because with their spells at least comes with information so you know what you’re doing, what looks decent, why and you’re less prone to making boneheaded mistakes that a book could have steered you from. The sheer lack of decent fact checking on the internet won’t help you at all. And, again, it reeks of dabbling.

The Old Grimoires? As in stuff written from the 1600s and beyond? I’m sure with aid of a time machine, you can find a few because plenty plenty were burned in the Witchcraft hunts that ripped through the Western world. Right now there are very few and whatever you’re going to find, you’d have to look pretty freakin hard and it’s mostly oral. There are some books out there who do have this information, I’m sure, but they’re not very mainstream. Looks like you’re going to have to get off the internet and hit some books, start with what I’ve suggested in the recent The Arts: Samhain Edition

Of course it’s possible to put a spell on a necklace, it’s a vessel pretty much. Basically, what you’re doing is charming something. Totally possible. One of my phone charms are handmade and charmed (It was actually supposed to be a gift to someone else but wacktacularness happened and I got stuck with it). Pretty much anything can be charmed, to be turned into an amulet, rather. You’re on the right track there but yep, get off the internet and into some books if you want a decent education in magick.

I would like to know about my education/career path. I have no idea what I will end up doing as a career because I enjoy so many different things. I would like to know what ever you could find out.

– Jordan

I don’t think I saw your submission for Samhain Pickers and if you don’t apply via that, that means no divination readings. I never do readings for readers otherwise, too much hassle and unnecessary burn of my time. The next Samhain Pickers will be in Oct 2012.

Here’s something simple about doing as a career: veer towards something that you like greatly. It isn’t always as easy as that but seriously, think of something you always wanted to be ever since you were young, find out how realistic it is (if you had a dream of being rich, I suggest you go back to sleep) and go for it. See what is it really like through volunteering if you do have a job now or at least figure out what the job entails and if you really want to do this. Do you like your major? What can you do with it and can it garner a job that can pay the bills (and student loans you probably wracked up)? Ask questions like those. I enjoy a lot of different things too and that’s a good start because you won’t drive yourself crazy with a pipedream but you have to know which one would you mind doing as a means to create sustainable income, which mean it would be helpful if you really like it.

Now for my younger readers: When I was younger than you, I was kinda poked (totally goaded) into figuring out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So were any of my peers that seemed promising to get out of the hood. I see a lot of people around my age – I’m 24 – who seriously don’t know what to do with their lives and that’s really not good. Have fun but be responsible and most importantly, be honest with yourself. Not everyone wants to be a doctor, lawyer, business owner or engineer. Some people wanna make unusual color ceramic plates, some want to groom cats, some really like to fix things or have a passion for collecting the various leaves they see. These all can turn into careers if you’re creative enough and know what to look for. If you’re still in high school or middle school, volunteer if you can. If you can’t and have a job, just continue your studies by yourself using your resources, the library and the internet. It’s not a fair world out there at all, over 85% of college graduates do not get a job right after they get a diploma and there’s a reason the whole Occupy Wall St. protest is catching like fire on a BP oil spill right now. And no matter what you do with whatever career you chose, have a back-up plan. Be money smart about college funds if you chose to go to college and about financial responsibility regardless if you go or not, too. Your plan doesn’t have to be all riddled with details or anything, just have a basic idea and plan of what you want and go towards it. I wanted to be lots of things when I was growing up: a scientist, a veterinarian, a writer, I even wanted to be an Olympic ice skater. What’d I settle on? Being a librarian. Le woot. Things change but have an idea with what you want to do and make sure it’s realistic. And do it before you get to college, it’s too expensive to be indecisive. Even if you don’t go, it’s still too expensive to be indecisive.

Hello,

I need to ask a sensitive question.

We let a friend move in when she was in need. He however took time to get comfortable and then started slicing my home apart.

I don’t know if you are familiar with this but is there a way someone can do the following? And how can you stop it without hurting the other person. I am neither of the character of revenge nor do I have the stomach to hurt other people.  I just want to fix the problem and move on.

Here are the issues:

Is it possible to toss witchcraft/sorcery to a woman so she can smell bad all the time? How do I stop this and bar it from coming back (spell reversals online did not work)

Is it possible that someone else can hypnotize you to sleep to get control over you? How do you block this?

Is there a way someone can use magic or whatever it is to keep a kid from falling asleep all night, or to wake a baby up, or to make a baby’s tummy or back hurt sooo much she cries continuously in pain? How do I protect the baby from this?

Is it true someone can do magic on a couple to make them quarrel? How do I protect my marriage?

My husband seems to have taken a protection spell to prevent this person from harming him further but now that leaves us under the effects of his spell when there is an argument and we bad mouth each other now those are two sets of  problems.

How do I get rid of the problems?

P/s I just need to know how to protect myself from these ill people and their effects and move on and not to toss anything back or to fight them back.

– Joyce A.

First and foremost, if your friend was in need and is now destroying your home, kick her out. She’s not much of a friend anymore. It would be one thing if that friend had a mental disorder that made them act out (and is getting help or back on their feet while battling the condition) but she doesn’t sound like that so no sympathy. Evict both her and the friendship.

It is possible to use magick to create a bad smell but first you’d have to rule out diet, exercise, living conditions and environment. Biology could be the source, not a jinx. And any spell online won’t work, I hope you didn’t buy anything nor hurt any animals in the process. Just stop using the internet for magick, it’s not Hogwarts Online.

Zombification is very possible but not easy and it depends on what culture it comes from to combat it since there’s not a lot of “One size fits all” spells – if any at all. And again, how do you know that you are being hypnotized for control? There are various ways to block it but if you know who the sender is (without doubt), you could use a binding spell but seriously – I think you might want to hold off on that exactly. And if it is the houseguest, chuck them out first.

I’m not a children’s person (I quite abhor kids, too loud and messy) and one reason is because there’s lots and lots o’ crying. Before magick, rule out medical first. Does the child have colic or any other problems? I’m not going to tell you to put anything on the child because it could be a medical condition and if you’re looking for spells on the internet, I certainly would not, in good faith, tell you to give your child any physical thing out of safety for your kid. There’s no telling where something could go dastardly wrong.

You can protect a marriage from a spell but that doesn’t make marriages bulletproof. Yes, magick can make couples quarrel but so can couples themselves. The difference usually is the subject and relationship itself. Be real: no relationship worth having is a walk in the park (but also remember no relationship worth having should resemble a battlefield, either). Are arguments about something constant such as money or pop up everywhere? Were the tensions already there or not? How well do you and your husband get along usually? Very important questions to ask to determine if it’s a spell or not. I doubt things were perfect before, every healthy relationship has squabbles. However, if he made a spell of protection, tell him to extend it to include you and the child you had together. To refuse would be a bit rude and showcase some potentially deeper problems.

If you must to calm your mind,  get a glass jar with a screw-on lid to put your name and kid’s name and surround with burrs or pine needles for protection but please figure out if the person is doing spells or not. Here’s a mini-checklist:

– Does this person know any magick? (Has practiced it before, especially harmful magick)
– Was there a drastic change before and after the person came along? (Things were spiffy, now it’s WWIII)
– Ruled out normal problems? (Money strain? Wall St, not a jinx, is probably to blame)
– Are you suuuuuuuuuuure even if the person is a total dick, they’re hexing too? (Not always related)
– How was the relationship with husband pre-wack houseguest? Any particular subjects constantly argued such as money or trust? (Recent stressors might be a breaking point)
– Child’s health before and during wack houseguest? (Again, stress)

If you cannot answer a nary one of these questions in strong confidence, even with time to think it over, then a spell might not be the problem and certainly not the solution. If it is normal stuff, after all: chuck out houseguest, have a heart-to-heart with the husband, get the baby to a doctor and be sure to talk to a doctor yourself.