Witchcraft 101: How Do I Know If I'm a Witch?

[Updated March 19th, 2026]

As addressed in the FAQ, people are not "born" witches. People may have a particular aptitude for certain types of witchcraft, but it's the same with any skill. Some people just pick up different skills faster than others. Being a witch is something you choose to be, even hereditary witches (people who grew up with family members who are also witches) are making the active decision to continue their family's traditions.

So...How Do You Become a Witch?

You say you're a witch and start doing witchcraft.

Obviously, that is not a very helpful answer though. As mentioned in the introduction, witchcraft encompasses a pretty wide array of practices and the broader witchcraft community likes to talk about "types" of witches, which I will cover on its own. Sorry for dragging that out! I just want to give it proper consideration.

I'll list out some examples of practices many witches engage in:

Divination (e.g. runes, tarot cards, pendulum)
Herbalism
Lucid dreaming
Astral projection
Spirit work (any sort of witchcraft involving spirits, whether nature/land spirits, spirits of the dead, etc)
Spell work
Astrology
Trance work
Meditative practices
...et cetera

The best way to figure out what interests you is to find witches on social media, read witchcraft websites and books, and look into the things they mention that interest you. Witchcraft takes a lot of patience and trial and error. Importantly, you will never feel like you know enough. There is no level of research that will make you "ready", which is also true of paganism. Find something that interests you and jump in as soon as you know any of the steps. Confidence comes with continued practice.