The 10 Rules of Witchcraft (UPDATED)

When I first wrote this, I forgot the most important rule. The Rule of Not, so there are 10, not 9 rules and this is now updated!

Witch working through the 9 rules of witchcraft in conjuring a fire bird.

Witchcraft is a craft, and like any craft it has rules. These nine rules are not commandments written in stone but practical foundations that ensure the work is strong, safe, and effective. Ignore them, and you are likely just playing dress-up. Honor them, and your spells will carry weight. You’re Welcome!

1. Secrecy

Secrecy was born out of survival. During the Spanish Inquisition, witch hunts, and other periods of persecution, if you spoke about your spells you could be tortured or killed. Silence was protection. But secrecy also has a magical reason: if you talk about your spell, you shift its intent. Instead of aiming at your goal, you are aiming at validation or attention. The work becomes about being seen, not about changing reality.

2. Intent

Some TikTok and Instagram witches say intent is everything. It is not. Ingredients, casting, and knowledge matter too. But intent is still vital. It is the direction of the spell. What do you intend to do? Are you clear on it? Vagueness creates scattered results. Intent sharpens the spell like an arrow.

3. Focus

A spell requires concentration. If your mind drifts to your cat in the other room, your hunger, or the laundry pile, then those thought-forms mingle with the energy and weaken your intent and the mana in the ingredients. Instead of a clean current, you get muddy water. Focus keeps the spell pure and aligned.

4. Belief

If you do not believe it can be done, or that you can have what you are asking for, it will not work. A spell cannot override the deepest convictions of your soul. If you have a broken relationship with your sense of worth, no money spell will take root until you address that shadow. Shadow work around value and belief must precede spellwork on abundance. Lots of witches don’t want to do this step. It’s uncomfortable. But so it blood magic… And so it poverty…

5. Ingredient Quality and Meaning

Intent alone does not bake a cake. If you intend to make cake but your kitchen is stocked only with chicken Alfredo ingredients, you are making neither. Our ancestors handed down the meanings of herbs, stones, and symbols in secrecy to survive persecution. Respect that lineage and learn what ingredients actually do. Do not rely on social media soundbites. You cannot sub out every candle for a white candle because “it has all the colors in it” (that’s like missing cinnamon for a communication spell and putting all the herbs in your pantry instead). White is for purity and truth. If you need another color, then color it. Dye is dye. But you can’t sub out what you think is close just because you don’t want to make the sacrifice of money, time, or inconvenience to get the proper ingredients. Mediocre is still mediocre, so respect the ancestor-witch who survived to get you this knowledge and go get the right ingredient.

All ingredients must also carry mana. A crystal that has been drained by use must be recharged. A charm bought at the farmer’s market may be tainted if it has never been cleansed. Herbs that are old and brittle may carry no life force at all. Dead ingredients make for dead spells. Dirty ingredients make for mis-spells.

6. Knowledge and Application

There is an art to how witchcraft is done. Books help, but they are not enough. You need guidance. Find a class. Find a mentor. Learn in real time, with demonstration and correction. Witchcraft is not just lore; it is practice. And practice must be shown and embodied. Come to BearBridge.

7. Casting

Many modern spell books skip the casting agent entirely. This is a critical mistake (but ineptitude keeps people safe). Casting is the actual act of sending the spell into the world. Without it, the work never leaves your altar. Ingredients combined are just ingredients. You must release the spell.

Casting agents vary:

• Spirit: leave it at a crossroad for a spirit to carry.

• Air: throw it out a window or use your power word (like “so mote it be.”)

• Water: release it into a stream or baptize it.

• Earth: bury it.

• Tools: cut it loose with scissors, tie it in knots, or burn it.

Without release, there is no spell. This also must be the last step. Don’t confuse casting early when there are remaining steps.

8. Witch’s Health

A weak body cannot lift heavy weight. The same is true in the craft. Your body is the vessel that moves energy. If it is exhausted, malnourished, or untreated, your power leaks. Take care of yourself. Go to the doctor. Eat well. Rest. Get therapy to clear the mind as well as the body. Witch’s health is witch’s strength.

9. Elemental Connection

The elements fuel different branches of magic. If your alignment with time is weak, manifestation and moon work will falter. If fire is low, candle magic, glamour, and kitchen witchery will weaken. If water is lacking, oils, potions, and spray spells will fail. You, the witch, are the catalyst. If you are disconnected from the elemental forces in yourself, you cannot channel the mana of the ingredients into transformation. FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF WITCH YOU ARE HERE.

10. The Rule of Not

This is last because if ya'll aren't willing to read the others, then the most important one doesn't matter, this one. If you want to make something happen, then it's antithesis must be the current state. In other words, if you want money, so you want to do a money spell, you have to not have money. That means, that if you start the spell and you do have money, the spell must take your money away first before giving you money. This is why repeating a spell is BAD BAD BAD. You go to curse your ex. You're impatient. You say, "it's not working!" SO, you do it again, which undoes the current process. He can't be cursed in order to curse him. Or let's say all of the internet is doing the same spell to attack a leader of fascist regime. The next witch is undoing the previous witch's spell because the leader can't have it in order to get it. It's always better to do a DIFFERENT spell if you think what you did didn't work or you want to help. A different tactic, a different ask.

These ten rules are the bones of witchcraft. They are not glamorous. They are not flashy. But without them, spells collapse. With them, the craft lives and breathes. Secrecy, intent, focus, belief, ingredients, knowledge, casting, health, and elemental connection: this is how witchcraft is done.

Learn more about Aly, his books, classes, and hiring him as your witch here.