Self knowledge
In my opinion one of the most important lessons in witchcraft is that of 'know thyself'. The ability to know yourself fully, and accept what you find, is a great asset in any aspect of life but it is of vital importance in the craft.
Firstly it is essential that you can look into yourself to accept and develop your abilities. If there are problems within yourself this can be very difficult and can hold back your development. You need to be ready to look deeply and accept what you find before you can move on and fully experience your abilities.
You must also be able to interpret certain stimuli without having your judgement clouded by personal issues. If you have deep unresolved problems it is possible that your interpretation of a message or situation could be biased by your own emotions. Emotions do play a large part in witchcraft but only when properly controlled. I am not saying that you must not have any problems, then I would salute you as the maker of miracles, but you must be able to accept the things that you experience and not run from them.
Once you have developed your abilities and can interpret stimuli without bias you must then have the ability to believe in what you are experiencing. This takes true confidence. I call this true confidence as apparent confidence can be misleading. Many people seem to be confident, even to the point of selfishness, but often this seeming confidence is born in insecurity. Many who seem overconfident, arrogant, selfish etc. are really just using confidence as a mask to hide their own fears. You would never see these people making fun of themselves, laughing with others at their own misfortunes.
True confidence is an attribute that a true witch can boast. they know their abilities and so only use them when they are required not to 'prove' themselves to others. They don't doubt the messages they receive or their interpretations of them. This level of confidence only comes with time and experience in the craft but it can begin before then with general confidence in yourself. You are an individual, you are special, you can achieve what you wish to achieve. Believe in yourself enough that your abilities will not have to be proven. It is enough for you to know that they are there and can be used when required. People are observant and will know when you are good at what you do. If you need to tell them, you can't be that good.
Related poetry by GLJ aka Niamh
