Imagine this is you...in your first witches circle.....looks good doesn't it? In a few weeks it can be,because I will be explaining all you need to know to safely construct your own....and how to close it down correctly afterwards

Just for now I reccommend that you read the "Charge of The Goddess" back on The Book of Shadows page and "Footprints".Start your own Book,it deosn't have to be anything fancy...just keep it for "witchbits" only,I use a loose leaf file,the large thick type that you can get from an office suppliers,with 2 types of paper..lined and plain..for notes and sketches.Add some dividers if it will help you organize better ( it might help,but as I am the most disorganized person on the planet it really wouldn't matter if I added a laptop computer..I still couldn't find the spell i wanted!!)

Start writing down your dreams as soon as you awake,if you can remember them...these often show you much if you can understand them..and as a witch you will.

If you have a pet..(especially a cat)..start watching it closely.You will notice how it "sees" things that you cannot...yet.

If you have children listen to them play with their "invisable" friends. I am a strong believer that children are especially good at crossing the line between worlds...this is nothing to worry about,it is just that they haven't been conditioned by their elders that you can't do this.As a witch you will learn to explore the Otherworld,you will meet old friends from your childhood,you will learn to listen to your Inner Voice. I use to term "learn",but really it is "RE learn",for as you advance you will come to realise that you've been here before....in this life as a child,and maybe in previous lives.

Much will,however,seem frightening or strange....Don't worry.The first,simplst and easiest rule or lesson in witchcraft is..

"If it doesn't feel right to you..don't do it"

This applies all the way along the line...from the Novice to the High Priestess,if it doesn't feel right,then don't do it.

This is where the "scare stories" come from.Witchwork amplifies all the senses and emotions,therefore if you have fear this to is amplified and reflected back to you..often so distorted that you don't recognize it as your own original thought.

Walk slowly along this chosen path,check the ground at each step to see that it is firm underfoot.Stop often to think about where you are on The Path,don't worry that your friends seem to advance faster or go further....you will catch them up..and talk about the scenery that they missed in their haste to achieve distance.

Listen to all that people say,evaluate all that people say....and if it doesn't feel right to you,or you don't agree with it..either question more,or if more answers are not forthcoming,decide whether you want to follow the words or ignore them...the important thing is what your Inner Voice tells you to do.

Your Inner Voice is your best friend on the Path,but don't allow it (for the moment) to rule your everyday life...you live in a big bad world...the Inner Voice in the Novice is not very good at warning of impending stock market failures,runaway lorries or if you have time to beat the train accross the railway crossing.It is however good at forming opinions about people and situations...start listening to it then.

Finally,I very strongly reccomend a beautiful site by StarFire,which you can reach via my links page.I do not know the lady,hardly at all,but her pages on The Elements are the best I have seen on the Web.I will of coarse be covering them here as part of the process,but these pages have been written with knowledge,with love and with inate compassion that personifies everything a witch should be.I do not know her chosen Path,but both her and her husband (StoneWolf) can be assured of a warm spot by any campfire of mine on a cold night,in the knowledge that they are trusted and welcome.