Spellcasting is one of the core pillars of a witch’s practice, and it can take many forms. Some spells come from ancient texts, some from modern spellbooks, and others are written entirely from personal experience and intuition. Understanding how spells work—how they’re formed, why they’re used, and what gives them power—is an important part of developing a confident practice.
Crafting your own spells, or even gently adjusting existing ones, often leads to stronger and more meaningful results. That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a spell exactly as you find it. I do this myself, especially when time is short or a situation feels urgent. Still, when possible, I encourage small personal touches, even if it’s just adapting the wording or intention. To really understand spellcrafting, we first need to understand the anatomy of a spell itself.
What makes something a spell? How does it create change? Do deities need to be involved? In this first part of the Spellcrafting series, I’ll be breaking down these foundational questions and exploring what spellcrafting actually is at its core.
What is a Spell?
At its most basic level, a spell is an intentional act meant to create change through energy. That energy can be raised and directed in many different ways. Sometimes it looks like chanting, dancing, or spoken words. Other times it takes the form of a full ritual that may involve tools, symbols, or even multiple people working together over an extended period of time.
It’s important to note that not every ritual includes spellwork. Some rituals exist purely for spiritual or ceremonial reasons, such as honoring a deity, celebrating a holiday, or marking a transition. A spell, on the other hand, always has a specific intention behind it—something is meant to shift, move, or manifest.
Spells themselves can be simple or complex. Some involve physical ingredients like candles, herbs, or written petitions, while others rely entirely on the energy raised by the practitioner. Regardless of how elaborate a spell is, they all share a few core components, which I’ll be breaking down shortly.
Another common misconception is that spells belong to a single religion or belief system. In reality, spellwork is not inherently religious at all. Forms of spellcasting appear across cultures and traditions worldwide, including Christianity. Prayer, for example, follows the same basic structure as a spell: an intention is set, energy is raised through focus or emotion, and that energy is released into the universe—often with the assistance of a deity.
The key difference is in involvement. With prayer, the individual typically asks a divine being to carry out the work on their behalf, taking a more passive role in the outcome. Other forms of spellcasting are more hands-on, with the practitioner actively directing the energy themselves. Even so, prayer can easily be combined with active spellwork, and at its core, it remains a simple and widely accepted form of magic.
Because spellwork does not require religious belief, it can be practiced in a completely secular way. This is why it is entirely possible to be a practicing witch while also believing in the Christian God and Jesus. Not all Christian witches use the word “witch,” but many Christians actively engage in magic and spellwork, whether they choose that label or not.
How Spells Work
At its core, spellwork is about intentionally raising and directing energy to create change. To understand how this works, it helps to look at energy through a more grounded, real-world lens—without stripping the magic out of it.
Everything around us carries energy and vibration. Living beings, everyday objects, the air we breathe, and the tools we use in spellwork are all made up of atoms in constant motion. That motion varies depending on factors like temperature, movement, and state of matter.
A simple way to experience this directly is through your own body. Rub your palms together for a few seconds and you’ll feel warmth building almost immediately. Nothing visible has changed, yet energy is clearly moving. The friction causes the atoms in your hands to move faster, raising their energy. When you hold your warmed hands around a mug, a crystal, or even slightly apart from each other, that energy transfers outward. This is a physical, tangible example of how energy can be raised and directed through intention and action.
Spellwork follows this same principle. When you raise energy—through breath, movement, emotion, focus, or visualization—you are increasing motion and directing it with purpose. Objects used in spellcasting act as receivers, amplifiers, or guides for that energy, not because they are inherently magical, but because they interact with energy in consistent ways.
Different materials carry different energetic qualities. Water, for example, vibrates faster than solids, and air faster than water. These differences are part of why elements and materials have correspondences in spellwork. Beyond that, each object has its own unique energy signature based on its composition.
Crystals offer a clear illustration of this. Clear quartz and rose quartz are chemically similar, yet trace amounts of elements like titanium, iron, or magnesium give rose quartz its pink color and subtly alter its energetic signature. That difference is why certain stones feel distinct from one another and evoke different sensations, even when they are closely related.
While spellcasting can be done with nothing but yourself, incorporating herbs, crystals, candles, or other tools changes and enhances the overall energy of a working. Each addition contributes its own energetic influence, shaping the spell’s direction and strength.
Once the energy is raised, it is focused through intention and released outward into the Universe. This is also why spellwork can feel physically or emotionally draining. You are actively moving and redirecting energy, and that process requires effort.
Even though spellwork itself cannot be measured scientifically, the principles behind it echo familiar physical laws. Energy cannot be created or destroyed—it only changes form. In spellwork, energy is transformed through focus, movement, emotion, and symbolism. Once released, that energy spreads outward until it encounters something it can act upon.
Energy in motion also doesn’t last forever without influence. Over time, it slows, shifts, and disperses as it interacts with other forces. This is why spells meant to create lasting or significant change often benefit from reinforcement, such as repeated casting or working with a full lunar cycle.
There is always a cost. Every action creates a reaction. In spellwork, that cost is often your time, energy, attention, or emotional investment. Without that exchange, there is nothing driving the spell forward, and no meaningful change occurs.
At its simplest, spellcasting is the redirection of energy through intention, working within the same physical principles that govern everything else. Magic does not break the rules of reality—it moves through them. This is why spellwork cannot defy gravity, resurrect the dead, or create something from nothing.
Instead, the energy you release interacts with the countless other energies already present in the Universe. It influences, nudges, and reshapes what is possible, creating ripples that move outward until they align with your intention in a way that can manifest. That is where spellwork truly lives—not in impossibility, but in intentional, meaningful change.
Why Cast Spells?
At the simplest level, spells exist to create change. That change can be practical, emotional, spiritual, or all three at once. People cast spells for things like finding a new job, improving their finances, helping a garden thrive, supporting healing, or even creating distance from someone who no longer belongs in their life.
Over the years, I’ve used spellwork in many different ways, and much of that experience lives throughout this blog. I’ve cast spells to reaffirm my goals when I felt uncertain, to ease periods of depression, to strengthen self-love, and to cleanse my living space when it felt heavy or stagnant. I’ve worked spells for prosperity, for boundary-setting, and for deepening my connection with my ancestors.
Spells can also be used in service of others—offering healing, protection, or support when it’s truly needed. That said, intention and ethics matter. When working on behalf of someone else, consent is essential. Spellwork should never override another person’s autonomy, even when the intention is benevolent.
At the end of the day, spells are tools. They help us align our energy with what we are trying to shift, release, or call in. Whether the goal is personal growth, healing, or meaningful change, spellcasting gives us a way to act with intention rather than feeling powerless or stuck.
Spell Components
Every spell, no matter how simple or complex, is built from the same foundational components. We’ll explore each of these in much greater depth later when we begin creating our own spells, but at their core, spellwork includes:
𖤐 a clear intention or desire 𖤐 the composition of the spell and any ingredients used 𖤐 a shift in consciousness and/or the creation of sacred space 𖤐 the raising, directing, and releasing of energy 𖤐 and the creation of pathways through which that energy can manifest
When these elements are present, you already have everything you need to cast an effective spell. The tools, words, and rituals may change, but these core components remain the same across nearly all forms of spellwork.
Because each of these elements plays an important role, I’ve chosen to break them down into separate articles. This allows us to explore them thoroughly, talk about how they interact with one another, and work through exercises designed to strengthen your spellcrafting and spellcasting skills over time.
You may notice that calling upon a deity is not included as a required component. That is intentional. While deities can be incorporated into spellwork, their involvement is not necessary for a spell to work. In my own practice, I do not invoke deities when casting spells, though I will sometimes include them in workings designed for other witches who do work with divine figures.
Spellwork itself is fundamentally secular. It can be practiced with or without religious belief, divine relationships, or spiritual hierarchy. This flexibility is one of its greatest strengths—it allows each practitioner to shape their practice in a way that aligns with their beliefs, boundaries, and lived experience.
At its heart, spellcrafting is about intention, energy, and choice. When you understand the basic structure of a spell, you gain the confidence to adapt, experiment, and create workings that are truly your own. That is where spellwork becomes less about following instructions and more about conscious, intentional magic.
This marks the foundation of the Spellcrafting series. From here, we move forward—piece by piece—into deeper understanding, stronger practice, and more intentional magic.