Witchcraft is many things. It is a source of power. It can be used for self-development. It is a belief system that informs many aspects of our lives, from what we eat, how we live, and even our politics. But more than anything else, witchcraft is personal. You can follow the same path as hundreds of other witches, but your practice will be different in various ways. From the way you cast your spells, to what components you use, to how you approach your magic; all of this is determined by you.

So, how do you make your practice personal and relevant to you? In my book, A Witch Is: 13 Keys of Witchcraft, I set out thirteen qualities that I believe all witches have. These personal traits underlie magic and through developing them you create a practice that is both meaningful to you and more effective. Below I outline each quality and go into a little more detail as to how you can explore them and use them in your witchcraft.

The thirteen characteristics of a witch are as follows: resourcefulness, resilience, creativity, kindness, patience, intuition, self-awareness, knowledge, purpose, honesty, respect, curiosity, and confidence.

The first and most important quality you have as a witch is that you are resourceful. Witches look at the world differently from others. We see problems and try to figure out how we can address them with magic. We use not only our own intention, but the energies found in herbs, stones, and even the land to fuel our magic. For the witch, a stick is not just a stick, but it can be a wand, a way to tap into the magic of the tree the stick came from, or even a spell component. It is our resourcefulness that allows us to face the world around us certain in our own capabilities. What items and magic you use is individual to you.

Along with resourcefulness comes the quality of resilience. When there are setbacks you look for the reasons why and adjust course accordingly. Witchcraft has a long and storied history. It has survived eons, times of persecution and misunderstanding, and is undergoing a resurgence in interest in the last few decades. That history is something you can lean on when you are weathering hard and uncertain times. How you persevere when the going gets tough is something only you can decide.

Magic is an act of creation like no other. You are exerting your own will on the world outside of you to bring about the reality you want. From deciding on what shape your spell is going to take, to gathering magical components, to performing the magic, each step involves your creative side. By embracing your creativity you are tapping into a deep well of inspiration and energy that you can use to fuel your magic.

Because witches recognize that the world is interconnected, you realize that your magic has consequences. The world is not easy; it is often not just or safe for people, but you don't let that reality keep you from being kind, which is another characteristic of the witch. This does not mean that you are a doormat, or that you don't call people out on their bad behavior. Working magic is a great responsibility, and you know that you need to keep that in mind when working it.

Magic takes time to work and so you factor patience into your practice, taking note of when you cast spells and recording your progress and results. Keeping track of your spells helps you build confidence in your work. By noting when spells work you can figure out what kinds of magic works best for you. And by troubleshooting spells that fizzled, you can cut out practices that are just wasting your time and energy. You can even drill down deeper into the properties of different times of the day, week and month to give your spells a better chance of success.

Witches trust their gut, pay attention to their dreams, and use divination in order to tap into hidden knowledge. Intuition isn't a trait that one either one is born with or without. It is a skill that can be honed using tools like sleep journals and meditative work. Your instincts will often provide a compass that can point you in the right direction when it comes to figuring out what the problem is and how to use magic to address it.

Self-awareness is the next quality that witches have. Our society tends to distort self-awareness to looking at ourselves through the eyes of others. But a true sense of self comes from within. Doing shadow work allows us to dig out those parts of ourselves that cause us discomfort and come to terms with them. By identifying our strengths and weaknesses, we make an inventory of the personal tools we have at our disposal. And by diving into our familial and cultural history, we find wisdom that can help us move forward in our practice.

No one witch knows everything, and so we look for knowledge from a wide range of sources. We don't depend solely on books or videos. The land, spirits, and deities all harbor a wealth of wisdom if we only know how to ask to be taught. We listen to a wide variety of voices, including witches from marginalized communities, and we put our ego aside when we do so. Finally, you take the time to vet your sources, weeding out the out-dated and harmful information that came before and have no place in a healthy magical practice.

By making sure your goals are well thought out, you can set your magic up for success. Being purposeful means taking the time to think through your spells before you cast them. You want to be certain what your desired outcome is, and then work on the fine details of your magic. Practicing divination before you cast a spell can give you insight into any hidden obstacles in your way. This isn't to say there isn't room for spontaneity in magic, but when you can, approaching your spells with a purposeful mindset can help you make sure you aren't leaving anything out.

Honesty in your magic is of great importance, and that honesty starts with yourself. What is it that you want your magic to do? Are your goals what you really want or are they being influenced by outside opinions? And then there are times when you might not feel safe being open about your practice. Does that conflict with the idea that a witch is honest? Honesty comes from being clear with yourself, with what your goals are, and with what role magic will play in your life.

When working magic you're dealing with spirits, energies, deities, and other aspects that are outside of your control. Approaching your tools, helpers and yourself from a place of respect goes a long way to helping you reach your goals. That respect applies not only to the land and other cultures, but to yourself and your power as well.

Witchcraft is a practice for those who look beyond the surface with a sense of wonderment. Curiosity fuels the way we interact with our environment and others. Why is the world this way? If we don't like how things are, how can we change them? If we are happy with the status quo, how do we maintain it? It is that curious instinct that leads the witch to finding the magical properties of various items. Asking questions like who, why, what, and how will get you into the habit of not taking things at face value.

Being a confident witch can take some work. When a spell fails we might be tempted to question if we're really magical. We doubt ourselves and our abilities. But we can use our magic to boost our confidence, such as casting spells for self-esteem. We can also use our confidence to boost our magic, like when we look at our past successes as evidence that we can indeed work our will on the world.

At the outset it can be overwhelming to think that there are thirteen attributes to witchcraft. But these are all characteristics that we already possess. How you develop them and apply them to your magic is how you forge a truly personal practice. I go into more detail about them in my book, A Witch Is, but this brief overview gives you a good idea as to how each informs different parts of magic.

Make this new year one more magical and meaningful. You could choose one trait to focus on for four weeks and by the end of the year you would have covered each one. You would have a deeper understanding of who you are as a witch, the role magic plays in your life, and just what your individual practice looks like. Good luck and have a blessed 2026.