Where to get started?

Hello all. Okay so a little backstory first: a friend of mine was going to help me to learn witchcraft since she's been practicing for longer than I knew it was more than just Hollywood magic. She tried to help me learn a bit with a bit of spellwork, some elemental magic, and feeling energy but I don't feel like I really have a good base for starting with magic. Does anyone have any tips as to where to begin with learning magic? My hope is to be more connected with nature and the elements/energy around me, but I don't know where to begin with learning to recognize the forces I can't see.

Thanks ahead of time!

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If you're serious about learning how to do magic and with starting from the rock-bottom then you don't start out by casting spells, you start out by learning how and why magic works.

You see, there is no such thing as an "easy" spell or a "beginner" spell. One either understands how magic works and has mastered the basics...in which case the magic will work..or you haven't done that sort of work..and no spell will work no matter how "easy" it seems.

Casting a successful spell involves much more than finding some spell on the internet or in a book, saying some words, lighting a candle, waving a wand of any of that sort of thing. In order for magic to work you need to understand how and why it works in the first place. Grounding and centering, visualization, focus and intent, energy manipulation, etc are all necessary first steps to even begin to have a chance at a spell actually working...and more importantly to prevent a spell from back-firing on you.

So, my advice for anyone who is truly serious is to start by reading a few books and practicing the exercises those books will give you. Once you have mastered the basics you won't need anyone to give you spells, you'll be able to create your own spells that will be far more effective than anything you find on the net. Here's the books I suggest:

"Before You Cast a Spell" by Carl McColman

"Spells and How They Work" by Janet and Stewart Farrar

"The Veil's Edge" by Willow Polson

"Modern Magick" by Donald Michael Kraig

And the following links in this thread will also help you learn the basic skills necessary for effective spellwork.

Starting Out: http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=71692

The Basics Expanded : http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=483942

Visualization: http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=526472

Grounding and Centering : http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_posts.html?post=829288

The Elements : http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=548077

Magical Correspondences : http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=819642

How to Write Your Own Spells - I just finished writing an article on the steps and thought processes of creating your own spells. You can read the article at http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=829629