Witchcraft as Therapy?

Written By: Kelly Halonen, MSW, RSW

Photography credit: Apple Wagon Films and Bianca Artistry: Makeup Design 

​With the spooky season upon us, you may be wondering why a mental health article is talking about witchcraft, more specifically, the kind of modern-day witchcraft that I have personally seen and learned about.

As much as I wish I had a magic wand to fix everything, sadly that is not the case, and modern-day witchcraft isn’t so much about the magic anyway. It’s about the intention, which forms the foundation of the psychotherapy process too.
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Here are some of the ways that modern-day witchcraft mirrors psychotherapy, and how you can take advantage of the skills along your own journey.

​Positive Affirmations/Manifesting What You Want.
​​A lot of modern-day witchcraft is about recognizing and owning the power within yourself. This can come in the form of mantras or spells. These are words and phrases that can help you feel more empowered and help draw what you want into your life by helping you set goals for what you want, and helping you find the strength to achieve those goals. In therapy, we do this by having people practice positive affirmations to help build their self-esteem. This can be saying things in the mirror such as “I am enough,” “I am smart,” “I am strong,” or “I am beautiful.” 

​Self-Soothing Tools.
​In therapy, we use what is called a “Self-Soothing Toolkit.” This can be anything that involves the 5 senses that can relax you. For example, you can listen to calming music, look at a picture of a beach, drink peppermint tea, smell a nice candle, or squeeze a stress ball. These are ways to help relax you when you are anxious or upset. Witchcraft is similar in this way, except most often it is with crystals. Different crystals can be used for different things (worry, anxiety, sadness, etc.). By holding these crystals and putting your emotions and thoughts into them, you are using a tangible object to soothe your distress and reinforce your feelings of confidence and power.

​Tarot Cards.
​Even if you don’t believe that these will tell you the future, they can still be handy. By asking the cards a question and seeing what answers you receive, your mind can interpret these answers in a way that you hope or wish for. It can also help you recognize if you are holding fear or worry about the situation at hand. This also makes you set aside the time to directly think about what you want in your situation and your feelings towards it, which many of us do not take the time to do. 

​Spirituality.
​Spirituality can be a great strength for many people. It doesn’t matter if your spirituality is based on religion or not, because it is about the sense of connection with oneself, others, and life itself. This connection can help you through difficult times and give you hope for the future because it creates a feeling of belonging that transcends the day-to-day struggles. Psychotherapy often creates opportunities to connect with and explore one’s spirituality as a source of support and guidance. Similarly, the practice of witchcraft can give you a sense of being connected to something greater, with the strength of that connection reinforced by the sense of being exactly where you need to be, being exactly who you are, as a purposeful and valuable being. Whatever your spiritual path may be, it can be a source of empowerment, strength, and connection to not only yourself, but other people and a higher power.

​Nature.
​It is common to find nature to be soothing and healing. Witchcraft makes nature a key part of its practice which is why some people may be drawn to it. It can help you feel connected to nature and the world while respecting it. It can also help you heal by being connected to the natural environment around you. We often use the outdoors in therapy by going into nature or having a client visualize being in nature to help calm them. Witchcraft uses different elements of nature to help people have this connection.  

While witchcraft is made up of much more than just these 5 things, this list can show some of the similarities between witchcraft and therapy, and how it can help heal and empower people.

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