Witchcraft 101: The Six Steps of Spellcasting
[Updated September 2025]
When I first started practicing witchcraft, I wanted a clear path forward. I thought there must be one “right” way to cast a spell. But what I learned quickly is that real magic isn’t about theatrics. It’s about clarity, intention, and the way you connect the physical and spiritual worlds.
That’s the heart of witchcraft: using intention, correspondences, and action to create change.
This post introduces you to the six core steps of magic: a beginner spellcasting guide you can adapt to your own style. Think of them as a flexible recipe: you can swap ingredients, change the order, and add your own flavor, but you’ll still end up with a satisfactory result. These six steps will appear again and again as you grow in your craft, no matter what kind of spell you’re casting.
Purpose
Correspondences
Materials
Timing
Spell Types/Tools
Words & Action
Each step below has its own dedicated blog post for when you’re ready to dive deeper; however, here you’ll find the complete overview. By the end, you’ll see that magic isn’t mysterious or unreachable. It has a process; a framework you can learn, adapt, and make your own.
1️⃣ Purpose: The Heart of the Spell
Every spell begins with a purpose; the why behind your magic. If you’ve ever wondered how to cast a spell step by step, it all starts here with clarity. It’s the seed you plant before anything else can grow. Without clarity, your energy scatters, and your results often reflect the same lack of clarity: vague or inconsistent.
Ask yourself: What do I really want to shift? What outcome am I aiming for?
✨ EXAMPLES OF PURPOSE INCLUDE:
Attracting abundance or opportunities
Healing a broken heart or easing grief
Finding clarity in a confusing situation
Protecting yourself or your home
Strengthening self-confidence
When you get clear on your purpose, the rest of the spell begins to fall into place. Think of it like setting the GPS before you start driving. You need to know where you’re headed before you can choose the route.
🔗 READ MORE: Choosing the Magical Purpose
2️⃣ Correspondences: Spirit Realm Energies
Once you know your purpose, you’ll choose which energies to work with. These are your correspondences—the spiritual allies, archetypes, or cosmic forces you want to connect with.
Correspondences exist in the spirit realm, but we connect to them through symbols in the physical realm, which we will explore in step 3.
✨ TYPES OF CORRESPONDENCES:
Planets – Mars for courage and drive, Venus for love and beauty.
Elements – Earth for grounding, Fire for passion, Water for emotion, Air for clarity.
Deities – Athena for wisdom, Hecate for transitions, Brigid for inspiration, Apollo for healing.
Archetypes – The Mother for nurturing, The Trickster for disruption, The Warrior for protection, The Healer for restoration.
Zodiac Signs – Capricorn for structure, Pisces for intuition, Leo for creativity, Scorpio for transformation.
Concepts – justice, transformation, love, beauty, truth, freedom, protection.
Spirits – ancestors, higher self, God and Goddess, the Universe, Spirit, Mother Earth, Father Sky, animal and plant spirits, the fae
When you choose correspondences, you’re essentially choosing who or what you’re asking to help move your purpose forward.
🔗 READ MORE: Working with Correspondences
3️⃣ Materials: Physical Anchors
Materials are the physical-world tools you use to represent and connect with your chosen correspondences. They’re not inherently magical on their own, but once they’re charged with intention, they become powerful bridges between the physical and the spiritual.
Think of materials as your magical vocabulary: crystals, herbs, scents, flavors, sounds, textures, colors, symbols—anything you can experience through your five senses. Each material you select is a way of “speaking” to the correspondences you’ve chosen.
✨ EXAMPLES OF ANCHORS:
If your correspondence is Venus (love + beauty), you might choose rose petals, a copper charm, or something green.
If your correspondence is the element of Fire, you might light incense, work with chili peppers, or burn paper sigils.
If your correspondence is ancestors, you might prepare food, pour water offerings, or display photos on your altar.
You don’t need an entire apothecary to practice magic. Even one candle, one stone, or a handwritten symbol can be enough. What matters is that the material holds meaning for you and aligns with your chosen correspondence.
The clearer your choice of materials, the stronger the channel you create between the unseen energy and the seen world.
🔗 READ MORE: Choosing Magical Materials
4️⃣ Timing: The When of Magic
Timing gives your spell an extra layer of power. It’s about aligning your purpose with the natural rhythms of the universe. You don’t have to wait for the perfect moment, but when you do, your magic flows more smoothly.
✨ WAYS TO TIME YOUR MAGIC:
Seasons & Sabbats – Plant new goals at Imbolc, harvest abundance at Mabon, release at Samhain.
Moon Phases – New Moon for beginnings, Full Moon for peak energy, Waning Moon for release, Waxing Moon for growth.
Days of the Week – Friday (Venus) for love, Saturday (Saturn) for banishing, Sunday (Sun) for success.
Time of Day – Morning for new beginnings, Noon for clarity, Sunset for transitions, Night for dreams or shadow work.
Think of timing as choosing the current you want to sail with. You can always row against the tide, but why not let the flow carry you?
🔗 READ MORE: Magical Methods and Timing
5️⃣ Tools: The How of Magic
If correspondences are the energies you’re working with, and materials are the physical language you use to speak with them, then spell types and tools are the structure that brings it all together.
This is where the craft in witchcraft shines. Each spell type provides a framework, and the tools you choose give your energy form. Without the witch (your voice, body, and intention), the craft is just objects. Without the craft (tools and materials), the witch’s energy has no vessel. Together, they make magic.
✨ COMMON SPELL TYPES:
Candle Magic – focusing intention through flame, color, and melting wax. Tools: candles, holders, matches.
Kitchen Magic – infusing meals, teas, or baked goods with energy. Tools: pots, pans, herbs, utensils.
Knot & Thread Magic – binding or releasing energy with cords. Tools: yarn, ribbon, string, fabric.
Sigil Magic – drawing symbols that hold intention. Tools: pen and paper, or carving tools.
Jar or Charm Spells – combining herbs, crystals, and symbols into a container. Tools: jars, pouches, bottles.
Your spell type determines which tools are needed, and your tools determine how your materials will be used. The craft side is what gives shape, texture, and weight to your intentions—making the invisible visible.
🔗 READ MORE: The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft Tools
6️⃣ Action: Activating the Spell
This is the moment your spell is set into motion. Words gave your purpose shape, but action is what releases it into the world. Think of it as opening the gate, allowing your energy to flow outward.
✨ WAYS TO ACTIVATE YOUR SPELL:
Words – chanting, prayers, affirmations, or whispering your goal into an object.
Gestures – clapping, stomping, stirring, or drawing symbols in the air.
Energy Work – visualizing light, sending breath, or channeling power through your hands.
Offerings – giving thanks to spirits, deities, ancestors, or the land itself.
Movement – dancing, drumming, or even simply walking in a circle with focus.
The key is confidence. If you move and speak with doubt, your energy wavers. If you act with conviction, your spell reverberates outward like ripples in a pond.
🌀 Putting It All Together
Let’s walk through a simple spell example step by step. This shows you exactly how the six steps of magic come together in practice.
Suppose your purpose is to protect your home…
Purpose: I protect my home and those within it.
Correspondences: Saturn for boundaries.
Methods/Timing: Evening ritual on the waning moon and/or a Saturday.
Materials: rosemary leaves mixed with black salt, black tourmaline
Spell Type: Candle Spell - black candle, matches, candle holder
Action: Light the candle, place tourmaline in front of the candle, then sprinkle salt and rosemary in a circle around it while chanting your purpose.
Before the Spell: Write and prepare your spell (we did that above), gather your tools and materials, budget your energy and time, and ground yourself so you can show up fully.
During the spell: Open and protect your space, speak and move with intention, do the spell you wrote, visualize your outcome, and thank the spirits you’ve called.
After the spell: Record your experience, celebrate your effort, release attachment to the outcome, and look for signs of manifestation while taking aligned actions in your daily life.
✨ Want More Support with Spellcasting? ✨
Learning the six steps is just the beginning, but you don’t have to figure it all out alone. The Blog Rewards Program provides you with access to printable resources that guide you through these practices step by step—the tools to do it.
Inside you’ll find:
🪄 Spell templates you can customize
📓 Reflection prompts
🌿 Material & correspondence references
🔮 Bonus tarot spreads and rituals
It’s completely free to join, and every new blog post unlocks another magical resource designed to help you put what you’ve learned into action.
🧙♀️ Living Magic Every Day
Magic doesn’t only happen when you cast significant, elaborate rituals. These six steps also apply to your daily life.
When you cook dinner with intention, you’re practicing magic.
When you journal your dreams under the full moon, you’re practicing magic.
When you cleanse your space with herbs, you’re practicing magic.
Magic is everywhere. These six steps help you recognize and shape it.
🌟 Final Thoughts
Witchcraft is about alignment: between your inner world and the outer world, between your intentions and your actions, and between your spirit and your daily life.
This six-step framework gives you the confidence to create spells that are truly yours. Remember: your magic doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. It only has to feel authentic and empowering to you.
So grab your journal, light a candle, and play with this structure. Start small. Experiment. Let your magic grow as you do. With this beginner spellcasting guide, you’ll have a clear framework whenever you’re ready to cast a spell step by step.
✨ Next up in Witchcraft 101: Focus, Trance & Sacred Space, where you’ll get an overview of these witchcraft practices.
This post is part of a series. Follow the entire Witchcraft 101 collection:
