Witchcraft Secrecy: power, benefits & when I use it

Below is an approximate transcription of this video linked above!

Today we're here to talk about what I don't talk about! The benefits of secrecy when it comes to your magickal practice.

Big ol' disclaimer: as always, this is just my personal preference and I am just telling you what has worked for me and what my experience is and as always you can take from it what you want. If this is something that you're like "that's not for me" that is totally valid. If it resonates with you, great! And if you learn that it's not for you, also great! Either way, I hope that you get something out of it. So let's begin!

So what do I mean by secrecy? By "secrecy" I don't necessarily mean being broom closeted or not telling people that you are a witch or that you are pagan or that you are practicing… whatever it is. Although, if that's how you want to interpret it that is totally up to you! But for me secrecy just means not sharing what I am actively working on. I generally don't tell my friends or my family. When I have had significant others I would very rarely, if ever, share it with them.

You'll probably go to my instagram and say "But Xristi, it's a bunch of pictures of you being a witch!". And sometimes that includes spell work. There are times and places where I feel comfortable sharing that. For me that is actually the main factor in why I think that secrecy is important. There is a comfort in it being my private practice.

Secrecy can protect your spell from external or internal energies/influences

While that working is actively manifesting or creating or being sent out into the universe or is in progress, it can still be influenced by external and internal energies.

External influences:

Let's say for example external energies. If you are doing a career spell and you tell a friend or a family member about it and they have a thought that's like "they're never going to get that job." Or they start feeling jealous of you for having that potential opportunity that energy. That thought, even if you don't recognize it, can influence your work.

Internal Influences

As well as internal influences. What I mean by that is: if you are doing that career spell and then you tell a friend or family member about it and they say to you "are you sure that's going to work?" then you start to doubt your own ability and doubt your own working. That does affect your energy which can also affect the spell. Even if it's something that you already did, if you have not received it yet it can affect it.

You May Choose to Protect Active Spells and/or Altar Spaces

For this reason, a lot of witches or practitioners will not post pictures or share their altar spaces. Because they want to protect that space. They don't want other people looking at it or judging it or being able to visualize it and send any energy, whether it is intended by that person or not, to do so. They like to have their sacred space be very private, very personal. And a lot of people choose to do that with their practice as well.

What workings, if any, you feel comfortable sharing is going to be totally up to you. That will vary from practitioner to practitioner. For me, when I am doing an active spell work, I usually will place a bunch of items, either colored cloths or ribbons or flowers or items that are reflecting the working that I'm working with. So if I take a picture of my altar space at one point in time, it is not going to look like that later or when I am actively working. So, I feel pretty comfortable sharing my working space.

I also am pretty confident in my wards. That is the majority of work that I actually do, is just protection. So I personally feel comfortable sharing pictures of my working spaces. Not everyone will and that's, I totally respect that. I also feel very comfortable sharing ritual work when it comes to especially sabbats or holidays. Those are more, I feel, seasonal rituals and less active spell work. Even if active spell work is involved, I still for some reason feel like it's like lighting a christmas tree for me. This is my holiday thing.

Ultimately: Prioritize Your Comfort Level and Privacy

I do sometimes feel comfortable sharing smaller workings or posting photos of workings that are from the past. I also sometimes feel comfortable sharing smaller workings that I feel are a lot less personal to me or that I feel like I can separate myself from the spell enough that I can share it so that I don't feel like it's influenced. For example, I shared a quick video on TikTok and Instagram Reels on how to do a quick separation from something spell. I felt comfortable with that because I wasn't telling you guys what I'm separating from. It could be a person it could be a place it could be a thing.

It really will come down to how personal and private it is to me. A lot of the times if you're seeing candle spells or active spell works it is either an older photo that I finally feel comfortable sharing or it is something that is not an active spell. Sometimes I will just set out candles and herbs and stuff like that around my altar space so that I am setting an energy and I'm creating a mood but that is not the main part of my spell and I am very comfortable like I said, posting pictures of that or posting pictures of my altar space because it does not always look that way. It is constantly changing and when I'm doing an active spell work I will put out different items to relate to that spell work or different tarot cards or something like that so, for me, again that's my personal preference and that's what I feel comfortable with so that is generally why I don't share like "this is what spell work I am doing" on the internet.

That's pretty much the post! I hope you guys got something out of this or were at least entertained!