The more I’m learning to discover the craft, the more I find myself drawn toward being an eclectic witch.
I like to study other practices and mix different elements together, maybe even from other beliefs and traditions. Is that something I could do as an eclectic witch? For those that practice like this, how did you get started and are there any books or teachers that helped you build your practice?
Thanks!
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The eclectic path has deep, deeeeeep roots. Even Gerald Gardner pulled from ceremonial magic and folklore along with Eastern traditions when shaping modern Wicca. I make my practice my own by blending what resonates and leaving the rest behind. My energy flows stronger because of it.
I would take a moment to read two more recent threads which I think could really help your understanding here:
Your path is yours alone. If something feels right, trust it.
Pretty much this is exactly what being eclectic is about. Your practice doesn’t have to fit into any one box.
I pull from Norse, Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Celtic polytheism, plus Hinduism, Buddhism, Aboriginal spirituality, and some bits from Abrahamic traditions and Wicca. I just follow what calls to me and what aligns with my own experiences. That’s the whole point of being eclectic, you’re building something that’s uniquely yours.
Eclectic path is basically vibes-based witchcraft (though try to distinguish it from chaos magick). I talk to the moon sometimes. I thank the sun for my vitamin D. I talk to bugs like they’re my therapists, don’t judge me. My whole practice runs on grocery store supplies and whatever rocks look cool on the ground. Salt is basically my co-pilot, just don’t dump it where the plants can see.
Read everything, take what connects and add your own weird spin. Stay away from closed practices and actually learn about stuff before you do it. Intention matters a lot. We have loads of beginner resources if you need a starting point. Do no harm, follow your gut.
Blessed be x
Oh my gosh, yes! Your path is your path and that’s the whole point of being eclectic. You get to create something that’s uniquely yours. Your energy becomes more powerful when you’re practicing what genuinely clicks with you rather than following someone else’s rules. If it feels right in your soul, it’s not wrong.
I would second the suggestion of those threads. The types of witches will help you understand what eclectic really means (to you) and the guide on beginning your witchy journey is what you really want.
Don’t get yourself too wrapped up in labels to begin with. Learn, read and learn. Let your path unfold before you with names or restrictions.
The path chooses you as much as you choose it. You’ll know what’s yours when it won’t leave you alone, like the book you keep coming back to or the symbol that keeps showing up. Trust the pull. Write down the synchronicities, even the small ones. Your journal slowly turns into your grimoire without you really noticing.
Okay but. Let me push back a little on the idea that eclectic means grabbing from everywhere right away.
When I started 15 years ago, I tried to weave Norse runes and hoodoo all at once, and my altar honestly felt like a thrift store shelf. Zero energy behind it.What actually worked was spending a full year with just hedgewitchery and folk herbalism before adding anything else (boring, I know), because then I could feel when something new genuinely belonged versus when I was just collecting shiny objects.
Or you might find it is the exact opposite for you.
Eclectic doesn’t mean fast. Depth in one thing first makes the mixing way more potent later, at least that was true for me.
For you, if you’re more ADHD witchy style you might find that studying just one aspect of the craft is a little much so you’d rather dabble in a little bit of everything from the start.
Following your intuition and borrowing what resonates from different traditions is a valid path. Just stay informed and avoid closed practices.
omg YES go for it! I think for a lot of people, when they try to start, they try to pigeonhole themselves, and that can make it a lot harder than it needs to be.
I keep a divination log (just a cheap notebook) where I track tarot pulls and pendulum sessions side by side with my dreams. The patterns I’m noticing are interesting. Also try meeting up with local witches at a metaphysical shop if you have one nearby. Mine does free tea nights and I’ve learned more from those convos than any book.
I’d be cautiously open with books and teachers, but I’d vet them pretty carefully. The ones who helped me most named their sources and admitted what they didn’t know, without pressuring me to buy expensive tools or accept their way as the only way.
Start with one protection practice and build from there. Find a stone that speaks to you and charge it with intention, then wear it or keep it by the door. It gives you a simple anchor so you can mix traditions without things feeling too chaotic. That made experimenting way less overwhelming for me.
It’s all about feeling confident to explore more, so find something you resonate with and work with that. Let it guide you toward the next thing… that’s really what eclectic means at the end of the day. For me, it was starting by casting a protective circle.
Going the Western esotericism route gives you a completely different lens. That’s what worked for me when Wicca wasn’t clicking. Lon Milo Duquette and Damien Echols are goldmines for this, with hermeticism and ceremonial magick without the Wiccan framework baked in. And so much modern witchcraft has that framework, whether we like it or not.
Honestly, the main divide between witchcraft and chaos magic feels mostly aesthetic to me, premodern versus postmodern vibes. Chaotes just prioritize what works over tradition, and you can apply that approach to pretty much any system you want.
Honestly, the freedom to pick and choose is what drew me to eclectic practice in the first place.
What draws me is this blend of Norse, Greco-Roman, Egyptian, and Celtic polytheism, mixed with bits of Hinduism, Buddhism, Aboriginal Australian spirituality, and some cherrypicked pieces from Abrahamic traditions and Wicca. A real witch of all trades, I guess. My practice doesn’t fit neatly into any single camp. I just follow what makes sense with my experiences and feels right in my bones, whatever shape that ends up taking.
When you say you want to mix elements from other beliefs, have you thought about which ones are open versus closed practices? I went through a phase where I was using smudging and certain deity work without realizing the harm. A kind elder pointed it out to me. It was gentle, but it stuck.
Consider why each practice calls to you. Is it the aesthetic or the connection to ancestry? Sometimes the pull shows a need underneath, and naming it helps you find the right tool for it.
One tiny thing that helped me a lot when I was in your shoes: start a Book of Shadows section called ‘tried it / felt nothing / felt something.’ Columns for each, one line per practice. Within a couple of months, you’ll see patterns about which traditions your energy actually responds to, and it takes the pressure off committing to anything.
Joyce & River Higginbotham’s ‘Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions’ is also a decent starter because it surveys multiple paths side by side so you can sample without getting overwhelmed.
I think it’s the perfect way to get started; most witches should start as eclectic and only really focus themselves if they find something that they know they want. Look into Rachel Patterson’s stuff too, she has a grounded approach to eclectic work without being preachy about it.
I test new mixes by noting how my body feels right after, like warmth or a pull in certain spots. That tells me if two things belong together before I repeat them. Dreams after a try often point out what to drop or swap next.