I'm a Pagan Witch. That is the most concise description. But let's expand on that for a moment.

Pagan: I follow a nature-based, polytheistic path inspired by pre-Christian beliefs. But my path is modern, crafted for my life in the world today. Though I love to learn about practices of the past, my own practice is not an attempt to recreate them, and I feel no obligation to do things the way they were done centuries ago.

Witch: I practice Witchcraft and I embrace the mantle of the word "Witch." These days, it's somewhat easier to specify that I practice religious Witchcraft (to me, the capitalization hints at that, but it's not a common enough convention to rely on that). To me, this piece is not as simple as "someone who practices magic", and I'll say more about that below.

I do capitalize them as proper nouns, the way we conventionally also do with terms like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and more. Paganism and Witchcraft deserve the same treatment, in my opinion, when we are talking about modern religious practices (as mine are). I do not capitalize them when referring to ancient pagan cultures, instances of accusations of witchcraft, or "witchiness" as an aesthetic, because those are not referring to modern religious practice(s). The aesthetic can certainly be part of a modern practice, but I try to distinguish for myself when I'm talking about something being Witchy in terms of my spiritual path, and witchy in terms of style or vibe.

Some people use the term Modern Pagan Witchcraft to refer to a certain category of modern practices. I would say that describes me, and I like the term. It feels concise yet descriptive.

My path is both spiritual and religious.

My grandmother was not a Witch. I don't have one of those stories. However, she definitely carried on folk magic practices from Italy. I may be the first self-identified Witch in my bloodline (as far as I know), but I am far from the first to do magic. To me, there is a difference. Many people do magic (whether they call it that or not is another matter). Not all magical practitioners are necessarily Witches.

A note about spelling:
I originally learned to spell magic with a k for the purpose of differentiating it from stage magic, sleight of hand. In 2024, I became aware that some people who use that spelling may be connected to lineages of appropriation that I do not agree with or consciously pull from (I say consciously, because many neopagan practices have been influenced by traditions that practitioners don't always know much about or actively practice). I've been told that some people now consider that spelling a red flag, so I wanted to address it. Much of my earlier writing, and the work of many of my peers, uses "magick" since we learned that this spelling was the preferred way of setting religious and spiritual practice apart from magic "tricks" and performance. You are likely to see that spelling in the bulk of older resources across the board, and quite possibly from anyone primarily learning from those resources now. If you come across this, I would recommend asking questions or doing a little more searching to get a sense of what the person or group's views actually are.

I had already begun dropping the 'k' in recent years, before knowing this new information, simply because I saw "magic" being used by more people in my communities and realized the other spelling was no longer really necessary. With this new knowledge, I wanted to acknowledge it. I trust that the body of my work will show my positions more than previous spelling, and I am not excusing people with actual bigoted views. I just don't believe how they spell "magic" alone is going to tell me their social positions. Not everyone is connected to communities in order to know that expectations or usage have changed. Just be a little curious and inquire before making the assumption. (Other spellings like "majic", "magik", or "majik" have also been used for all the time I've been in Witchcraft spaces, in my experience primarily by non-English or ESL speakers. Judging or making fun of people based on spelling has always been a thorn in the side of community experience online, but especially now if some folks are promoting that a different spelling is an automatic "red flag", we need to be aware of who has been using other spellings, who uses them now, and why.)

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As for what magic means to me, I like the definition Starhawk uses that is also found in the Reclaiming Principles of Unity: "the art of changing consciousness at will." Through changing ourselves, we change the world. There are other definitions of magic out there, and one thing they tend to have in common is change. Magic is about creating change.
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My practice extends back to my pre-teen years, in the early 2000s. I began as a solitary Witch following a general Wiccan framework learned through books. While I haven't identified myself as a Wiccan for some years now, there is no denying the influence that Wicca, as a form of modern Witchcraft, has had on my path and that of many others. When people ask about this, I usually say my path is definitely influenced by what we now call Wicca, but I am not an initiate of any Wiccan tradition, just to be clear and not misrepresent. I used to clarify this by simply saying I was a solitary non-initiate, which I still think is a fine way to say it if that's what someone is doing. But since non-initiates may work in groups, and initiates may work solitary, I no longer find these terms as useful as they seemed when I was a beginner. Things are much more fluid and complex.

I'm a Reclaiming Witch. I'm part of the Reclaiming Tradition of Witchcraft.

My involvement with Reclaiming began in 2012 personally, and in 2015 with wider community. It is a social justice oriented tradition, founded with the blending of spirituality and politics embedded in its nature. In the decades since its beginning, changes have been made by the global Reclaiming community as a whole to better reflect our evolving values as a tradition -- particularly around gender inclusivity and anti-racism -- along with working toward all forms of justice, including racial, gender, economic, disability, environmental, and more. It is a very collaborative tradition, and my regional community is strongly community-lead. Co-teaching is the norm within the tradition, to model shared power and rotate responsibilities and opportunities for different experience. I have been co-teaching core classes in the tradition since 2021, both online and in person, at Witchcamps and other occasions.

What I Do

The thing that most people online know me for is creating content about modern Paganism and Witchcraft, which I've been doing since 2008! I also teach in person when I can, and online the rest of the time, offering classes, workshops, presentations, etc. Online offerings have become more common lately, and I'm glad to see that shift. As someone who started out with very few people in my area to learn from, I love being able to connect with people who are not in the same geographic area, or even the same time zone.

The next biggest group of people know me through my work in Reclaiming as a ritualist, facilitator, co-teacher, community member and Tech Witch! If you know me through Reclaiming, you probably know me by a different name, which I use only in Reclaiming spaces. Everywhere else, please call me Cara!

Over the years, my work has manifested in several ways:

• making video and blog content about modern Paganism and Witchcraft

• co-founding a collaborative Pagan channel on YouTube in 2009 (active until 2022)

• speaking at Pagan Pride events in multiple states in the US

• planning and leading services for Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations that center on Pagan or Witchy themes

• teaching classes on magic for UU groups, and helping form Pagan groups that would continue beyond my classes

• presenting workshops at Paganicon 2022 -- an annual Pagan conference in Minnesota, USA

• private classes for covens, circles, and other working groups

• providing divinatory readings and guidance both privately and at events, in person and online

• facilitating classes and workshops at local shops and online, both individually and as part of larger events

• educating the curious and open-minded public as the Assistant Director / tour guide of a Modern Witchcraft museum

• working with divinity school students as a Paganism and Witchcraft resource

• creating local community in my tradition in my area, and helping others do the same in their areas

• mentoring seekers along their personal Pagan and Witchcraft journey
  
  

Let's talk about some of those a little more:

I co-founded a collaborative Pagan channel on YouTube, called Pagan Perspective, that actively ran from 2009-2020, with an official farewell video in 2022. It featured a rotating panel of Pagans from different paths over the years, posting videos to answer viewers' questions every week. The channel still exists, so you can still go back and watch 11 years of content! I was the organizer and Tuesday host for all that time. (Or Wednesday, in some time zones!)

I'm part of the Reclaiming Tradition of Witchcraft and there was no active Reclaiming community in my state at the time, so I set out to create it. I began reaching out in 2019 and by 2021, we had an active community of a dozen social justice oriented, intersectional feminist, anti-racist, queer AF Witches who were excited to get together, support one another, and make some magic. 12 year old me could not have imagined this! I've also been a ritualist and path facilitator at our regional camp, taught Reclaiming core classes online and in person since 2021, and done some Tech Witchery for online and hybrid Reclaiming events.

For three years, I was the Assistant Director of Raymond Buckland's museum collection. I was a tour guide as well as overall teacher, answering questions about things both historical and modern, from both practitioners and the interested public. I also helped guests with practical magical knowledge, suggestions, and recommendations for their personal use. Being a tourist destination, most of the people I taught or helped there are folks I would never see or hear from again, so the few times people would return with stories of how my guidance had helped them in the time since, it was always wonderful to hear. This is similar to online content creation in that for most people who enjoy my content, I have no idea how my online work has influenced them. I just trust that it has, or they wouldn't continue watching! (Hail the Lurkers!) The few people over the years who have reached out to let me know how much my work has helped them are very appreciated.

Why I Do It

At first I made videos and wrote blogs just to share my journey, and to connect with other solitary Witches in far flung corners of the internet. Many of us were learning on our own, without in-person teachers, and seeking community online because we didn't have it where we lived. (I was 18 going on 19 when I first started posting about my path, between graduating high school and entering college.) Over years of doing this, people began asking me to teach them about specific things instead of just randomly sharing whatever I was up to at the time in my own practice. Especially with the Pagan Perspective collab channel, this became more of a regular thing, researching and then sharing what I learned in a more understandable way so that others could learn it, too. Over the years, as my experience grew, I gradually moved into formal teaching -- offering workshops, presentations, and classes both online and in person, when possible.

I do this for a lot of reasons:

• I absolutely love talking about modern Witchcraft and Paganism. In case you couldn't tell, it's kind of my thing!

• A lot of people find the way I explain things extremely helpful. I love helping people understand things they may have been struggling with on their own.

• I happen to be a person who loves to read, and research, and do all that extra nerdy stuff! Not everyone likes that, or can engage in the same way, but they still want to learn. I like to be a bridge for that learning, bringing information to people in a more personalized and accessible way.

• In many ways, I definitely still do this for the solitary Witch I used to be. There are seekers out there looking for exactly the teacher I am. I didn't have that at the time, but I can be that now for someone else.

• Creating and tending community is really important to me, as someone who didn't have like-minded spiritual community for years.
  
  

How you can work with me:

Check out my Offerings page to see what's available right now!

If nothing you're interested in is currently happening, check back periodically to see what's coming up. Seasonally would be a good frequency, as I try to move with the natural cycles. You can also follow cutewitch772 on Instagram, and subscribe to my channel on YouTube (you will find my social media links throughout this site, as well). Definitely check out my public YouTube videos to see what I've done most recently.

You can also support me on Patreon or Ko-Fi, and join the community Discord through those, which is the best way to find out what I'm doing and when! I also share things with monthly supporters first, before the general public gets to know about them, as well as sharing exclusives only for supporters. (Note: Ko-Fi monthly support was just added in 2025, but Patreon has a large back-log of content since I've been using that platform for years.)

• I have a B.A. in Theatre Arts. I have worked as an actor (mostly stage, occasionally short films), stage manager, director, and choreographer over the years in community theatre.

  • Yes, I spell it -re. That is how my department spelled it, so that's what my diploma states! We also call everyone actors, regardless of gender. Some people like "actress" being different, others find it diminishing to set them apart. I like actor: one who acts.

  • I did musical theatre as well as plays. (I usually don't sing on YouTube because of copyright issues.)

  • My theatre arts background blends with my magic in my love of story-telling, symbolism, and creating ritual.

• For the Astrology nerds (like me), I'm a Leo Sun, with Mercury in Virgo. (Tropical)

  • I think that Mercury placement is the most relevant to understanding how I work, because it touches on how I communicate and how I organize my thoughts, words, and actions.

  • As for the Leo Sun... see above theatre arts experience. 😄

• I love Halloween 🎃 and rainbows. 🌈

• My favorite witchy movies are "Practical Magic" (1998) and "The Craft" (1996). The TV show "Charmed" (1998-2006) was a constant when I was growing up.

• My favorite video games tend to be of the single player, first person, point and click adventure, puzzle game genres. I especially love anything with Witchcraft, Pagan, or magical themes, of course. (Check out my second channel if you're interested in that sort of thing!)

• I started my cartomancy journey (around age 12) with oracle cards, because my mom read Tarot when I was a kid and it seemed way too complicated for me! It took me years to sit down and get serious about learning it for myself. Now I read both (and have taught others how, too).

• I personally take care of two cats, though there are other animals I love and live with at various times.

• I drink both coffee and tea, but I'm more likely to go for a tea. I used to work at a Victorian inspired tea parlor, and later a vegan café.

• My favorite season is autumn. For a couple of years in my teens, I was a tour guide for a local history/ghost story tour every autumn around Halloween.

• I, like many Witches, have indeed been part of a paranormal investigation team in the past. Multiple people in it were Witches.

• I'm a rennie! Or, I have been. I worked at my regional medieval faire for a few years, selling runes and rune accessories made by a musician friend of mine, at his booth. I also worked for him one season at a nearby renaissance festival, selling his CDs. Look up Captain John Stout for some wonderful renditions of traditional folk songs from all over Europe, and also some originals! (He's on Patreon.)

Some New Additions for More Context:

• I am a solo content creator. I've started stating this explicitly in recent years because YouTube is also a place where companies form and teams create together, and where some creators hire editors, script- or copywriters, social media managers, and assistants, or may simply co-create with a business partner or group of friends who share the work load. I do all of what goes into my content completely on my own, from writing to recording, editing, and posting, as well as writing and editing this website, my email newsletters, and more. None of it is artificially made, and none is done by another human, either. It's all me, good days and bad days! Speaking of which...

• Less fun, but still facts: I have chronic insomnia, ADHD, anxiety and depression, and other mental health and trauma related experiences. Elsewhere on this site where I mention that I come from a trauma-informed and ableism-aware approach, some of that is from personal experience, as well as from working with others in my communities with different experiences from mine. Due to lack of affordable healthcare, I don't have medication or therapy, or even formal diagnoses for some of what I deal with. I try to honor every day that I get myself through. (And for anyone else who's had to just get through day after day, you're doing amazing, and you're not alone.)