I like the drawing analogy. The content doesn't change. It just becomes more nuanced, more detailed, more rich and beautiful as you become more skilled.
Seconded. I felt my practice progress from the spell casting episodes and I was finally prepared to not only do, but trust in my own research method for my practice. It's what you do with what you have 💖🎨🖌🪄
To add to this AMAZING video, a lot of times our intermediate knowledge is incredibly specific to our tradition and it's difficult to teach it or make content on it without taking it outside of its cultural context. Half the time (as you said) these practices are closed or partially closed, and to share the information that you have gotten from teachers, spirits, or from your own research is skipping the process someone needs of finding out if the practice is for them.
Facts!!! My own practice developed over the years to be specific to my own upbringing. As I start to more consistently make content, I've been being clear that I have no interest in teaching anything to anyone.
Cultural context is overrated. Witchcraft was made for helping our lives and having more power to do things. I hate this silly gatekeeping. So in Romania we had some folk magick and some specific little spells. Do I need to tell everyone the history of that spell? Or is it just a tool that's very useful and wr should share it.
I think that the only way to teach intermediate and advanced practices is through storytelling and the sharing of upg. You’re totally right that it’s a matter of experience, but there’s a way to share those experiences in a teaching sort of way. That being said, no one should feel obligated to share those experiences and upg, but in my opinion, I think it’s the most effective way to teach the “unteachable”.
I agree with this SO much. I try my best to share "intermediate" content, but there are so many issues when sharing content like this. Beginners end up watching the video, becoming confused, and asking a bunch of beginner questions... I simply don't have the time to answer all the beginner questions even if I want to. And then what's the point? Also, factoring in that a person needs experience to even practice rituals like this... I can't pick and choose who watches the video. And so I have many beginners watching my more advanced videos and not understanding the concepts because they aren't ready... When the video wasn't meant for them. You are right in that it's about experience. And I can't give that to another practitioner... None of us can. It's about doing the work for yourself and practicing over and over again. About the beginner books... Yes. That's why I'm attempting to write an "intermediate" book for witches that isn't the same beginner concepts that we see in every single beginner book. What a great topic - thank you for this video!
@IvyTheOccultist I think each channel has it's preferred audience ya know? Like how different teachers specialize in teaching at different levels. YOU DO YOU!
hi ivy! i super appreciate your chaos magic content. I think for me, finding intermediate content is also about going deeper into the subgenres of witchcraft. and your vids on chaos magic have definitely given me great ideas. im now also feeling inspired to create intermediate content lol
It's incredibly difficult to recommend "intermediate" content to someone when you pull in your knowledge from... everywhere. So many sources and cultures, it's impossible to give a ribbon wrapped "how to" guide. The blending of folk and ceremonial magic, different types of pantheons, etc. It's so personal and that's what makes it work!! I love your gym analogy, it's perfect
This is exactly why I've actually started showing less of my practice online. That and the other side, where the same people demanding you teach the basics wanna try to correct long time practitioners on what they do. I've been seeing more beginners trying to tell people who've been practicing for decades that they're doing ancestor veneration wrong and it's like no dude it's not. I'm honoring my family how they ask me to. Don't tell me it's wrong because you heard another 12 year old on tiktok who only watched two episodes of charmed and calls themselves advanced because of it say its wrong
When I started to expand my own knowledge, I did what you talked about and found sources outside of explicit witchcraft. Metaphysics and philosophy, transpersonal psychology. All of that information helped me in my craft even though it wasn't directly witchy. If witch means wise person, I don't know why people don't involve themselves in a broader array of topics. I resonate with your channel so much because you aren't fluffy. Great to hear someone talk about this.
In addition to what you were saying regarding those that ask for intermediate material, to me it also feels akin to asking to copy homework. They're not putting in the work and time like the person they're asking and are missing out on their own opportunities to learn things they otherwise wouldn't. But, I also understand the value in being pointed in the right direction. It's a fine line in my opinion.
I very much agree with you! I think sometimes, some people forget about the work, time and consistency things in life sometimes need. But also agree its nice to share some things to help you on your journey!
I am a fairly proficient swordsman and time after time as I teach I am forced to say some variant of - "This is like riding a bike. I can tell you how to sit on the saddle and which brake to pull first when you are going downhill or that you have to lean rather than turn the handlebars to go round corners at speed ... but I can't tell you how to ride a bike. You have to learn that by trying and failing ... a *lot*". It's the same thing with these sorts of practice - no one can tell you how to forge that link between your spirit and the energies around you. You can only find it by trying ... and failing ... a lot! :) EDIT: Thank you for breaking my concentration, whilst I was doing some complex calculations, with a totally unexpected "Shaking your titties at the moon!" :lol:
I think this is the best video I’ve seen about intermediate content. I pretty much agree with everything you’ve said and I love the way you put it about experience and layers, thank you so much for putting so much effort and kindness in all your content, I’ve leaned so much from you ❤
If you're asking for more advanced techniques, you may not be ready for it. Make a candle ritual or something that resonates with you and ask the universe for education and experience within your understanding and it will come naturally. YOU are your own power. Keep practicing! You all got it!
I also feel like it's really hard to become more advanced as a general practitioner if you're just looking for "general" content. More advanced information is based on diving into specific subjects--learning more about plants, learning more about astrology, learning more about quantum mechanics, etc. etc. It doesn't mean that people have to pick a specific kind of practice or pick a specialty, but without specific interests guiding your research I don't know how else people would get more information.
I’d love to try this course! Question: is it highly demanding when it comes to focus and concentration on a daily basis? I suffer from a brain injury and have to pace my life and not sure if I’d be ready for a course like this. TIA
@crazy4catsRL The course does require a lot of visualization and there is a moment when you have several things going on at once. But I will say that it is taught in such a way that everything layers on a bit at a time so it is much more manageable. There's scripts for the spoken parts, so no memorization is needed. You can also pay by the lesson, so if it doesn't work out you won't be losing a big chunk of money. But I highly recommend you give it a try!
I feel like most of your examples and definitions of “intermediate” are actually describing “advanced”. I agree that you cant teach some things, but at intermediate levels you’re still looking for/having experiences. Which is what your current content offers. At the advanced level is when you can rely on those experiences and become independent in what you do. Where I think you could be confusing your audience here is your use of the terminology. Your content so far as been covering both beginner AND intermediate. What I hear you discussing is why you don’t want to offer advanced content. Which is totally valid and I don’t think you owe anyone an explanation 😉
I agree with this. It is possible teach intermediate material because for the student, it requires appropriate basic skills and background knowledge, possibly also ethical understanding. Examples of intermediate books: * Robert Hand: Planets in Transit * Ivo Domínguez Jr.: Spirit Speak * Christopher Penczak: Ascension Magick Teaching intermediate material is not the same as trying to teach experience, which of course is not possible. You can teach intermediate material also in classes and magical traditions. Not all such material is closed practices, a copyright infringement, or oathbound. But teaching intermediate material in a UA-cam video is more difficult, because many kinds of people can view it. How to convey what kind of skills and knowledge the audience should have without making the video too slow-paced? For some viewers, it would go right over their heads and they would complain about gatekeeping. Videos about some subjects would also be very long.
Thank you so much, genuinely. Essentially due to mental health struggles, I've never had a fully fledged practice. I've been in this community for over a decade, and there's certainly a feeling of shame regarding my lack of experience. You're a huge help for my journey 🖤
You are definitely not alone on this one: I go through ebbs and flows of magickal energy throughout the years. Sometimes I'm heavily invested, but when life happens it's not always easy to prioritize. That doesn't make you any less!
People asking for personal step-by-step "Intermediate" stuff, gives me the feeling that they want everything done 'now' and/or they don't know how to think for themselves. I still call myself a beginner, and I've already experienced so many people asking to be handed the information , instead of looking for it themselves. It's exhausting, and I'm not being bombarded by the internet. Just taking a moment to be grateful for what you do, Olivia.
To be fair when it comes to a beginner its hard to find information that is true and real online or what books to read, what supplies to buy. And then transitioning from beginner to intermediate is like when do you know youre not a beginner anymore? What spells are even considered intermediate? It was hard to find information for me at first but I found my way.
@@kittyem63Yeah, true. Once you have sort of "basics" down in a few areas, you start to find yourself & create your own. Can't lie, though: I have the same questions as the folks she talks about in this video out of desire for some sort of security in what I do.
I blush almost to mention it, but To Stir a Magick Cauldron by Silver Ravenwolf is as solid intermediate grimoire. It has things like the lesser-known moon phases, creating a servitor, advanced circle castings. Its very first exercise is to put all your tools away for a month and make magic with your body and energy. I think intermediate study is about learning the "why?" of things. A baby witch learns how to cast a circle. An intermediate witch asks, why do we cast a circle at all? Why is Air in the East, and so on? And experimenting with different methods to learn why and how these things work.
I think of it like building a doorway. The frame can be as elaborate as you want with lots of different kinds of knowledge and technique, but ultimately each individual has to walk through that doorway and find for themselves what is spiritually potent. And actually there is a bit of an opportunity here to talk about boundaries and abuse. I'm not sure how often this conversation has come up recently but there has been discussion in the past about how to recognize practitioners who are engaging in abuse. If someone is willing to start telling you how you should or what you should feel in a really strict way it could be a red flag. This practice is deeply personal and can connect you with very deep layers of the mind and body. The thoughts, feelings, and sensations that are tapped to varying degrees within a practice can be manipulated by someone who has ill intentions. Modeling the active awareness of maintaining healthy spiritual boundaries is a very important part of the practice. It can be frustrating as a person challenges themselves to learn more and they wrestle with the desire to deepen their practice but once they realize how deep they have gone, it makes sense why respectful Pagan peers and mentors insist on keeping certain personally sacred things secret. It comes down to a deep awareness that you and your spiritual self are beautiful and sacred and worthy of respect and protection. And in the spirit of ritual acknowledgement of seemingly intangible yet incredibly potent things. Treating the external representations of our deep inner selves with respect is how we claim a deeper level of respect for ourselves. Thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed this video. I hope you have a blessed day.
Well said. While I haven't had personal experience, I know spiritual abuse is out there. No one is exempt from such manipulation. I know of some intelligent and well educated people who ignore those big red flags. That we have to remain aware and vigilant is so disheartening.
Yes! Thank you for saying this. I have been using and studying herbalism for over 40 years and regularly have people wanting to learn but struggling to accept that I can’t teach years of practice and experience in a few months or even a year, or wanting me to give them a book that will tell them everything. It’s something that is integrated deeply into my everyday life. “That’s why it’s called a practice” is my mantra.
OMG YES. Especially with Herbalism omg. Have you noticed that like ALL the herbalism books are SO empty of information. And so many of them actually have false/misleading information! Do you run a shop or offer services?
Very difficult topic to articulate but I feel you knocked it out of the park in that short phrase, "You can't teach experience." Thanks for the video. Until next time.
I feel like once you get bored like that with all the basic things to learn and you keep seeing them repeatedly, then it’s time to consider yourself intermediate. From then on it’s pure personal experience, what works for someone else may not work for you. It’s more about ok now I know the basics now I can pay attention to myself and what I need for my life. You can’t teach that because every single one of us is going to differ. Beginner videos are more like orientation than you go off and follow whatever majors or degrees you’d like (metaphorically speaking) lol
Preacchhhh. This is so well said. I think its difficult for beginners to understand that there are ancient practices that work (for most people) and there are individual practices that can't be transferred. And then also keep in mind that its ALL magick and its ALL real. Or maybe I'm projecting my inner baby-witch hahah
"Shake your titties at the moon" and "sniff some lavender and stick some rose quartz up your butt". - Olivia, The Witch of Wonderlust. 😆 That did make me chuckle. You are so right about intermediate practices though. They are not something that can be easily put into words, never mind explaining or teaching to others.
Yeah I think it's better to have it be a communal conversation rather than a lecture and student dynamic. Especially because magick is SO COMPLEX hahahha
I really love this. It reminds me of when my sumi-e painting teacher used to talk about 'internalising' a process - doing something so often that it becomes a part of you and then you can start to be creative with it. He would make us study and draw a tree for so long, and then when we came to paint it, we could add like branches or bumps in the trunk that made sense for how trees grow. This feels like the intermediate practice. The moment when you know something so well you can be creative with it in ways that make sense for the purpose of whatever it is you're working on.
Wow. That must have been an amazing class. And that example is SO true for how I've experienced my own craft (and drawing too). That's really going to stick with me. Thank you for sharing it.
You have to learn from your own experience. Just like when you go to college, they can only teach you. It goes beyond the teaching, it’s hands on and their own experience. I take spells and sometimes I have to tweak them to work for me. You have to know when to tweak something and know how to tweak it for your own practice. So bottom line, do your own work and have your own experience.
this needed to be said. the only way to move past novice or beginner or witchlet is to do the work. On my journey that means having my hands in the earliest stages of creation. From growing my own herbs from seeds, to making the candles , to sourcing my own materials. For sure, premade is never an issue. But there is something about understanding your work from seed to smoke that adds another layer. also, like you said, the study material changes. I'm in the middle of reading a doctorial thesis of Black American Culture and the blend of religion and the occult. and man.... it's a drrry read. But it's caused me to go back to my aunties and grandma and ask more indepth questions and add additional layers to my work.
witchcraft mirrors the concept of " you can only meet others as deeply as they've met themselves." Just like you said, skill in witchcraft comes with experience and deep personal practice- it cannot be taught only EXPERIENCED! Love this video.
Beautifully explained Olivia If you get a tomato it’s up to you if you make a sallad or a pizza. The techniques are learned over time. I honestly think the fixation of being served intermediate is part of society often missing that the path and journey , the time it takes for skills and knowledge to sink in and be absorbed and consolidated is deep value in it’s own.
I feel like the best way to explain intermediate craft is when you no longer need youtube videos to practice. Learn energy manipulation aka meditation, grab a book of correspondence and CREATE/MANIFEST. Witchcraft is a personal and private practice. Olivia is your guide for the fundamentals. YOU need to design your own magickal system. If you want advance you should take the scholarly/historical approach which is like going to college lectures. Just Practice!
Thank you for sharing some wisdom. I have learned through decades of practice that I don't need to do a lot of majick, because the majick I do works. Finally, my practice is governed by a few axioms distilled down from experience and much thought. Things have become simpler over time.
Wow this is really interesting! It made me reflect on how now that I’m in a more intermediate era of my practice I’ve been giving away a lot of my beginner magic books to baby witch friends. They have great information to someone starting out but once you start customizing your practice to your own magical intuition… 🖤
I really like the gym analogy and made me rethink some areas of my practice, not just in terms of beginner or intermediate practices. I'm definitely not trying to become a "body builder" when it comes to witchcraft, I know the few things I want out of my practice and I'm going to hone in on that and fit it into my lifestyle comfortably.
Great video! The internet has made learning about personal practices easy and people definitely take that for granted. When I first started (when the internet was called the “Information Superhighway” and search engines didn’t exist), I had to go through the clunky process of finding the right books, then figuring out their contents with my only means of guidance being other books and, eventually, my own notes. There were no examples. It seems very limiting to wait for an example from someone else before trying something out for yourself. It’s necessary to be to be authentic for any of this to work, so the idea of copying what someone else does is more of a waste of time than anything. Draw inspiration from content creators instead of finding something to copy. You’ve gotta burn the first few pancakes before you get one right, but you still have to ask yourself if you even want pancakes.
So True! As an aside, Have you found the search engines lately to be more similar to how they were in the early 2000s? I feel like searchable content peaked in 2015 and it's been getting muddier ever since. I feel its harder to find specific things.
Thank you Olivia, I always look forward to your posts! Your emphasis on experience really puts the word practice at mind, those who actually perform what they learn gain experience, it’s just that simple. As for me, my practice is a joy that I will not do without! I am always learning and expanding whether I read or not, my regular practice teaches me more that another’s writings ever could and for that I am thankful! Thank you again
@@ivyarianrhod nobody is asking to be spoon fed. But what I got from a video entitled “Why I Don’t Make Intermediate Content” was “teachers don’t teach, it’s upto the student to learn” which is nonsense. I been following the channel for several years, but I just can’t agree with what’s she’s saying, these are just excuses.
@@crowgoblin "these are just excuses." YES!!! Someone that gets it. Everyone in the comments doesn't seem to understand what she is implying and agrees with her.
So agree!! Thanks for this detailed and thoughtful talk. Had chamomile and lavender with me. What struck me was your point: what you get is different than what was asked for with advanced things, dense, difficult, scientific, philosophical, historical, college level reading. I've got a few but damn, tiring! Lol, but it's about applying it, like you said, the practice and then ppl are wanting our hard won spells like we've got a recipe cookbook to just pass on. Some may, but I'm with you. My craft is really personal psychology, healing and philosophy. Love how this almost gave me permission to keep some things personal, in an age of tmi. So thank you for advancing my Craft with each of your talks!
OMG the 101 books are so .... ugh.... I've been enjoying very much Don Webb's "How to Become a Modern Magus", you should check that out. It can be used by beginners, but it is much more suited for the more experienced practitioners. It is an year long course, without the stress of an yearly long course, where you are encouraged to explore your own path, individuality and powers. It is written very well and in a very enjoyable tone. Love it so far. Besides that, experience is the hard part of magic. That's why most people skip it. It is much more easy to but "witches divination bone kit" than to gather one by yourself. But it is precisely the effort you put in a working that does the ... magic. :D
Thanks for sharing this. We are all so culturally conditioned to want everything right away. I feel like the only way I can share more advanced material is out of the social media context altogether through teaching long term with someone who then has the time and willingness to integrate and practice and make it their own. Then they ask awesome and insightful questions.
You have explained this so eloquently. It reminded me of when you study the masters doing thier craft (like a woodcarver or a master blacksmith) as an onlooker we can only disseminate and understand what is happening if you have already experienced and learned what you can on your own. As a beginner, we can't figure out what minute details or actions the master is doing, especially when they do it so instinctually and rapidly. These details are only relevant and necessary after learning all the basics and then follow our calling to learn more about specific practices that align with our own personal journey. Your video reminded me what I was suppose to be do next. Thank you
Wonderful video! I believe that what makes an intermediate practitioner truly powerful is their ability to put their own touch to their practice, and this is an ability that comes with time. And also, there is a lot of power and beauty in simple spells and practices like cleansing and banishing that begginers often underestimate, a simple but very well done spell can be way more powerful if performed by an experienced practitioner than an unnecessarily complicated spell done by a beginner
Art, or music, is such a great analogy for this. If you are studying music you don’t ask your teacher to play a piece for you. Instead you listen to lots of music, and you practice your own instrument(s), and you try out different styles, different genres, different dynamics within a single piece. The more you practice the more you are able to create art/music that feels true to you. If you sound exactly like your favorite musician, or copy the work of your favorite artist, you aren’t an artist, you’re just mimicking the work of others. Witchcraft is the same: it is a practice of creating something unique, something intensely personal.
An intermediate skill that's never mentioned, at least not well, is raising energy. The energy one actually needs to separate a mom making a recipe for her kids from witchcraft practioners ACTUALLY TRYING TO ALTER OR INFLUENCE REALITY. Witches, no matter how experienced, suck at teaching how to raise energy. If they bother at all. I learned how to raise energy from learning the law of attraction. THEY do a superb job and it's one reason I don't allow witches to badmouth "New Age" witchcraft in my presence. There are other skills that could easily make up intermediate and advanced curriculum that have nothing to do with gaining experience or proprietary or secret knowledge.
You could potentially give examples of some intermediate skills/practices/ideas, and that may help some people get going in that direction, but if the people have not begun practicing the basics and integrating it into their lives at least to some degree, you run the risk of people not understanding the material you present. This could lead to frustration and disappointment or even people unintentionally causing problems for themselves or even harming themselves. And on a public platform, you have no control over who watches the video. Sniff some lavender and stuff rose quartz up your butt? 😳 (I'm totally stealing that line).
I did give examples of some teachings that hold more “intermediate” skills and practices , in the books I share. It’s similar to that no one can control who buys those books, and there is absolutely room for error there. I teach pole dance, and I have some students jump the gun and try going upsidedown before understanding basics and building proper strength. Do they get hurt? Sometimes. Do they try it again before being properly equipped? No.
@@TheWitchOfWonderlust "I teach pole dance, and I have some students jump the gun and try going upsidedown before understanding basics and building proper strength." Then why not apply that same logic to magick rather then make excuse?
This is such a great video, Olivia. I feel like the people who are upset or are disagreeing with you just don't "get it". The switch hasn't flipped in their heads yet. Any teacher about anything at all is going to require you, the student, to do things on your own. They're going to teach you the basic foundation of the thing and then require you to go out on your own and practice the thing. Like history, math, or even witchcraft. You gotta do it yourself, you have to get comfortable with whatever you're learning how to do. Same with learning a new job. Your trainer can teach you the basics but as you learn the job and get comfortable with it you will add your own flare to it and you'll find your own daily rhythm. You can go out and ask for all the information in the world but what is going to elevate your practice, your education, or your job is your own experience; your experience with your teachers and classmates, your relationship with your coworkers or customers, and in your craft and spiritual practice your daily habits and rituals or YOUR relationship with YOUR spirits, YOUR guides, and YOUR anvestors. A teacher can give you basics but not the personal relationship you have with your guides and spirits. Agree with it or not, but, your own personal experience is what elevates you more and more in your spiritual practice and nothing beyond you being present in your practice is going to build those habits or relationships for you.
Armchair occultists whom always talk like they know everything without actually experiencing what they write annoy me so hard. They are great at repeating what they read from others whom have experienced things themselves but never have their own thoughts on the matter. The only way to KNOW is to do it yourself, I was a major skeptic on non physical entities/spirits existing before I practiced but I began doing angel/genius spirit workings to discover they are VERY real, I never would have changed my mind had I not jumped headfirst into practice and find out for myself, despite what others have written or said, I have felt/seen things that no book or person can take from me, which is invaluable.
Thank you so much for addressing this subject so beautifully 💕 Jason Millers Books are all fantastic and he's updating the protection Magick one so I will buy that when it's released. I completely understand how you feel about Witchcraft books. You end up skimming most of the pages to look for any new information and then you are left with a page to read ! Thank you for the book list there are a couple that I will be getting so Thank you so much . Love and light from Helen in England 💕🌛🌕🌜💕
More advanced "workings or teachings" become more advanced because we've built out practice to that point. We can't show exactly how to put our intention into something, it has to be practiced until you get that "light bulb moment". Also, everyone's "advanced practices" looks different from the next person's. Remain teachable, stay open-minded, you will bring your practice into new heights.
Speaking as an actual IRL high school teacher, intermediate level is the HARDEST to teach. If someone isn't well-versed in pedagogy (the art and science of teaching) it's no surprise it feels impossible. Beginner stuff is easy - it's simple concepts, taught through concrete examples, and practised until memorised. Advanced is all the fun, juicy deep stuff that a master of their craft has been longing to teach for years. It feels less like having a student and more like having a junior colleague. (At least, my university lecturers used to describe it that way.) But intermediate - which is the realm in which most high school teachers teach to - is frustrating. It's so much denser than beginner stuff, it's layers and multifaceted concepts, and critically, it's teaching people how to form links BETWEEN those layers and concepts, and integrate them into a more complete understanding of the whole. That's a vague and obtuse thing to teach, and very frustrating to learn, right up to the moment where it 'clicks'. So while I'd disagree that it's impossible to teach to an intermediate level, it's so much harder, even with pedagogical training, that I hardly blame anyone for feeling like it's beyond their skill set.
Trying to describe tarot for example to a friend who knows nothing about it but was asking questions. Relaying/translating my knowledge (which is not extensive by any means) to someone who knows nothing and has no context is difficult to do. When it comes to practicing, I’ve found that context is everything and context is also a difficult thing to teach.
If you don't have a strong practice in the basics, no matter how much people share with you it either won't make sense or won't work well with your practice. Something I've noticed about every "advanced" practitioner I've ever known is that they're not only extremely knowledgeable, but they're playful with their Craft. And that just can't be taught, by nature it has to be discovered for yourself.
YES. Witchcraft isn't like math, you can't just keep being taught the next steps to getting more experienced and 'progressing' in your craft. It's more of an art and a practice than anything else, and so much of it is about finding your own voice. If you're an illustrator you wouldn't expect to be 'taught' what your style of drawing should look like. You just have to keep doing it over and over and working out what your voice is yourself. Which I don't think is something people like being told in our 'I have to have it now' culture.
While I agree with you that some things can't be taught and that different people will eventually have different solutions for the same problem. Howeber, it is always possible to share experiences and methods that allow a person to get proper experience. Hiding and gatekeeping really is a big problem that keeps magickal technology from developing.
i'm not a young practitioner - i've been Playing at it for 60 plus years but back in it, saturated and loving it so my last years will be my best; so to me you got beginner, intermediate, experienced - not advanced because i don't think you are ever fully advanced when you are always learning to get better - so my theory - if you are in the middle - go straight to the experienced - we don't learn to get better by reviewing stuff we already know like you said - over and over and yep...bo-ring. good video - i think the more you practice, the more you understand you don't share everything - some things are sacred and don't need to be shared but saved and cherished instead. i subscribed - i may check out your cups - they look unique - thanks for all the work you do. i'm glad you came around when i needed to bathe myself into my spirituality.
I agree! You cannot be taught experience. You have to get out of your head, books and resources and put them to practice. You have to build you own practice. No one can build it for you. This is why meditation, ancestor reverence and having a relationship with your spiritual team is critical. A lot of it is based on your birth chart, familial ties, DNA and trauma you have to work through.
If people are tired of the beginners witchcraft books and want deeper info on your own culture/practices. Mythology and folklore will have lots of cultural/historical context and clues how things were practiced It takes a lot of nuance and interpretation to decipher some stuff but there's a Reason religions and cultures all have a mythology to carry on traditions to the next generation.
Very accurate. I love spell "recipes" to get a foundation, but experimenting is where I learn the most. Again, experience comes from practice. If I don't know how to start, I'll look for something to give me a basic rundown, but seldom do I stick to it completely. Get a grasp of the basics and you can manipulate it into something more advanced over time on your own.
In every discipline from witchcraft to dance to learning a language it is so hard to pin down what an intermediate skill even is. I think the mindset of wanting instruction for intermediate work comes from the idea of “advanced” as a destination rather than its own journey in itself.
The Intermediate Content is In My Opinion, philosophy and thought work. I work mostly with occultist thought and it is 90% of my practice. The spells and rituals are like an icing on top of the cake.
I wasn't going to comment but I feel compelled to today. I know ppl lie all the time but I was thinking of this yesterday and you posted this video yesterday and I was like, wow - conformation! I have felt compelled to the practice for years but just starting diving deep into it within the past couple weeks. I had one spell work within 20 mins or less recently, it felt amazing. I used to be pretty gud at a couple of practices that have nothing to do with the craft of witchy things - a master never teaches all of their ways. You can love ppl and help but not share and tell all - if you choose to even share anything. It doesn't make you a bad human if you do not. People feel like you owe them all of this shit and you do not. Keep on keeping beautiful lady. You're so creative and lovely.
What an amazing video! I'm so glad I watched it because you really hit some incredible points that I really really agree with and I think it's all how you explain it and you do such an amazing job of that
not gonna lie I felt a little bad when olivia said: "now grab yourself something to drink, today I'm drinking ✨🌿 peppermint 🌬️🍵 herbal ✨🌿 I was chugging a 2 liter coca cola 😭
Just wanted to say I loveee this format as I watch a lot of vids on UA-cam in a podcast fashion, whilst im working and its nice to have it on with the occasional visual!
Some of the best advice i've had came in broad strokes, just enough to get te ball rolling. After filling in the blanks and implementing in my own way, with results(!), there was a feeling of 'Wow, I did this' that I don't think would have come by following turn by turn directions. Also, it's left me feeling more capable to tackle things since without feeling hobbled by the need for a ritual to get me thru any new thing.
I agree with everything you've said here, thank you for posting it! I especially appreciate the drawing analogy, skill level directly correlates with how often you do something. Cultivating your practice for yourself I think has been the best way to "level up" that I've experienced. The answer of how we get better at our practice lies within ourselves, not necessarily in the experience of others. We're all different, and everyone's gifts and inclinations are going to be different and change over time. And honestly I've found the best way to refresh my practice if I feel in a rut is going back to those basics and finding new ways to implement them into my life. The occult and spiritual realm are ever changing and we are never going to stop learning, so my additional advice to what you've said here is to find joy in knowing you won't know everything, as well as finding joy in searching for the answers one day at a time.
I feel like you should just say, "I'm not comfortable teaching or discussing advanced subjects" which is completely fine. This whole video seems overcomplicated. An intermediate practitioner will take the themes in your videos and adapt it to themselves. You can't teach experience, but you can hand out discussion.
@@TheWitchOfWonderlust I watched the full video and I don't see the logic behind it. There's literally not one reason you couldn't discuss these things on your channel. You just either don't want to or don't feel able to. Every point you listed is valid but in no way affects that you could, if you want to, like millions of others, discuss advanced topics. You're extremely informative and bring to us a lot of different perspectives. I'm one of the people seeking something a little less generic, and while I search that for myself, having capable practitioners cater outside of beginner magic would hold barrels of insight.
This was such a great explanation of why you don't share more advanced work. As a musician, you have to put in hours and hours of study and practice to improve your skill. Same with magic, or really anything. The word I feel like you were searching for is curate - a more advanced practitioner learns from many different sources and personal experience, and curate those things into a personal practice the unique things that work best for them. Like a museum curator, picking and choosing the things you like best and that work best for you.
Such a great explanation! I teach horseback riding. As much as I would LOVE to throw people into it as fast as their enthusiasm is wanting, we need your body to know the basics so thoroughly that you do it without thought before we move on to more difficult things. It needs to "click" first, you need to feel it first, and only practice can get you there.
Yessss! All of this! Thank you for this so much! That's what I say: it's all about layers and nuance! I'm a HUGE fan of yours, and these over tea videos are perfect for me. I just had a blueberry anti-inflammatory tea that my bestie makes me while watching! You're the best!
I've been teaching Fitness for decades. I've studied and taught but in order to do my practice I spent a lot of alone time. It is layers and experience. I read countless books but it's the living the life over books. I get what you say because reading health books... You find your path because what comes clear and your path by the familiar bells in what has worked for your own self. I've been a bodybuilder and then slimmed down to be still a dancer yogi. I am an art so I liked that analogy!! Along all that I've gone to both churches because I love wisdom and knowledge. So like Witchcraft you have to live it... To see what works. 💋😍❤️
I've never thought about this of your videos but it all makes perfect sense 😂 ✌🏼 I've always thought that practice is extremely personal so you can't teach that once you grasp the basics.
Like Olivia said..There's a million and one ways to practice magick and what works for one may not feel comfortable or work for another. The difference between beginner and intermediate is a beginner isn't sure what works for them yet because they haven't tried the practices they are called to yet, an intermediate has tried and failed and succeeded and knows what works for themself because they've experienced it firsthand. I personally get the most results with ancestor veneration, Saint veneration, candle/elemental magick. Whatever is most comfortable, often works the best. Do what feels right to YOU not any other practitioner. Stop asking permission from other practitioners, do YOU!
Can we literally take a moment to process the thing when she said " shaking your tiddies in the moon or something" :")) Being a baby witch that part was almost the only thing I really enjoyed apart from the book recommendation...I am feeling a bit uncomfortable while even writing this comment as everybody's sharing there experience and some serious stuff 🙂 Any baby witch here ...??
Also everybody gives their own color their practice because they all stem from the things you stand for and what's worth for you to remember. That's what makes them beautiful too but it's what makes them even more complicated. Like you said it might be things you don't want to share because they are sacred to you or a group of other people. But I believe that the journey of looking/studying/ researching can be part of your practice too because you practice with intent, which makes the things that you do do in your practice even more meaningfull. As you did select the philosophy/meaning behind it carefully, with intent and with respect!
Intermediate IMO has more to do with a solid foundation on the basics of the craft to know how to roll their own working and the dedication to stay on top of the housekeeping stuff like cleansing, warding, etc to maintain a stable environment to conduct their work. In essence its everything a practitioner needs to get serious about putting in the work to gain experience through trial and error. People are too impatient and looking for the quick way "to the top" ignoring this is more about the journey and development.
I wonder if a lot of the questions about specifics, are from younger practitioners? Like teen to early 20's. Because I'm consistently surprised by how basic the questions often are. It's a bit like they want to be led directly to how to make a spell. Witchcraft isn't like public school. You don't just open a book and memorize the formula. It's personal and varies greatly.
Personally, I'm new yes but besides that, I still love the "newbie" content! Intermediate is neat in my opinion, and I still enjoy when I find it, but I personally like being shown "the building blocks" of practicing by multiple different people. Because there's so many ways to do something. Like prosperity work - decorated green candle, money bowl, using specific oils as perfume on oneself, working with a specific deity or spirit, a money jar, and so on. In a general sense while avoiding appropriating closed practices. That's just some of my thoughts, lol
I completely agree, and would also say; just like with the artist example - with experience and consistent practice you as a practitioner develop a relationship with your tools. Just like any craftsman. Same with your familiar spirits or if you identify as an animist then it goes with all things you incorporate into your practice - it’s about the relationships we develop and how deep they go. Love your work like always x
Not sure if anyone has told you about L. A. Marzulli's On the Trail of the Nephilim, now obviously it is written from a christian perspective but he discusses the different world stories of giants, megalithic structures. He also had a very interesting theory about some of these structures. Maybe worth checking out.
How do I blend separate practices together?I like to garden, and I like tarot. What other basics should I know I'm order to have enough base knowledge/building blocks to create /build a final product or outcome?
I like the drawing analogy. The content doesn't change. It just becomes more nuanced, more detailed, more rich and beautiful as you become more skilled.
Seconded.
I felt my practice progress from the spell casting episodes and I was finally prepared to not only do, but trust in my own research method for my practice.
It's what you do with what you have 💖🎨🖌🪄
To add to this AMAZING video, a lot of times our intermediate knowledge is incredibly specific to our tradition and it's difficult to teach it or make content on it without taking it outside of its cultural context. Half the time (as you said) these practices are closed or partially closed, and to share the information that you have gotten from teachers, spirits, or from your own research is skipping the process someone needs of finding out if the practice is for them.
Facts!!! My own practice developed over the years to be specific to my own upbringing. As I start to more consistently make content, I've been being clear that I have no interest in teaching anything to anyone.
Yesss. I can share with you some of the ritual concepts but, what I can’t teach/gift you is my personal life experience.
also being honest sometimes the community we are in some peeps misrepresent and/or are limited because what's allowed.
Cultural context is overrated. Witchcraft was made for helping our lives and having more power to do things.
I hate this silly gatekeeping.
So in Romania we had some folk magick and some specific little spells. Do I need to tell everyone the history of that spell? Or is it just a tool that's very useful and wr should share it.
That's some gatekeeping bs right there.
I think that the only way to teach intermediate and advanced practices is through storytelling and the sharing of upg. You’re totally right that it’s a matter of experience, but there’s a way to share those experiences in a teaching sort of way. That being said, no one should feel obligated to share those experiences and upg, but in my opinion, I think it’s the most effective way to teach the “unteachable”.
Such a good point
I agree with this SO much. I try my best to share "intermediate" content, but there are so many issues when sharing content like this. Beginners end up watching the video, becoming confused, and asking a bunch of beginner questions... I simply don't have the time to answer all the beginner questions even if I want to. And then what's the point? Also, factoring in that a person needs experience to even practice rituals like this... I can't pick and choose who watches the video. And so I have many beginners watching my more advanced videos and not understanding the concepts because they aren't ready... When the video wasn't meant for them. You are right in that it's about experience. And I can't give that to another practitioner... None of us can. It's about doing the work for yourself and practicing over and over again. About the beginner books... Yes. That's why I'm attempting to write an "intermediate" book for witches that isn't the same beginner concepts that we see in every single beginner book. What a great topic - thank you for this video!
Two of my favorite occultist!!! I hope these two will collab 🖤
Greetings from 🇵🇭
@IvyTheOccultist I think each channel has it's preferred audience ya know? Like how different teachers specialize in teaching at different levels. YOU DO YOU!
hi ivy! i super appreciate your chaos magic content. I think for me, finding intermediate content is also about going deeper into the subgenres of witchcraft. and your vids on chaos magic have definitely given me great ideas. im now also feeling inspired to create intermediate content lol
It's incredibly difficult to recommend "intermediate" content to someone when you pull in your knowledge from... everywhere. So many sources and cultures, it's impossible to give a ribbon wrapped "how to" guide. The blending of folk and ceremonial magic, different types of pantheons, etc. It's so personal and that's what makes it work!! I love your gym analogy, it's perfect
So true! it's all individual!
This is exactly why I've actually started showing less of my practice online. That and the other side, where the same people demanding you teach the basics wanna try to correct long time practitioners on what they do. I've been seeing more beginners trying to tell people who've been practicing for decades that they're doing ancestor veneration wrong and it's like no dude it's not. I'm honoring my family how they ask me to. Don't tell me it's wrong because you heard another 12 year old on tiktok who only watched two episodes of charmed and calls themselves advanced because of it say its wrong
When I started to expand my own knowledge, I did what you talked about and found sources outside of explicit witchcraft. Metaphysics and philosophy, transpersonal psychology. All of that information helped me in my craft even though it wasn't directly witchy. If witch means wise person, I don't know why people don't involve themselves in a broader array of topics. I resonate with your channel so much because you aren't fluffy. Great to hear someone talk about this.
You sound like such an interesting person to hang around.
In addition to what you were saying regarding those that ask for intermediate material, to me it also feels akin to asking to copy homework. They're not putting in the work and time like the person they're asking and are missing out on their own opportunities to learn things they otherwise wouldn't. But, I also understand the value in being pointed in the right direction. It's a fine line in my opinion.
That's a great comparison!
I very much agree with you! I think sometimes, some people forget about the work, time and consistency things in life sometimes need. But also agree its nice to share some things to help you on your journey!
I am a fairly proficient swordsman and time after time as I teach I am forced to say some variant of - "This is like riding a bike. I can tell you how to sit on the saddle and which brake to pull first when you are going downhill or that you have to lean rather than turn the handlebars to go round corners at speed ... but I can't tell you how to ride a bike. You have to learn that by trying and failing ... a *lot*".
It's the same thing with these sorts of practice - no one can tell you how to forge that link between your spirit and the energies around you. You can only find it by trying ... and failing ... a lot! :)
EDIT: Thank you for breaking my concentration, whilst I was doing some complex calculations, with a totally unexpected "Shaking your titties at the moon!" :lol:
@@dallassukerkin6878I love your bike riding analogy! Great way to put it!
I think this is the best video I’ve seen about intermediate content. I pretty much agree with everything you’ve said and I love the way you put it about experience and layers, thank you so much for putting so much effort and kindness in all your content, I’ve leaned so much from you ❤
"Sniff some lavender and stuff rose quartz up your butt" - Olivia 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
If you're asking for more advanced techniques, you may not be ready for it. Make a candle ritual or something that resonates with you and ask the universe for education and experience within your understanding and it will come naturally. YOU are your own power. Keep practicing! You all got it!
I also feel like it's really hard to become more advanced as a general practitioner if you're just looking for "general" content. More advanced information is based on diving into specific subjects--learning more about plants, learning more about astrology, learning more about quantum mechanics, etc. etc. It doesn't mean that people have to pick a specific kind of practice or pick a specialty, but without specific interests guiding your research I don't know how else people would get more information.
Exactly!
Totally agree!
SO TRUE! I delved strongly into Universal philosophy, so when people ask me about spell work, I'm like... Uhhhhhhh. That's like 10% of my practice.
Currently doing Sorcery of Hekate myself. I am so grateful you posted this. 🖤
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I learned a lot.
I’d love to try this course! Question: is it highly demanding when it comes to focus and concentration on a daily basis? I suffer from a brain injury and have to pace my life and not sure if I’d be ready for a course like this. TIA
@crazy4catsRL The course does require a lot of visualization and there is a moment when you have several things going on at once. But I will say that it is taught in such a way that everything layers on a bit at a time so it is much more manageable. There's scripts for the spoken parts, so no memorization is needed. You can also pay by the lesson, so if it doesn't work out you won't be losing a big chunk of money. But I highly recommend you give it a try!
@@st.bedlam1299 oh thank you!! This is super helpful to know!!!
Hekate was my first Goddess and such a wonderful Guide. She called me to the craft. 🖤
I feel like most of your examples and definitions of “intermediate” are actually describing “advanced”. I agree that you cant teach some things, but at intermediate levels you’re still looking for/having experiences. Which is what your current content offers. At the advanced level is when you can rely on those experiences and become independent in what you do.
Where I think you could be confusing your audience here is your use of the terminology. Your content so far as been covering both beginner AND intermediate. What I hear you discussing is why you don’t want to offer advanced content. Which is totally valid and I don’t think you owe anyone an explanation 😉
I agree with this. It is possible teach intermediate material because for the student, it requires appropriate basic skills and background knowledge, possibly also ethical understanding. Examples of intermediate books:
* Robert Hand: Planets in Transit
* Ivo Domínguez Jr.: Spirit Speak
* Christopher Penczak: Ascension Magick
Teaching intermediate material is not the same as trying to teach experience, which of course is not possible. You can teach intermediate material also in classes and magical traditions. Not all such material is closed practices, a copyright infringement, or oathbound.
But teaching intermediate material in a UA-cam video is more difficult, because many kinds of people can view it. How to convey what kind of skills and knowledge the audience should have without making the video too slow-paced? For some viewers, it would go right over their heads and they would complain about gatekeeping. Videos about some subjects would also be very long.
Thank you so much, genuinely. Essentially due to mental health struggles, I've never had a fully fledged practice. I've been in this community for over a decade, and there's certainly a feeling of shame regarding my lack of experience. You're a huge help for my journey 🖤
You are definitely not alone on this one: I go through ebbs and flows of magickal energy throughout the years. Sometimes I'm heavily invested, but when life happens it's not always easy to prioritize. That doesn't make you any less!
People asking for personal step-by-step "Intermediate" stuff, gives me the feeling that they want everything done 'now' and/or they don't know how to think for themselves.
I still call myself a beginner, and I've already experienced so many people asking to be handed the information , instead of looking for it themselves. It's exhausting, and I'm not being bombarded by the internet.
Just taking a moment to be grateful for what you do, Olivia.
Yes! You can't teach experience!
To be fair when it comes to a beginner its hard to find information that is true and real online or what books to read, what supplies to buy. And then transitioning from beginner to intermediate is like when do you know youre not a beginner anymore? What spells are even considered intermediate? It was hard to find information for me at first but I found my way.
@@kittyem63Yeah, true. Once you have sort of "basics" down in a few areas, you start to find yourself & create your own. Can't lie, though: I have the same questions as the folks she talks about in this video out of desire for some sort of security in what I do.
I blush almost to mention it, but To Stir a Magick Cauldron by Silver Ravenwolf is as solid intermediate grimoire. It has things like the lesser-known moon phases, creating a servitor, advanced circle castings. Its very first exercise is to put all your tools away for a month and make magic with your body and energy.
I think intermediate study is about learning the "why?" of things. A baby witch learns how to cast a circle. An intermediate witch asks, why do we cast a circle at all? Why is Air in the East, and so on? And experimenting with different methods to learn why and how these things work.
I think of it like building a doorway. The frame can be as elaborate as you want with lots of different kinds of knowledge and technique, but ultimately each individual has to walk through that doorway and find for themselves what is spiritually potent. And actually there is a bit of an opportunity here to talk about boundaries and abuse. I'm not sure how often this conversation has come up recently but there has been discussion in the past about how to recognize practitioners who are engaging in abuse. If someone is willing to start telling you how you should or what you should feel in a really strict way it could be a red flag. This practice is deeply personal and can connect you with very deep layers of the mind and body. The thoughts, feelings, and sensations that are tapped to varying degrees within a practice can be manipulated by someone who has ill intentions. Modeling the active awareness of maintaining healthy spiritual boundaries is a very important part of the practice. It can be frustrating as a person challenges themselves to learn more and they wrestle with the desire to deepen their practice but once they realize how deep they have gone, it makes sense why respectful Pagan peers and mentors insist on keeping certain personally sacred things secret. It comes down to a deep awareness that you and your spiritual self are beautiful and sacred and worthy of respect and protection. And in the spirit of ritual acknowledgement of seemingly intangible yet incredibly potent things. Treating the external representations of our deep inner selves with respect is how we claim a deeper level of respect for ourselves. Thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed this video. I hope you have a blessed day.
Well said. While I haven't had personal experience, I know spiritual abuse is out there. No one is exempt from such manipulation. I know of some intelligent and well educated people who ignore those big red flags. That we have to remain aware and vigilant is so disheartening.
Yes! Thank you for saying this. I have been using and studying herbalism for over 40 years and regularly have people wanting to learn but struggling to accept that I can’t teach years of practice and experience in a few months or even a year, or wanting me to give them a book that will tell them everything. It’s something that is integrated deeply into my everyday life. “That’s why it’s called a practice” is my mantra.
OMG YES. Especially with Herbalism omg. Have you noticed that like ALL the herbalism books are SO empty of information. And so many of them actually have false/misleading information! Do you run a shop or offer services?
Very difficult topic to articulate but I feel you knocked it out of the park in that short phrase, "You can't teach experience." Thanks for the video. Until next time.
I feel like once you get bored like that with all the basic things to learn and you keep seeing them repeatedly, then it’s time to consider yourself intermediate. From then on it’s pure personal experience, what works for someone else may not work for you. It’s more about ok now I know the basics now I can pay attention to myself and what I need for my life. You can’t teach that because every single one of us is going to differ. Beginner videos are more like orientation than you go off and follow whatever majors or degrees you’d like (metaphorically speaking) lol
Preacchhhh. This is so well said. I think its difficult for beginners to understand that there are ancient practices that work (for most people) and there are individual practices that can't be transferred. And then also keep in mind that its ALL magick and its ALL real. Or maybe I'm projecting my inner baby-witch hahah
"Shake your titties at the moon" and "sniff some lavender and stick some rose quartz up your butt". - Olivia, The Witch of Wonderlust. 😆
That did make me chuckle. You are so right about intermediate practices though. They are not something that can be easily put into words, never mind explaining or teaching to others.
Yeah I think it's better to have it be a communal conversation rather than a lecture and student dynamic. Especially because magick is SO COMPLEX hahahha
I really love this. It reminds me of when my sumi-e painting teacher used to talk about 'internalising' a process - doing something so often that it becomes a part of you and then you can start to be creative with it. He would make us study and draw a tree for so long, and then when we came to paint it, we could add like branches or bumps in the trunk that made sense for how trees grow. This feels like the intermediate practice. The moment when you know something so well you can be creative with it in ways that make sense for the purpose of whatever it is you're working on.
Wow. That must have been an amazing class. And that example is SO true for how I've experienced my own craft (and drawing too). That's really going to stick with me. Thank you for sharing it.
You have to learn from your own experience. Just like when you go to college, they can only teach you. It goes beyond the teaching, it’s hands on and their own experience. I take spells and sometimes I have to tweak them to work for me. You have to know when to tweak something and know how to tweak it for your own practice.
So bottom line, do your own work and have your own experience.
this needed to be said. the only way to move past novice or beginner or witchlet is to do the work. On my journey that means having my hands in the earliest stages of creation. From growing my own herbs from seeds, to making the candles , to sourcing my own materials. For sure, premade is never an issue. But there is something about understanding your work from seed to smoke that adds another layer.
also, like you said, the study material changes. I'm in the middle of reading a doctorial thesis of Black American Culture and the blend of religion and the occult. and man.... it's a drrry read. But it's caused me to go back to my aunties and grandma and ask more indepth questions and add additional layers to my work.
witchcraft mirrors the concept of " you can only meet others as deeply as they've met themselves." Just like you said, skill in witchcraft comes with experience and deep personal practice- it cannot be taught only EXPERIENCED! Love this video.
Beautifully explained Olivia
If you get a tomato it’s up to you if you make a sallad or a pizza. The techniques are learned over time. I honestly think the fixation of being served intermediate is part of society often missing that the path and journey , the time it takes for skills and knowledge to sink in and be absorbed and consolidated is deep value in it’s own.
I feel like the best way to explain intermediate craft is when you no longer need youtube videos to practice. Learn energy manipulation aka meditation, grab a book of correspondence and CREATE/MANIFEST. Witchcraft is a personal and private practice. Olivia is your guide for the fundamentals. YOU need to design your own magickal system. If you want advance you should take the scholarly/historical approach which is like going to college lectures. Just Practice!
Thank you for sharing some wisdom. I have learned through decades of practice that I don't need to do a lot of majick, because the majick I do works. Finally, my practice is governed by a few axioms distilled down from experience and much thought. Things have become simpler over time.
Wow this is really interesting! It made me reflect on how now that I’m in a more intermediate era of my practice I’ve been giving away a lot of my beginner magic books to baby witch friends. They have great information to someone starting out but once you start customizing your practice to your own magical intuition… 🖤
And she is so right about the whole, you can only read the 101 stuff so many times before you want to pull your hair out! haha
I really like the gym analogy and made me rethink some areas of my practice, not just in terms of beginner or intermediate practices. I'm definitely not trying to become a "body builder" when it comes to witchcraft, I know the few things I want out of my practice and I'm going to hone in on that and fit it into my lifestyle comfortably.
Great video! The internet has made learning about personal practices easy and people definitely take that for granted. When I first started (when the internet was called the “Information Superhighway” and search engines didn’t exist), I had to go through the clunky process of finding the right books, then figuring out their contents with my only means of guidance being other books and, eventually, my own notes. There were no examples. It seems very limiting to wait for an example from someone else before trying something out for yourself. It’s necessary to be to be authentic for any of this to work, so the idea of copying what someone else does is more of a waste of time than anything. Draw inspiration from content creators instead of finding something to copy. You’ve gotta burn the first few pancakes before you get one right, but you still have to ask yourself if you even want pancakes.
So True! As an aside, Have you found the search engines lately to be more similar to how they were in the early 2000s? I feel like searchable content peaked in 2015 and it's been getting muddier ever since. I feel its harder to find specific things.
Thank you Olivia, I always look forward to your posts!
Your emphasis on experience really puts the word practice at mind, those who actually perform what they learn gain experience, it’s just that simple. As for me, my practice is a joy that I will not do without! I am always learning and expanding whether I read or not, my regular practice teaches me more that another’s writings ever could and for that I am thankful!
Thank you again
Really needed to hear this.
Wake up call x1000
Thank you @The Witch Of Wondelust
According to your logic then there are no need for teachers, mentors, sages or wise people in the world because you can’t teach experience.
But mentors make you think for yourself. They don’t spoon feed anyone.
@@ivyarianrhod nobody is asking to be spoon fed. But what I got from a video entitled “Why I Don’t Make Intermediate Content” was “teachers don’t teach, it’s upto the student to learn” which is nonsense. I been following the channel for several years, but I just can’t agree with what’s she’s saying, these are just excuses.
@@crowgoblin "these are just excuses." YES!!! Someone that gets it. Everyone in the comments doesn't seem to understand what she is implying and agrees with her.
Thank you you put into words what I could not explain to people around me. Somethings are not ment to be shared.
I appreciate you ❤
So agree!! Thanks for this detailed and thoughtful talk. Had chamomile and lavender with me. What struck me was your point: what you get is different than what was asked for with advanced things, dense, difficult, scientific, philosophical, historical, college level reading. I've got a few but damn, tiring! Lol, but it's about applying it, like you said, the practice and then ppl are wanting our hard won spells like we've got a recipe cookbook to just pass on. Some may, but I'm with you. My craft is really personal psychology, healing and philosophy. Love how this almost gave me permission to keep some things personal, in an age of tmi. So thank you for advancing my Craft with each of your talks!
What people need (and want without knowing) is a mentor.
We can’t teach experience. This, exactly ❤
OMG the 101 books are so .... ugh.... I've been enjoying very much Don Webb's "How to Become a Modern Magus", you should check that out. It can be used by beginners, but it is much more suited for the more experienced practitioners. It is an year long course, without the stress of an yearly long course, where you are encouraged to explore your own path, individuality and powers. It is written very well and in a very enjoyable tone. Love it so far. Besides that, experience is the hard part of magic. That's why most people skip it. It is much more easy to but "witches divination bone kit" than to gather one by yourself. But it is precisely the effort you put in a working that does the ... magic. :D
Wonderful reminder. Thank you for kindly refusing to hold hands and teaching us how to make our own fishing poles.. Not just how to fish. You rock!!
Thanks for sharing this. We are all so culturally conditioned to want everything right away. I feel like the only way I can share more advanced material is out of the social media context altogether through teaching long term with someone who then has the time and willingness to integrate and practice and make it their own. Then they ask awesome and insightful questions.
You have explained this so eloquently. It reminded me of when you study the masters doing thier craft (like a woodcarver or a master blacksmith) as an onlooker we can only disseminate and understand what is happening if you have already experienced and learned what you can on your own. As a beginner, we can't figure out what minute details or actions the master is doing, especially when they do it so instinctually and rapidly. These details are only relevant and necessary after learning all the basics and then follow our calling to learn more about specific practices that align with our own personal journey. Your video reminded me what I was suppose to be do next. Thank you
Wonderful video! I believe that what makes an intermediate practitioner truly powerful is their ability to put their own touch to their practice, and this is an ability that comes with time. And also, there is a lot of power and beauty in simple spells and practices like cleansing and banishing that begginers often underestimate, a simple but very well done spell can be way more powerful if performed by an experienced practitioner than an unnecessarily complicated spell done by a beginner
Art, or music, is such a great analogy for this. If you are studying music you don’t ask your teacher to play a piece for you. Instead you listen to lots of music, and you practice your own instrument(s), and you try out different styles, different genres, different dynamics within a single piece. The more you practice the more you are able to create art/music that feels true to you. If you sound exactly like your favorite musician, or copy the work of your favorite artist, you aren’t an artist, you’re just mimicking the work of others. Witchcraft is the same: it is a practice of creating something unique, something intensely personal.
An intermediate skill that's never mentioned, at least not well, is raising energy. The energy one actually needs to separate a mom making a recipe for her kids from witchcraft practioners ACTUALLY TRYING TO ALTER OR INFLUENCE REALITY. Witches, no matter how experienced, suck at teaching how to raise energy. If they bother at all. I learned how to raise energy from learning the law of attraction. THEY do a superb job and it's one reason I don't allow witches to badmouth "New Age" witchcraft in my presence.
There are other skills that could easily make up intermediate and advanced curriculum that have nothing to do with gaining experience or proprietary or secret knowledge.
You could potentially give examples of some intermediate skills/practices/ideas, and that may help some people get going in that direction, but if the people have not begun practicing the basics and integrating it into their lives at least to some degree, you run the risk of people not understanding the material you present. This could lead to frustration and disappointment or even people unintentionally causing problems for themselves or even harming themselves.
And on a public platform, you have no control over who watches the video.
Sniff some lavender and stuff rose quartz up your butt? 😳
(I'm totally stealing that line).
I did give examples of some teachings that hold more “intermediate” skills and practices , in the books I share.
It’s similar to that no one can control who buys those books, and there is absolutely room for error there.
I teach pole dance, and I have some students jump the gun and try going upsidedown before understanding basics and building proper strength. Do they get hurt? Sometimes. Do they try it again before being properly equipped? No.
@@TheWitchOfWonderlust "I teach pole dance, and I have some students jump the gun and try going upsidedown before understanding basics and building proper strength." Then why not apply that same logic to magick rather then make excuse?
This is such a great video, Olivia. I feel like the people who are upset or are disagreeing with you just don't "get it". The switch hasn't flipped in their heads yet. Any teacher about anything at all is going to require you, the student, to do things on your own. They're going to teach you the basic foundation of the thing and then require you to go out on your own and practice the thing. Like history, math, or even witchcraft. You gotta do it yourself, you have to get comfortable with whatever you're learning how to do.
Same with learning a new job. Your trainer can teach you the basics but as you learn the job and get comfortable with it you will add your own flare to it and you'll find your own daily rhythm.
You can go out and ask for all the information in the world but what is going to elevate your practice, your education, or your job is your own experience; your experience with your teachers and classmates, your relationship with your coworkers or customers, and in your craft and spiritual practice your daily habits and rituals or YOUR relationship with YOUR spirits, YOUR guides, and YOUR anvestors. A teacher can give you basics but not the personal relationship you have with your guides and spirits. Agree with it or not, but, your own personal experience is what elevates you more and more in your spiritual practice and nothing beyond you being present in your practice is going to build those habits or relationships for you.
Great perspective. Reminder for myself to be more diligent at getting those reps in, instead of just reading about it
Armchair occultists whom always talk like they know everything without actually experiencing what they write annoy me so hard. They are great at repeating what they read from others whom have experienced things themselves but never have their own thoughts on the matter. The only way to KNOW is to do it yourself, I was a major skeptic on non physical entities/spirits existing before I practiced but I began doing angel/genius spirit workings to discover they are VERY real, I never would have changed my mind had I not jumped headfirst into practice and find out for myself, despite what others have written or said, I have felt/seen things that no book or person can take from me, which is invaluable.
Thank you so much for addressing this subject so beautifully 💕 Jason Millers Books are all fantastic and he's updating the protection Magick one so I will buy that when it's released. I completely understand how you feel about Witchcraft books. You end up skimming most of the pages to look for any new information and then you are left with a page to read ! Thank you for the book list there are a couple that I will be getting so Thank you so much . Love and light from Helen in England 💕🌛🌕🌜💕
Love your mondaine reference. Mostly because an intermittent witch can do just about anything with a pen and napkin 😊
More advanced "workings or teachings" become more advanced because we've built out practice to that point. We can't show exactly how to put our intention into something, it has to be practiced until you get that "light bulb moment". Also, everyone's "advanced practices" looks different from the next person's. Remain teachable, stay open-minded, you will bring your practice into new heights.
Speaking as an actual IRL high school teacher, intermediate level is the HARDEST to teach. If someone isn't well-versed in pedagogy (the art and science of teaching) it's no surprise it feels impossible.
Beginner stuff is easy - it's simple concepts, taught through concrete examples, and practised until memorised. Advanced is all the fun, juicy deep stuff that a master of their craft has been longing to teach for years. It feels less like having a student and more like having a junior colleague. (At least, my university lecturers used to describe it that way.) But intermediate - which is the realm in which most high school teachers teach to - is frustrating. It's so much denser than beginner stuff, it's layers and multifaceted concepts, and critically, it's teaching people how to form links BETWEEN those layers and concepts, and integrate them into a more complete understanding of the whole. That's a vague and obtuse thing to teach, and very frustrating to learn, right up to the moment where it 'clicks'.
So while I'd disagree that it's impossible to teach to an intermediate level, it's so much harder, even with pedagogical training, that I hardly blame anyone for feeling like it's beyond their skill set.
Trying to describe tarot for example to a friend who knows nothing about it but was asking questions. Relaying/translating my knowledge (which is not extensive by any means) to someone who knows nothing and has no context is difficult to do. When it comes to practicing, I’ve found that context is everything and context is also a difficult thing to teach.
Being a more “advanced” practitioner is basically just being a beginner in more (and more specific) things.
If you don't have a strong practice in the basics, no matter how much people share with you it either won't make sense or won't work well with your practice. Something I've noticed about every "advanced" practitioner I've ever known is that they're not only extremely knowledgeable, but they're playful with their Craft. And that just can't be taught, by nature it has to be discovered for yourself.
YES. Witchcraft isn't like math, you can't just keep being taught the next steps to getting more experienced and 'progressing' in your craft. It's more of an art and a practice than anything else, and so much of it is about finding your own voice. If you're an illustrator you wouldn't expect to be 'taught' what your style of drawing should look like. You just have to keep doing it over and over and working out what your voice is yourself. Which I don't think is something people like being told in our 'I have to have it now' culture.
While I agree with you that some things can't be taught and that different people will eventually have different solutions for the same problem. Howeber, it is always possible to share experiences and methods that allow a person to get proper experience. Hiding and gatekeeping really is a big problem that keeps magickal technology from developing.
i'm not a young practitioner - i've been Playing at it for 60 plus years but back in it, saturated and loving it so my last years will be my best; so to me you got beginner, intermediate, experienced - not advanced because i don't think you are ever fully advanced when you are always learning to get better - so my theory - if you are in the middle - go straight to the experienced - we don't learn to get better by reviewing stuff we already know like you said - over and over and yep...bo-ring. good video - i think the more you practice, the more you understand you don't share everything - some things are sacred and don't need to be shared but saved and cherished instead. i subscribed - i may check out your cups - they look unique - thanks for all the work you do. i'm glad you came around when i needed to bathe myself into my spirituality.
Im so glad you posted this. It really helped put into perspective how far Ive come in my own practice without even realizing it!
I've made myself a mask to hold the lavender, and I have a rather large piece of rose quartz inserted. What's the next step?
😂😂😂
I agree! You cannot be taught experience. You have to get out of your head, books and resources and put them to practice. You have to build you own practice. No one can build it for you. This is why meditation, ancestor reverence and having a relationship with your spiritual team is critical. A lot of it is based on your birth chart, familial ties, DNA and trauma you have to work through.
If people are tired of the beginners witchcraft books and want deeper info on your own culture/practices.
Mythology and folklore will have lots of cultural/historical context and clues how things were practiced
It takes a lot of nuance and interpretation to decipher some stuff but there's a Reason religions and cultures all have a mythology to carry on traditions to the next generation.
Intermediate practices to me are exploring witchcraft with deep dives into many topics. So I get it. This was an EXCELLENT video. Thanks.
Very accurate. I love spell "recipes" to get a foundation, but experimenting is where I learn the most. Again, experience comes from practice. If I don't know how to start, I'll look for something to give me a basic rundown, but seldom do I stick to it completely. Get a grasp of the basics and you can manipulate it into something more advanced over time on your own.
To me intermediate is moderate amount of knowledge, but low to moderate amounts of experience.
In every discipline from witchcraft to dance to learning a language it is so hard to pin down what an intermediate skill even is. I think the mindset of wanting instruction for intermediate work comes from the idea of “advanced” as a destination rather than its own journey in itself.
“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” -Carl Jung
The Intermediate Content is In My Opinion, philosophy and thought work. I work mostly with occultist thought and it is 90% of my practice. The spells and rituals are like an icing on top of the cake.
Hello Olivia, hi to the community. Thank you for sharing this toppic and put it in so great words. Hugs from Germany
“I’m not trying to be the baddest witch in town. I just like to practice”. I feel so seen right now! Also this would be cute for merch.
I wasn't going to comment but I feel compelled to today. I know ppl lie all the time but I was thinking of this yesterday and you posted this video yesterday and I was like, wow - conformation! I have felt compelled to the practice for years but just starting diving deep into it within the past couple weeks. I had one spell work within 20 mins or less recently, it felt amazing. I used to be pretty gud at a couple of practices that have nothing to do with the craft of witchy things - a master never teaches all of their ways. You can love ppl and help but not share and tell all - if you choose to even share anything. It doesn't make you a bad human if you do not. People feel like you owe them all of this shit and you do not. Keep on keeping beautiful lady. You're so creative and lovely.
What an amazing video! I'm so glad I watched it because you really hit some incredible points that I really really agree with and I think it's all how you explain it and you do such an amazing job of that
not gonna lie I felt a little bad when olivia said: "now grab yourself something to drink, today I'm drinking ✨🌿 peppermint 🌬️🍵 herbal ✨🌿
I was chugging a 2 liter coca cola 😭
Just wanted to say I loveee this format as I watch a lot of vids on UA-cam in a podcast fashion, whilst im working and its nice to have it on with the occasional visual!
… removes rose quartz from butt …
You put this wonderfully!
The gym analogy was so well put! ❤
Some of the best advice i've had came in broad strokes, just enough to get te ball rolling. After filling in the blanks and implementing in my own way, with results(!), there was a feeling of 'Wow, I did this' that I don't think would have come by following turn by turn directions. Also, it's left me feeling more capable to tackle things since without feeling hobbled by the need for a ritual to get me thru any new thing.
I agree with everything you've said here, thank you for posting it! I especially appreciate the drawing analogy, skill level directly correlates with how often you do something. Cultivating your practice for yourself I think has been the best way to "level up" that I've experienced. The answer of how we get better at our practice lies within ourselves, not necessarily in the experience of others. We're all different, and everyone's gifts and inclinations are going to be different and change over time. And honestly I've found the best way to refresh my practice if I feel in a rut is going back to those basics and finding new ways to implement them into my life.
The occult and spiritual realm are ever changing and we are never going to stop learning, so my additional advice to what you've said here is to find joy in knowing you won't know everything, as well as finding joy in searching for the answers one day at a time.
I feel like you should just say, "I'm not comfortable teaching or discussing advanced subjects" which is completely fine. This whole video seems overcomplicated. An intermediate practitioner will take the themes in your videos and adapt it to themselves. You can't teach experience, but you can hand out discussion.
You’ve missed the whole point of the video, if this is what you’re gathering from it.
@@TheWitchOfWonderlust
I watched the full video and I don't see the logic behind it. There's literally not one reason you couldn't discuss these things on your channel. You just either don't want to or don't feel able to. Every point you listed is valid but in no way affects that you could, if you want to, like millions of others, discuss advanced topics.
You're extremely informative and bring to us a lot of different perspectives. I'm one of the people seeking something a little less generic, and while I search that for myself, having capable practitioners cater outside of beginner magic would hold barrels of insight.
This was such a great explanation of why you don't share more advanced work. As a musician, you have to put in hours and hours of study and practice to improve your skill. Same with magic, or really anything. The word I feel like you were searching for is curate - a more advanced practitioner learns from many different sources and personal experience, and curate those things into a personal practice the unique things that work best for them. Like a museum curator, picking and choosing the things you like best and that work best for you.
Such a great explanation! I teach horseback riding. As much as I would LOVE to throw people into it as fast as their enthusiasm is wanting, we need your body to know the basics so thoroughly that you do it without thought before we move on to more difficult things. It needs to "click" first, you need to feel it first, and only practice can get you there.
I was so impressed with this video and it’s simple yet profound explanation as to why we don’t see a lot more intermediate witchcraft content.
Yessss! All of this! Thank you for this so much! That's what I say: it's all about layers and nuance! I'm a HUGE fan of yours, and these over tea videos are perfect for me. I just had a blueberry anti-inflammatory tea that my bestie makes me while watching! You're the best!
Fabulous. Love this! Each practice is personal and can’t be taught. You have to learn the baby step first. Thanks Olivia!
I've been teaching Fitness for decades. I've studied and taught but in order to do my practice I spent a lot of alone time. It is layers and experience. I read countless books but it's the living the life over books. I get what you say because reading health books... You find your path because what comes clear and your path by the familiar bells in what has worked for your own self. I've been a bodybuilder and then slimmed down to be still a dancer yogi. I am an art so I liked that analogy!! Along all that I've gone to both churches because I love wisdom and knowledge. So like Witchcraft you have to live it... To see what works. 💋😍❤️
I've never thought about this of your videos but it all makes perfect sense 😂 ✌🏼
I've always thought that practice is extremely personal so you can't teach that once you grasp the basics.
I LOVE all of Jason Miller's work!
olivia's book recommendations are the best i put all of these on my basket and buy them little by little. thank you so much!
Like Olivia said..There's a million and one ways to practice magick and what works for one may not feel comfortable or work for another. The difference between beginner and intermediate is a beginner isn't sure what works for them yet because they haven't tried the practices they are called to yet, an intermediate has tried and failed and succeeded and knows what works for themself because they've experienced it firsthand. I personally get the most results with ancestor veneration, Saint veneration, candle/elemental magick. Whatever is most comfortable, often works the best. Do what feels right to YOU not any other practitioner. Stop asking permission from other practitioners, do YOU!
thank you for the book recommendation. i wouldn't have expected this👏👏👏 all the best for you
Can we literally take a moment to process the thing when she said " shaking your tiddies in the moon or something" :"))
Being a baby witch that part was almost the only thing I really enjoyed apart from the book recommendation...I am feeling a bit uncomfortable while even writing this comment as everybody's sharing there experience and some serious stuff 🙂
Any baby witch here ...??
Also everybody gives their own color their practice because they all stem from the things you stand for and what's worth for you to remember. That's what makes them beautiful too but it's what makes them even more complicated. Like you said it might be things you don't want to share because they are sacred to you or a group of other people. But I believe that the journey of looking/studying/ researching can be part of your practice too because you practice with intent, which makes the things that you do do in your practice even more meaningfull. As you did select the philosophy/meaning behind it carefully, with intent and with respect!
Intermediate IMO has more to do with a solid foundation on the basics of the craft to know how to roll their own working and the dedication to stay on top of the housekeeping stuff like cleansing, warding, etc to maintain a stable environment to conduct their work. In essence its everything a practitioner needs to get serious about putting in the work to gain experience through trial and error. People are too impatient and looking for the quick way "to the top" ignoring this is more about the journey and development.
I wonder if a lot of the questions about specifics, are from younger practitioners? Like teen to early 20's.
Because I'm consistently surprised by how basic the questions often are. It's a bit like they want to be led directly to how to make a spell.
Witchcraft isn't like public school. You don't just open a book and memorize the formula. It's personal and varies greatly.
Personally, I'm new yes but besides that, I still love the "newbie" content! Intermediate is neat in my opinion, and I still enjoy when I find it, but I personally like being shown "the building blocks" of practicing by multiple different people. Because there's so many ways to do something. Like prosperity work - decorated green candle, money bowl, using specific oils as perfume on oneself, working with a specific deity or spirit, a money jar, and so on. In a general sense while avoiding appropriating closed practices. That's just some of my thoughts, lol
I completely agree, and would also say; just like with the artist example - with experience and consistent practice you as a practitioner develop a relationship with your tools. Just like any craftsman. Same with your familiar spirits or if you identify as an animist then it goes with all things you incorporate into your practice - it’s about the relationships we develop and how deep they go. Love your work like always x
Not sure if anyone has told you about L. A. Marzulli's On the Trail of the Nephilim, now obviously it is written from a christian perspective but he discusses the different world stories of giants, megalithic structures. He also had a very interesting theory about some of these structures. Maybe worth checking out.
Your videos are always very inspirational and motivating, and that's what I love more about your channel! Thank you! 🖤
How do I blend separate practices together?I like to garden, and I like tarot. What other basics should I know I'm order to have enough base knowledge/building blocks to create /build a final product or outcome?