Victoria Maxwell - Witch, Please: Empowerment and Enlightenment for the Modern Mystic

Please note the material in this book should not be treated as medical advice.

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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

FIRST EDITION

Victoria Maxwell 2020

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Source ISBN: 9780008406325

Ebook Edition August 2020 ISBN: 9780008406332

Version: 2020-07-10

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You are magic and you have the power to create the life of your dreams.

You wont find magic in the pages of this book because the magic youre looking for is inside of you. The book you hold in your hands is just a guide to help you remember, to help you wake up your own magic and activate your own power.

I have been some kind of spiritual for as long as I can remember. I didnt grow up in a religious home, I am not a hereditary witch (although I believe that all of us have ancestors who were connected to their magic) and I dont have any fantastic stories of visitations from passed-over loved ones or angelic beings when I was a child. And yet, I always believed in some kind of higher power, and I believed that I had the ability to connect with that power. I didnt really know exactly how I was supposed to do it but I would lie awake in bed at night and softly talk out loud to myself, to the universe, to God, to whoever or whatever it was that I knew was listening. I usually just chatted about my day, about what was worrying me, then Id tell it my wishes. In many ways my magic hasnt really changed that much since then!

Even though I had a handful of strange experiences growing up, I always thought I was a bit of a Muggle. I felt different, but I certainly didnt feel special, powerful or magical. It wasnt until I was in my early thirties that I really started to be able to connect with my intuition, my Friends in Spirit (my spirit guides, angels and ancestors) and began to take control of my destiny through activating my own magic.

Although I spent most of my teen years and my twenties secretly hoping that one day my psychic powers would kick in, I had kind of resigned myself to the fact that maybe some people could do magic or had psychic powers and some couldnt or didnt, and I was probably the latter.

I certainly never thought in a million years that I would one day be running a successful spiritual business reading tarot and teaching others how to open up to their own spiritual power. And if youd told me a few years ago Id be writing this book about how to wake up your magic and create the life of your dreams, I would never have believed it.

But a desire to change your life is a powerful thing.

And it doesnt matter how magical or psychic or gifted you think you are, the truth is that we are all able to connect to our own power, intuition and divine guidance. All we need to do is make the conscious decision to do so and put in a little effort and practice.

My magical knowledge and my way of doing things is kind of a spiritual hot mess. It doesnt come from just one belief system or magical path, it comes from years of seeking and searching for answers and trying out many different things that Ive found in many different places.

Witch is just one word I use to describe myself on this eclectic magical path. I am also a mystic, spiritual seeker, starseed, priestess, magician, lightworker and a Hufflepuff.

My personal definition of being a witch is simply someone who has activated and is connected to their own power. A witch is someone who believes they have the power to create positive change in their own lives and in the world around them. Its anyone who takes their destiny into their own hands.

You may have a different definition of what it means to be a witch. You may not even want to call yourself a witch at all but still want to work magic in your life. I invite you to take some time to consider what being a witch or a magic maker may mean for you. Create your own definition that feels right for you and be open to allowing it to change as your own personal path to magic unfolds. Anyone of any age, gender, background, ability or belief system can be a witch. This is one of the reasons why the outcasts and people who feel a little bit different often gravitate towards the magical path it is all-inclusive. There are no rules here about what you have to believe in. There are witches who work with the Goddess and witches who work with Jesus. There are witches who call on unicorns and fairies and witches who call on the Goddesses of the Underworld.

I first became interested in traditional witchcraft as a teenager in the mid-1990s, right about the time The Craft came out. It was as if I had finally found a system that let me tune into and harness the force that I knew existed but hadnt been able to connect with in a deep and powerful way. I read books on Wicca and witchcraft, I performed spells and I was even a member of a coven for a little while. I was practising as a solitary Wiccan when I met some new friends who were Christians and I became curious. Id never really been to church growing up, so I decided to see what it was all about. I ended up joining the church, getting baptised in the Holy Spirit, and I became born again. While my church experience was mostly positive there were aspects of organised religion that just didnt align with my soul, so I ended up leaving in pursuit of my own magic.

Over the years I explored many different spiritual paths and modalities, including New Age spirituality, the Ascension Path, yoga, hoodoo, reiki, New Thought, shamanism, the Law of Attraction, Druidry, Christian mysticism and just about anything else I could find a book on! I have also spent a great deal of time tuning into my own heart, soul, higher self and Friends in Spirit for answers to my many questions about spirituality, magic and life.