I saw on tiktok this year the trend of crafting a ‘personal curriculum’ and I loved the idea. I like to think of my spirituality as something that’s constantly in a state of growth and unfolds slowly. Instead of trying to learn everything at once, I thought the idea of intentionally setting up a witchy curriculum for the year would keep my practice fresh, as well as prevent me from burnout. I’m hoping this approach turns learning into a devotional act, one that honors seasons, energy shifts, and my own capacity.
I thought I’d start by organizing my year into months, each with a guiding theme. Within each month, I’ll focus on one learning topic paired with reflection and grimoire work.
Below is the structure I plan on using, but adjusting themes and topics as my practice evolves or if my interests change during the year.
Here’s where I’m starting:
- Four weekly areas of study within a main topic
- A practical ritual or spiritual practice
- A grimoire page to create
- Journal prompts
- Seasonal and astrological context, if it applies
- Additional subjects to explore if I have extra time or want to go back in the future to deepen what I learned previously
- An optional book recommendation
How the Personal Witch Curriculum Works
- Read a chapter or two from a recommended book, or the whole book if you have time
- Create a new grimoire page
- Practice a ritual or meditation
- Track patterns in a journal
- Notice how the topic appears in daily life <This is what I’m focusing on as a non-negotiable because this is where I’ve found magic is made.
You do not have to complete every activity.
Some months may become deep wells of study. Others might leave behind one useful practice or a single page in your grimoire. Both experiences count.
What You Need to Begin
You do not need a collection of expensive tools to follow this curriculum.
A simple starting kit might include:
- A notebook, journal, or digital document
- A pen or pencil
- Access to a few trusted books or resources
- Permission to change your mind or go into each practice with an open mind
A grimoire can be a beautiful leather-bound book, a three-ring binder, a notes app (or notion, I’ve found that’s a great place to keep my digital notes), or an unruly stack of papers that only makes sense to you.
The container matters much less than the relationship you develop with what you are learning.
January: Spiritual Foundations & Intention
January gives us space to consider what witchcraft and spirituality mean to us personally.
Instead of beginning with rules, tools, or labels, we begin with the foundation beneath our practice.
During January, we explore:
- Our current relationship with witchcraft
- Spiritual values and personal beliefs
- Ethics, consent, and responsibility
- Intentions for the coming year
- Practices we want to explore more deeply
The goal is not to create a rigid spiritual identity. I think of this month as taking a gentle inventory of where we are and where we might like to wander next.
Read the complete January curriculum:
Witchy Personal Curriculum for January
Optional book:
The Witch’s Path: Advancing Your Craft at Every Level by Thorn Mooney
February: Grimoires, Book of Shadows, and Journals
In February, we create a place for our spiritual practice to land.
We explore the differences and overlaps between grimoires, Books of Shadows, spiritual journals, reference books, and personal magical records.
The month includes:
- Choosing a format for your grimoire
- Organizing sections and subjects
- Developing a sustainable journaling practice
- Creating useful reference pages
- Recording rituals, experiences, and personal observations
This month is especially helpful if you have been saving ideas without knowing how to bring them together.
Your grimoire does not need to be finished, perfectly organized, or suitable for display. It only needs to support your actual practice.
Read the complete February curriculum:
February Curriculum: Grimoires, Book of Shadows, & Journals
Optional book:
The Witch’s Book of Shadows: The Craft, Lore & Magick of the Witch’s Grimoire by Jason Mankey
March: Energy Work
March introduces us to the movement underneath many spiritual and magical practices.
We explore energy as something we can observe, experience, and develop a relationship with rather than something we must immediately control.
Our March studies include:
- Opening and closing energetic practices
- Grounding and centering
- Cleansing stagnant energy
- Energetic boundaries and protection
- Reiki and energy centers
- Creating a personal heart space
This month helps us notice how energy feels in our bodies, homes, relationships, and spiritual practices.
The work can be quiet. A shift in breathing, a feeling of steadiness, or the realization that a space leaves you depleted may all become meaningful information.
Read the complete March curriculum:
March Curriculum: Energy Work
Optional book:
Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation by Mat Auryn
April: Spirit Guides and Types of Witches
April is a month of spiritual connection and exploration.
We begin by learning about spirit guides and different ways people understand spiritual guidance. We then explore types of witches, magical traditions, and possible paths of practice.
During April, we consider:
- What spirit guides are
- Different forms spiritual guidance may take
- Practices for meeting or connecting with guides
- Discernment and spiritual boundaries
- Different types of witches
- Which traditions or practices resonate with us
This month is not about choosing a permanent label.
A label can give us useful language, but it does not need to become a tiny spiritual box with the lid firmly taped shut. We can learn from multiple paths while continuing to develop a practice that feels authentic.
Read the complete April curriculum:
April Curriculum: Spirit Guides and Witches
Optional book:
Ask Your Guides: Calling in Your Divine Support System for Help with Everything in Life by Sonia Choquette
May: Divination
May invites us to practice listening without demanding certainty.
We explore divination as a conversation with intuition, symbolism, and possibility rather than a test we must pass.
Our May curriculum includes:
- Strengthening intuitive awareness
- Learning basic divination principles
- Experimenting with tarot or oracle cards
- Exploring pendulums and other methods
- Asking useful divination questions
- Recording readings and recognizing patterns
You do not need to consider yourself naturally psychic to explore divination.
Curiosity, observation, and practice can help us learn how our intuition communicates. Sometimes it arrives as a clear feeling. Sometimes it is a symbol that follows us around for three days until we finally pay attention.
Read the complete May curriculum:
May Curriculum: Divination
Optional book:
Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Divination: Your Definitive Source for Learning Predictive & Prophetic Techniques by Richard Webster
June: Elements and Correspondences
June gives us a vocabulary for understanding the symbolic ingredients commonly used in witchcraft.
We explore the elements and magical correspondences while also learning how to question, research, and personalize the information we find.
During June, we study:
- Earth, air, fire, water, and spirit
- Elemental balance
- Colors, numbers, plants, planets, and other correspondences
- How correspondence systems developed
- Creating personal associations
- Building useful reference pages
A correspondence is not an unchangeable law.
Traditional meanings can give us a starting point, but our experiences, culture, environment, and intuition may shape the way a symbol speaks to us.
This month helps us build a magical vocabulary without turning our practice into a memorization marathon.
Read the complete June curriculum:
June Curriculum: Elements and Correspondences
Optional book:
Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kynes
July: Moon Magic
In July, we bring everything we have learned into a closer relationship with the moon.
Instead of trying to perform an elaborate ritual during every phase, we begin by noticing how lunar cycles feel and which practices naturally fit into our lives.
The July curriculum explores:
- The phases of the moon
- Waxing and waning energy
- New moon reflection
- Full moon rituals
- Lunar correspondences
- Moon tracking
- Creating a personal lunar practice
Your relationship with the moon does not have to match anyone else’s.
You might feel energized during the full moon, comforted by the dark moon, or completely unaffected until you intentionally begin observing the cycle. The purpose of this month is to notice rather than force a particular experience.
Read the complete July curriculum:
July Curriculum: Moon Magic
Optional book:
Moonology: Working with the Magic of Lunar Cycles by Yasmin Boland
August: Spell Basics and Intention Setting
August is where we begin bringing our knowledge together through spellcraft.
We look at what a spell is, how intention works, and how correspondences, timing, tools, energy, and action can support a magical working.
Our August studies include:
- What spells are and how they work
- Choosing a clear intention
- Writing simple spells
- Selecting meaningful ingredients
- Raising and directing energy
- Taking practical action
- Closing and recording a working
This month is not about collecting complicated spells.
It is about understanding the structure beneath spellcraft so we can create workings that feel purposeful, ethical, and connected to our real lives.
Read the complete August curriculum:
August Curriculum: Spell Basics and Intention Setting
Optional book:
The Book of Candle Magic: Candle Spell Secrets to Change Your Life by Madame Pamita
September: Tarot and Oracle
September gives us space to develop a more personal and practical relationship with tarot and oracle cards.
Instead of trying to memorize every card at once, we focus on learning how symbolism, intuition, traditional meanings, and context work together during a reading.
Throughout the month, we explore:
- The structure of a tarot deck
- The Major and Minor Arcana
- The four tarot suits
- Court cards and archetypes
- The differences between tarot and oracle decks
- Reading cards individually and in simple spreads
- Developing confidence in personal interpretation
- Recording readings and noticing recurring themes
Tarot can feel like an enormous subject when we first begin. There are seventy-eight cards, multiple meanings for each one, reversals, symbols, numbers, astrological associations, and enough possible spreads to fill several grimoires.
We do not need to learn everything at once.
This month is about becoming familiar with the cards and learning how they communicate with us. We might begin with a single daily card, a three-card spread, or a weekly reading that gives us time to sit with the message.
The goal is not to predict every detail of the future. Tarot and oracle cards can also help us reflect, make decisions, explore emotions, and see a situation from a different angle.
Read the complete September curriculum:
September Curriculum: Tarot and Oracle
Optional book:
The Big Book of Tarot Meanings: The Beginner’s Guide to Reading the Cards by Sam Magdaleno
October: Crystals and Magical Tools
October invites us to explore the physical objects that often appear within witchcraft and spiritual practice.
We look at crystals, candles, herbs, altar tools, divination tools, and everyday objects that can be given spiritual meaning through intention and use.
During October, we explore:
- Common crystals and their traditional associations
- Cleansing, charging, and caring for crystals
- Candles and basic candle correspondences
- Traditional altar and ritual tools
- Choosing tools that support a real spiritual practice
- Using ordinary household objects in magical work
- Creating personal correspondences
- Practicing without collecting unnecessary supplies
It can be easy to feel that we need a long shopping list before we can begin practicing witchcraft.
Beautiful tools can make a ritual feel special, but they are not the source of the practice. A treasured stone from the yard, a bowl from the kitchen, a birthday candle, or a handwritten piece of paper may hold more meaning than something purchased simply because it appeared on a witchcraft checklist.
This month helps us become thoughtful about what we bring into our practice.
We can learn the traditional purpose of a tool while also deciding whether it is useful, meaningful, ethical, affordable, and appropriate for us.
Read the complete October curriculum:
October Curriculum: Crystals and Magical Tools <Scheduled for 9/13
Optional book:
The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall
November: Rituals
November brings our previous studies together through the practice of ritual.
We explore how rituals are structured, why repeated actions can become meaningful, and how to create spiritual experiences that feel personal rather than performative.
Throughout the month, we consider:
- The purpose of ritual
- Opening and closing sacred space
- Grounding, cleansing, and protection
- Choosing an intention
- Using words, movement, symbols, and tools
- Creating rituals for lunar and seasonal moments
- Writing a personal ritual
- Adapting rituals to different energy levels and circumstances
A ritual does not need to be long or elaborate to be meaningful.
Lighting a candle before journaling can become a ritual. So can making tea with intention, opening a window during a home cleansing, or placing a hand over the heart before beginning a difficult day.
The power of ritual often comes from attention.
When we repeat an action with purpose, it can help us mark a transition, process an experience, celebrate a season, release something we have been carrying, or reconnect with ourselves.
November gives us permission to experiment with ritual and notice which structures feel natural to us.
Read the complete November curriculum:
[November Curriculum: Rituals] <Posting in October
Optional book:
The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices by Casper ter Kuile
December: Reflection and Rest
December is a quieter month within the curriculum.
Instead of beginning a large new area of study, we pause to reflect on what we have learned, what has changed, and what we want to carry into the next year.
During December, we explore:
- Reviewing the year’s grimoire pages
- Reflecting on rituals and practices
- Noticing recurring spiritual themes
- Releasing practices that no longer feel supportive
- Revisiting unfinished subjects without judgment
- Creating space for spiritual rest
- Choosing intentions for future study
- Celebrating personal growth
A year of spiritual learning does not need to end with a perfectly organized grimoire or a clear answer to every question.
Some lessons may have become part of daily life. Others may have raised new questions. A few may have quietly shown us what we are not interested in, which is still useful information.
December gives us a chance to gather these experiences without grading ourselves.
We can look through old journal entries, revisit tarot readings, reread our original intentions, and notice the practices that helped us feel most connected.
Rest is also part of spiritual practice.
There are seasons for learning, making, questioning, and reaching outward. There are also seasons for becoming quiet enough to hear what remains after the activity settles.
Read the complete December curriculum:
[December Curriculum: Reflection and Rest] <Posting in November
Optional book:
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
Closing the Year’s Curriculum…
To close the year, I create a final anchor:
- Core beliefs and values
- Daily, weekly, and seasonal practices
- A vision for how I want my magic to feel going forward
This curriculum isn’t about mastery. It’s about relationship—with knowledge, with self, and with the quiet magic of becoming. I hope you join me this year as we craft our own personal witchy curriculum!
Leave a comment below if you’re joining in.
Want a structured place to record everything you’re learning?
The Witch School Beginner’s Grimoire Kit walks you through eight foundational topics, with printable guides, reference sheets, and worksheets you can write in and return to as your practice grows. It covers the elements, moon phases, the Wheel of the Year, altars, spells, divination, crystals, and shadow work, all in one 51-page printable bundle.
You’re doing great
-Ariel
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