The online spiritual and witchy world is a big one, and often the basis for how we find and learn information about the community and our practices. As I’ve been part of this community for over five years, I’ve learned a lot about being part of it online and in-person. If you’re looking for tips because you’re new or because you’ve been a part of it forever too, here are 5 tips:
1. Know the community on different platforms, and find your safe spaces
There are plenty of social media platforms, and I find the witchy and spiritual community to be quite different on each. On Instagram, my algorithm suggests many nature-based and woodland practitioners to me, along with herbalists. I’ve heard the Facebook community is not a fun one to be part of, but there are some nice pockets (like following Cosmic Corner Savannah). There is a rich community on Tumblr, which has lots of sub-sections for the type of craft or practice your into, making it my favorite. But look around for which online community you feel matches you best, and don’t be afraid to ignore one or two that you just don’t vibe with. We don’t have to be everywhere online, unless we want to.
2. Decide which platforms you want to share that you’re a witch on, and which you don’t
I’ve often stuck to just Tumblr for sharing my personal expierences as a spiritual person, though I’ve dabbled with it on Instagram. The older I get, the more I realize I don’t care if people unfollow me or what others think at all. But, it all depends on you. I wouldn’t dare share it on Facebook, not because my family wouldn’t be accepting (though some of them might not be), but rather I just don’t feel like explaining it to them.
And, you might not share your personal expierences or your journey, but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow members of the community. I don’t think people are going to stalk you well enough to know what you’ve commented on and saved or liked on Instagram, so save all the Cosmic Corner posts you want.
3. Take frequent breaks from the community
The online communities I’ve been part of are lovely, creative, and very open about everything – their opinions, how they practice, their beautiful altars, etc. It can be extremely overwhelming, though inspiring. Sometimes, we want to take pieces of what we see online and implement them into our own lives.
This is why I take breaks from the online spiritual community. It allows me to come back to myself, my practice, and not feel like I have to copy or try everything I see on social media, even if it is coming from a place of inspiration. Spirituality is so, so personal. So take breaks to get back to it being personal.
4. Participate when you want
Like I briefly mentioned about liking, commenting, and saving posts…you can decide when and where you participate. I participate a lot more on Tumblr than I do Instagram, because it’s a smaller community and a smaller platform, so it’s less likely someone from high-school is going to notice. It feels safer to me. But on Instagram, I might not share something to my stories as often.
Going off of that, you don’t have to comment on every rant post, every discussion, or get involved in any online fights or drama, unless you want to. I’m more likely to scroll past discussions on cultural appropriation within witchcraft (a big issue, but one that leads to a lot of…less than cordial debates) than I am on discussions about working with tarot or dreams. You’re not obligated to get involved, unless you want to.
5. Find your in-person community too
A big struggle with being spiritual is that it can be really hard to find an in-person community. It’s much easier for those who are part of large religions, because they usually have a church in every city or town. I would suggest trying to find mutuals that live near you online, or heading to your local metaphysical shop or yoga studio and seeing if they host or partner with anyone to do in-person events.
We here at Cosmic Corner always have something going on, so check out our events page and come visit!
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