It can be easy to feel super overwhelmed when you’re first starting off.
I think that the first thing everyone wants to know about is spells.
These are my opinions but feel free to disagree, it's only a personal journal after all.
It is often harder to focus on a spell if you are stuck in your own thoughts or have the energies from the day on you. To ground you can start with cleansing yourself.
Just remember it's probably a good to do it before you do any spell. You don't want any other energies you may have picked up to affect your spells, or your bad mood to mess with the results.
Many witches cast circles as a way to protect themselves from outside energies or unwanted spirits while they’re performing magic. (Similar to what happens when you cleanse.) You can use the elements, a salt circle, invoking a deity, (If you want.) etc. It is recommend you stay in the circle until you finish the spell and close the circle.
(So you don’t draw all the energy from yourself, which can be draining. I can't be bothered, so I pass out after like three tarot readings.). Energy can be drawn from the elements, from crystals, deities, and many other things (Like plants!). This can be done by visualization, crystals (If you believe in them, I don't see a difference really.) energy work or by asking (Trees are good things to do this with).
This is when you use your ingredients and the guidelines of the spell. It is best to be completely focused so try to avoid having distractions (like your phone) and have everything you need ready to go. It's ok if you make a few mistakes the first few times but it's really better if you don't.
This usually is not included in the written spell so this is up to you. I usually write a list of loopholes I want to close before starting this process, so it’s useful when I’m finished with the spell. If it’s a spell you want to come to light in a certain way or by a certain deadline, this is when you clarify that.
Once you're done with the loopholes, finishing the spell can be as simple as “this spell is now complete”. I recommend dispelling any energies/deities you called on and returning them to where they belong. If you didn’t cast a circle, now is the time to rid of anything you may have attracted by performing your spell.
Closing a circle is fairly simple. All you have to do is the reverse of how you cast it pretty much. (If it was with smoke for example, you would then undo the circle by burning the bundle in the opposite direction).
Cleansing here is optional, depends on the spell, how you’re feeling, and if you want to do it. Grounding is highly recommended I think. You might feel a little disorientated after a spell, and it's nice to take a break.
Consent: If you are casting a spell on a specific person and they do not know or they have not given you permission, you do not have their consent. Spells cast to bring a general thing (to attract love instead of to make a specific person fall in love with you {Which is complicated and faulty enough as it is unrelated}), with permission, or on yourself don’t need consent/already have it! (Unless it's a curse, go all out and be prepared for consequences. if there are any.)
Ingredients are often (Lmao literally all the time pretty much.) an important part of the spell and are included for a reason. They either represent a part of the spell, what the spell is trying to accomplish or are something you can draw energy from.
If you can’t get your hands on a certain ingredient, you can almost always use a substitute ingredient. Just use correspondences and trust your gut while searching for the perfect substitute. Many people believe: Clear quartz = any crystal, Rosemary = any herb, Rose = any flower. But really, look at what that ingredient is meant to bring to the spell, then find an alternative that still brings that same sort of vibe.