The Crooked Path
An Introduction to Traditional Witchcraft
What's it about
Tired of witchcraft that feels more like a new-age hobby than an ancient practice? If you're searching for a path that connects you to the raw, untamed magic of folklore and the natural world, this is your guide to walking the Crooked Path. Discover the core principles of Traditional Witchcraft, from spirit flight and hedge-crossing to working with the Devil's Dozen. You'll learn how to forge your own powerful connections with the land, its spirits, and the hidden currents of magic that flow beneath the surface of the modern world.
Meet the author
Kelden is a renowned author and practicing Traditional Witch with over a decade of experience whose work has been featured in major publications like Teen Vogue and Llewellyn's Magical Almanac. He began his journey as a teenager, seeking a practice that was both historical and deeply personal. This lifelong dedication to uncovering the roots of witchcraft and sharing its authentic, powerful traditions with others culminated in his celebrated book, The Crooked Path, a guide for the modern practitioner seeking an older way.
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The Script
We treat spiritual practice like a construction project. We gather the proper materials—meditation apps, sacred texts, yoga mats—and follow a prescribed blueprint, expecting a clean, linear assembly of a 'better' self. The assumption is that enlightenment is a destination we build, a structure with straight walls and a solid foundation. But this architectural model of the soul consistently fails us. The path to genuine insight is a winding, crooked trail through a dark wood, one that often requires us to get lost, to abandon the blueprint, and to embrace the tools we were told were dangerous or useless. It suggests that the most profound spiritual breakthroughs happen when we take a torch to the very maps we were given.
This uncomfortable truth is the life's work of Kelden, an author and practitioner who has dedicated more than a decade to exploring the shadowed, often feared, byways of traditional witchcraft. His own journey began not in a sunlit temple but in the frustrating dead-ends of conventional spirituality, where the promised peace felt hollow and performative. He found that the real work began where the official paths ended. 'The Crooked Path' was written as a field journal from the wild, untamed territories of the soul, offering a different way of seeing for those who suspect their spiritual compass is pointing them away from the well-trodden road for a reason.
Module 1: The Crooked Path Defined
What exactly is Traditional Witchcraft? It’s a modern umbrella term for practices inspired by historical folklore. Think of the cunning folk of the British Isles, the village healers and charmers. Their work was practical, not dogmatic. This is the spirit Kelden channels. He introduces the "Crooked Path" as a metaphor with several layers of meaning.
First, the path is crooked because its morality is ambiguous. Unlike the Wiccan Rede, which states "An it harm none, do what ye will," Traditional Witchcraft acknowledges that magic is a tool. It can be used to heal or to harm. The practitioner has total personal sovereignty. They alone decide what is right or wrong in any given situation. For example, casting a healing spell on someone without their consent could be seen as a violation. But binding a dangerous person from causing further harm might be considered a necessary evil. The responsibility for the consequences, both positive and negative, rests entirely on the Witch.
Building on that idea, the path is also crooked because it offers a unique worldview. It enables the perception of hidden spiritual realms. Practitioners learn to see the world with "second sight," peering beyond the mundane into the Otherworld. This is a realm inhabited by spirits, ancestors, and deities. The path fluidly weaves between our world and the spirit world. This practice of traveling between worlds is called hedge-crossing. It’s a foundational skill.
And here's the thing: because this path is so personal and experiential, authenticity comes from within, not from external validation. According to the author, authenticity is proven by two things. First, your own confidence in your craft. Second, the results you get. As the book quotes, "The authentic path of Witchcraft is the one that works." It’s a results-oriented approach. If your magic is effective and your connection to spirits is real, your practice is authentic.
So what does this practice actually look like? Kelden distills it into three core pillars.