Magic is a form of self-empowerment. If you genuinely don't like your practice, stop doing it.
You don't need to be a specific religion or worship spirits to do magic (not counting certain culturally-specific rituals).
You don't even need to fully believe in magic to do magic. This can be fun psychodrama for you, if you want.
Spirituality should be enriching, but be wary of spiritual bypassing (similarly to how it's cool to be creative, but maladaptive daydreaming isn't so great).
You don't have to be solemn to be serious. Don't be afraid to have a little fun with it.
Do what you want. Treat all my advice as a recommendation or just personal stuff. As long as you're not appropriating a closed/initiatory practice, you are the one who sets your own rules.
Also: Be wary of people very clearly just trying to sell you things. While people do deserve to be compensated for their time and effort making talismans, doing tarot readings, casting spells and such, there's still obviously a lot of grifters who don't believe in what they're doing and are just trying to make a quick buck. I've seen miracles, but they're called "miracles" for a reason.
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If someone is trying to fearmonger and treat something as being insanely urgent and that you have to give them money Right Now to fix it, it's probably a scam.
(I will say though that even if it turns out that scientifically-speaking magic isn't real, I don't think spiritual services are a scam if both parties genuinely believe in what they're doing and nobody is being harmed by whatever is going on. So like... Faith healing as a substitute for modern medicine is Bad, but tarot readings or spirit conjuring services are Whatever as long as nobody is promising their spells are gonna cure cancer.)
THE BASICS
This is the stuff for if you're a total beginner to ritual work
Cleansing and Preparing the Ritual Space, Altars, Etc.
When choosing to venerate, do dealings with entities, or cast spells in general, something that is commonly recommended is the concept of the workspace. Traditionally, this may be an altar, but it doesn’t have to be anything particularly fancy. The ritual space can be as big or as small as you want it to be, and could be anywhere. Some people may dedicate their kitchen area to their deities, since food is important to life. Personally, I just use my windowsill and computer desk most of the time. The important part of your workspace is that it will hold everything you want it to hold, and it’s something you can clean without too much difficulty.
You may have come across talk of “cleansing” the space, but are unsure of the best way to do that. Just physically clean it. I am not kidding. Pulling out incense and casting extra banishing spells might be necessary for when things go wrong or if you’ve been doing an intense ritual, but most of the time simply tending to your space and giving it a proper reset will suffice. The point of cleansing the space is to remove any sorts of unwanted energies that may interfere with your perception of events or ability to contact or command otherworldly forces. Physically cleaning the altar does not just serve as a practical use, either- many things we associate with purification and cleanliness on a physical level also carry those metaphysical associations with it.
Metaphysical forces and physical forces feed into each other and affect each other. You have to become a master of both to master either of them. That being said, it is also helpful to practice good hygiene and self-care (to the best of your ability, of course). If you ever feel like you yourself need a cleanse, take a bath. Or wash your hands. Even just scrubbing your face with a washcloth might help. Or putting on a different shirt. Do literally anything that might help you feel a bit more fresh and relaxed afterward- even if it’s just one single thing.
We’ll get into more advanced rituals for when you need to pull out the big guns later, but for now these simple methods will suffice for common workings.
Sharpening the Psychic Senses
Psychic senses are not a “gift” that you either have or you don’t. Some people are naturally better at it than others, similarly to how some people are just very bad at sports no matter how hard they try, but everyone can practice some form of this. The trick is sometimes knowing what you’re naturally inclined to, and where to invest your time.
I don’t necessarily agree with everything in the later parts of this book with regards to how the spiritual universe works, but The Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn has many exercises and explanations on how to get more in-tune with your energy, and sense outside forces. (While this large book may seem daunting, you’re mostly going to want to pay attention to the first 5 chapters.) You might also be able to find guided meditations on YouTube or something if actively practicing with direction is more helpful for you.
The most basic tool of psychic senses is going to be… Meditation. Yeah, I know, that’s not something everyone particularly wants to participate in. But being able to quiet your mind allows for you to properly receive those signals. You don’t even have to have big meditation sessions- even practicing for a few minutes at a time is OK. You’re never going to get anywhere if you don’t actually take the time to slowly build up those senses. You need to understand where yourself ends and the outside begins.
You don’t even have to fully clear your mind of all thoughts, either. When you meditate, focus on the furthest noise you can hear. Feel your chest rise and fall with your breath. Take a moment to acknowledge the feeling of where your body touches the ground. The important thing is to plant your mind firmly in the present, and not worry about the past or future. When you have a random thought, acknowledge it and gently bring yourself back to the present. Let it go.
Awakening is not a singular eye-opening experience. It is not a one-and-done thing. Enlightenment is a series of revelations that open new doors to more experiences. Spells to open up your “third eye” and things like energy work can help speed up the process, but ultimately it is up to you to do the work. Just remember to be patient and forgiving with yourself. This is not something that is mastered overnight, and it’s very common for intrusive thoughts to get in the way, even for experienced practitioners.
Making Contact
[Info about actual summoning shit and divination goes here]
Putting Everything Away
Knowing how to “wind down” and separate yourself from the spirit world when you don’t want to be a part of it is important. This is touched upon in The Psychic Witch, but a phenomena that I’ve seen a lot even before reading that book is the idea of being “fried”. People who are plugged into spiritual things 24/7 can start to get a bit… Weird. You’ve probably noticed it yourself at one point. Guys who just go on and on, rambling in run-on sentences that barely make any sense and jumping over every little thing like they’re having a bad trip. However, it must be noted that this can happen to anyone from attempting to over-exert any sorts of psychic powers, regardless of if you take substances or not.