Honoring What Holds You: Gratitude as a Witch’s Self-Care Practice

There’s a version of gratitude that feels like spiritual gaslighting.

Be grateful. Look on the bright side. At least it wasn’t worse.

Hard pass.

That isn’t witchcraft - that’s bypassing with a Pinterest font.

In this practice, gratitude isn’t about pretending things are fine. It’s about honoring what actually sustains you, especially when life is messy, loud, or deeply human.

For witches, gratitude is not submission.

It’s relationship.

Gratitude Is a Form of Power Awareness

A witch doesn’t give thanks because she’s been told she should. She gives thanks because she understands exchange.

You live inside systems - energetic, emotional, relational, material. Some things hold you without asking for credit:

• Your body that keeps showing up

• Your home, however imperfect

• Your income streams (yes, even the weird ones)

• Your tools, routines, and quiet rituals

• The people who don’t drain you dry

  
  

Gratitude is how you name those supports instead of taking them for granted.

Naming is power.

Power acknowledged stays.

Honoring vs. Performing Gratitude

This practice is not:

• A list you rush through before bed

• A forced “three things” exercise

• A way to silence frustration or grief

  
  

Honoring is slower. Heavier. More honest.

Honoring says:

“This thing mattered. This effort counted. This support held weight.”

Sometimes what you honor isn’t pretty.

You might honor:

• The boundary you finally enforced

• The income that came from work you didn’t love

• The rest you took instead of pushing

• The season that broke you but taught you something useful

  
  

That still counts. Especially that.

Why Witches Need This as Self-Care

Because witches give a lot.

Energy. Attention. Care. Creativity. Emotional labor. Intuition.

Without a practice of honoring what gives back, you end up running on fumes and vibes. That’s not magic - that’s burnout with candles.

Gratitude, practiced monthly, does three critical things:

1. Regulates the nervous system – You remind your body it is not alone or unsupported.

2. Strengthens energetic boundaries – You see what’s actually nourishing you.

3. Refines discernment – You stop feeding what gives nothing in return.

   
   

This is self-care that sharpens your edge instead of dulling it.

A Simple Monthly Honoring Ritual

No altar overhaul. No elaborate spell. No pressure.

Once a month - new moon, full moon, or “holy shit it’s the end of the month again” energy - sit down with a pen.

Write three things you are honoring, not thanking.

Use this frame:

• I honor ___ because it supported me by ___.

• I honor ___ for the effort it required.

• I honor myself for ___.

  
  

That last one is non-negotiable.

Yes, even if you feel awkward.

Especially then.

If you want to anchor it physically, place a coin, stone, or small object near where you wrote. Let it be a quiet witness to what held you this month.

No affirmations. No positivity required. Just truth.

This Is How You Stay Rooted

A witch who honors what sustains her doesn’t spiral as easily.

She doesn’t chase every shiny promise.

She knows where her real nourishment comes from.

That’s not gratitude as politeness.That’s gratitude as self-respect.

And self-respect is one of the most potent forms of magic there is.

Before you scroll away or click to the next thing, stop.

What actually carried you this month — not what should have, not what looks good on paper, but what showed up when it mattered?

Name it.

Out loud or on the page or in your head while you stare at the wall.

All of it counts.

If you want to share, drop it in the comments. One line is enough. No context required. This isn’t a performance and nobody’s grading you.

And if you don’t share? That’s fine too. Some forms of honoring are meant to stay private.

Just don’t pretend you’re unsupported when something - or someone, or you - kept you upright.

That recognition is part of the magic. **This is the first of a monthly series on self-care — for witches, or anyone who doesn’t believe care needs to be filtered within an inch of its life and posted on a grid.

We’ll be talking about self-care as it’s actually lived: messy, practical, sometimes inconvenient, and deeply necessary.