I had to take a break from it for about a year because things started getting too real and too intense.
It impacted my path in some interesting ways!
When I got into occultism, I was originally very interested in Ceremonial Magick and Tarot and all the things related to that, so when things started getting scary, those were the things I specifically avoided.
I did nothing related to the occult for a year, and then I started dabbling in witchcraft and energy work a bit. I learned some interesting skills working through some books, and became pretty decently skilled at Spirit Work in the process, I just gave it time and I gradually became better at it.
After a year of that, I started getting back into Ceremonial Magick and Tarot, and that has been very rewarding. I have a lot more basic skills to back me up now, and more experience in dealing with being ungrounded and dealing with unpleasant spirits.
I don't know if I'd call myself a Witch if I had never taken that break, but I'm also ultimately really happy that I can again practice what originally got me interested in the occult. So I guess overall it was a necessary detour that helped me find my path more clearly than before.
