Many of us are lucky, and we can practice witchcraft in the open or at least not be shy about it. But not all of us can practice openly. Often, it will depend on where you live or who you live with, especially if you live in the Bible Belt or with your parents.
I have a friend who made the mistake of being open about her intentions for taking Halloween off from work, and it ended up backfiring on her. She had taken a personal day for Halloween, and her supervisor approved the leave. When her supervisor found out she was taking the day off to practice witchcraft, her supervisor canceled her day off and claimed they did not have enough coverage.
Use a Witch Name
A lot of witches will use a different name when interacting with the community. That even goes for interacting with members of your coven. Pick a witch name and stick to it. Penelope Hughes is actually my witch name. I have not gone by my real name in the community since my early 20's.
Set up Your Altar in Your Bedroom
If you live with someone you don't want to know that you are a witch (parents, roommates, boyfriend), you can set your altar up in your bedroom.
If simply putting your altar in your bedroom is not enough, you can set up your altar to do rituals and spellwork. When you finish, you can disassemble it and spread it around your room. Try not to hide everything in one spot.
If both of the above options do not work, you can make a cyber altar or a notepad altar.
Keep Your Book of Shadows in the Shadows
Instead of keeping a traditional book of shadows, you can use a binder or plain notebook. Another option, especially if you live with someone snoopy, is to keep it digital and use a passcode to lock any prying eyes out.
How to Perform Rituals in Secret
You can perform rituals outside in a quiet place that has very little foot traffic. Another option is to practice in your bathroom. If you are going to do rituals in the bathroom, make sure to come prepared so you do not spend too much time in the bathroom.
Become a Kitchen Witch
When you are a kitchen witch, you work with magick in your foods and drinks. The same way you might do in other spellwork or rituals you do while preparing meals and snacks. Kitchen witchcraft is one of the safer types of witchcraft to practice if you want to stay hidden from someone you live with.
Get Houseplants
Caring for your houseplants make for an excellent excuse for lots of different things. Like grounding, healing, protecting, or cleansing. It also gives you a reason to have jars and bottles of water (you can store things like moon water in them) or store stones and crystals in the plants for decoration. And save some money by growing herbs that you use in your kitchen magick.
Use Candle Magick
You can have candles all over your room or home, and no one will become suspicious. Even if you only keep plain white candles on hand. They can be used for pretty much any spell or ritual. Don't get too caught up in all the different colors.
Get into Astrology and Tarot Cards
It's not suspicious if you look up to the sky or pay attention to your zodiac sign. Even your mom has had at least a little interest in astrology, so they probably won't bat an eye if they notice you are interested in it. Tarot cards are a great addition to your craft and can easily be hidden.