Isaiah's Book of Shadows
ISAIAH'S BOOK OF SHADOWS
Wiccan...
Q&A
Wiccan rede
Days of the week
Herbs
Spells
Wiccan Chat Room
NEVER AGAIN THE BURNING TIMES
Isaiah's book of shadows
Wicthcraft
The name conjures up images of an old crag stirring a cauldron. This image is stereotyped and outdated. Modern witchcraft is
enjoying a revival as people lose faith in modern religions.
A witch is a person who believes in the "Old Religion" that is now called Wicca. This religion is one that emphasises the unity of the
natural world and the spiritual powers it possesses.
Witches believe that all living things have a 'soul' and spiritual powers, and that the world is composed of a network of spiritual forces.
These forces cause rythmic changes in all life and the witch acknowledges these changes by holding celebrations eight times a year.
Wicca is a religion of nature and fertility. The worship of witches is therefore directed towards a great Goddess, who rules with a male
consort. The Goddess has been known by many names such as Isis (Egypt), Artemis (Greece) and Bridgid (Ireland). Her consort, the
horned god has been known by such names as Cernunnos and Pan. Together they form the unity of feminine and masculine principles
seen in other religions.
The Goddess and her consort were worshipped in the stone age before stonehenge. Statues of the Goddess have been found dating
back to 25,000 BC.
Some people think there are black and white witches. A true witch can only be a white witch. The witches creed is "Do thou will and
harm none" or "Love and harm none". A true witch won't do anything to harm another person. The misconception comes from general
confusion by the media and the public, putting witches in the same category as satanists, devil worshippers and black magicians. A
true witch understands the natural law that whatever magic one does returns upon the doer threefold. It would therefore make no
sense to do evil to others.
Witches celebrate the natural seasons with eight celebrations each year called Sabbats. The four most important are:
31st October - Samhain or All Hallows Eve
1st February - Candlemas
30th April - Beltaine or Roodmas
1st August - Lammas (feast of the Celtic Sun God)
The other four are:
21st December - Yule or Alban Arthan (Sinter Solstice)
21st March - Alban Eilier (Spring Equinox)
23rd June - St Johns Eve or Midsummer Eve
21st September - Alban Elfed (Autumn Equinox)
Many of these days are still celebrated by the community at large when they were Christianised and modernised to Halloween, Easter,
May Day and various Christian Sants' days.
The witches celebrate with feasting, dancing, drinking and the performance of rituals. Sabbats are also times for weddings - known as
handfastings, and baby blessings.
Witches work with a variety of materials such as candles, oils, incense and herbs. The right colours and combinations of these are
used to attract the aid of nature spirits and to attract prosperity, love or health.
Witches also use a variety of ritual tools. The type of tools and complexity of the ritual will vary from witch to witch and coven to
coven. The main purpose of these tools and rituals is to aid concentration and focussing of energy.
Spells are incantations which serve to focus attention on the subject at hand. The real power of the spell lies in the users' desire and
intent. Visualisation is important when repeating the words, to focus the witches desire and intent on the subject. Witches also draw
on white light energy to use in their work.
Witches use their tools and powers for things such as healing, love and prosperity.
Other objects can also be empowered to be given to someone such as amulets, talismans, charms, jewellery and even clothing.
Absentee work can be done for someone by using a doll (or poppet) or in these modern times, a photograph is more likely to be
used.
There is no set dogma for the religion of Wicca except that it "Harms None". So you see, witches are just normal people, male and
female, from all walks of life with a common interest in nature and humanity and are not to be confused with the more warped and
misguided elements in our society. In fact, their love of nature, peace and harmony makes witches much nicer people than many
Christians.
I leave you with a Witches Blessing as a small sample of the spells available. Visualise and concentrate on the person you wish to
bless as you speak these words:
For you,
through the power of the Lady,
a helmet of light.
For you,
through the power of the Lady,
strength in the mind
and sweetness and calm and rest
and strength that is growing
strength to strength
and ease and easeful sleep
and gladness spreading
thankfulness spreading
love spreading
through all of your body,
all of yourself,
in the power of the Lady,
by the power of the Lady,
through the power of the Lady.
Email: piercing@worldnet.att.net
