Attention other religions, sects and paths (including earth-based religions disagreeing with anything stated below) :
Let us not quarrel among ourselves.
Leave us be and we shall do the same for you.
Worship as you see best and allow us the same right.
This is the true Wicca way...and the free way.
What is a witch?
A witch above all worships the Triple Goddess and her Consort, The Horned God, in one form or another. A Witch works Magick within a definite code of ethics. A Witch acknowledges and uses the male-female polarity in her rites. A Witch takes total responsibility for her actions, herself, and her future.
Witch comes from the Anglo-Saxon wicce (meaning witch), which in turn derives from an Indo-European root word meaning to bend or change or do magic/religion (making it related to wicker, wiggle, and even vicar). It is possibly also related to the Old Norse vitki (meaning wizard), derived from root words meaning wise one or seer. Warlock (rarely used, for male Witches) is from the Old Norse varlokkur, spirit song (not Roath-breaker). Related words are Pagan, meaning a country dweller, and Heathen, a dweller on the heath, both of which peoples were the European equivalent of the Native Americans and other indigenous, nature-worshipping people.
Today, a Witch is a woman or man who practices a life-affirming, Earth- and nature-oriented religion, honoring Divinity in female as well as (or instead of) male aspects, and practicing Magic (which some Witches spell magick, to distinguish it from stage illusions). There are many different traditions of Wicca, encompassing many beliefs in addition to these. Some traditions are practiced by women only, and recognize only the Divine Feminine, the Goddess. Others include men and recognize a male god in addition to the Goddess. Some traditions may date back to before the Spanish Inquisition, others have been in existence for only a few years. The strength of the Witches' religion (also called the Craft or Wicca) lies in its diversity; it is a living, growing religious tradition.
Witchcraft today may be seen as the sum total of all a Witch's practices, including but not limited to: spellcasting, divination (fortune telling), meditation, herbalism, ritual and ritual drama, singing and dancing to raise energy, healing, clairvoyance and other psychism, creative mythology, and more.
As a religion, the Craft is a revival and/or reconstruction of the pre-Christian religions of Europe, especially Northern Europe (giving us Celtic or Norse traditions), sometimes elsewhere giving us Greco-Roman, Egyptian, or Levantine traditions). Many of us have turned for inspiration to the still-living indigenous traditions of other lands, such as Australia, Asia, India, and the Americas. Some of us , recognizing that we are American Witches, work with deities and land-spirits of local Amerindian tribes, though we do not claim to be members of any Amerindian tradition. As Margot Adler, a Witchcraft authority, has written, The real tradition of the Craft is creativity.
What is Wicca?
There are many differences between the various sects but on the whole Wicca is an ancient religion for love of life and nature. The word 'Wicca' can be defined as 'the wise' or 'to bend', from a much older word 'Wicce'. The Wicce believe in duality and the laws of karma, celebrating life through the seasons and the old Pagan season festivals (see Sabbats).
What is Witchcraft?
Synonymous with 'Wicca' (although some traditionalists strongly disagree), the words 'Wicca', 'Wicce' 'Witchcraft' and 'Witch' all have the same basic meanings.
What is magick?
Magick is simply the movement of natural energies to create needed change! Magick is not a supernatural process, it just uses energies that sometimes cannot be explained. Magick DOES NOT use powers derived from the "devil." Magick is not anti-religious or anti-God, its simply NON-RELIGIOUS (though it can be used in religious ways). Magick is simply used to bring about needed change. The goal of magical rites should ALWAYS be positive. ........"an Ye Harm None."
About the Energy.......
The energy used in magick is natural. We all have it..its within our own bodies as well as in physical objects...earth, water, sand, fire, air...just to name a few. Disregard people that claim to have "magickal powers", we ALL have it...we just need to accept that we have it and learn how to use it.
Do Witches worship Satan?
No. 'Satan' or 'The Devil' is an 'evil' aspect of Christianity. Wiccans do not believe in divine good nor divine evil, as divinity is always reflected through each individual. The unfortunate claims that the male aspect of Wicca (usually in the form of The Horned God of the Wild) is the same as the Christian Devil, is a good chunk of the reason why many Christians and others harshly persecute and ridicule those of The Craft.
To be a Satanist, one must believe in Satan. Witches do not believe in Satan, as such. The popular image of the goat-hooved, pointy-horned devil is a deliberate corruption by the early missionary church of the European Pagan Horned God, who has been depicted in Greece as Pan, and in ancient Gaul as Cernunnos (who is pictured having a stag's antlers). Making indigenous gods into evil beings was the early church's most reliable method of gaining converts. Some missionary Christian groups continue the practice to this day, in areas that have retained their old religions.
Our Horned God is neither evil nor a source of evil; He is the energy of nature, of plant and animal life, which energy manifests for people in music and dance, intoxication and ecstasy, and all joyous activities, including lovemaking.
Is Wicca related to Satanism?
No, absolutely no affiliaton. Once again 'Satan' is an aspect of Christianity worshipped by 'satanists'. There are no similarities, much less equalities, to join the two paths.
Who do Witches worship?
Everything in nature to a Wiccan is a true aspect of deity. However, the aspects most often celebrated are the Triple Goddess of the Moon (Who is Maiden, Mother, and Crone) and the Horned God of the wilds . These figureheads represent the duality (in gender and every respect) of everything in nature.
Can a Witch also be Christian?
No. Craft folk believe in a beneficient universe, the laws of karma and reincarnation, and divinity inherent in every human being... where-as Judeo-Christianity incorporates concepts such as original sin, vicarious atonement, bodily resurrection, and divinity inherent in the Godhead alone. Besides, you'd have to ask how serious a person who practiced two religions was about either one. Being Jewish is an exception, since it is a race and culture as well as a religion. There are many Wiccan Jews, but they practice Wicca, not Judaism.
How do I become a witch?
One is not born a witch, nor does calling oneself a witch make one a witch. Through attunement of nature, practice and ritual, one can learn the ways of the Wicce. The peace, joy and love for everything in nature are the only required quality; the knowledge, mindset and satisfaction through Wicca are LEARNED. Read a book, attend a festival, open your mind.
The Craft does not actively seek converts. We do not proselytize.
We are willing to inform when asked, and training is available in varying degrees of formality.
Some Witches believe that one must be born with the talent to become a Witch. Others believe that all people have the ability, and that becoming a Witch is simply a matter of training.
Some people know from an early age that they are Witches; others come to the Craft as adults. Most of us grew up in a tradition other than the Craft.
And there are many out there who do what we would call Witchcraft who have no idea what to call it, or even that there are others like them in the country or the world.
Being a Witch, like doing Magick itself, is a matter of symbolism and intent.
Do We Pray? Who Do We Pray To?
Some Witches pray (in the popular sense of the word), some don't . Some Witches regularly meditate on the deities of their choice; some only invoke deities to empower a ritual or work of Magic.
As to who or what our deities are, you will get nearly as many answers as there are Witches. Consensus opinion seems to be that there is a transcendent Divine, the sum of all that is and more, and that everything that is partakes of that Divinity. However, that Divinity is more than the human mind can encompass or experience. So the idea of Divinity is broken down into few or many mind-sized pieces. One cannot look at the sun but through a filter; one can only experience a piece of the Divine. These pieces are conceived of in many forms. One of the primary forms Divinity takes for us is the Goddess, the Divine Feminine. She can have many names and many aspects; some Witches worship only the nameless single Goddess, and others worship Her under all the names by which she has been known to the ancients: Ishtar, Diana, Ceridwen, Athena, Amaterasu, Brigantia, Venus, Hecate, Isis, Demeter, and more. In addition, the Goddess can be seen in three aspects: the Maiden (youth, self-sufficiency, often love), the Mother (nurturing, fulfillment), and the Crone/Wise Woman (wisdom, mystery, initiation, and death/rebirth). The Moon, the Sea, and the Earth can all be personified as Goddesses.
Some Witches stop there. Other Witches include the Divine Male, the God. Our God is not limited to the Father aspect, though there are Divine Fathers. The Sun is often personified as a God, as is plant life; the dying and reborn Grain God is common to nearly all agricultural myths. Some name Him merely the Horned One; others call him by the names he had of old: Apollo, Osiris, Dionysos, Odin Pan Freyr, Adonis, Tammuz, and many others.
When we invoke deities and/or manifest them in ourselves, where do they come from? Are they somewhere out there and do they come in? Or are they inside us, in our psyches, and do they come out? Do we put on a deity, or do we remove our shell of humanity to let the divinity show through? Nobody has the answer, nor do we pretend to. Deities may be archetypes , they may be nature spirits, they may be forces outside our ken. Who or whatever they are, they are. Our deities are both transcendent (out there) and immanent (right here).
What about Evil? What are our ethics and morals?
We believe that life is essentially good, and creation and destruction are part of natural cycles. Clearly, though, there is evil in the world. We believe its source is not any kind of devil or demiurge, but human action (note: not human nature). Evil is also subjective: what is good for one may be evil for another and vice versa. For example, a tiger kills an antelope - the antelope's death is bad to the antelope, but good to the tiger, who does, after all, have to eat. The dei These are what may be called Neo-Pagans (to distinguish them from indigenous, aboriginal pagans). Nearly all Witches are Neo-Pagans (believe it or not, a few Witches are Christian or Jewish); not all Neo-Pagans are Witches.
For us, spells and rituals are a matter of arranging elements to encourage a frame of mind conducive to working Magic. This may involve burning candles and/or incense, making talismans of stone or wood or paper, chanting rhymed formula, using herbs or essential oils, turning down the lights and playing some atmospheric music, or whatever the imagination of the Witch can devise.
The Threefold Return works powerfully here: if someone wishes to curse someone else, the curser must first build up the curse within her/himself - guess who gets to feel it first! Acts of healing, on the other hand, are acts of profound love, and the healer often finds her/himself healthier after healing someone else. It is always easier to cast a spell on oneself than on another. Only in very limited circumstances, if at all, should a spell be cast on another without that person's knowledge and consent.
