Witchcraft

I want to know more about witchcraft or more than the little bit that I know, if there's anybody that wants to tell me a few cool things my email is danie_pacheco17@hotmail.com

I want to know more about witchcraft or more than the little bit that I know, if there's anybody that wants to tell me a few cool things my email is danie_pacheco17@hotmail.com

Hey!

Your site looks a lot better. The only thing I have questions about is the Deity/deities issue. I didn't mean to imply that we do not worship Deity/Deities because we are nature based and open to all paths being sacred.

It's not that we don't worship Deities--on the contrary. Each individual chooses (or is chosen by) the Deities they work with and for. There are many who follow the ancient Celtic gods, others the Greek or Roman, others the Aztec--a few even who worship Yahweh (the Judeo Christian god) from a Pagan perspective. There is no requirement that you worship any specific god or goddess--just that you do it (worship God and Goddess).

For me, "Deity" is a good word for the wholeness or oneness of all of those deities put together into a cohesive central "Creator." I am of the belief, as are many Wiccans, that the One Creator meets us at many different levels, with different faces, names, personalities etc. according to what we need and who we are. But bear in mind that many Pagans are true multi-theists, and believe that the individual gods exist separately from each other just as individual humans do.

I noticed my capitalization here is weird, too--when I am referring to "Deity" as a concept, or the "God" or the "Goddess," then I use caps. But when I am talking about various pantheons--I tend not to. Interesting....

You'll probably get lots of comments about definitions for "Witch," "Pagan," "Neo-Pagan," and/or "Craft." We all agree that they are not all synonymous--but we don't all agree on what each specifically means! (Joy, I know that's a pain. :-) ) I would say that "Wicca" as a religion is a subset of Paganism, just as 'Protestant' is a subset of Christianity. There are many types of Potestant Christians--and there are many types of Wiccans. But I know people who call themselves "witch" but not "Wiccan," because the practice of their religion doesn't follow the accepted "norms" of established Wicca. I also know lots of Pagans who aren't witches OR Wiccan--some may practice Native Religions (generally shamanic in nature), some Norse, some Hindu, some African, etc. (For instance, to a Navajo Medicine Man, a "witch" is an evil thing that abuses power, uses shapeshifting ability to terrorize others, etc--and they are referred to as "skin walkers." But yet I can worship with or be friends with a Navajo, because they accept that the word "witch" means something different to me, and that I abhor skin walkers as much as they do. I realize this doesn't clarify anything, and just might make it more complicated. But the point of course, is that definitions are hard to tie down with these terms.

I know a few who are members of COG, though the topic has never come up when we've had conversations. They probably capitalize the term out of respect for the term as a title. We ARE clergy, and most languages/cultures have some sort of honorific for spiritual leaders.

Herbalism is extremely important to the practice of Craft. Part of being one of "The Wise" is a basic knowledge of healing and of medicinal arts--generally from a nature based perspective, though we have lots of doctors, nurses and therapists among us, too. I tend toward more toward the emotional/psychological therapies in my own work--and refer those needing medicinal information to others (except for basics). Good books for basics on herbal use in the Craft include SilverRavenWolf's "To Stir a Magick Cauldron," Raymond Buckland's "Candle Magic" and "Herb Magic" books, anything by Scott Cunningham (he was a distinguished herbalist as well as a theologian.) Any medicinal herbal (there are lots on the market) can give you basic medical information. Most of us try to learn about our own ecosystem, and what we can access by just going for a walk in the woods, or we can grow ourselves. Of course, there's always the herbal stores and magic stores for things that are harder to find.

The Law of Threefold Return is very simple. Whatever you do, for good or for ill, will return to you "by threes and nines." (Times three or times nine, depending on the intensity of your will.) So, if you are out there doing good work, then good will return to you. Also, if you are out causing harm, your own karma will get you. And, by the way, the reason we refer to it as a "Law," is because this is not something we believe applies just to users of magick. We believe it applies to all life--just as the "Law of Gravity" does. It simply "is."

Thanks.

i wont to become a witch but if i tell people they would think im weird but it is so interesting me. But if i ask people who are already a witch they wont tell me anything. They said ive got to increase my mind power ,but how do i do this.

I am here to give you some information so that you get it right when you have the meaning of black magick do not asociate it with pagan witchcraft because wicca (witchcraft) doesnt alow people to harm others ... but if you use magick to harm people it is called black magick
i am not angry or anything but i shall jus inform you on the facts
thank you
wiccan
Phionex Tiger

Thank you for your response re the warlock entry on your web page. I do think pointing out that most Witches find it offensive would be a good idea. Also, the word originates from Celtic/Gaelic dialects as I understand it.

The Christians bastardized the term in an attempt to dicredit the Pagans in the times of the so called holy wars. Again, Thank you for responding, it is a touchy subject, but I assure you that any male witch that refers to himself as a warlock probably gets his witchcraft training from "Bewitched" or "Charmed".

Unfortunately I do not have a better color background to write this letter to you. However, I do want to share my views with you on your research topics. First off in the Bible it does list practices of Withcraft, and other contact with demons as wrong and immoral. I'm sorry to bring this to your attention but you must know the truth--that is any dealings with Withcraft or the Occult (oija boards, tarot cards, ect.) are strictly dealing with demons and messing with dangerous fire with Satan. Satanists do exist and they are witches so how can someone say that Satan does not exist? I have heard every arguement in the book (Witchcraft is worshipping the Earth not Satan, White magic is Good magic and I'm not hurting anybody by using it.) Time and time again God has proven these most popular sayings to be wrong! Satan will tell one anything to get them to follow him (even if that means lying and saying Witchcraft is worshipping the Earth), he will stop at nothing to decieve you and turn you away from God because he wants to destroy you. For reading on the TRUTH about Witchcraft I must first refer you to the Bible (as long as it has not been tampered with), then try reading a few books by Rebecca Brown MD called "He Came To Set The Captives Free" and "Prepare For War". Thank you for your time in reading this, and please----stop the decieving---stop doing Satan's work---I've read the Bible and when the final wars come we (Christians) win.

I would just like to say that i enjoy your site, but i would like to mention that true witches do not believe that there is such a thing as Black Magick. Our creed states that we shall "do no harm", therefore a true witch would not use it. also, we do not believe in satanism since we do not recognize Satan as an entity or personification of evil. we believe that if you embody evil, you only make it stronder by recognizing it.

{An ancient religion ...}
before roman times. before christianity. some practitioners are called wiccans, though not all witches are wiccan or Vice versa.

{Witches are known for ...}
twitch. it's not a must that witches learn and practice magic, most don't, they practice majik (magik, magick). and not every witch has a book of shadows (BOS).

{Some say that ...}
i repeat. not all witches use majik and some pagans do. and witchcraft is a form of paganism.

{Black Magic...}
*coughs*. every single witch i have ever talked to does not beleive in or practice "black magic". i've talked to plenty.

{Book of Shadows...}
close. potions? please. it's just screaming "HOLLYWOOD".

{Coven...}
sigh. i won't even get started.

{The Craft...}
eh. close.

{Esbat...}
esbats are rituals for the full moon.

{Familiar...}
don't presume. too much tv isn't good for you.

{Grimoire...}
see comments under BOS

{Magick...}
*rolls eyes*. well you could at least use what you define.

{Sabbat..}
are you a christian, whoever wrote this? they are HOLIDAYS, by americcan
definition.

{Warlock...}
warlock means only "oathbreaker" or "traitor". nothing to do with paganism.

{White Magic..}
all the spells i've heard of are to help something. gray majik.

{Wicca...}
eh. got something right at least.

fool. do your research before broadcasting this to the witches of the world. we may die laughing at you ignorance.

A couple of comments on your "Witchcraft" section:

There are no "black" or "white" witches- at least, not in the sense that most people think of it as "doing good" or "doing evil." The Craft is a tool, a religion, and a way of life. Our primary crede is "An it harm none, do what ye will." Not, "do what you want" but use your "will" as the center of your own personal power as a being (i.e. magick). Lord Serphant of SerpentStone, a highly respected teacher now deceased used to put it like this.

"If a hammer is used to build a house for the poor, it's a good thing, right? "But if a hammer is used to bash somebody's head in has it become a bad thing? "The hammer is only a tool--what counts here as "good" or "bad" is the intentions and actions of the person using it."

Also, you might want to know that to us, a witch is a witch. A "warlock" is a very negative term that we use to signify a witch that has betrayed the laws and ethics of the Craft as it is practiced today (see Wiccan Rede). It is therefore, not something that is a "nice" thing to call anyone. Again, for us there are no sexual connotations to the word "witch," anymore than there are age, skin quality or color, hair color, or even personality connotations.

I enjoyed your site on the paranormal. Your entries on witchcraft, however, uncritically repeat the beliefs of Wiccans, rather than historical facts. Witchcraft does not equal Wicca-- at least, not exclusively. The word "witch" derives from Anglo-Saxon words for, well, "witch" ("wiccian"="to cast spells"), and not from "witan" (to know) or any word related to "wisdom" ("Wizard," however, does mean something like "wise one"). Traditional concepts of witches are a stew of various beliefs and traditions, confused over the centuries. These include a Christian belief in Satanism, as well as various traditional beliefs in magic. Any ancient "witch cult"-- if it existed-- played only a small part in the development of the western idea of the witch.

Some contemporary Wiccans (whose religion, I should state, has many positive aspects) often claim connection to some ancient tradition, but the "craft" as practised now is essentially a twentieth century phenomena, heavily influenced by speculative books such as Robert Graves' "The White Goddess" and the now-discredited research of Margaret Murray. Murray probably did more than anyone to promote the belief that the "witches" persecuted in the past were members of a specific religion. Before scholars had demonstrated the errorsin Murray's work, she was for a time the Encyclopedia Britannica's "expert" on witchcraft, and several editions published an uncritical regurgitation of her "ancient religion" hypothesis. Other sources later repeated her errors. Wiccans of course are entitled to believe that the ancient Celts, the later European witch-hysteria victims, and modern Wiccans share a common tradition, just as Mormons are entitled to believe that Jesus toured North America in his 20s, but these are matters of religious faith, not historical fact. In fact, many Wiccans and neo-pagans readily admit that their religion attempts only to RE-CREATE an ancient goddess/nature religion, and make no claim that their faith is identical to a specific pre-Christian tradition of the past, or that people charged with witchcraft in the Renaissance were actually practioners of an ancient religion "practiced since early Roman times"-- a claim which has no historical backing.

Other definitions of "witch", then, are not slights to Wicca; they are merely other definitions which your site should also recognize: -a person with supposed supernatural powers, -a person who has sold his/her soul to the devil for magic powers. This is the dangerous concept of "witch" accepted by medieval and Renaissance christians, and by some contemporary evangelicals. This concept, of course, led to the torture and death of innocent people who were neither members of a diabolical cult nor practictioners of a Wicca-like religion.

Several excellent books exist on witchcraft besides those which discuss Wicca from a Wiccan perspective. Russell's "A History of Witchcraft", for one, is worth a read, while Boyer and Nissenbaum's "Salem Possessed" is among the most thorough examinations of that famous American witchhunt.

Incidentally, while I am not affiliated with the Skeptic's Dictionary (www.skepdic.com), I recommend it as a link to your site.