The Witchy Way
Well, let's start by saying there are as many different forms of Paganism as there are practitioners. There is Celtic Wicca, Teutonic Wicca, Kitchen Witchcraft, Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca, Asatru, Hedge Witchery...you get the picture. Not to mention all the "eclectic" witches out there; those who takes elements of several different styles and mix them together. But let's see if I can put it all in perspective for you.
Paganism is descended from the old pagan nature religions that predate Christianity. The pagans worshipped many different deities, but the most common attributes were those of the Mother Goddess and the Hunter God. In many cases the Mother Goddess was also a Triple Goddess, Maid, Mother, and Crone; and is considered to be linked to the phases of the moon. The god is most often seen as a Hunter God, frequently with horns or antlers, hooves, and a tail; often he was a Year King or vegetation god and died and was reborn each year.
With the coming of Christianity, the Old Religion was driven underground but not eradicated. The Church's insistence that the Christian way was not only the best way but the only way made it very uncomfortable to be pagan. As Christianity spread further and further into lands that once worshipped the Triple Goddess and her consort the Horned God, the Church transferred the attributes of the Horned God (horns or antlers, hooves, and a tail) to the Christian devil, thus effectively converting all the pagans to Satan worshippers! It was then free to pursue a course of persecution, torture, and execution against the "evil" of witchcraft. Many hundreds of thousands died during what is known as the "Burning Times." (Although to be fair, let's remember that many of those who died did not necessarily have anything to do with the Old Religion; they were old, or funny-looking, or had refused the accuser when he was trying to get friendly.) Anyone who continued to follow the old ways did so in dread secrecy.
In the 1940's Gerald Gardner sparked a Wiccan revival. Gardner was a British civil servant who claimed to have been initiated into a surviving coven by Dorothy Clutterbuck. Despite the ensuing controversy over whether or not the coven existed, whether or not the rites were really as ancient as Gardner claimed or had in reality been written by Aleister Crowley, and if Gardner should have publicized any of it, Wicca enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. Many people are finding in Wicca what they can't find in the more dogmatic mainstream religions.
The basic principles of Witchcraft remain the same, although a good deal of liberty can be taken when interpreting them. Witches generally honor the Divine as represented by both a God and a Goddess, although some feminist Witches do not consider the God as a part of their craft. Many Witches work with more than one deity of each sex, and many combine the deities of different pagan pantheons, such as Celtic and Egyptian. Wiccans, and many Witches, follow the Wiccan Rede, which is expressed most simply as "An it harm none, do as ye will." Again, this is interpreted many different ways: some feel, for example, that to cast a love spell on someone is violating his free will and thus harming him. Others have no problem whatsoever putting binding spells on, say, a rapist. Witchcraft teaches reverence for the Earth and nature, respect for our animal companions, and kindness towards other people. We follow the cycles of the seasons and the moon. We understand that the rhythyms of nature are the rhythyms of our own bodies and spirits. We do not proseletyze, because we accept all other religions and paths as equally valid.
My Beliefs
My path is an eclectic Celtic kitchen witch. Sort of. The nice thing about Witchcraft is that you don't have to limit yourself! I have a lot of Celts in my family tree and so this path is one that has always appealed to me. My "patron" goddess is Brighid, meaning that I work most often with her, although I feel comfortable with most of the Celtic deities and some of the Egyptian ones (see what I mean about eclectic!) I also hope to study Native American shamanism, as one of my great-great-grandparents was Native American. I do rituals and spells, but they tend to be rather simple, not like the fancier ceremonial magicians. I follow the Rede, but not to the point that I comdemn myself to inaction! I believe the Rede is meant as a guide, not an absolute. If someone were threatening my family, I would have no qualms at all about harming them! I will not cast love spells, but a binding spell to affect someone like, say, Richard Davies (the man who abducted and killed Polly Klaas) would be right up my alley. The Rede is about taking responsibility for your actions, not about being inactive. I plan on bringing my children up to my faith, although they will certainly have the ability to choose another path if it suits them My husband is not pagan; he's not really anything. But as long as I'm happy he has no problem with my chosen path. I am pretty much out of the broom closet; I wear a pentacle and answer Witch if anyone asks, but I don't go around getting in people's faces about it.
