Witches and Witchcraft

What are witches and their beliefs?
Witches are great individualists. There are more "types" of witch than I could possibly write about here, so I will try and make a few generalisations! Witches on the whole are deeply spiritual and often sensitive. They suffer with each injured animal, plant or person and will do their utmost to help. This is because a witch is a person, male or female, that is aware of the different forms of life and energy yet see them all as the same, not as seperate entities. The earth is as much alive as you and me.

Witches do not exactly "believe in" anything. They just know it to be there. To a wiccan, the Goddess and God are just there, in the same way rocks and trees are just there. The Goddess is seen as maiden, mother and crone. She is the womb from which we sprung. She is the Earth itself, the beasts in the field, the stars in the sky. She is the feminine aspect. The masculine aspect is the God. He is seen as her consort, her lover and her son. He is the life force that impregnates the Goddess and us all. He is that which causes change; he is dynamic in all his forms. He is protective, fierce and strong as a guardian, yet tender, lusty and passionate as a lover. ((More information on the Lady and her Consort will be given later))

Above all, Wiccans bide by the Wiccan Rede. Many other 'types' of witch also follow its advice, in one form or another. This is the most important part:

Eight words the witches' creed fulfil, If it harms none, do what ye will.

Why do some talk of many Deities, not just two?
This is just to help make things a little easier for mere humans to comprehend. The Goddess and the God are all things, everything - people, animals, hills, rocks, trees, even emotions and thoughts, right down to the tiniest atom. So many people find it easier to simplify by talking about an aspect, one particular face. These aspects can be created at will. Their names do not matter because in the end, it is still the Goddess and her Consort.

I feel most at ease with the Goddess and God but many people worship the single entity which is both the Goddess and God in one. ((Imagine a wheel, the many aspects on the outer rim, fewer on the spokes and the one single entity as the hub)).

Are pagans different from witches?
Yes and no. While all wiccans are pagans, not all pagans are witches. Witchcraft is a type of paganism. Pagans all believe in the same things but witches work spells and magic whilst pagans who are not witches do not.

What is the difference between Wiccans and Witches?
This one amuses me. People read so much into a name, a single word. You do not have to be wiccan to be a witch. You do not have to be wiccan to be pagan. You do not have to be pagan if you are a witch. You do not have to be a witch if you are pagan. I think that covers everything.

Are witches satanists?
The problem nowadays is that there's a very bad image of witchcraft. Sacrifices, orgies, all that sort of thing - Absolute Nonsense!! They simply do not happen. For instance, the only sexual acts that occur, do so between two consenting adults. Nature is sacred, we are part of nature, so we treat ourselves and others with respect.

As for devil worship, this does happen, though not in the way the film industry so likes to portray! If say, for instance, a pagan was to worship the christian god as an aspect, they must also worship the christian devil. Paganism is the belief in nature and BALANCE. Good and evil, male and female, darkness and light. Witches view them as one, for they are all part of nature. They do not seperate them and call one forbidden or wrong. Without one, there could not be the other

((that was not an excuse to be evil! As with all things, bide by the Rede and the threefold rule.))

How are witches different to black magicians?
Firstly, witches are not magicians. Most magicians are merely tricksters, with no proper understanding of 'real magic' at all. Many magicians are healthy sceptics. Of the few that do work magic, most do not even know what they are doing or what they are working with, I.e. the forces of nature.

The term itself was first founded many years ago to distinguish between witches and magicians. This was because of the 'bad image' that witches have had ever since the Dark Ages and the Inquisition. Magicians were then rich, influential and usually men. Witches were usually of the poorer class, working magic with simple materials and during everyday tasks, such as sweeping the floor.

The terms Black or White magic really have no meaning. Magic is a neutral force. It is how you use it which determines wether it is for good or bad. However, witches bear in mind the message given in the wiccan rede and the Threefold rule. ((What you do will return to you threefold)). It is very unadvisable to actually work any harmful magic.

If you are thinking of choosing Wicca as a religion/belief system, whatever you wish to call it, then you may like to read this page. It is an anti-wicca page and will make you question why you are choosing it and if it is really right for you. A word of warning though - at times it is a little rude and may offend some.

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