A Witchcraft Frequently Asked Questions with Answers
Q. What form does the practice of Witchcraft take?
The form and context vary from group to group and between each ritual,
and may run the gamut from elaborate ceremony to spontaneous ritual to
simple meditation. Generally the practice is to consecrate a sacred
space, the "circle" and then work magic and worship the Goddesses and
Gods within it according to the forms agreed upon by that particular
group of Witches.
Q. How do you see the Goddess?
As the immanent life force, as Mother Nature, the Earth, the Cosmos,
the interconnectedness of all life.
Q. Do all Witches practice their religion the same way?
Yes and no. Wicca is a highly individual religion. Moreover, the
number of different sects within the Craft may give the impression
that no two groups practice the same way. Though practices may vary,
most traditions have many similarities, such as the working of magic
and a respect for nature. Most Witches find enough common ground for
mutual support and productive networking throughout the Craft
community.
Q. Is Witchcraft a "cult"?
No. A cult is generally taken as a gathering of people who owe blind
allegiance to one charismatic leader who ostensibly represents
"truth". They indulge in "extravagant homage or adoration" (Webster's
Dictionary), usually of their leader, thus trading the ability to
think for themselves for "salvation" and a sense of belonging. This
is the antithesis of the Witchcraft experience. Most Witches come to
the Craft through reading and communing with nature and later finding
like-minded groups. Witches tend to be highly individualistic.
Q. Do Witches have a "Bible"?
No. A bible is supposedly the word of a deity revealed through a
prophet, or more generally, "a book containing the sacred writings
of any religion" (Webster's Dictionary). Witchcraft is a Pagan folk-
religion of personal experience rather than transmitted revelation.
A Witch may keep a "Book of Shadows" which is more like an
individual's workbook or journal -- meaningful to the person who keeps
it -- containing rituals, discoveries, spells, poetry, herb lore, etc.
Covens may keep a similar group book. There is no one document taken
by all Wiccans as authoritative, as in Judaism, Christianity, or
Islam.
Q. Do Witches cast spells?
Some do and some don't. Since a commonly-held belief is that what is
sent out is returned to the sender threefold, Witches tend to be very
careful with spells. A spell is a formula, or series of steps, to
direct the will to a desired end. Energy is drawn from the earth,
concentrated, and sent out into the world. It is believed that with
proper training and intent, human minds and hearts are fully capable
of performing all the magic and miracles they are ever likely to need,
through the use of natural psychic power.
Q. Do Witches fly on brooms?
No. Brooms were (in rural Europe) and sometimes still are ridden
astride in ceremonies. In one such ceremony, people ran through the
fields astride a broom to coax the grain to grow, or participants
would leap over a broom, telling the grain to grow to the height of
the highest leaping. Uninformed observations of such ceremonies could
lead to tales of flying on brooms.
Q. Do Witches worship the Devil?
No. The concept of "the devil", a personification of a supreme
spirit of evil and unrighteousness, is a creation of Middle Eastern
thought which is fundamental to some religions of that region,
including Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam. Worship of this
being as "Satan" is a practice of profaning Christian symbolism and
is thus a Christian heresy rather than a Pagan religion. The gods of
Wicca are in no way connected with Satanic practice. Most Witches
do not even believe Satan exists, and certainly do not worship him.
Historically, the gods of an older religion are often branded as the
devils of a newer one in order to promote conversion.
Q. Are Witches only women?
No, but in this country women do predominate in the Craft overall (in
Britain, men predominate). Some traditions have only women
practitioners, just as others have only men. Most traditions admit
both. Men are also called "Witches", and most take exception to being
called "Warlocks".
Q. With the bad mental image people get at the mention of Witch and
Witchcraft, why do you still use these names?
Virtually every religion can look back into the dark corners of
history and find a period when it was held in disrepute. Some
religions were accused of crimes through ignorance and malice (e.g.
Medieval Christians were sure that Jews ate Christian babies). Other
religions face prejudice because their practices are different from
those of their accusers (e.g. the Mormons for their polygamy). Others
defame each other for being on the opposite side of some power
struggle -- consider the many incidents from the Crusades through the
Inquisition to current affairs in nations such as Ireland or Iran.
Just because a group was or is persecuted and maligned is not a reason
for it to change its name. The practices of prejudice and
scapegoating seem to be universal human pastimes, and we have had our
share of being victimized.
Q. How can someone find out more about Witchcraft?
Wicca is not a missionary religion and does not proselytize.
One must seek rather than be sought after. There are excellent books
available, and many Witches teach classes or facilitate discussion
groups. In this way, people may connect with a like-minded coven or
form a study group of their own. There are also many good
periodicals, networks, and national and regional festivals through
which a seeker can make contact with the larger Craft community. The
Covenant of the Goddess is one such group fulfilling all of these
functions.
TYPE 4
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
_________________________________________________________________
Q. What form does the practice of Witchcraft take?
The form and context vary from group to group and between each
ritual, and may run the gamut from elaborate ceremony to
spontaneous ritual to simple meditation. Generally the practice
is to consecrate a sacred space, the "circle" and then work
magic and worship the Goddesses and Gods within it according to
the forms agreed upon by that particular group of Witches.
Q. How do you see the Goddess?
As the immanent life force, as Mother Nature, the Earth, the
Cosmos, the interconnectedness of all life.
Q. Do all Witches practice their religion the same way?
Yes and no. Wicca is a highly individual religion. Moreover,
the number of different sects within the Craft may give the
impression that no two groups practice the same way. Though
practices may vary, most traditions have many similarities,
such as the working of magic and a respect for nature. Most
Witches find enough common ground for mutual support and
productive networking throughout the Craft community.
Q. Is Witchcraft a "cult"?
No. A cult is generally taken as a gathering of people who owe
blind allegiance to one charismatic leader who ostensibly
represents "truth". They indulge in "extravagant homage or
adoration" (Webster's Dictionary), usually of their leader,
thus trading the ability to think for themselves for
"salvation" and a sense of belonging. This is the antithesis of
the Witchcraft experience. Most Witches come to the Craft
through reading and communing with nature and later finding
like-minded groups. Witches tend to be highly individualistic.
Q. Do Witches have a "Bible"?
No. A bible is supposedly the word of a deity revealed through
a prophet, or more generally, "a book containing the sacred
writings of any religion" (Webster's Dictionary). Witchcraft is
a Pagan folk-religion of personal experience rather than
transmitted revelation. A Witch may keep a "Book of Shadows"
which is more like an individual's workbook or journal --
meaningful to the person who keeps it -- containing rituals,
discoveries, spells, poetry, herb lore, etc. Covens may keep a
similar group book. There is no one document taken by all
Wiccans as authoritative, as in Judaism, Christianity, or
Islam.
Q. Do Witches cast spells?
Some do and some don't. Since a commonly-held belief is that
what is sent out is returned to the sender threefold, Witches
tend to be very careful with spells. A spell is a formula, or
series of steps, to direct the will to a desired end. Energy is
drawn from the earth, concentrated, and sent out into the
world. It is believed that with proper training and intent,
human minds and hearts are fully capable of performing all the
magic and miracles they are ever likely to need, through the
use of natural psychic power.
Q. Do Witches fly on brooms?
No. Brooms were (in rural Europe) and sometimes still are
ridden astride in ceremonies. In one such ceremony, people ran
through the fields astride a broom to coax the grain to grow,
or participants would leap over a broom, telling the grain to
grow to the height of the highest leaping. Uninformed
observations of such ceremonies could lead to tales of flying
on brooms.
Q. Do Witches worship the Devil?
No. The concept of "the devil", a personification of a supreme
spirit of evil and unrighteousness, is a creation of Middle
Eastern thought which is fundamental to the religions of that
region, including Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and
Islam. Worship of this being as "Satan" is a practice of
profaning Christian symbolism and is thus a Christian heresy
rather than a Pagan religion. The gods of Wicca are in no way
connected with Satanic practice. Most Witches do not even
believe Satan exists, and certainly do not worship him.
Historically, the gods of an older religion are often branded
as the devils of a newer one in order to promote conversion.
Q. Are Witches only women?
No, but in this country women do predominate in the Craft
overall (in Britain, men predominate). Some traditions have
only women practitioners, just as others have only men. Most
traditions admit both. Men are also called "Witches", and most
take exception to being called "Warlocks".
Q. With the bad mental image people get at the mention of Witch and
Witchcraft, why do you still use these names?
Virtually every religion can look back into the dark corners of
history and find a period when it was held in disrepute. Some
religions were accused of crimes through ignorance and malice
(e.g. Medieval Christians were sure that Jews ate Christian
babies). Other religions face prejudice because their practices
are different from those of their accusers (e.g. the Mormons
for their polygamy). Others defame each other for being on the
opposite side of some power struggle -- consider the many
incidents from the Crusades through the Inquisition to current
affairs in nations such as Ireland or Iran. Just because a
group was or is persecuted and maligned is not a reason for it
to change its name. The practices of prejudice and scapegoating
seem to be universal human pastimes, and we have had our share
of being victimized.
Q. How can someone find out more about Witchcraft?
Wicca is not a missionary religion and does not proselytize.
One must seek rather than be sought after. There are excellent
books available, and many Witches teach classes or facilitate
discussion groups. In this way, people may connect with a
like-minded coven or form a study group of their own. There are
also many good periodicals, networks, and national and regional
festivals through which a seeker can make contact with the
larger Craft community. The Covenant of the Goddess is one such
group fulfilling all of these functions.
TYPE 4
Witchcraft: Commonly-Asked Questions
Q. What is a Witch? What is Witchcraft?
"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
varðlokkur, "spirit song" (not "oath-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 Witches, 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 Graeco-
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."
Q. Do you pray? Who do you 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").
Are you Satanists?
No. 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.
Q. What about evil? What are your ethics/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 deities of
the Craft, if they have any inclination at all, incline towards the
positive; most are neither "good" nor "evil," they just are, in the
same way any elemental force, like fire or the weather, is. Our
deities give us power; how we choose to use that power is up to us.
That use is directed, first and foremost, by the Witches' Rede: "If it
harm none, do what you will." It is also directed in part by the Law of
Threefold Return: what you give out returns to you threefold. If you
work ill, threefold ill comes back to you. If you work good, threefold
good comes back to you.
Witches (and members of other indigenous religions) have known all
along what science is only beginning to acknowledge: that all systems
on the planet are interconnected, all life is one. When imbalance is
caused in one area, the whole system is thrown out of balance. Acts of
evil cause imbalance. The works of Witchcraft are toward balance and
harmony. We are healers, protectors; we will act swiftly and forcefully
in defense against aggression, but we do not ourselves attack.
Q. Do you do animal/human sacrifices?
No. Our own internal life-force is sufficient to whatever task we may
require; we have no need of stealing the life-force of another. As
offerings to our deities, Witches may burn incense or candles, pour out
libations, place sacred herbs or food in some outdoor spot, bury
talismans or money. Some female Witches use their own menstrual blood
in spells; other Witches may prick themselves (in these enlightened
days, usually with sterile lancets) and offer a drop or two of their
own blood. But the only blood a Witch has a right to offer is her/his
own. The sacrifice of another's is against the Rede.
Q. Do you have gurus, leaders, priests, masters?
Every Witch is her or his own priest/ess. That's part of the point of
the Craft. We need no intermediaries between us and Divinity; each of
us can have our own personal "revelation." Mostly, the Craft is too
diverse and anarchic to follow any one leader. We all partake of
Divinity, and no one person has exclusive knowledge of the Divine or
sole power to decide the directions of our lives. We have no infallible
leader, no Grand High Exalted Poobah, no dogma. Nobody can have all the
answers. So many of us have our own ideas about what the Craft should
be and how it works, that we can rarely agree on points of religion -
the idea of all of us agreeing to follow one person is manifestly
absurd.
Each Circle or Coven may have a High Priestess or High Priest, or it
may be democratic and operate by consensus. There will always be people
with leadership tendencies; these are people who tend to do outreach
work, networking between Wiccan groups or outside the Craft, or even
teaching.
Q. What do you think happens after death? Do you believe in heaven and
hell?
As it has been said, Witches don't believe in life after death, we
believe in life after birth. The emphasis of the Craft is on working to
make this life good for as many people as possible, oneself included.
We do not believe in a hell, sin, or redemption. As mentioned above,
evil is imbalance. But we have no concept of original sin for which we
must be redeemed - indeed, that concept has been the source of
oppression and even killing of women for centuries, since medieval
Christian philosophy had it that woman was the source of all sin and
evil. Witches are reclaiming Eve as the one who gave us self-knowledge
through her courage and curiosity. Nor, for that matter, do we believe
in a heavenly reward for good behavior. Spiritual bribery is not the
way of the Witch; the results of good or evil acts are felt in this
lifetime. No celestial carrot or infernal stick.
On the other hand, Witches have quite a few opinions about what does
happen after death. Most believe in reincarnation of some sort or
other. Some have it that between death and rebirth the soul undergoes
some sort of transformation (for which there are a number of metaphors)
to prepare it for rebirth. Others believe that the dead join the
Blessed Ancestors, who watch over, protect and advise their
descendants. Still others have it that the souls of those who chose
pain or evil when they were alive may be trapped after death in a state
of suffering because that is all they can understand. Most Witches are
honest enough to say, "We don't really know, and there isn't any way to
know."
Q. What is your magic? Does it work? How?
There are a number of sayings about Magic. It is "the act of changing
consciousness by Will." It is "the science of coincidence." As the root
word of "Witch" indicates, we are shapers and changers; what we shape
and change is our own life force, our own consciousness, our health and
that of the planet. We believe that we can change our lives be
spiritual as well as physical means. Very little is preordained, except
that we will die, some day. In the meantime, many Witches do divination
to find out the possible directions their lives might take, and then
act on the information accordingly.
It works. We can't turn people into frogs or levitate tables by mind-
power; we can work healing, change our lives for the better, and
discover the workings and balance of the whole system. Our Wills are
our tools. "Faith without works is meaningless," and we work in the
world, too; we are active in our communities and for the environment,
but we back up our actions with magical intent. It is a potent
combination.
Q. Do you do Black Magic?
No. Some of us do not even recognize "black" or "white" Magic; Magic is
Magic, and what its nature is depends on how we use it. Remember that
we try to temper all our Magic by the Rede.
Q. Do you cast spells?
Yes. That's part of being a Witch. There are those who wish merely to
worship the Goddess (and God), observe the turning of the seasons with
ritual, and honor the Earth. 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 formulae, 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.
Q. How do you worship? What are your holidays? What do you do then?
There are as many ways of worship as there are traditions of the Craft.
Most rituals involve consecration of the ritual space in some way,
invocation of a Deity or Deities, and a communal meal. Rituals can
include music and/or dancing, poetry, masquing and drama (often in
enactments of myth), and even props and special effects. Again,
creativity is the watchword here. There are eight holidays.