This is a list of frequently asked questions of witches and their answers. Most of this information was gathered from The Witches' Voice website. First of all, lets clarify what a WITCH is. A witch is one that believes that the devine exits within his or herself as well as without, and therefore feels a direct connection with the Goddess and God. Not all witches are Wiccan, but many follow the basic belief structure of Wicca.
Witches are just witches. We tend to refrain from using the terms "black" and "white" to describe a person's magical morality as we feel these terms promote racist thinking. As far as "good" and "evil" witches are concerned, witches are highly moral and religious people. Those that follow their religious principles, regardless of the religion, usually do "good". Those who go against their own religious tenets tend to act in harmful and manipulative ways.
Satan is a part of the Christian and Muslim religions. Since we are neither Christian nor Muslim, we do not recognize the existance of Satan, let alone worship him/it. Wicca, the religion of Witches. is a religion of responsibility, As we do not believe in any outside force, such as "Satan:, we believe that each and every human being is completely responsiblity for his or her own actions. To us, evil is a choice, albeit a bad one, that a human might make, not an entity to blame our actions upon. If an individual choses to do evil, we believe they will be punished via the laws of karma. If one is working for the good of others, we feel that the same laws will reward them. In other words, "What goes around, comes around." As a majority of witches believe in reincarnation, we feel that karma can follow a person from one life to the next. This sometimes helps explain why terrible things happen to wonderful people.
The pentagram, or five pointed star, is not Satanic. Pythagoras used it as a symbol of health and his followers wore them in order to recognize one another. In Medieval times, some Christian knights used the pentagram as their symblo. To modern Witches the pentagram means many things; The five point correspond to the elements Air, Earth, Fire and Water with the top point corresponding to "Spirit". The pentagram in a circle may also represent a human with their legs and arms outstretched, surrounded by universal wisdom or the "Goddess" - humankind at one with the environment. Satanist turn the symbol upside-down, which puts the elements of Fire and Earth at the top (Fire symbolizes willpower and passion and Earth, prosperity and earthly goods) and Spirit, spirituality, at the bottom. Satanists also turn the cross upside-down. This, in itself, does not make the cross or pentagram a Satanic symbol. In some Wiccan traditions, the reversed pentagram is a symbol of "second degree" status - one who had been elevated from "initiate". To members of these traditions, the reversed pentagram is considered highly positive and has no connection to Satanism.
The nature of sacrifice is to give up something of one's own in order to gain something more important. We do not feel that the life of another creature is ours to give...therefore we would never kill an animal in ritual, as we would not consider it a true sacrifice. Witches believe in the sanctity of all life. For this reason a large percentage of witches are vegetarian.
Yes. However, the term "spell" is widely misunderstood. Spells, much like prayers, are used to create needed change in one's own life or the life of a loved one. Prayers are a petition to an external Deity to create the change. We as witches believe that Deity is present in everything, including ourselves. Spells, then, are the channeling of out own divine selves, our own energies, to create the change. Spells and Prayers are just different approaches to the same goal. One difference is that witches generally will not do a spell for anyone who has not given them their premission. Spells such as those which use love magick to gain the attention of a specific individual, or curses, are considered "manipulative". Anything manipulative goes against the free will of another is considered wrong. It is against our belief system to become invloved in such things.
A cult by definition is a group of people who blindly follow a leader. As Wiccans tend to be free-thinkers and have no one person we consider to be the leader, we cannot be called a cult.
These rumors come from out lack of taboos regarding sex. We have no rules which prohibit homosexuality, nudity or pre-marital sex. Our one rule "An thou harm none, do what thou wilt" tells us that harmingothers through misusing sexuality is wrong. Sex as the generative force in nature is seen by Witches as something utterly sacred. We feel that the physical act of love is to be approached with great respect and responsibility.
No. Witches can be either men or women. The tern "Warlock" is never used to describe a male witch as it is considered to be a religious slur. "Warlock" is an old Scottish word meaning "traitor" or "oath-breaker". Men and Women alike are called witches.
We don't. We feel that the attempted conversion of others is a form of religious bigotry. i.e..If one tries to convert another ot his/her religion, she or he assumes that the other person's beliefs are not as valid as his/her own. We feel that all paths are equally valid as long as they do not infringe upon the basic civil rights or free will of another. According to our beliefs, it is up to the individual to choose his or her own path. We do not try to manipulate others into our way of thinking, we only try to educate others about our religon so that they may better understand us. We do, however try to help guide those who have already expressed an interest in the Wiccan faith.
We live. We die. Some of us breed and the vast majority of us pay taxes. We practice out religion without trying to force it upon others. Many witches are not public about their religion for fear of the persecution that they may face if they admit to their beliefs. Although there are larger Wiccan churches, most witches practice by themselves as "Solitaries" or work within small groups usually known as covens. Covens function not only as religious groups but also as extended families. We tend to hold out ceremonies ot "circles" out of doors as we feel that being with nature brings us closer to the divinity who creates it. Some of our beliefs may seem strange to most, but consider how strange and horrific the eucharist, or consumption of the blood and body of Christ may seem to one unfamiliar with Christianity, or the ritual of a Bris to one who does not know Judaism. All that we ask is that we are allowed to practice our religion without prejudice as is our right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.
