Wicca, or Witchcraft, is an earth religion -- a benevolent, Nature-oriented religion derived from pre-christian beliefs, according to the dictionary. It is a re-linking with the life-force of nature, both on this planet and in the stars and space beyond. It is the celebration of life. We practice rites at certain times of the year to align ourselves with the Earth, and her energy, we practice Magick to make our lives better, and keep our families safe. Wiccans come from all walks of life, every race and background. It is a religion designed for the individual, and it is truly what you make of it. Wiccans believe that there is a Creator, a force of Love which created us, and that which is around us. We believe that everyone sees that force differently. Each religion has their own interpretation of what the Creator is. Unfortunately, many religions seem to believe that their interpretation is the only correct one. This isn't something you will find among Wiccans. Most witches see that force as being split into a God and a Goddess, representing the balance between the masculine and the feminine. Sometimes we have specific names for them like Diana, or Osiris, sometimes they are merely "The Goddess." Mother Nature, or Mother Earth is the best term I know for our Goddess, She who created us, who feeds us, who holds us, and whom we must treat with respect and love. Wiccans are very environmentally aware.

Wicca is a participatory religion, a celebratory action leading to greater understanding of oneself and the universe. We do not "worship" our deities on our hands and knees, attempting to stroke the ego of some faceless deity. We understand that our Gods are everywhere, including within us. We celebrate our Gods, letting their stories inspire our own lives, and striving to better ourselves, instead of remaining base and crude, and crying to our deities how horrible we are. Our Gods do not demand perfection. We ARE worthy! And if we feel ourselves unworthy today, we will make ourselves worthy tomorrow. Our Gods want us to help ourselves, instead of always crying to them for help. The relationship between Wiccans and their Gods is that of elder and younger sibling, mother and daughter, or guide and seeker, not master and slave. Wicca is an active religion. One does not practice Wicca by going to a building and listening to a man talk for an hour and then going home. It is not a passive religion. We practice Wicca every day, maybe not with full rituals, but with small acts of celebration. Religion should be more than a hobby, more than something you are "into" like you are "into" unicorns, or Elton John. Wicca isn't a fad, or something you feel   It is a way of life. We believe there is much to learn by studying our past, through myth, through poetry and music, through love and through living in harmony with the Earth. Wiccans are encouraged to learn as much as they can about other religions, and in fact, to learn period. We study ourselves and others. I have yet to meet a Wiccan who does not love to read. We want to explore life, not sit on the sidelines and watch it go by.

There are many traditions or sects within the Craft. Different groups take their inspiration from the pre-Christian religions of ancient European beliefs, (e.g. Celtic, Greek, Norse,); in the books and writings of some modern Witch writer (e.g. Gerald Gardner, Z Budapest, Alex Sanders, Starhawk); or by seeking within themselves for inspiration and direction. Many feminists have turned to Wicca and the role of priestess for healing and strength after the patriarchal oppression and lack of voice for women in the major world religions. Many witches are Eclectic Solitaries, ones who practice alone and do not stick to a specific order of beliefs.

Wiccans practice Magick, which uses a K to distinguish it from sleight of hand, and magic tricks. Magick is energy, and the subtle bending of it to our will. Energy is all around us, and we can use our will to gently turn it in a new direction, whether to attract something to ourselves, or to reflect it away. Energy is within all things, including ourselves. It can be negative, positive, or neither. This great resource is tapped into through rituals, which serve to focus our will upon our desire. Magick is used to protect ourselves and our family from negative influence, to bring happiness and luck into our lives, to enrich our loves, and to better ourselves. It can be benevolent or destructive, but the only Wiccan law there is states "An' it harm none, do what ye will." This means that using magick to harm another is unethical, and will not be practiced by any Wiccan. You CAN use magick to harm people, but it is very likely to backfire, and leave you sitting in the middle of the destruction. Everything is interconnected, and everything we send out comes back to us multiplied. Most "dark" magicians are twisted, unhappy people, who turn to magick out of jealousy, rage, or hate. However, all it serves is to mire them deeper in their misery, and while they may indeed harm the person they want to, they are also harming themselves. Another part of Wiccan beliefs is that there is no such thing as the "devil" or "hell" We don't conceive of a being of ultimate evil. Evil is something we do to each other, something that comes from within, not from a being bent on destruction. We don't believe in retaliation for "sins." If we do something good or something bad it will be reflected back to us times three. This is sometimes called "Karma." We are all responsible for our own actions, we must determine right from wrong for ourselves, not have some book tell us. "Thou only gets what thou dost earn." is another way of saying it. Wiccans are moral, but not stupid. You have only yourself to answer to.

Many many Pagans are the targets of hate and prejudice because of people who are ignorant about our religion, and often about things in general. The reason many Pagans have a dislike for followers of the christian religion is because of their continued ignorance of other religions. We do not seek to convert any, but we would like it if when a christian (or anyone else) is going to call us names, they do some research to see which names fit us. We do not worship the devil. In fact, most so called �Satanists� do not worship the devil. Christianity is a religion based on fear, and control. It was designed that way. Most christians are afraid of what they don't understand, and are controlled by that fear. They have a knee-jerk reaction to everything they are not familiar with. They do not understand, and they do not want to understand. Christianity has programmed its followers to have a certain reaction to all that is not "christian" usually terming it "Satanist" or "Demon Worship." These are blanket terms used for everything from people who go to Lutheran churches, to people who keep pet snakes, to role playing games, to rock music, television, and Pop Rocks. I knew a family that was shunned at school because they canned food, in glass jars, and some people had come over, and thought that they were body parts. Jehovah's Witnesses once called the police on my parents because they drove into the yard and saw my mother cutting up a dead beaver to feed our sled dogs, and thought it was a baby. (a rather deformed and furry one I guess...) These people see demons in every shadow, and evil in every person who isn't exactly like them. Black and white are the colors of the world, and if you aren't with us, you're against us.

Wicca isn't a prepackaged religion. It doesn't come in a nice, easy, well-defined box. There is no "Witches Bible" to read, no "Witch in a Box" kit to purchase. There are no prewritten oaths to take, no pamphlets to hand out. Wicca is a religion for the individual, not the masses. It is created anew by each person who practices it. It could be compared to a sonnet, which has a certain number of lines, and style of which it is written, but within those boundaries, you can create whatever you want to. You can also make as many lines as you want, but then, its not a sonnet, and if you do not practice the few fundamentals of Wicca, you shouldn't call yourself a Wiccan. We do not easily fit into classifications, we are not stereotypical in the least. Each person will come to the religion bringing something different, and each person will make the religion fit themselves, not the other way around. A husband and wife may both be Wiccan, and practice in very different ways. To put it another way, everyone sees the world through different colored glasses, thus, everything looks different to each person. The general shape is the same, the color is not. If you feel that Wicca speaks to you, study it, study everything you can find, and from what you learn, take what you feel is "right" for you, and discard that which doesn't. No one will care if you practice skyclad (nekkid!) or wearing a Halloween costume, as long as it feels correct for yourself.

I will warn you, if you think this all sounds like cotton candy and bunny rabbits. Being a Witch can be hard. You may encounter prejudice because of the way you believe. You may find yourself unable to practice with anyone else. You may find it hard to find books or information on Wicca. You may find it hard to understand some of the teachings of Wicca. The Gods may call on you to learn something you don't want to. You may suddenly discover that there is a lot more to the world than you ever imagined. My advice is to be strong, to learn what you can, and don't let fear rule you.

Blessed Be.