Lesson One: Connecting with
                      Spirit
Goddess, God, Spirit, Power, with our limited  capablilities of language, these seem to be all terms used to describe the same spiritual phenomenon. The great thing about Witchcraft is
That no matter what you wish to call it, that you recieve the tools and training to experience first hand contact with that energy. For the sake of balance in my life, I choose to call this energy Spirit or Goddess.  The Craft acknowledges both the God
and the Goddess as partners in the circle of life. This is seen in the celebrations of the  changing of the seasons. The Earth being the Goddess going through stages of Maidenhood and conception (spring seeding), Motherhood, (giving birth to the      fuits of labor), and Crone (the winter of peace and rest before beginning the cycle again?. The pattern of the Triple Goddess is  likewise reflected in the cycles of the Moon, New  (Maiden) Full (Mother) Waning (Crone). The Craft today is a living        religion. Changing with the times according to the needs of modern people, it is still however based on the ancient connection of  human beings to nature. A revision of the old Celtic way of life when everything to do with living was dependant upon mother nature and her cycles. Traditionally, the God is related to the seasons and the waxing and waning of the Sun, as well as the harvest and the wildness of animal nature. The point of view you will find me take through most of my lessons however, will primarily be of Goddess focus, as that is where I now am in my own path. As most of my life has been revolving around the male nature of Spirit, I am in the process of balancing this with a focus on the Divine Feminine. Slowly I am integrating a new version of what my idea of God is (as different from the Christian version) but that will take some time to rediscover.

People in our day have become disconnected both from the Divine Feminine and especially from Nature. To study the Craft is to reconnect with these energies.

Let me now look at the definition of  Witchcraft. Is it the same as Wicca? Are the two terms interchangeable? There are differences. Wicca is currently used to describe the study of the Craft which holds with the spiritual Threefold Law. That which you do, returns to you Threefold, and The Rede. "An it harm none...do what thou will." Basically another version of "Do unto others." Wiccans also call themselves Witches. Wicca is the study of  the religion but not necessarily Magick. Witchcraft on the other hand does not necessarily hold to the Threefold Law or the Harm None philosophy and may or may  not include the worship of a God or Goddess. I do find however, that the term Wicca is slightly more politically acceptable to the public at this time and there is a tendancy for people to use this term more quickly to describe themselves. I do not consider myself a Wiccan. I consider myself a Witch. This is because I do not necessarily subsribe in whole to the threefold law. My feeling on the subject is that it is too controlling... too much of a threat... much like "going to hell".  I also do not subscribe in whole to the Rede. This does not however, mean that I do not hold to  my own code of ethics. I do what is right because it is right, not because of a  threat  outside myself. After some years of study you will discover  what suits  you in these areas. As a Unitarian Witch.... (LOL) I  beleive in what I am compelled to believe, not necessarily what I am told to believe!

To explore your connection with the Life Spirit, or Goddess, you must begin with a reconnection with Nature itself.

Your first assignment is to buy yourself a nice journal. (In the Craft we refer to it as a Book of Shadows.) Spend as much time as you can outside in various weather conditions at various locations. Sit quietly and listen. Feel the energies surrounding you, take note of what thoughts and feelings come to and record them in your journal.
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