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| Witchcraft meaning ("Old religion" or "Craft of the wise ones",) or Wicca most commonly used by those who practice it, today follows as closley as we can the paths and beliefs of those who came before us. There are many sects of Wicca each with there own rituals and purposes, the follow is a general guide to what it is all about. The one guiding rule is the Wiccan Rede 2 sentences that just about say it all. Eight words the Wiccan rede fullfill and it harm none, do as thou will. Basically you can live your life as you will, do whatever you want, as long as no harm comes to anyone or anything which means think twice about casting spells, make sure it will never harm another.. We believe in the Three Fold rule of Karma, that eveything we do will be sent back to us three times, whether that be good or bad, you get the point. We call upon this law often in our magic, both to give our magic more power and protect us and anyone else from harm. Witchcraft is a legal religion and protected under the First and Fourteeth Amendments. We feel that ALL religions are eagually valid and important, and you should be free to choose which one you are most comfortable. I believe no one has a monopoly over God. We do not believe in or worship "Satan", and DO NOT perform anykinds of sacrificial ceremonies. The Pentagram is a symbol of our religion, the top point represents the "Spirit", the other four are the elements Air, Fire, Water, Earth. the Pentagram reperesents the Spirit ( the Creator) being "above" or ruling the elements of life. Most witches percieve Deity as male and female, they are aspects of the One creator. The Goddess is seen as Mother Earth or Mother Nature, and is represented by the moon. She is seen in the fertilit of the plant, animal and human kingdoms. Her power is at the peak during the "fertile half" of the year from May until October. The God is seen in the woodlands, the Sun, grain & the Hunt. because of the prehistoric animals they hunted, most having horns, he is usually depicted as "the horned one". His power it at it's peak during the "Dark half" of the year, from October to May. A male Witch in not a Warlock, he is a Witch. (Warlock is a scottish word meaning "traitor" and used for movies) Long before Christianity there lived poeple who believed in the world around them and the things it could or could not do. They had Gods and Goddesses of the hunt, for farming, for weather, for just about everything. They lived in empathy with nature and all its beings, they were Pagan's. Now Pagan is a general term used to discribe many nature religions, in the same way Christianity is a "catch all" name to describe the many sects of that religion, ie Protestant, Catholic etc... As Christianity became more prominent throughout Europe and as more and more Pagen rituals and symbols were absorbed into the Christian faith (witness the use of the celtic cross by presbytarians) as a way of helping the Pagan converts feel more comfortable with their new faith. The Pagan religion slowly began to recede until it but disappeared. But there were those who kept their practices alive, in secret, and the olds ways were passed down through the generations. In Medieval times Witches were deemed Heritics and in consort with the devil, and they were tortured, hung, or burned at the stake. Most deaths of witches accured in Europe, we who practice the craft know these as the burning times. They covered a 3 hundred year period and appox. 100,000 people where put to death, mostly woman. Then began the witch hunts started by Hienrich Kramer and James Sprenger 2 Dominican priests. They published a book or manual on how to hunt a Witch called The Malleus Maleficarum (witches hammer). The craft went underground after these hunts and murders and only a few decades ago surfaced again. |
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