What Is Witchcraft?
Witchcraft is a broad term use to describe many faiths. Also known as "Wise Craft" or "Craft of the Wise" Witchcraft is a peaceful, nature based faith or path. Practitioners of Witchcraft or "witches" are often accused of devil worship due to the prevalence of misconceptions of the general public. Witchcraft was all but eradicated by the spread of Christianity because of the interpretation of biblical verses such as:
"There shall not be found among you that maketh his son or daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of the times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard or a necromancer." (Deuteronomy 18:10-11) or "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18)
Between the years of 1450-1750 hundreds of thousands of people were captured, tortured and killed for the practice of Witchcraft. By some estimates, between 80-90% of the witch-hunt victims were women.
What is Wicca?
It is a religion and a way of life that is full of love and celebration and reverence for our deities. Wicca itself may be a fairly new term possibly the 60's by Gerald Gardner, but it stems from an even older way of life called Witchcraft. Witchcraft actually came about before Christianity was developed and so widespread. (Some may disagree with that statement.) Witchcraft is thought to have its roots in the ancient shamanic culture of the Paleolithic times and heavily influenced by their sympathetic magickal ways. The tribe hunters would act out the actual hunt beforehand with symbolic representations in hopes that they would be successful in their true hunt for meat to feed their clan or tribe. This is sympathetic magick. Generally the women stayed behind to tend to the children and the elders of the group and prepare the meals. The women were generally the healers and midwives and weaved their own magick as well. They also used herbs for both its medicinal and magickal properties. In the olden days this was called wortcunning and still is by some people.
Throughout the ages these wise men and women learned to work with the natural elements of the earth. They had to survive off of the land and what tools or resources they had at the time.
The God and Goddess
Wiccans worship two main Deities- the God and the Goddess. The God is the ruler of the Sun and wild animals. The Goddess is the ruler of the moon, tides, and domestic animals. They both work together to make harmony in nature. We wouldn't have a planet without both of Them! They have several different names. The name that you give to them is a personal choice. It's just what feels good to you and Them or the type of magick you are working. Some examples of names for the God are: Kernunnos, Apollo, and Osiris. Examples of Goddess names are: Hecate, Diana, Venus, and Gia. There are many other names for Them. There are also many books on the subject of the Deities!
Karma and Reincarnation
Wiccans believe in karma and reincarnation. Let me describe what that means. Some religions believe that when you die, your soul goes to either heaven or hell, depending on how much faith you had, or what kind of person you were in your life. Their God is the sole judge. But Wiccans feel you make your own destiny. The God and Goddess are always there to guide you in life, but they don't judge your soul, or make your actions. This is where karma comes in.
Say you do something bad in your life. When you are reincarnated, or born again into another body in your next life, you will receive the same treatment that you did in your past life, only three times more. The opposite is true if you do something good. So that means there is good karma and bad karma. No matter what kind of karma you get, you will learn from it, and be a better person! You decide what kind of karma you will receive- you make your own destiny!
Now that I described karma let me elaborate on reincarnation. Wiccans feel that when your body dies, your soul will eventually be born into another body. So where does the soul run off to in the meantime? Some feel that is goes to a spiritual realm where the Deities reside, until it's time to reincarnate. Others might feel that it wonders the Earth until it's time to be born again. But we don't feel that the soul will go to some tortuous realm with an evil master. The God and Goddess will always welcome your soul, no matter what you have done in your life. They feel that karma will take its course in your next life. But like I said above, you will learn from that karma, and be a much better person. The God and Goddess know that!
Rites and Magick
In the previous two sections, I summed up the more important parts of Wicca- the All Mighty Ones, and the philosophy of death. I feel that all religions are the same in that way- the God(s) and the afterlife are the most important parts. Wicca is no different, as you see. But there is a misconception about Wicca. Most people that have been mislead by hearsay, wrong information, and Hollywood movies. People that don't understand the Wiccan religion, feel that we are devil worshipers or evil. That is so far from the truth. Wiccans don't believe in hell, and we definitely don't believe in Satan. So how can we worship Satan if we don't believe he exists?
The Wiccan Rede is this-AN' IT HARM NONE; DO WHAT THOU WILT!
That simply means, don't harm anyone, or it will happen to you. I would like to know, how could our religion be evil with a rede like that? Most Wiccans live by that rede. We also have a three fold law. That means whatever we do to someone else, whether good or bad, it will come back three times the same (karma). What sane Witch would want something three times worse to happen to him/her if they harmed another person? None that I know of.
Wiccans do perform magick, but it isn't to be confused with illusions. The magick we perform are not tricks, like a slight of hand that will make a dove appear. This magick comes from nature. It's for spiritual and inner growth. There are no tricks, just the God and Goddess' love. We ask Them for something, and They will deliver. If we need something, we can do a spell (magick) and the God and Goddess will answer. I hate to use this terminology, but it's like a prayer. But it's much more than a prayer because we use all the energy in ourselves and nature, to make results.
We have many rituals too. Rituals are basically to give praise to the Deities. Rituals can be performed in a coven (a group of Witches) or by a solitary Witch (one that would prefer to practice alone). We do a ritual for everything from an Esbat to a Sabbat (a holiday, yes we have holidays!) Everything in nature matters to a Wiccan, especially the moon. So when the moon is full, we have a ritual called "A Full Moon Rite". Every phase of the moon is important, but when it's full, it's at it's height in glory.
Wiccan rituals are full of dance, chants, meditation, music, and magick. (But during Sabbats we don't usually perform magick, because they are solely for the Deities. It's Their day.) Rituals are very beautiful and spiritually fulfilling. Everyone that is involved with a ritual gets to participate, instead of sitting on a bench listening to someone else lecture, like in some religions.
Most Wiccans would like to be outside to perform rituals, to be closer to nature. But sometimes that isn't possible. Some people live in the city, without land, and have a lot of noisy neighbors. Rituals can definitely be performed inside. The God and Goddess will be with you no matter where you are!
A book called: The Malleus Maleficarum
"The Hammer of the Witches" was written in 1484 by The Bull of Innocent VIII and decreeing Inquisitors Sprenger and Kramer and would be used as the guide in hunting, torturing and killing the "witches".
When the Malleus Maleficarum was presented to the Theological Faculty of the University of Cologne, the appointed censor at that time, the majority of the professors refused to support or have anything to do with it. However, it is a terrible fact that Sprenger and Kramer forged the approbation of the whole faculty, a forgery that was not discovered until 1898.
While most of what became known as Witchcraft was invented by the Christians, some aspects of Witchcraft can be traced back to ancient Pagan traditions. The word "witch" comes from the Olde English "wicce" and "wicca" in which male and female practitioners held a great reverence for the feminine, masculine and earth elements of "God". Unlike Christianity, the Wiccan tradition was focused on the convergence of both earth and heaven instead of worshiping a single, male God figure who stood over us and was removed from everyday life.
The witch was usually a midwife, healer, herbalist and/or wise woman or man who fashioned their way of living around nature and the seasons. Most Witches were skilled in the use of herbs and were quite adept at healing those that were ill. Today, modern Witches seek the vast knowledge of the ancient wise women and men to return to a nature-focused way of life.
