A very, very brief FAQ

1. What is witchcraft?


Witchcraft is the compiled lore and practices of a witch or - the craft of the Witch. It is the method for utilizing personal power in conjunction with the energies within stones, herbs, colors, rhythms, other natural objects, and the Earth to effect magick. This may also be known as practicing magick or spell work. While this is definitely spiritual, it is not necessarily confined to one religion. Witchcraft is not a religion in and of itself but more a spiritual path. Nearly all witches invoke their God/ddess(s) during the practice of witchcraft. This spiritual aspect of witchcraft serves as a type of prayer and communion with The God/dess(s), natural energy and yourself through which the witch attempts to focus and guide his or her will in conjunction with his or her God/dess(es). Witchcraft practiced in a group is called coven work. Witchcraft practiced by a single person is solitary witchcraft.


2. What is a magick?


This is a very old spelling of the word "magic". It was popularized in the last 50 years as a way to distinguish spiritual magick from stage show magic. Aleister Crowley (a complicated person who enjoyed causing media sensations and died a drug addict) defined spiritual magick as the "science and art of causing change to occur in conformity to will." Crowley, in the anti-victorian-repression back lash of the 1920s, focused his own interpretation of magik on sexual extremism and other hedonistic indulgences. However, amongst all the hype, he occasionally made sense. Others have said that magick is the ability to manipulate the energies around us. Also, magick is the use of natural energies within ourselves and the world around us to effect a physical change in a condition or life situation.


3. What is a Witch?


A witch is a male or female who uses witchcraft. The important aspect of this word is more what it does not mean. A witch is not automatically a satanist, a Wiccan, or a Christian. The word witch does not imply spiritual definition. It implies - only - that the person uses witchcraft. A Wiccan will also refer to him or herself as a witch because that is part of their spiritual tradition. It is also a general word for Pagans worldwide although traditionally those of Anglo-Celtic, Celtic or Teutonic traditions.


4. Isn't a Witch just a satanist?


No. A witch is not a a satanist. There are satanic witches. However, there are also satanic priests and not all priests work for Satan. A Satanist is a person who worships Satan. Satan is the most powerful evil entity in Christianity, therefor, Satanism is a branch of Christianity. It is a perverted branch but it is more directly related to Christianity than witchcraft or Paganism. Some Christians refer to any and all religions that are NOT Christian as satanic and believe that all the practictioners of non-Christian religions are being fooled into worshiping Satan. Naturally, followers of these other religions do not believe this. I personally do not understand Satanists because, in order to buy into the existance of Satan, you have to admit that the Christian God made him. If the Christian God can make him, he can destroy him easily. From this perspective, I see satanists as people who join the losing team KNOWING they are going to lose and lose badly. It makes no sense to me. However, I am only a simple witch and no expert on main stream Christian logic :0)


5. Okay, what is a Pagan then?


The word Pagan is derived from the Latin Paganus, "peasant," "from the fields" and "hut dweller", deriving, in turn, from the Latin "pagus" - which means "village". When the Romans brought their religions to Western Europe, they imposed it on the people who lived in the cities - they tried to impose it on everyone but in the country people were too hard to police. The people who lived in the country side were out of the day-to-day reach of the long arm of Roman law and continued to practice their aboriginal religions. Eventually, the term came to be pejorative. It developed the same connotations as what we give to words like "hick" or "hayseed" or "bumpkin." Today, pagans are many groups of Witches, Heathens, Priests and Priestesses practicing what we call "Paganism" or "Neo (from the Greek word for new) Paganism". Pagan religions are nature-centered religions both in origin and in mode of expression practiced in ways that are mainly pre-Christian. Paganism is also a general term for magic embracing religions, such as Wicca, Druidism, and Shamanism. Sometimes used interchangably with NeoPagan.


6. What in THE WORLD is a Christian Witch?


A Christian Witch is a person who practices witchcraft but who worships one God, most often represented as that God who is worshiped by the Jews, Muslims, and Christians. He or She also believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ and attempts to observe, as any other Christian does, the ten commandments and the words of Christ. Usually, a Christian Witch does not believe in the infallability of the bible but in the infallability of God. He or she may include Christian angels, saints or other spiritual examples in their practice of the craft. He or she may be a deep advocate of the bible and other Christian teachings - such as the Catholic Catechism.


7. What is Wicca?


It is often said that the word Wiccan was made up by Gerald Gardner - or something to that effect. However, according to the Oxford English Dictionary in the year 890 AD it is written in the Laws of Ælfred: " wiccan." This is an example of Old English and the word WICCAN (pronounced weechan) referred to someone who worked magick - usually male. Today, 1115 years later, we pronounce it differently (Wick-a).

As far as religion goes, if you put five Wiccan's in a room and asked them to tell you the precepts of their beliefs, you'd get ten different answers. This is not an indication of a lack of self knowledge. It is an indication of a deeply entrenched acceptance of a wide variety of paths to The Diety, often referred to as Goddess by Wiccans.

In very a very basic nutshell, Wicca is a Neo-pagan polytheistic religion with roots in pre-Christian, pre-Celtic Europe. Wiccans follow the Wiccan Rede:

"Bide the Wiccan Law ye must,
In perfect love, in perfect trust.

Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
An ye harm none, do as ye will.

And ever mind the Rule of Three:
What ye send out, comes back to thee.

Follow this with mind and heart,
And merry ye meet, and merry ye part."


Power over, manipulation, and control of others is strictly prohibited. Their drug usage is usually confined to wine. The tales of strange sex rituals are greatly exaggerated and though there is an important ritual called "The Great Rite" and it does include sexual activity it is usually only practiced in private between a committed adult couple. Some people in the 60s were experimenting with free love movements and alternative spirituality. In true Wicca, these things do not intermingle. Wiccans do not proselytize. Most Wiccans are solitary practitioners; though some do form democratically organized covens, typically of 5 or more people. The minimum age for training or initiation is usually 18 - even amongst Wiccan families.


8. How do I become a witch?


So many people want me to just give them a quick to-do list of simple things that they can just check off and then, at the end, declare themselves a witch. Actually, its even more simple than that. BUT, its also a heck of a lot more complicated.

1. Examine your own thoughts and feelings. Take a few days, weeks or months to determine what your personal religious beliefs are. Write down a list of things that you are pretty darn sure of. Afterwards, make very sure that there is room in your spirituality for magick, witchcraft and, perhaps, various new ways to interact with the divine. Ask yourself the following questions (among others):


A. What has motivated me to seek this path? If it is simple rebellion, I should consider taking this very slowly.

B. What will your family members think about your decision? Expect to be harshly treated. Any change of religion can evoke hurtful words, fear and retribution.

C. Are spells and power all you are interested in? Do you want to cause harm to others? Are you looking for a quick and dirty spell to "fix" your problems or give you revenge against someone who has injured you? If so, you will need to re-examine your options. This black magick is difficult, tricksy and most often turns back against the user with thrice the vehemence with which it was given. Witchcraft is a healing path - not a destructive one. It can help you to let go of your negative feelings. Many people turn to the divine when they are injured or hurting and many pagan religions encourage this as well. It is, however, never appropriate to pray for evil to befall another human being. Most often, it just will not happen. Then, as mentioned before, it will likely often come back to lay at our own doorstep and compound our already troubled situations.


2. Get a notebook and write down all the answers to the above questions. Write down all your thoughts and feelings. This notebook will be your starting point towards developing your own Book of Shadows - a spiritual journal. Be absolutely honest with yourself here, this is a private book and nobody else need ever read it.



3. Buy some books on witchcraft, Wicca, paganism, coven work, magick, etc.. Go to the libary and read all they have. Visit used bookstores and compile your own library. ( I've complied a list of books that I like here.) Then, read them. Keep a list of the books you have read, their authors and a note on what you learned from that particular book. Even if a book only shows you that the author is crazy or the material is petty, then you have learned what NOT to do. Witchcraft is intimately a self-guided excursion - even when you have a guide.



4. Up to this point, you have just been doing some research. After you have read some things, then you need to make a committment. You can either find a coven who is willing to take you on and help you do a dedication ritual or you can self-dedicate with your own ritual (you can find one on my ritual page). Either way, solitary or in a coven, the point is that you make a committment to yourself and the Goddess, and declare that you are on a new spiritual path and you will walk it as carefully and as thoughtfully as you can.



5. Practice witchcraft - ever mindful of the Goddess.

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