Q: Are there "Black Witches" & "White Witches", good Witches & evil
Witches?Witch: A practitioner of a nature-based religion which recognizes
the feminine in divinity and follows the seasonal cycles. A Witch
believes that the divine exists within his or herself as well as
without, and therefore feels a direct connection with the God/dess
self. Witches come from all racial, socio-economic and religious
backgrounds. What we share in common is a loosely structured system
of beliefs largely known as "Wicca".
A: Witches are just Witches. We tend to refrain from using the terms
"black" and "white" to describe a person's magical morality as we feel
these terms promote racist thinking. As far as "good" or "evil"
Witches are concerned, Witches are highly moral and religious people.
Those that follow their religious principles, regardless of the religion,
usually do "good". Those who go against their own religious tenets tend
to act in harmful and manipulative ways.
When you ask if someone is a "good" Witch or a "bad" Witch it is
the same as asking someone if they are a "good" Presbyterian or
a "bad" Presbyterian.
Q: Do you worship Satan?
A: Satan is a part of the Christian and Muslim religions. Since we
are neither Christian nor Muslim, we do not recognize the existence
of Satan, let alone worship him/it.
Wicca, the religion of Witches, is a religion of responsibility.
As we do not believe in any outside force, such as "Satan", we
believe that each and every human being is completely responsible for
his or her own actions. To us, evil is a choice, albeit a bad one,
that a human might make, not an entity to blame our actions upon.
If an individual chooses to do evil, we believe they will be punished
via the laws of karma. If one is working for the good of others,
we feel that the same laws will reward them. In other words, "What
goes around comes around."
As the majority of Witches believe in reincarnation, we feel that karma
can follow a person from one life to the next. This sometimes helps
explain why terrible things happen to wonderful people.
Q: So why do you use that "Satanic" symbol?
A: The pentagram, or five pointed star, is not Satanic. Pythagoras
used it as a symbol of health and his followers wore them in order
to recognize one another. In Medieval times, some Christian knights
used the pentagram as their symbol. To modern Witches the pentagram
means many things; The five points correspond to the elements Air,
Earth, Fire and Water with the top point corresponding to "Spirit".
The pentagram in a circle may also represent a human with their legs
and arms outstretched, surrounded by universal wisdom or the "Goddess"
- humankind at one with the environment.
Satanists turn the symbol upside-down, which puts the elements of Fire
and Earth at the top (Fire symbolizes willpower and passion and Earth,
prosperity and earthly goods) and Spirit, spirituality, at the bottom.
Satanists also turn the cross upside-down. This, in itself, does not
make the cross or pentagram a Satanic symbol. In some Wiccan traditions,
the reversed pentagram is a symbol of "second degree" status - one who
has been elevated from "initiate". To members of these traditions, the
reversed pentagram is considered highly positive and has no connection
to Satanism.
Q: Do you do blood sacrifice?
A: The nature of sacrifice is to give up something of one's own in order
to gain something more important. We do not feel that the life of another
creature is ours to give...therefore we would never kill an animal in
ritual, as we would not consider it a true sacrifice. Witches believe in
the sanctity of all life. For this reason a large percentage of Witches
are vegetarian.
Q: Do Witches cast spells?
A: Yes. However, the term "spell" is widely misunderstood. Spells, much
like prayers, are used to create needed change in one's own life or the
life of a loved one. Prayers are a petition to an external Deity to
create the change. We as Witches believe that Deity is present in
everything, including ourselves. Spells, then, are the channeling of
our own divine selves, our own energies, to create the change. Spells
and Prayers are just different approaches to the same goal. One
difference is that Witches generally will not do a spell for anyone
who has not given them their permission.
Spells such as those which use love magic to gain the attention of a
specific individual, or curses, are considered "manipulative". Anything
manipulative goes against the free will of another is considered wrong.
It is against our belief system to become involved in such things.
Q: Is Witchcraft a cult?
A: A cult by definition is a group of people who blindly follow a leader.
As Wiccans tend to be free-thinkers and have no one person we consider
to be the leader, we cannot be called a cult.
Q: Do you have ritual orgies?
A: These rumors come from our lack of taboos regarding sex. We have no
rules which prohibit homosexuality, nudity or pre-marital sex. Our one
rule "An thou harm none, do what thou wilt." tells us that harming
others through misusing sexuality is wrong. Sex as the generative force
in nature is seen by Witches as something utterly sacred. We feel that
the physical act of love is to be approached with great respect and
responsibility.
Q: Why do Witches wear black?
A: We all don't. Most Witches seem to favor green and/or purple. Black,
however, is in many cultures a symbol of clergy. Priests, Ministers and
Rabbis all favor black as the main color of their ritual garb.
Scientifically speaking, color is energy. The colors you see are the ones
which are reflected and not the ones absorbed. Therefore, what appears to
be white, which is the culmination of all colors in the light spectrum,
is actually reflecting all colors and absorbing none. What appears to be
black, is absorbing all colors and reflecting none. This is evident in the
fact that when one is wearing white, one feels cooler - as the fabric is
sending the heat energy outward, and when one wears black - the heat energy
is absorbed in the cloth that one is wearing, making one feel warmer.
Q: Aren't all Witches Women?
A: No. Witches can be either men or women. The term "Warlock" is never used
to describe a male Witch as it is considered to be a religious slur. "Warlock"
is an old Scottish word meaning "traitor" or "oath-breaker". Men and Women
alike are called Witches.
Q: Why would anyone want to be Wiccan?
A: People are generally drawn to Wicca for several reasons. Many women feel
left out of more mainstream religions because of the lack of feminine divinity.
For them, the Wiccan concept of the Goddess as Mother of all Living fills an
empty space in their spiritual search. As a nature based religion, Wicca
also appeals to those who feel a strong need to "get back to the Earth" and
places a major importance on protecting the environment, which we are a part
of, not apart from. People drawn to the mystical find Wicca much more
accommodating as we do not see anything unnatural about psychic ability or
the use of magic to create needed changes in one's life. Another reason is
our one rule "An thou harm none, do what thou wilt." This tells us that
nothing is inherently wrong unless it harms someone, including oneself.
It gives us the freedom to make our own decisions about what is best for us.
Q: How do you convert new Witches?
A: We don't. We feel that the attempted conversion of others is a form of
religious bigotry. i.e.. If one tries to convert another to his/her religion,
s/he assumes that the other person's beliefs are not as valid as his/her
own. We feel that all paths are equally valid as long as they do not infringe
upon the basic civil rights or free will of another. According to our beliefs,
it is up to the individual to choose his or her own path. We do not try to
manipulate others into our way of thinking, we only try to educate others
about our religion so that they may better understand us. We do, however
try to help guide those who have already expressed an interest in the Wiccan
faith.
Q: So what do Witches DO?
A: We live. We die. Some of us breed and the vast majority of us pay taxes.
We practice our religion without trying to force it upon others. Many
Witches are not public about their religion for fear of the persecution
that they may face if they admit to their beliefs.
Although there are larger Wiccan churches, most Witches practice by themselves
as "Solitaries" or work within small groups usually known as covens. Covens
function not only as religious groups but also as extended families.
We tend to hold our ceremonies or "circles" out of doors as we feel that
being with nature brings us closer to the divinity who creates it.
Some of our beliefs may seem strange to most, but consider how strange
and horrific the eucharist, or consumption of the blood and body of Christ
may seem to one unfamiliar with Christianity, or the ritual of a Briss
to one who does not know Judaism.
All that we ask is that we are allowed to practice our religion without
prejudice as is our right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United
States of America.
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