An Introduction to Witchcraft
© Christy Huelsenbeck
When you think of a witch the first image that normally comes to mind is the old hag stirring her cauldron of noxious goo of bat wing and eye of newt, cackling away in the night. Following that image, one might draw up some horrible person hailing Satan and slaughtering the neighborhood cats. Neither image is even close to the truth.
How did we attach these images to the word witch? From days of old the religion of Witchcraft has been maligned by the Church for going against their belief system. As time progressed and we travelled into the time of TV and movies the fear factor was a wonderful selling point for Hollywood. Both of these organizations have contributed to the false image, and both have done nothing to correct the damage they have done. Witches want to set the record straight! For instance, witches do not believe in or worship the Christian concept of Satan, nor do they recognize any belief in absolute good vs. absolute evil. Evil is the making of humans. Witches view the Shadow (the destructive side of life) as necessary not evil, destruction of the old always clears away for the new to begin. Witches strive to balance the light and dark within us all.
Witches are also against any type of sacrifice,adhering to the belief of 'An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will'; they also believe that 'lest in self defense it be, ever mind the rule of three'...meaning whatever you send out returns to you with three times the power. This is the main tenant of Witchcraft and prevents witches from harming any living thing or that harm is returned with three times the intensity sent out.
Now one of the biggest questions people have about witchcraft is 'Do witches perform magick and cast spells?' The answer is yes. Magick (spelled with a K to distinguish it from on stage performance) is part of the religion, but a secondary part, for every spiritual path uses the energy that controls and directs magick. It is the same energy that moves the power of prayer, meditation and positive thinking. Witches just chose to recognize and call it by a name, where another path may not. They do not believe in doing manipulative magick for selfish purposes. They cannot fly, light candles with the power of the mind, or any other act that is out of the realm of normal human ability.
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