Modern Witchcraft

The candles flicker and the incense smoke rises, filling the room with a sweet smell. Voices are murmmering and bare feet tread softly on the floor. The clink of glass and the ring of a bell fill the air. There is so sense of time. You could be in the 16th century, or in the year 2000. This is a witch's ritual.

Witchcraft has come from a long line of spiritual beliefs dating back to the Palaeolithic cave paintings and Venus statues. It has been called various names, the most modern being Wicca. It has been practiced openly on the hills and in the vales across the world. It has went underground, hiding it's face from the world and teaching only those chosen few who would carry it on to the future. But it has survived, and it flourishes and thrives in all the continents of the world.

Modern Witchcraft, also called Wicca, has many faces. There are numerous traditions and beliefs and is practiced by people from all walks of life and professions. One can compare it to the mainstream religion of Christianity. There are many sects. All are Christian which would corelate to Paganism. But there are various ways inside that religion such as baptist, methodist and catholic. In Paganism there are many paths as well like Wicca, Witchcraft and Shamanism. Within each of those are traditions such as Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Noletirian, Strega etc. This is like the various ways within say, baptist faith, like american baptist and southern baptist. But all traditions of paganism come from the same path, and it is an ancient one.

Today Witchcraft fills a void in the lives of it's believers that could not be found within other faiths. Some say they feel as if they are remembering this path, as if they have done it before in a former life, instead of learning it for the first time.

In ancient times the Goddess was revered as supreme Mother of all Life. Eventually the God was seen as Her consort and lover. She produced the fields, He fertilized them. She birthed the animals and humans, He protected them. It was a balanced relationship that lasted for thousands of years. For the past 2000 years that relationship has been unbalanced, the Goddess unacknowleged and the God distorted. Witches strive to acheive that balance again within themselves and to maifest it out into the world. No, this does not mean witches want to take over the world! This means that as humans, our life is based upon male and female energies. When our world is controled by one energy, as in our society it's masculine energy, all things are unbalanced and out of kilter. That one energy prevails and the other suffers. Masculine energy is active, linear, non intuitive, and at times aggressive and warlike. These things, without the feminine cylical, intuitive and peaceful energies, can cause harm to all around it. It would be the same if all things were controlled by the feminine. So the balance must be struck, and through our humanness we strive to bring it about.

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