Witchvox Article

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Posted: December 14th. 1998
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Witchcraft has always been an interesting topic to me, for many reasons. The subject is surrounded in mystery, superstition, secrecy, and most interesting of all, real magic! I used to associate witchcraft with ugly old hags wearing pointed hats and rags while riding a broom stick through the air on a full moon. I never thought of it as a religion, but it was the first religion, according to Dr. Margaret Murray, who studies witchcraft's history and origins. Raymond Bucklands book, Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft mentions her research, saying that she found it to be a fully organized religion throughout Western Europe centuries before Christianity (1). I being Christian, thought that it was Satanic until I read about the topic, and discovered the truth. Witches do not worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the Devil."

Most books about Witchcraft focus on coven Witchcraft and it is very hard to find a book on anything else. A coven, according to Silver RavenWolf, author of To Ride a Silver Broomstick, is a group of thirteen or fewer witches that work together in an organized fashion for positive magickal endeavors or to perform religious ceremonies (20). Every religion has different divisions, this religion is no exception. Here are just a few different kinds: Alexandrian Tradition, British Tradition, Celtic Wicca, Caledoii, Ceremonial, Dianic, Eclectic, Gardnerian, Hereditary, Kitchen Witch, Pictish, Pow-Wow, Seax-Wicca, Strega, Teutonic, The Wiccan Witch and Solitary Wicca (RavenWolf 11-15). A Solitary Witch can be an individual who has no desire to practice with or learn from a coven structure, but still may adhere to a specific tradition or sect through the teaching of another (14). I choose to concentrate on the Solitary Wiccan for many

reasons, it is the most basic form of the Craft because it has no history, there is no strict rules like most other forms and the books and articles about it are straight forward. In his book Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, Scott Cunningham writes "some use ŒWicca' and ŒWitch' almost interchangeably" (iv). Wicca is the religion of the witch's while Witchcraft is the practice of healing using the knowledge of herbs and other means of healing. The word Magick is spelled with a "k" to distinguish between stage magic, for instance David Copperfield's work, and real magick the unexplainable or Œsupernatural.'

Christians think that Witches worship ŒSatan' or Œthe Devil' or some other form of evil such as Œimps, ' Œdemons' and ŒLucifer' ruler of the Œlake of fire.' Opponents claim that Wicca is a cult or a secret religion. They also think that Witches give sacrifices of animals, humans and children in the name of ŒSatan.' The Gishes claim that Halloween is a Œsatanic holiday, ' and that incidents of poisoned candy and killings are no doubt one expression of satanic sacrifices ("Halloween Message..."). The Christians believe in white and black magic, white as good and black as evil. It is also believed that Witches have Œsupernatural' powers, and that they derive this power from evil. Some Christians claim that their religion is the only way to heaven, through Jesus Christ.

The New American Standard Bible says, "Now a man or woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their blood guiltiness is upon them" (Leviticus 19:31). In II Chronicles and II Kings 23:24 it reads, "And he made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Benninnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger." "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, one who cast spells, or a medium, or spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you. For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so" (Deuteonomy 18:10-14). "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned" (Mark 16:16). "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me" (John 14:6).

Not once does The New American Standard Bible mention Satan as having anything to do with Witchcraft. These claims of Satan worship in the Craft emerged in "1326, [when] Pope John XXII, a paranoid [man] convinced that his enemies wished to kill him by magic, accepted the Dominican demand for [a] crusade against witches, making Œsorcery' (as distinct form Œheresy') a crime" ("Witchcraft (Wicca)" 1). In this case the Bible was used as propaganda to discourage the knowledge of natural magick. According to Carl Sagan, author of The Demon-Haunted World, "we were so fearful of the outside world, with its unpredictable dangers, that we gladly embraced anything that promised to soften or explain away the terror" He goes on to say, "science is another way to look at things, instead of blaming any illness or storm, anything out of the ordinary as attributed to witchcraft." (120-121). Enders Robinson refers to the witch hunts of the Salem Village as a "conspiracy" started by the Putnman family to rid of there political enemies (The Devil Discovered 237). As you can see all these reasons are the (Fear of the unknown, greed, government lies, politics, misinformed public ect.) faults of man by misinterpreting the Bible and excepting it as fact, or by simply letting our fears run free.

In the book Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft Raymond Buckland states thirteen Principles of Wiccan Belief adopted by the Council of American Witches. The twelfth principle reads, "we [Witches] do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we [Witches] worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the Devil", as defined by the Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another" (10). Then how do Wiccans explain the evil in the world? "We know that we're free souls with full control and responsibility of our lives. We can't point at an image of an evil god, such as Satan, and blame it for our faults and weaknesses" (Scott Cunningham 6). A good example of blaming an evil god for our faults and weaknesses is the story of the Garden of Eden. Satan, in the form of a snake, tricked Adam and Eve into eating the apple form the Tree of Knowledge, which led to the down fall of man. A Wiccan would explain this story differently, perhaps like this: Adam and Eve were curious and yearned for knowledge so they ate an apple form the Tree of Knowledge. They accepted responsibility for there actions, but their descendants are still learning their lesson.

In her book titled The Wicca Spellbook, Gerina Dunwich states the basic belief of the Witches known as the Wiccan Rede "An it harm none, love, and do what thou wilt, " (xi). Raymond Buckland agrees when he says, "do what you will... but don't do anything that will harm another, " (9). These statements stand for all that Wicca is about. Witches do not wish harm upon people it is against there religion, therefore Wicca is not evil.

A cult is a system of religious worship or devotion to or admiration of a person or thing. From this respect every religion is a cult even Christianity. Nichole Anderson would argue that there is more to be added to the definition, a cult has secrets that claim to be the correct or right way. This is not true of the Craft, yes some things are kept secret because of fear of religious persecution, but Wicca does not claim to be "the only way." So is Christianity a cult? Again my friend Nichole Anderson said, "no because the Bible is open to any one who wants to read it, you can buy it anywhere!" Anyone can pick up a book on the religion of Wicca any where also, just as easily as the Bible. For these reasons Wicca is not a cult.

The belief that Witches sacrifice animals, humans and children in the name of Satan is a gross misconception. It is known that the Pagan religions, including Wicca, may have at one time performed sacrifices but so did the Christians and Jews. What the Gishes claim about Halloween candy being poisoned does happen but not by Wiccans and certainly not as a form of Satanic Sacrifice (Halloween Message...). To claim that poisoned candy on Halloween has anything to do with Witchcraft is like saying everyone who is in jail worships Satan.

Witches do not practice Œwhite' or Œblack magic' as defined by the Christians as Œgood' and Œbad magic.' There is no Œevil' or Œblack magic' in the Craft. So where did this false belief come from? Timothy McMillan explains this concept and where it came from, "Witchcraft and black magic, associated with black slaves in New England during the 17th and 18th centuries, helped blacks reduce social tensions caused by racism and slavery." He goes on to say, "black magic also helped the blacks resist persecution, as the whites were afraid of the Œsupernatural' powers of the blacks."

The term Œsupernatural' implies magick as being evil and unnatural. Magick is all that is unexplainable in scientific terms and experiments, "Simply because it isn't fully understood doesn't mean that it doesn't exist" (Wicca... 21). For instance prayer and meditation. No one knows exactly how they work, but the goal is reached. Weather that goal is communication with a deity (God) or to help someone get well. "Catholic priests use "magic" to transform a piece of bread into the body of a long deceased Œsavior.' (Wicca...5). Wiccans believe that this is not Œsupernatural, ' but in fact everyone has the ability to do prayer and meditation. "Magic isn't a means of forcing nature to do your will. This is a completely erroneous idea, fostered by the belief that magic is somehow supernatural, as if anything that exists can be outside or nature. Magic is natural. It is a harmonious movement of energies to create needed change" (Wicca...6). All religions are based on this faith in "magic" and utilize it in some way.

"Witches have always believed in this power coming form the body and have developed ways to increase it, collect it and use it to do what we term magick, " (Buckland's Complete...11). In scientific experiments prayer has been proven to help slow the growth of bacteria. In the magazine Everyday Science and Mechanics professor Otto Rahn form Cornell University wrote an article concerning deadly radiation produced by human tissue. "In experiments these rays emitted from the human blood, fingertips, noses and eyes, killed yeast and other micro organisms" (Human Tissues Produce...). This is scientific evidence that supports what Witches have always believed.

Witches do not claim that there religion is "the only way, " and they have never condemned other religions, unlike Christians when they say those who do not believe shall be condemned. (Mark 16:16). If people would put there fears and misconceptions at bay, and listen to the other side of the story, they would see that Witchcraft has nothing to do with Satan. Witches are not ŒSatan' worshipers and Witches are not evil. Wicca is a religion like any other, in that it utilizes the basics of every religion; faith, magick and prayer. In the words of Gerry Spence, "I would rather have my mind opened to wonder then closed by belief" (qtd. in How to Argue and Win Every Time).

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