WHAT IS WITCHCRAFT?
This is a question that has boggled
the minds of millions of people. Although I admit I'm not exactly a religious
expert or a philosipher. I think the best answer to that question is from
an author that I enjoy reading quite often named Ray Buckland.
"What is witchcraft? What is a
witch? The popular conception of a witch is that of a commercial Halloween:
a humpbacked old hag bent over a broomstick as she flies through the air
on some nefarious errand... She consorts with the Devil and spends her
time blasting the poor farmer's crops and making their cows run dry of
milk.
But how accurate is this picture?
What happened to the earlier ideas? Circe, the famous Witch of the Odyssey,
is
described as
goddess with lovely hair...radiant...the
beautiful goddess singing in a lovely voice...(in) a white shining robe,
delicate and lovely, with fine girdle of gold about her face.
Probably the most frequently reffered
to "wicked" witch is the Bible so-called "Witch of Endor." She is spoken
of variously as an old hag, a crone, a diabolical woman of dark power...yet
in actual fact there is nothing in the Bible to support these discriptions!
She could have been young or old, beautiful or ugly. Nor is she even described
there as a Witch. It was King James' translators in 1611 who translated
"a woman that hath a familiar spirit" to say " Saul Seeketh to a Witch".
(I Samuel XXVIII)"
Caption used from
Ray Buckland's
Witchcraft: from the
inside
witchcraft: 1a: the use
of sorcery or magic b: communication with the devil or
with a familiar
2: an irresistible influence or fascination
pagan:
LL paganus 1a: country dweller b: a follower of
a polytheistic religion
2: one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures
and material goods
websters ninth new collegiate dictionary
copyright 1983
After centuries of false statements
and accusations, Pagans around the world have been haunted by the screams,
torches, and hounds of witch hunters and crazed preachers. It is at our
expense the hardships we as Pagans have to endure because of the
ignorance of society. I think that once they realize and accept the fact
that the first religions on this beautiful and giving earth were Pagan,
thus
the beliefs of ALL
the religions on earth today descended
from those Pagan beliefs, we will finally be able to state our faith without
fear of reprisal. Now being a person of common sense, I know that will
not happen for a very long time. We have to excercise our strength to perservere
through the still ongoing burning times.
As I had stated before, I do not
concider myself an expert by any means. I am still in the growing process
traveling down the silver path.
American
Council of Witches Statement on Witchcraft
13
Goals of a Witch
Wiccan
Crede
Wiccan
Rede
The
Man Behind the Madness
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