What Witches Believe
Of basic beliefs and ethics . . .
This is a tough one to answer simply, because among all the other things
witches are, we are individualists. We each make our own relationship with
Deity, and each grow and love in our own way. It is said that if you ask a room
full of thirteen witches a question, you'll get twenty-five different answers.
And it's true.
That said, there are some fundamental beliefs that pull us together
strongly enough to create the sort of loving community you see here. Wicca is a
spiritual path, a way of seeing the world and Divinity, and our relationship to
it. It is a very simple ethical principle. It is a way of life. And it is a way
of tuning into the shifting energies of life around us and tapping into those
energies to make the world a better place; this is what we mean by magic.
We believe that Deity/Source/God/dess is imminent in the world around
us. Divinity permeates every living thing. . .and most of us define rocks, soil,
water, air, fire, and the planet Herself as living things. Just look with an
open heart at a dew-filled spider web or a lacework of bare winter branches
covered with ice crystals, and you'll see what we mean.
God/dess is IN there. S/He's in each one of us, too.
This idea has many ramifications.
First, it means every living thing is sacred. We don't believe in a
hierarchy of God above man above animals above plants. We believe Divinity
permeates everything, and so everything has an equal right to our love,
reverence, respect, and protection. Witches tend to be dedicated
environmentalists. But more than that, we let ourselves be guided by a very
simple and powerful ethical principle:
"An it harm none, do as ye will."
Instead of listing a number of "Thou shalt nots," we say that
as long as one's actions don't harm any living thing, including ourselves, in
ANY way, we can do whatever brings joy and love into our lives. So, fun between
consenting adults --with suitable precautions-- is okay. Using any sort of
physical, mental, emotional, or magical coercion if someone is reluctant, is
NOT.
Second, because we believe that Divinity is in everything we see, we
don't create a hierarchy of values based on things of the spirit being of more
worth than things of the body. Our bodies are rather miraculous gifts God/dess
provides to allow us to live in and learn from on the physical plane. We see it
as a spiritual imperative to take care of them. Every act that helps us maintain
our physical existence thus takes on a spiritual dimension. When doing dishes or
cleaning out the basement become sacred acts, life is a whole lot richer.
We also believe that our thoughts, actions, emotions, and prayers create
energy. This energy goes out into the world and, in the process of being
reflected by the other beings there, is multiplied before it returns to us. Some
say threefold, others say tenfold; it may vary.
But what we put out returns to us multiplied, whether that be love or
fear, anger or compassion. So most of us work actively to try to diffuse our
fears, express our anger cleanly and let it go, and to develop a greater
understanding of the world around us.
Our lives are gifts, and if we need to protect ourselves, we do;
generally through the most peaceful means possible. Often this takes the form of
surrounding ourselves with light to reflect or deflect anything that means us
harm. We do kill to eat; most creatures do. Some of us are vegetarian.
Personally, because I see plants as people, too, and know that something
must die so I can survive, I eat a variety of foods, expressing my gratitude for
this food to the creatures who supply it.
Another belief that many of us share is that our souls cycle through
many lifetimes. We will be back to enjoy the progression of the seasons again.
Among witches, there are many different visions of the time and space between
lives; most are joyful places where we meld more closely with our Gods. But
because we know we'll be back again, we know that any mess we leave behind will
be here when we return (possibly even multiplied in the interim). Another strong
motivator to live in harmony and respect with all others in our world.
One of the things we learn, in deeper and deeper ways as we progress on
this path, is that on the levels of spirit and energy, we are not only connected
to, but literally ONE with all living things. Any harm we do another is, in the
long run, harm to ourselves. We don't need a disciplinary God to judge us; we
see the results of our actions. Harm harms us; love strengthens us. This is
extremely empowering, because we know that if we make our own messes, we can
also, with the support and loving guidance of the Goddess and God, clean them
up.
Of the Goddesses and Gods . . .
So, what Gods and Goddesses do we believe in? Here is where
individuality really comes in. Most witches see Divinity as complex and
reflecting all the different traits and aspects of human nature. It is common to
speak of Divinity as Goddess and God, Lord and Lady, Mother and Father, where
the Goddess represents feminine, life-giving, nourishing, receptive forces, and
the God represents masculine, dynamic, projective forces. The Goddess is often
identified with the Moon: mysterious, and ever changing. The God is similarly
identified with the Sun: vitalising and life giving.
Many witches see the Goddess as three-fold: Maiden, Mother and Crone.
The Crone is the figure most often identified with witches in popular culture,
as the warty old hag who flies on her broomstick and harasses Dorothy, Snow
White, and trick-or-treaters.
Witches see Her as a grandmotherly figure of great wisdom and
compassion, who sometimes challenges us to grow by tweaking our fears, and who
helps us face death when the time comes. The Mother is the nourishing aspect who
births, feeds, supports, and loves us.
The Maiden is the playful curious aspect who encourages us to explore
our world with joy.
The God is often seen and the Lord of the forest and of the animals.
Sometimes He is depicted as a laughing man with a luxurious beard of Oak leaves.
He can be depicted as the warrior prince who inspires us with hope when we must
defend something precious to us. . . our land, our loved ones, or our truths.
Very often he is associated with virile male animals such as stags, stallions
and rams. More on this later, as it is these images that Christianity has
incorporated into their Lord of Evil.
Many of the ancient pagan dieties were gods and goddesses of fertility.
This makes sense when you remember that survival depended on the fertility of
crops and herds, and that a large family meant more hands to work the farms. In
our overcrowded modern world, witches tend to focus on the fertility of our
minds and creative work. It is a precious part of our faith to emulate Her
creativity in our work, play, and households.
There are whole pantheons of Gods and Goddesses from different countries
and eras of history. The Welsh Gods might appeal to people of that ancestry.
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses might appeal to people with past lives in that time.
It is neither right nor wrong to limit oneself to working with Divinities from
one culture or another. Some witches might choose to work with Mother Goddesses
from many cultures, for example.
My own way of seeing this is that Divinity is like a huge jewel with
many, many facets that all direct and reflect light in their own ways. We all
see different facets depending on the angle we look from. None is better or more
correct than any other, although with the polishing power of many prayers, some
of the facets get bigger than some of the others.
The Christian God has a huge facet, and does put out a lot of light, but
He is not the whole picture. We work with the Gods and Goddesses that call to
us, and we develop relationships with them that help and support us in our
evolution.
Of the Flows of Nature . . .
Many of us tune into the energies of Nature around us and make a
conscious effort to live, work, and play in harmony with them.
Most witches follow the phases of the Moon and time their work according
to how its purpose harmonises with Her phases.
Most witches follow the cycles of the Sun and His effects on the flora
and fauna of our world, and we try to harmonise our work with the energies of
the seasons.
Many of us follow the courses of the stars and planets, and work with
their influences according to the wisdom of astrology.
This principle is characteristic of many earth-based religions and also
Buddhism, which calls it "going with the flow." We learn that there
are times when action is appropriate, and times when we would better spend our
time in reflection. There are times when we can build and accomplish much, and
times when we can let go of habits we no longer need. Everything we do is a
little more powerful when we harness the natural flows around us rather than
fighting them.
Of Magic . . .
And this leads into a discussion of magic. Life itself is magic: the
cycles of birth and death, the processes of healing, the processes of
homeostasis in living bodies.
Witches learn to nudge these natural processes by applying focus and
will. Our plants grow better if we focus the life-giving energies of Goddess and
God in them, according to their natures and natural cycles.
Our careers progress better if we focus our minds and learn to set goals
for the highest good of all. Our physical and emotional health flourish if we
are aware of the constant need to give and take, to assimilate and cleanse, to
push ourselves to our limits and to experience new boundaries, and if we are
aware of the gifts of the foods we eat and the plants we use for healing.
Beyond these processes of living well, yes, we practice the application
of will to accomplish our wishes. We know from the outset that if we will
something that will harm another, the chance of our work being successful are
reduced.
If what we wish is in harmony with Divine Will, our magic is simply a
demonstration of our willingness to work within that Plan. We apply our focused
will to the purpose we have in mind, at a time and in a way conducive to
harnessing the energies of Nature that support our purpose, and then we let
Divine Will determine the outcome for the highest good of all.
When we work in this way, spells, incantations, incense, candles, music,
and ritual tools are used only as ways of focussing our intent and energy. The
words of a spell are less important than the intent behind them, and the focus
we have learned through discipline. This is why many witches do not like to
teach spells to those who might use them to force an issue without being aware
of the principles behind magic.
Of Our Past . . .
Witchcraft is based on what we know or try to reconstruct of the beliefs
of pagan peoples in the world before Christianity. Some study scholarly works
and archeology for clues to these beliefs.
Some claim that they are initiated into wisdom that has been passed down
to them in an unbroken lineage from those times. Some open to remembering how
they have related to Divinity in previous incarnations. Some find their memories
in poems and songs.
Some simply hear of our beliefs and practices, know this is the right
path for them, and learn by doing.
In the time since our religions were dominant on Earth, other religions
have held sway over centuries of civilisation. These religions have misconstrued
what we are about based on their own world views. It is tempting at times to
protest what we are NOT in response to what others say about us. But the truth
is that this merely drags us into trying to define ourselves by their frames of
reference.
For example, we are not Satanists. Satan is a figure created many
centuries after Christ's death. It was constructed of a Persian demon figure and
those of our Gods endowed with horns and hooves. It was used by the Christians
as a repository for the qualities of humanity that they considered sinful.
It is almost as if, having taken all the good and loving qualities of
humanity and deposited them in their God, the Christian Church needed to
similarly externalise all the dark and fearsome qualities.
Satan is actually irrelevant to the witch's world-view because we make a
virtue of owning all our qualities, light and dark. Deity is within us, and so
are our shadows. This gives us the power to explore, know, shed light upon, and
heal our shadows rather than try to deny them and let them rule us in ways we
are unaware of.
Since the early Christians thought we served their anti-God, Satan, they
feared us. And in their fear, they sought us out and killed many of us; over
nine million people are believed to have been killed in witch hunts in the
Middle Ages. Many of these were not witches, but were women living alone, or
healers and midwives. We honour these souls, and we pray for an end to the fear
that led to their deaths.
Of our Present . . .
We see our time on this Earth as an opportunity to grow, heal, learn,
make amends for past mistakes, and allow our souls to evolve. In the process, we
meditate, pray, sing, and create art, music, poetry and prose.
We love our families and friends. We take great joy in the beauty of the
world around us and in making the parts of it we live in beautiful and healthy.
We serve Divine Will by functioning as gardeners and doctors, mothers and
administrators, counsellors and craftspeople, computer operators and
entertainers.
We make it a goal to interact with our world in a loving respectful way,
and we forgive ourselves when we fall short. We help each other, and we grow.
If you think you might be one of us, read on. If not, we respect your
path and wish you well on your journey nonetheless. Regardless, be our guest for
as long as you wish. I hope this information about healing and self-discovery
will be of interest to you, and of course our hearts will be just as open.
Blessed Be.
