A  WITCH'S BLOG

by Kal-el

MESSAGES

Some for fun, others for answering questions!

TOP 10 WAYS

TO TELL IF YOUR NEIGHBOR IS A WITCH

10. When you drop in for a chat, the kettle is already on.

9. Her dinner set is decorated in a Celtic Knot pattern.

8. You ask her for directions of a nice Sunday drive and they all go by the way of stone circles and strange earth mounds.

7. She goes dressed as normal to a Halloween party and wins first prize.

6. She answers her door naked except for a toweling robe.  After you apologize for disturbing her bath, you notice her hair’s not wet.

5. At Christmas, it seems like half her garden has been moved into her house.

4. You ask to borrow a pack of playing cards for an impromptu bridge evening and there are 78 cards in the deck.

3. The Parish Priest always crosses himself whenever he walks past her house.

2. The Jehovah’s Witnesses never call (not after the last time).

1. All the stray cats in the neighborhood tend to congregate in her garden and use yours as a litter box.

WHY WICCA?

      Is this all that I am?  Is there nothing more?  What is my purpose in life?  If I am to serve God, where do I go from there?

      So many people ask themselves these questions everyday.  They read and they read and they read, but nothing seems enough.  They bounce from church to synagogue to mosque to temple… For some it’s just not enough, or they get too wrapped up in the politics and struggling congregants to see the real faith behind the religion.  Many people see nothing but hypocrisy and a very profitable way to make money.  But whatever their reason is, most people feel there is something more out there for them.

      Many people seeking something beyond an organized and orthodox faith turn to Paganism.  On the surface, it seems almost exactly what they are looking for.  However, as a seeker, a person runs in to all types of Pagans.  There are Earth Pagans, Techno-Pagans, Witches, Warlocks, Druids, Celts, Dianics, Vikings, Greeks, Buddhists, Jainists, Hindus, Sikhists, Kabbahlists, and of course Wiccans, among others.  Wicca is slowly becoming more and more popular, so one of the first questions asked by many seekers is, “Why Wicca?”

Dorothy Morrison, a famed Wiccan author said in her book The Craft: A Witch’s Book of Shadows, “The Craft is accepting, generous, and loving.  It’s gentle, unobtrusive, and supportive.  It’s an ethical way of life that once embraced, bring immeasurable joy and wonder to everyday living.  Simply put, the Craft is a serious religion.” (2001: p3-4)  In this book, Morrison defines the Craft as another term that to her means Wicca.

Wicca is a serious religion.  However, Wicca is more than just a religion, it’s a way of life.  Wiccans don’t just go to church, sit in bible studies, celebrate Ramadan, hold Barmitzva’s and call themselves Wiccans.  A Wiccan is much more than that.  Being Wiccan is being one with the gods.

A Wiccan’s guiding principle is to harm none. Harm none. You can do whatever you want as long as you harm none. How simple is that? It’s the bottom-line of almost every single religion on the planet when you get right down to it. There are other things as well, but when it comes to the ethical and moral dilemmas, if you harm none, you can’t go wrong. However, it’s also one of the hardest things to do. Harm none includes not harming anyone or anything, including yourself. And there are several degrees of harm and each person within the religion must decide for themselves what harm none means to them. I mean think of it, could you go a day without harming? In any way? It's tough.

Wiccan's also believe in the Law of Return. Whatever you do comes back to you. It's the way of the Universe. If you are rude to someone, somehow or another that rudeness will be extended back. If you are kind to someone, that kindness will be re-paid. Many believe that whatever you do will be returned to you three-fold, otherwise known as the Three-Fold Law. According to this Law whatever you do will be returned to you three times as much. Quite an incentive to be a nice person isn't it?

Wiccan also believe in Reincarnation, it is the corner-stone of our faith. Everything from Harm None to the Law of Return works into Reincarnation. We believe it takes more than one life to experience enough Earthly trials to purify ourselves enough spiritually to move on to the next plane of existence. It's very similar to what most Christians believe, we just believe it takes longer. We must be pure of heart and mind, but also understand both good and evil, right and wrong, and do whatever it takes to attain that understanding or attunement with the Goddess & God in order to move on to the next stage of our spiritual development.

And finally, yes, Wiccans do believe in God. In fact, we believe in many Gods! The most simplest explanation is that we believe every God ever worshipped on the planet is the same God and ever Goddess ever worshipped on the planet is the same Goddess. Some Wiccans put more emphasis on the Goddess because of her mothering nature and the fact that male dominated monotheism is the flavor of the millennium and they want to give the Goddess the recognition she is lacking elsewhere. Others find it more comforting to talk to the Goddess than they do God, some due to their monotheistic upbringing with a God that they were taught to fear. The biggest difference is that while most religions see the Goddess and/or God as distinct, finite being, we see the Goddess and God as manifest deities--meaning they everywhere in everything. They are in nature, in your food, in the air we breathe, and in our very souls. It's quite a comforting feeling knowing that your Deity is present at all times. Nature and the Seasons are celebrated in a similar fashion as in the past in reverence and celebration of our Deities who bring us so much good food, good fortune and love.

Wicca to me is all this and some much more.  It's where I know I belong and I hope that you can find something similar to what I have.

Blessed Be.