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The Craft
is a general term for contemporary
Witchcraft,
which is part of a larger
neo-Pagan
spirituality that is often said to be the fastest growing
religious movement in the world today. Although the words
"craft" or "witch" may used in other contexts, or to refer
to other practices, The Craft has become an alternative term
for the specific spiritual path known as
Wicca.
Wicca
is an alternative name for the spiritual path of
neo-Pagan
Witchcraft. Wicca is distinguished from other forms of practice
that may be referred to as witchcraft in that it goes far beyond
folk magic to organized religion with commonly accepted beliefs,
ethics and holy days of either group or solitary worship. Most
Wiccans also proudly claim the title of
Witch
(note capital letter), but some prefer to the use the word Wicca
as having less baggage of old negative stereotypes from those
who have no real knowledge of the religion.
The word "Wicca"
is Old English for wicce or
witch. Some call it "the
Craft
of the Wise," citing word derivations from wita or
wis, relating to wisdom. Another often quoted Old
English root word, wic, is often cited as the word from
which Wicca is derived. Wic means "to bend." This
suggests the ability to bend, turn or change energy according to
one's will, which relates to the Wiccan practice of
magick.
Much of Wiccan practice is directed toward empowering the
individual with the ability to create desired changes.
Witch, or Witchcraft
The "W" word has an unfortunate knee-jerk connotation to a great
many people, fed by centuries of misinformation shaped in the
time of the Catholic Inquisition, when all manner of folk magic
and pagan religion was demonized as evil in order to serve the
quest of Church dominance. Hundreds of thousands of people,
mostly women, were tortured and burned as witches, even though
a great many of them probably weren't, but rather were country
wise women, healers, midwives, or just widowed land-holders.
Since those tragic times it has been fairly common to
erroneously translate most anything that suggests evil sorcery
to "witch." Further fed by countless children's fairytales
where the "witch" is evil, but the actual good witch is not
called witch but instead "fairy godmother" or the like, the "W"
word comes with a great deal of baggage.
Still, when the feminist spirituality movement, in the 1960s
and 70s, sought a feminine concept of God, and discovered the
Goddess of the Wiccan religion, they adopted the word Witch
(note capitalization) with a vengeance. They saw it as a badge
of feminine power, the power to change oneself, and the status
of women in general.
The feminists added a great wealth of creativity to a
Craft that
had previously been, for the most part, relatively small in
numbers and mostly secretive. Since then, interest in
Wicca
has grown rapidly and continues to grow, with hundreds upon
hundreds of books readily available, explaining nearly every
detail of Wiccan practice and the steadily reemerging Goddess
worship within it. Women everywhere are empowered by the
Goddess, and many men, strengthened by their new understanding
of both Goddess and God within, now flock to the movement, as
well.
Old baggage is difficult to unload, however, in truth, it has
to be said that although a Wiccan may call herself (or himself)
a Witch, all witches (note lower case) are NOT Wiccan. The word
"witch" has multiple meanings, and for this reason, many Wiccans
prefer to identify their religion as Wicca.
Neo-Pagan:
neo means "new" so neo-Pagan refers to a widespread revival of
pagan
belief, world-view, philosophy and practice in modern times.
Ancient pagans saw deity or spirits within Nature, and in a
more sophisticated modern understanding, neo-Pagan belief is
quite similar, and indeed, supported by modern physics. The
energy of life exists everywhere in our world, in the Universe,
within ourselves. The Life Force is seen as divine; deity is
immanent within Nature, not set apart from it. God, however
one may wish to personify he, she or it, is within.
The fact that deity has been called by thousands of names in
many cultures is seen with a modern understanding of polytheism:
reality is very diverse, and we see it according to our own
perceptions, framed by our background and experiences. My
perception is valid for my particular step on the path to
spiritual understanding, just as yours is for you. We may look
to different aspects of our gods or goddesses at different
times in our lives, according to our needs at the time. We should
respect each others' beliefs and practices, knowing that the Whole,
the All, is no doubt beyond our mortal understanding… yet, in good
faith, we seek and grow.
An outgrowth of the neo-Pagan belief in the immanence of deity
in Nature is concern for the preservation of Nature,
particularly the Earth, our ultimate Mother.
Pagan
comes from the Latin word paganus, which originally
meant "a person who lives in the country," as contrasted
from the more sophisticated urban population. When
Christianity became dominant in the cities of the Roman
Empire, the pagans were the last to be converted. In those
times, paganus took on a connotation similar to how
one might now refer to a "hick." Later, as the Christians
began to think of themselves as "soldiers of Christ,"
paganus morphed into a meaning more like "civilian,"
as opposed to miles, which meant "soldier."
Eventually, with the dominance of Christianity in western
culture, pagan came to appear in modern dictionaries as
"one who has no religion," defining religion as "belief in
or worship of God or gods." This is unfair, for both ancient
and
neo-Pagans
most certainly do have a religion and a belief in an immanent
deity manifest and active in all of Life.
Magick, or Magic
Magick, magic with a "k" on the end, is often used to
differentiate
Craft
practices involving focused will and intent from the trickery
or sleight of hand, or just the "sparkly feelings" more commonly
associated with the word magic.
Those who practice magick train their ability to focus their
minds and will such that they can effect desired changes, in
the belief that all is made up of energy, both seen and
unseen, and energy can be moved. To work magick, then, is to
be, with will, intent and purpose, the cause of a desired
effect.
Most traditions of the Wiccan religion place great emphasis
on "positive" magick, teaching that the ethical use of magick
seeks primarily to create changes within oneself. "As within,
so without" suggests that when one changes for the better within,
one's environment and relationships improve, as well.
In the practice of positive magick, it is considered unethical
to use magick to harm (see
Wiccan Rede)
or even to direct magick toward another person with any intent
to manipulate his or her free will. An exception might be made
if the other person specifically asks the magickal practitioner
to work a
spell for them.
Spell
This is simply another term, often used in Wiccan practice,
for the working of
magick,
and specifically to the particular form or design of how the
magick is to be done. A
Witch
may keep a spellbook in her
Book of Shadows
or grimoire (handbook of magick), outline the procedure she or he
has used to work various spells, so that these can be referred
to if they are needed at another time. Such spells may call for
certain times, procedures, tools, colors, herbs, oils… the
possibilities are endless.
Many books on Wicca contain instructions for spells, and these
can be useful to spark one's creativity, but there is no single
"right" way to do a spell, nor is following someone else's recipe
(or your own) likely to work for you if your intent is wrong or
your mind is not focused.
The primary tool of spellwork is your mind, and in the final
analysis, the mind is the only tool you need. With strong
enough focus, one can work a magical spell with nothing but
the mind. The other trappings are just that: they can assist
your mental focus, because they engage your subconscious mind
(sometimes called Young Self) and your High Self (God/dess
within) to work in sync with your conscious will.
Book of Shadows
is a term for the personal book of rituals and
spells,
as well as of the thoughts, beliefs and ethics of a "
Witch
or priest/ess of
Wicca.
In that sense,
The Witch's Circle
is a published Book of Shadows. In the old traditions, the Book
of Shadows was kept secret, either by the solitary Witch, or in
the keeping of the High Priestess or High Priest of a
coven,
but in recent years many Books of Shadows have been published.
In the old ways, the books were written in one's own handwriting,
and either destroyed when the Witch dies, or handed down to a
daughter or successor in the
Craft.
Some still like to do it that way. There is no standard Book of
Shadows, other than perhaps the small-group standard of one
copied by members of a coven. Today, the Book of Shadows, while
perhaps still quite personal and unique in content, is quite
often in the form of a "disk of Shadows" written on a computer
hard-drive.
Coven
is a common term for a group of Witches or Wiccans practicing
regularly together in the same tradition, led by a High
Priestess or High Priest or both. An alternative word for coven
is "circle." Coven may derive from the word "convene" (meeting)
or "convent" (religious meeting). While it is often said that
covens have traditionally 13 members, this is seldom the case.
Some covens are smaller than 13 and some are larger. More likely
the numbers relate to personal choice of the High Priestess
(most often the spiritual leader of a coven) and possibly also
the available space she has in which her group can comfortably
meet. Usually coven meetings or ceremonies of worship (called
rituals) are held in a private home or outdoors.
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THE CRAFT
Facts about The Craft
What are Wicca and Witchcraft?
The Wiccan Rede
& the Law of Three
The Pentagram
The Elements
Air |
Fire |
Water |
Earth
The Wheel of the Year
The Timing of the Sabbats
Samhain |
Yule |
Imbolc |
Ostara
Beltane |
Litha |
Lughnasad |
Mabon
Magical Moon
Maria Kay Simms' monthly column on
lunar and astrological events to
help you plan your magickal calendar.
Recommended Reading
Moon Tides, Soul Passages,
The Witch's Circle,
A Time for Magick,
Future Signs, and
Your Magical Child
by
Maria Kay Simms
Books on Spellcraft
Books on Wicca & related subjects
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