What’s the difference between a witch and a Wiccan ?
Well, there are some very different schools of thought on this, but my view is that one can practice Witchcraft in the context of any life philosophy that doesn’t oppose taking control of one’s own sphere of influence.
Traditional Wicca is a specific set of practices that is passed through lineaged training and almost always includes Witchcraft (I do not know of any Wiccan Tradition that does not include practices such as building the Temple, creating the cone of power, etc., which I would certainly consider Witchcraft.)
Eclectic Pagan paths with a “wiccish” flavor that are commonly called Solitary or Eclectic Wicca may or may not include Witchcraft.
Do you have to be Wiccan to be a witch?
I know witches who are Catholic, Buddhist, Jewish, Atheist, Hindu, Agnostic and whatever that religion where you wear half a ton of Quartz around your neck is. While some religions incorporate Witchcraft into Traditional practice of the religion, the CRAFT of Witchcraft can be used with almsot any philosophy of life. Personally, I find it does make one more focussed and adept to *have* at least a general outline of a stable philosophy, but even that is not exactly “required”.
The practices that most witches might recognize as a part of their craft have been around since paleolithic times. Early man didn’t paint pictures of a successful hunt on their cave walls for decoration; that is contagious magic. I’ve done work like that myself: Filled my wallet full of monopoly money, only to see my profits grow; drawn images of a sick friend dancing and playing, etc.
Generally speaking, when most people speak of Witchcraft, they are referring to “low” magic, which is practical, straightforward, and uses direct energy manipulation rather than channeling through an intermediary ( spirit guides, Gods, angels, familiars or other disincarnate entities ), although all of the above may be petitioned for assistance in directing the energy. That’s not to say that it is *easy*.
I have a number of resources on my website to whet an appetite. What I don’t have is a one stop guide to the 12 steps to becoming a witch (oops! now I do!), in part because the person who needs that is never going to be much of a witch anyway. One must be inquisitive, self-motivated, determined and responsible to excel in the practice.
Sacred Space
Black spirits and white, red spirits and grey
come ye, come ye, come ye that may!
Around and around, throughout and about
The good come in, and the ill keep out!— Doreen Valiente
In the Craft, there are two ways in which we prepare a space for working. The most common is to create “sacred space”. If the working is formal and ritualized in nature, we will also “build the temple” — cast a formal circle and call on representatives of each direction to assist us in the working.
For most purposes outside of initiate Craft (the Wicca), sacred space is the perfect choice. As with many esoteric skills, the primary “work” is done with visualization. The person creating the space must envision the area being washed clean in some way. Most traditions use the image of white or blue light.
The invocation calls on the four elements to come if they like. Most modern pagans are familiar with elemental color associations. I teach my students three sets of color associations:
| Popular “Gardnerian” | Native American “Medicine Wheel” | British Traditional Craft (New Forest) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | Green | White | Black |
| East | Yellow | Yellow | Red |
| South | Red | Red | White |
| West | Blue | Black | Grey |
As you can see, the Valiente invocation uses the New Forest colors for the Airts (spirits of the directions). Thus, in using it, one calls on north, south, east and west, and ask those spirits to 1) show up, 2) go throughout the sacred space and 3) go outside the space to protect it.
Unlike most formal circle casting procedures, this invocation does not necessitate the actual drawing of a circle, nor does it bind the area into a restrictive space. However, with a minor modification, it can be used to cast circle.
Black spirits and white, Red spirits and grey,
Come ye, come ye, come ye that may.
Throughout and about, around and around,
The circle be drawn, the circle be bound.— Doreen Valiente, The Rebirth of Witchcraft
The actual casting of a circle requires actively directing energy to form a modified sphere around a working space. This energy should, ideally, form a nearly impenetrable wall. Should one unwittingly walk “through” the wall of a properly cast circle, he will FEEL it, and probably have a throbbing headache in short order! Therefore, circle casting is best reserved for times when people are not likely to be leaving and reentering the space frequently.
The following is a more elaborate circle casting rune by Doreen Valiente for this purpose.
Black spirits and white, red spirits and grey
hearken to the rune I say.Four points of the circle, weave the spell
East, South, West, North, your tale to tellEast is red, for the break of day
South is white for the noontide hour
In the West, is twilight grey
And North is black for the place of power.Three times’ round, the circle is cast
Great ones, spirits from the past
Witness it and guard it fast.— Doreen Valiente
Circle casting is a fine art that anyone can learn, but one can only become proficient at through careful practice. As for the invocations, there are hundreds in print which can be used, and it is perfectly possible to create one for a given situation or ritual. Some witches even cast with no words, using only the force of their developed visualization techniques. I have used Valiente’s words here because they are simple to learn and reasonably traditional.
Suggested Reading on sacred space and circle casting:
- The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Witchcraft for Tomorrow, and Natural Magic by Doreen Valiente
- To Stir a Magic Cauldron by Silver Ravenwolf, chapters 2 & 5
- The Spiral Dance by Starhawk, chapter 4
- Witchcraft: Theory & Practice by Ly DeAngeles page 87
Is witchcraft evil?
Is karate evil?
Witchcraft (like martial arts) is a learned skill. It can be used to protect and heal, or it can be used to damage and destroy.
Witchcraft is neutral. Practitioners (witches) are said to practice along the left hand path (centered around the self, personal needs and wants, with little regard for the effect upon others) or the right hand path (centered around the community and caring for it, with full regard for the needs and wants of others.
In truth, all witches practice a little bit of both. Witches are human beings with a skill. Like any human being, they are not always truly selfless, nor are they always truly selfish.
Can ordinary people learn magic?
Ordinary people don’t have devotion to training. Ordinary people don’t care about proper ethics and learning the details of the mechanics of metaphysical manipulation. Ordinary people want a fast track to results now and lack patience. Ordinary people want to be spoon-fed answers. Ordinary people are not interested in introspection and development of patience and acute observational skills. Ordinary people want easy, fast, cheap solutions that cost them nothing.
I have helped several extraordinary people to learn magic and the Craft and excel in their lives. These people were willing to work hard, to grow and change, to learn, to observe, to accept failures and take their time. These people sought out answers through experience, learned to differ in opinion with respect and gratitude, and constantly challenged themselves. These people practiced alone and together to learn to manipulate the subtle strings that allow shifts in perception and in reality. These people were far from ordinary.
But they weren’t more than human.
How do you make a witches coven?
If you are practicing within Tradition, your High Priestess will tell you when you are ready and should guide you through the initial steps. Each tradition has a different way of handling this, so it’s best to check your upline.
For an eclectic coven, there are really no rules. that said, I’d recommend starting with a study group. Invite members to share what works for them, study together as a group, begin developing rituals you can work together, etc. You may find that while Odin works well for you as a solitary, the group mind is called to work with Frey & Freya, or Innana & Tammuz!
I would suggest starting with a study group. Don’t fashion yourself as a “teacher” or “leader” but more as an “organizer”. A show-and-tell style study group is often enjoyable and enlightening for all involved. I myself started a group like this years ago. We came together as a group of pagans who had an interest in learning more, and each wrote something we were interested in on a slip of paper, then we shared these as “go study and bring back findings to the group”. We scheduled 2-3 presentations per meeting and a short open (very ecclectic) circle. This worked quite well for several years and spawned a few “offshoot” groups.
Over time, you may find that a core group who ritual together are forming bonds that go beyond the study group. Now it is time to consider covening. This usually means taking some sort of oath and working to form a group mind. Once that group mind is developed, you (and the group) will want to be very careful about comings and goings, as the coven becomes an entity of it’s own, and the entire personality of the coven can change when a member enters or leaves the coven (permanently–missing one or two circles, having the occasional guest doesn’t cause much change.)
Am I a witch? Was I born a witch?
This question often comes from those who are naturally sensitive or who have a family history of interest in the Craft. The simplest answer is to respond with a question:
Have you intentionally and actively pursued the Craft, studying and practicing, for a considerable period? (Usually a year or more.)
Being sensitive does not make you a witch. Studying and practicing witchcraft (for some time) makes you a witch. Many sensitives find that the Craft is a natural and confortable step, but one does not predicate the other.
Being born into a family of individuals that practice the Craft does not automatically make you a witch either, although the practices may seem even more natural and comfortable to those who were raised around them. Many “Family Traditions” have special coming of age ceremonies where the child chooses wether or not to make the conscious choice to train in the family’s ways and pursue the Craft.
You can’t be a Witch by accident. It is a conscious choice and an active practice.
Weather Magic
There are three things people regularly ask Witches about: Love spells, curses, and weather magic. Possibly, the public fascination is because these are somewhat taboo, rarely discussed outside of the Craft, or simply because they require great adepts to perform. I’m not sure. I’ve written before on love spells and curses (although I certainly haven’t exhausted the subjects), so I thought I’d take a look at weather magic.
Weather magic is largely a taboo subject because it is so, well, big. First of all, weather is Earth energy, so it’s not “little stuff” that you are changing. Secondly, the energy never “goes away”. Anything that is suppressed will re-erupt, sometimes even more violently, so “stop giant snowstorm” isn’t a good longterm plan. And thirdly, weather happens for a reason. Sure, you might not be happy about it raining on your wedding day, but is it worth it to spin up a draught that will devastate crops for an entire season?
So how to deal with these issues? Is there a “right time” and a “right way” to do a little weather magic? As with most things in the Craft, my answer is “sort of”. It’s just not a black and white discipline.
Let’s say you have advance knowledge of a “Natural Disaster”. Storm Tacker radar or some such. I wouldn’t recommend trying to stop it wholesale, but rather do a combination of subtle adjustments to work toward lessening suffering and swift recovery.
Neither of these items are specifically weather magic, although work can be done to create subtle adjustments to slightly alter the course of a storm or similar. This should be VERY subtle, and if a small movement isn’t going to be of much help, then it isn’t prudent to move it at all. The other work is healing work: protecting human life and sending energy to help with recovery.
As for the rainy day getting you down, I prefer to think of all the life that the rain is bringing. But on those rare occasions when I just need half an hour of clear skies (or half an hour of rain!) I don’t feel too bad about working for a brief visit from the sun. I am sure to reverse my work and allow nature to take her course. And accept that it may mean one HECK of a thunderstorm afterwards!
Because this work needs to be very subtle, it’s not for beginners and rare for adepts. If one learns to do it properly, it will be in a supervised situation. We aren’t talking about the kind of thing that can be experimented with without affecting others, so a little common sense caution is necessary.
Most “weather magic” works the other way around, with the Witch harnessing the energy of the weather situation to aid her in her work. Thunderstorms, snowstorms, and even those oppressively hot sunny days can do wonders for all kinds of work.
Is the Wiccan 3-fold rule actually true?
How important is it to cast a magic circle before spellwork or ritual? Does it make a big difference if you don’t cast one?
It really depends on what kind of work is being performed and how it needs to get “pushed out”.
A circle performs a number of functions. It does effectively keep undesirable energy out, but it also keeps things in, which can work for or against you. It can be used to magnify and accelerate the Work, so that opening the circle releases the Work in a very expansive way. If working with others, it can help to develop the group mind.
Yes, it makes a difference. Wether or not it’s important, well, that kind of comes with practice.
For example, if I am doing work to release a belief that is no longer serving me (“I need cigarettes!”) I would probably NOT use a circle, as it would hold that belief in with me while I do the work. However, once the work is done and I am prepared to do healing work (“I will strengthen my lungs!”) I would. Make sense?
For Wiccan Ritual, OTOH, I almost always “cast circle” but it’s slightly different. This is part of the creation of the temple and is necessary for performing the ritual properly. In this case, it’s more about having a bouncer for the party.
