I know plenty of Witches who are about as psychic as a house brick. In fact, I know Witches who don't even do spellwork. They focus entirely on the religious side of of the craft.
Ah thanks .... Its taken me a long while to stand up as a psychic a witch may be too much for me this life time ..... I understand that many enjoy the ritual side of it and the religion I'm pretty ignorant of things that have rules I've found
So when did your interest begin guys? I've heard David story about he might dragon which is fantastic .. what about you Raymond? _________________ as a babe drinks from its mothers breast so too does man milk mother earth
ha me not being clear Raymond when did you think.... I want to be a witch or I am a witch??? _________________ as a babe drinks from its mothers breast so too does man milk mother earth
Oh I see, well I was in a mediums development circle many, many years ago and one of the women in the group asked me if I was a Witch.
I thought she was joking.
So she gave me a couple of books to read and without any exageration they changed my life.
I recently posted somewhere on here that it was the first (and only) time in my life I felt I truly belonged to something.
That's it really. I've never looked back since.
SO do I darling so do I ... all my furniture goes tomorrow it feels absolutely huge can you tell how excited I am ... I can't sleep
and typical Eryiel has just thrown up the hugest reddest chunkiest vomit ever (not too sure what to do with the mat and bedding no time to cleaning it all & move it one one day ).. last time she was sick was the day we moved into this house ha! she must be purging _________________ as a babe drinks from its mothers breast so too does man milk mother earth
Also Swanny, if you want to learn about the craft and you're a complete novice I would recommend you start with books by Kate West.
They are an easy read and explain all the basics in a very no-nonsense, down to earth way.
I,ll tke a look over the library tomorrow for the books. Failing that, i,ll take a trip to Waterstone book shop in Cardiff tomorrow.
Quote:
And who is "you lot"?
I was thinking the same thing David.
I have a sneaky feeling Fire dragon is either Jon Donnis or someone from his site.
I may be wrong, but don,t think i am.
Swanny if you want books you can keep instead of library books,have a look at 'Amazon' you can get a good second hand one,or two---and not trying to jump on Raymond's toes, another good author,imo,is Rae Beth. _________________ Remember words spoken complaining may blight every effort and plan,
A kind word would help in attaining,
So say a kind word when you can.
E.G,HUNNY BUN, I didn't know you were moving!!!!! best of luck and leave all those vibes from the old place behind you. Are you going to Oz? _________________ Remember words spoken complaining may blight every effort and plan,
A kind word would help in attaining,
So say a kind word when you can.
E.G,HUNNY BUN, I didn't know you were moving!!!!! best of luck and leave all those vibes from the old place behind you. Are you going to Oz?
oooh sorry Lily yes moved to the mainland....... tried so hard to leave the vibes behind me some of the crappy stuff appears to have followed but I feel just fantastic so all feels great :)
actually some things I was going to bring actually broke on the trip or just before we left so they got tossed ha! _________________ as a babe drinks from its mothers breast so too does man milk mother earth
I loved Rae Beth's Hedgewitch when I was just starting. It answers so many questions that novices have. Another very reputable author is Marion Green. Try her book A Witch Alone. But I think my favourite is anything by Teresa Moorey, especially her Beginner's Guide to series. The Witchcraft one was very helpful, although I think it's out of print now, although you can probably easily get a secondhand copy on Ebay.
Raymond is spot on - realising you are pagan is like a feeling of coming home. So many people have described it like that. Being pagan is a nature-centred spirituality, although you don't have to be pagan to love and honour nature. Being a Witch is a specific path within paganism; witches are usually pagan, but not all pagans are Witches. I'll stop now, before I thoroughly confuse you!
It is confusing. I was trying to explain to somebody in work the other day about the differences between Witches, Wiccans, Heathens, Druids etc,...
I think what makes it so difficult are the differences are so small. Just tiny little differences that probably wouldn't stand out to the untrained eye.
First of all we'll start with the Witches. Witches divide into two categories, 'Hereditary' and 'Neo'.
Hereditary Witches claim to come from a witch family and learned their craft from parents, grandparents etc,. I say 'claim' because I am yet to meet an hereditary witch who can prove beyond doubt their family's heritage is in Witchcraft going back over a measurable length of time. I live in hope.
Neo-Witches (like me) come to witchcraft at some point in their lives either from another religion or no religion at all.
Wiccans follow the religion of Wicca. Wicca was born in the 1950's by a gentleman named Dr. Gerald Gardner. Gardner travelled all over the UK and pulled together all the folk customs and traditions that were left over from pre-Christian era.
He filled in the gaps with a bit of Freemasonary, Ceromonial Magick and teachings from other writers on the subject and came up with Wicca.
Druids are a mysterious bunch and pretty much keep their cards close to their chests but from what I've seen from Druid friends of mine they do pretty much the same thing as Witches but they seem to focus more on the religious, ceremonial and shamanistic aspects than Witches do.
Heathens reject the idea of 'organised' religion and rules and follow the natural rhythms of nature and whatever feels natural to them.
ALL of them are Pagans and all of them observe, worship and honour the cycles of the earth and moon.
I loved Rae Beth's Hedgewitch when I was just starting. It answers so many questions that novices have. Another very reputable author is Marion Green. Try her book A Witch Alone. But I think my favourite is anything by Teresa Moorey, especially her Beginner's Guide to series. The Witchcraft one was very helpful, although I think it's out of print now, although you can probably easily get a secondhand copy on Ebay.
Raymond is spot on - realising you are pagan is like a feeling of coming home. So many people have described it like that. Being pagan is a nature-centred spirituality, although you don't have to be pagan to love and honour nature. Being a Witch is a specific path within paganism; witches are usually pagan, but not all pagans are Witches. I'll stop now, before I thoroughly confuse you!
I totally agree about Rae Beth and Marion Green and, as Raymond has already mentioned, Kate West has written some very good books.
Re the pathways, I tend to describe myself as a Pagan and only if pressed do I use the word Witch: the way Raymond and Beantighe have already described it is spot on for me too!
I don't see 'being a Witch' as a religion - unlike all the others.
Being a Witch means you perform witchcraft, if a Witch stopped performing witchcraft he or she is then a pagan.
Witchcraft is a way of life. It's more a knowledge than a religion. You have to have a certain knowledge to be a brain surgeon but brain surgery isn't a religion.
Taz, you do witchcraft, (do work!) so therefore you are a witch. I don't mean to put you in a box old thing, but you are.
Another thing is that pagans (well most of them anyway) see deity as dual, ie a god and goddess, rather than monotheistic and patriarchal. This is one thing that is virtually universal among pagans. That's why I could never get on with Christianity - it just didn't seem logical that one male god could create anything by himself. The way Christianity was presented to me, and forced down my throat from age 9, it seemed to me that this god was a widower, and this made him lonely and bored, and from the Bible stories I was taught, he was wrathful, vengeful and jealous too. Not a very nice character, I thought.
So when I discovered that pagans believe in a goddess, the Earth Mother, as well as a god, the Sky Father, and that these were seen as the archetypal Parents, the originators, suddenly everything made sense to me. For myself, I see the Earth as Mother, as she nurtures and provides for all her children, human, animal and plant. This is why caves and underground places were seen as so sacred by paleolithic peoples, because to them it was like journeying back into the womb of Mother Earth. When they buried their dead, they often covered them with red ochre, to symbolise the blood of birth. They returned their dead to Earth in preparation for rebirth, as everything in nature comes and goes in cycles.
But the Earth Mother needs the Sky Father, represented by the Sun, as the fertilising and regenerative aspect, as without the sun to warm the earth, nothing would grow. Between them, these 'parents' provide the exact conditions necessary for life to flourish and perpetuate itself, as illustrated in the Gaia Hypothesis, which was first mooted by Lovelock and Ellis some decades ago. This posits that the Earth is a living organism which maintains itself in balance for the sustaining of life.
Human beings have had what I think of as a pagan outlook for many thousands of years. They observed the positions and movements of sun, moon and stars, on which the first calendars were based, eventually resulting in such intricate constructions as Stonehenge. They had so much more knowledge than we can guess at, much of which was lost over the millennia because they were a non-literate people, which is not the same as illiterate. When Christianity came along, the old ways and knowledge was forced underground because of the persecutions, and over time became forgotten.
Gardner did indeed invent modern Wicca, and in doing so he did today's pagans a great favour by making it accessible to people once more. But we have to remember that Wicca is not the only way, and something this structured and hierarchical might not be right for everyone. In any case, it is sometimes next to impossible for genuine seekers to find a safe, reputable teaching group or coven - and paganism has its charlatans, egotrippers and even crooks the same as any other group of individuals - so if it weren't for the many books available, and forums like this one, many people would never have the opportunity to learn and make any progress in order to choose the path and set of beliefs that are right for them. There is no dogma within paganism; just as no-one can lead your life for you, in the same way no-one can force a belief system onto anyone or tell them what spiritual path to follow. Ultimately, paganism cannot be taught; it has to be experienced, each in our own individual way.
I don't see 'being a Witch' as a religion - unlike all the others.
Being a Witch means you perform witchcraft, if a Witch stopped performing witchcraft he or she is then a pagan.
Witchcraft is a way of life. It's more a knowledge than a religion. You have to have a certain knowledge to be a brain surgeon but brain surgery isn't a religion.
Taz, you do witchcraft, (do work!) so therefore you are a witch. I don't mean to put you in a box old thing, but you are.
you can 'box me' anytime you like sunshine!!!
I think of myself as a Pagan, subset - Witch if you get my train of thought.
I am proud to be a Pagan and equally proud to be a Witch: I love doing 'work' but I just don't want to get into the constant 'oh do you do spells, then?' 'are you a White Witch or a Dark Witch' conversations.
Not from folk who really want to discuss things (I could do that for hours, trust me I could bore and waffle for England - Raymond, you know this to be true ) but from those who you know just want to ask you how they can hex their ex boyfriend or something like that.
When I say I am a Pagan, folk tend to leave me alone, unless they are really interested and then it goes on from there.
For me it is who I am, my way of life not something I am 'in to'.
Another thing is that pagans (well most of them anyway) see deity as dual, ie a god and goddess, rather than monotheistic and patriarchal. This is one thing that is virtually universal among pagans. That's why I could never get on with Christianity - it just didn't seem logical that one male god could create anything by himself. The way Christianity was presented to me, and forced down my throat from age 9, it seemed to me that this god was a widower, and this made him lonely and bored, and from the Bible stories I was taught, he was wrathful, vengeful and jealous too. Not a very nice character, I thought.
So when I discovered that pagans believe in a goddess, the Earth Mother, as well as a god, the Sky Father, and that these were seen as the archetypal Parents, the originators, suddenly everything made sense to me. For myself, I see the Earth as Mother, as she nurtures and provides for all her children, human, animal and plant. This is why caves and underground places were seen as so sacred by paleolithic peoples, because to them it was like journeying back into the womb of Mother Earth. When they buried their dead, they often covered them with red ochre, to symbolise the blood of birth. They returned their dead to Earth in preparation for rebirth, as everything in nature comes and goes in cycles.
But the Earth Mother needs the Sky Father, represented by the Sun, as the fertilising and regenerative aspect, as without the sun to warm the earth, nothing would grow. Between them, these 'parents' provide the exact conditions necessary for life to flourish and perpetuate itself, as illustrated in the Gaia Hypothesis, which was first mooted by Lovelock and Ellis some decades ago. This posits that the Earth is a living organism which maintains itself in balance for the sustaining of life.
Human beings have had what I think of as a pagan outlook for many thousands of years. They observed the positions and movements of sun, moon and stars, on which the first calendars were based, eventually resulting in such intricate constructions as Stonehenge. They had so much more knowledge than we can guess at, much of which was lost over the millennia because they were a non-literate people, which is not the same as illiterate. When Christianity came along, the old ways and knowledge was forced underground because of the persecutions, and over time became forgotten.
Gardner did indeed invent modern Wicca, and in doing so he did today's pagans a great favour by making it accessible to people once more. But we have to remember that Wicca is not the only way, and something this structured and hierarchical might not be right for everyone. In any case, it is sometimes next to impossible for genuine seekers to find a safe, reputable teaching group or coven - and paganism has its charlatans, egotrippers and even crooks the same as any other group of individuals - so if it weren't for the many books available, and forums like this one, many people would never have the opportunity to learn and make any progress in order to choose the path and set of beliefs that are right for them. There is no dogma within paganism; just as no-one can lead your life for you, in the same way no-one can force a belief system onto anyone or tell them what spiritual path to follow. Ultimately, paganism cannot be taught; it has to be experienced, each in our own individual way.
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..... I understand that many enjoy the ritual side of it and the religion I'm pretty ignorant of things that have rules I've found
).. last time she was sick was the day we moved into this house ha! she must be purging
you can 'box me' anytime you like sunshine!!!
