Witchcraft for Beginners and the Curious

Witchcraft: Witchcraft 101 for beginners and the curious: the basics, concepts of deity, ethics, symbols and more non-fluffy bunny information.

The term "Witchcraft" has a wide variety of definitions - ReligiousTolerance.org lists no less than seventeen. It is extremely important to understand that these various meanings - ranging from the practices of Wiccans, to the accusations of the witch-hunts to the fictional characters in Harry Potter - are all separate entities that have unfortunately fallen under the same word. Even among practicing Pagan Witches beliefs vary considerably, and the descriptions here must be understood to be mere generalities.

Witchcraft is the practice of low or folk magic. Energy is generally considered to originate in a deity, the earth, objects, or self. Many forms of witchcraft are religious in nature, with the existence of deity firmly intertwined with magical practice.

Witchcraft is neither good nor evil, but a tool to be employed by the individual wielder. Most Witches have some form of moral code, at the very least a sense of responsibility for all undertaken actions.

Ten years ago the terms Wicca and Witchcraft were used interchangeably. That, however, is changing, mostly on the part of those who wish to be only Witches, but not Wiccans. Some of them simply find Wicca to cerebral - gods, shods, show me some magic! But many others have become embarrassed by the Fluffy Bunnies they associate with Wicca. One Witch explained to me that the only difference between her and a Wiccan was that she did not believe in the Wiccan Rede - namely, she believed that there shouldn't be a rule against self-defense, even if she harmed her attacker in the process. (read up on the Wiccan Rede and see why this argument isn't actually applicable.)

The essential element of Witchcraft is the belief and practice of magic. Witches may or many not be religious. There can even be such a thing as a Christian Witch - one who believes in a single omnipotent God but who can still draw energy from the earth (which he may believe is an extension of God) and does not believe that energy is evil. And yes, there are Satanic Witches as well, and they have as much right to the word as the next person.

A subset of Witches is the Hereditary Witch. Theoretically, this practitioner of magic has had his knowledge passed down to him through many generations of his family. I have serious doubts that such people actually exist. If they do, they certainly aren't anywhere near as numerous as they claim. Ten years ago these people were all claiming to be Hereditary Wiccans, secretly keeping the old pagan religions alive through centuries of persecution. Since the myth of the Burning Times is no longer accepted as credible, the pagan overtones have been muted and the focus has shifted toward magical practice.