Why do people claim to be witches? Do they really think that stuff is real?

Question

and for those who do believe in magic, please cast a spell for world peace!

Answer 1

Witchcraft can broadly be distinguished from religion in that it involves a belief that nature, or the gods, can be controlled by the human spirit, whereas religion involves acceptance of human powerlessness before the divine.

Sometimes witchcraft is used to refer, broadly, to the practice of indigenous magick, and has a connotation similar to shamanism. Depending on the values of the community, witchcraft in this sense may be regarded with varying degrees of respect or suspicion, or with ambivalence, being neither intrinsically good nor evil.

According to some religious doctrines, all forms of magic are labeled witchcraft, and are either proscribed or treated as superstitious. Such religions consider their own ritual practices to be not at all magical, but rather simply variations of prayer.

Magick, in the broadest sense, is any act designed to cause intentional change. Magick is not capable of producing "miracles" or violating the physical laws of the universe (e.g., it cannot cause a solar eclipse), although "it is theoretically possible to cause in any object any change of which that object is capable by nature". Crowley defined magick as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will (your thoughts)."

I would like to emphasize the SCIENCE. Quantum theory today is taking more and more steps to prove (or at least begin to prove) what witches, wise men and women, mystics, and shamans have known for centuries.

For example a man named Masuro Emoto did experiment on water, (usually purified, or natural spring water) and put the water in bottles. He did various things with the water, some he taped words on, the words facing inside the bottle. They said things like 'I Love You', 'Satan', 'I hate you, I'm going to kill you', 'Thank You'. Others still he gave to Buddhist monks to bless or pray over. Once these things were done he put a sample of each bottle into petri dishes and froze them. They then observe the water as it froze and crystallized. They came to find out that that the thoughts and words shown to the water samples effected the dcrystallization patterns of the water -- those that were given positive, life-affirming messages crystallized into beautiful snowflake-like crystals, while those that were shown negative thoughts or messages were amorphous, and had no shape or symmetry. (See link below for sample of photos:)

http://www.life-enthusiast.com/twilight/research_emoto.htm

So, if you consider that the human body is 90% water (or less depending on your age) imagine how JUST YOUR THOUGHTS affect the human body... just your thoughts! This is how magick works. There is nothing special or supernatural about it. It is simply a fact of life that the actions we take and the thoughts we think affect everything and everyone around us. THAT is how magick works.

Hope that helps!

Blessings and Light!

~RW

For example,

Answer 2

I've seen this type of question before, usually coming from a "devout Christian". They usually get a bit flustered when you turn the question and ask if they believe that A. God is all powerful....B. God answers sincere prayers....C. Anything is possible with prayer. Usually the answer to all three is "Yes!" To which I ask, as you did, why doesn't just one person then sincerely pray for world peace?

Yes. Magic is real. I really couldn't care less about those who insist it isn't or that believers in magic are self-deluded. I've seen it work on many occasions. But, like most things, there are rules governing it. The larger the intended goal, the less likely it is to work. Like using duct tape to stop a leak. It will work. But the larger the leak the more duct tape is required. If the leak is huge...say like a large crack in the Hoover dam...you could still use tape, but the amount of tape and the effort required to apply it would make the whole endeavor very impractical.

As a side note....to some of the other answerers....why do you always jump in with answers about Wicca when someone asks about witches? She never once asked about Wicca or any religion at all....she asked about witches. The two are not always synonymous. Answering with responses like "The Wicca religion is real!" is completely off topic to what she was asking!

Answer 3

"Witch" is something of a catch-all term for anyone (usually female) who follow and practice such faiths as Wicca and other similar paths. If I remember this quote correctly: "Some Wiccans call themselves witches but not all witches are Wiccans." As I said, it's a catch-all term.

As for belief...well, that would depend, wouldn't it? Many do believe strongly in their faith, and there is truly nothing wrong with that at all. Any faith that makes people want to do something good for other people and for the world in general must be teaching the right things to those who follow it.

Regarding the spell for world peace... Every single sincere request to the Divinity for world peace - whether it be a prayer, a spell, or whatever else people of various faiths usually do to get their messages to the Divinity - accumulates and works in concert with all the others. However, we too must learn to practice peace in ourselves, because world peace does not simply happen: it is brought about by those who want it to happen.

Answer 4

What stuff do you mean. The teachings of Wicca are not christian Halloween tales. It uses what is to effect the world and beyond. It recognizes the unity of life and life in much that is thought to be inanimate.There is the recognition of the free will of each and the heavy burden you would bear if you wished to remove that free will to ensue peace. Remember the Law of Threes and the fact that the most benign act can cause great pain and destruction as it's effects ripple through the universe
Blessed be

Answer 5

I think that some people who claim to be witches are not serious - some are just 'b-s' artists. As well some are just fashion victims or poseurs, responding to Hollywood's glamorized idea of a witch - in a vain attempt to be cool or popular by association or perhaps as a fan. Tragically some few are perhaps delusional individuals who are suffering from mental illnesses.

However, most witches are serious and self identify as witch for pretty valid reasons. Some people have decided to reclaim the word "witch" because they feel it is an archetypal image of (primarily feminine) empowerment in a society that rejects and dis-empowers them, either because of their sex, or their sexuality or their spiritual beliefs or simply because they do not generally 'fit in'.

Some call themselves witches because they are part of a culture and religion.

In some ways I dislike the term 'witch' although in my family there have been one or two in every generation who were called witches for hundreds of years. And yes I really do practice magic - and it works as far as I'm concerned - so I guess I "fit the profile" but I prefer to think of myself as just unconventional. I'm not one of the ones who views witchcraft as identical to religion - for me it is more like science but even among witches my view is not that common. What I find surprising is how many people feel witchcraft is simply about belief, I feel it's much more like playing music, no matter how much you 'believe', if you don't practise and know what you're doing - it's just fantasy.

As for whether or not witchcraft is real - the litmus test is this - do we feel that living as a witch makes our life better, richer or more fulfilled? To that I have to answer - If it didn't work we wouldn't bother.

Answer 6

Yes we do believe in it.
It is a Religion that predates all other religions and if you check into the past history of other religions you would most likely find that they stared out as some type of nature worshiping religion also.
The only obvious changes are country of origin and the name of the Deities used.
Allot of people are converting because they feel that the major religions are no longer working the way they are supposed to. And are returning to a simpler more understandable religion.

Answer 7

People I know mislabel me as a witch. I am an African Hoodoo Root Worker, Native American Practitioner and a Yoruba Practitioner. These practices pre date the religion of the whites. It has served me well as it had my ancestors. Nature spiritual practices are real and magic is not a mere snap of the fingers as you probably assume. When people pray in their churches, this is a form of magic. Magic is merely the manipulation of energy as is praying. Many practices of the church are merely ripped off from Pagans, but dont tell the Christians that.

Answer 8

The proof that it is real is right outside your door. As for the spells for peace, I'm fairly sure this happens on a daily basis all over the world.

Answer 9

When my cousin was 7 years old a woman came up to my aunt and told her she needed to tell my cousin the story of the witches and told her she had special powers, Well my aunt thought maybe the woman was "CRAZY" ? That didn't happen , but as my cousin got older she did have special healing powers, my mother had 32 operations on her calf, and leg because of skin cancer and when my cousin would rub my moms leg, the cancer would go in remission. The doctors gave her 1 yr. to live and she lived 11 years, before it went to her liver. I'm a firm beliver in witches! Would be cool to be one.

Answer 10

Yes the people who claim to be witches, do really believe they are witches and practice witchcraft in their life. It is a valid spiritual belief like any other spiritual practice.

And like any other spiritual practice, there is no real 'proof' for it, as it is beyond the 5 senses of the physical. That is why faith is needed for any spiritual belief.