Witchraft/Wicca?

Question

Hello, I would like to begin to pratice Wicca or Witchcraft. Where do I begin? Or who do I go to?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

10- There shall not be found among you any one who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, any one who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer,
11- or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12- For whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD; and because of these abominable practices the LORD your God is driving them out before you.
13- You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. (Deut.18:9-13).

Answer 2

www.azuregreen.com has many of these titles.

I'd suggest:
Pagans and the Law by Dana Eilers

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft - Ronald Hutton

Witchcraft Today - Gerald B. Gardner.

Witchdom of the True - Edred Thorsson

Wicca: the Old Religion in the New Milennium - Vivianne Crowley

Advanced Wiccan Spirituality - Kevin Saunders

The Elements of Ritual: Air, Fire, Water & Earth in the Wiccan Circle - Deborah Lipp

Witch Crafting: A Spiritual Guide to Making Magic - by Phyllis W. Curott

Positive Magic - Marion Weinstein

The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Tradition - Dianne Sylvan

Book of Shadows - Phyllis Curott

The Second Circle - Venecia Rauls

The Heart of Wicca: Wise Words from a Crone on the Path - Ellen Cannon Reed

Evolutionary Witchcraft - T. Thorn Coyle

The Wiccan Path: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner - Rae Beth

21st Century Wicca - Jennifer Hunter

Witchcraft: A Concise Guide - Isaac Bonewits

Way of Four - Deborah Lipp

Answer 3

Hello
Wicca is a subset of Witchcraft, which is a subset of Paganism.
Within each group there are a variety of directions you can go.
I would say your best bet is to first check out what Paganism is, make sure you are comfortable with the concept. After that look at what Witchcraft is, make sure you want to go that way. If you are still sure this is what you want look into Wicca.

I should tell you, I'm old school, Wicca as it was developed was meant to be an initiatory Pagan clergy system, meaning you had to be brought into it by someone who already was a priest or priestess, as such it is not a path that can be had from a book or a website.

From what I have managed to ascertain a goodly number of the folks who say they are wiccan are witches. I guess people think wiccan sounds cooler than witch or something. A lot of solitary "wiccans" will quote Scott Cunningham for their justification that you don't need to be initiated, Scott had at least four different initiations.

Answer 4

I have read some of the answers posted here. No matter what choice you have made just think of this; Religion of any kind is personal. You know what you feel in your heart. Do not let anyone change your choice.

If you are interested in Wicca or Witchcraft, you may want to look in Yahoo Groups. Myself and a couple of friends have groups that deal with all types of Pagan/Alternative religious paths. This way before you buy anything, you can see what feels comfortable to you. Also you may get some good ideas as what to start with and talk to others in various stages of their paths.

May the powers that be help you on your journey.

Witchy Wishes, BlkCatBruja

Answer 5

Do you research.
Dont practice or dedicate yourself to anything until you have a full understanding of it.

Wicca for example, did you know it was created in the 1950's by a man called Gerald Gardner? Did you know about the sex rites, and ways to achieve higher degrees in covens?
Witchcraft... well, that is such a large area. I suggest reading from some solid sources, none of this hippie crap pumped out by authors like "Scott Cunningham or Phyllus Currott".

Here's a few of links, have a read of a few of the documents, you will have a better understanding of Witchcraft, Magick and so forth, then most wiccans do after like 2 years of study and practice.

http://www.hermetics.org/ebooks.html
http://www.sacred-texts.com/
http://www.ebooks4free.net/Esoteric.htm

Oh... and you will find Wicca and Witchcraft documents in there, like the Gardnerian Book of Shadows and the Alexandrian.

Answer 6

First, ask yourself what drew you to this path. Do you feel drawn to nature? Do you feel divinity is in you and in everything else here on this Earth plane, not looming angrily in the sky? Do you feel harming others is not a good thing, and that in this world what you do affects others with effects reverberating on you? If you answered yes, then you are close to learning what being Pagan is. If you are wiccan, you are pagan. If you are a witch, you are pagan. Sometimes wiccans can be witches. But not all witches are wiccans. There is a difference. I think personally, wicca is more about sprituality and faith while witchcraft seems to be a practical way to live one's daily life. It's not about "Charmed" or Harry Potter or instant gratification from ancient spells. Witchcraft is about focusing your inner energy, and energy you draw upon from Mother Earth, and Mother Moon to create positive change in your own life. This being said, if these ancient-born ideals are floating your boat, then I suggest you start with LIVING Wicca or Witchcraft. Remember, if you were raised Christian or Jewish, etc, you were integrated with faith at every holiday, on every sunday or wednesday or friday. It is the same with Wicca and/or Witchcraft. Get one good book that explains the eight witch's holidays, and make an effort to live them that year...buy another book about gods and goddesses (I especially like Patricia Telesco's 365 book, an easy goddess a day read). These things, the divinity and the holy days are the foundation of a witch's faith. Spellwork and magic come after you know how to live your everyday life as a witch. When you love that, then start work on a Book of Shadows, basically a journal that you use to keep track of herbal, gemstone, color etc correspondences for spellwork and anything else related to the extraneous PRACTICE of being a witch. Bless your food. Bless everyone else. Love all people and animals. Give good wishes to yourself and everyone you know and don't know. Be tolerant of other religions, people and other belief systems and ways of life. Make note of good things from other religions--such as prayer. It is a positive form of energy work, much like a spell. Being a witch is not like on TV. It is a faith and a way of life. Make sure you are serious about it before you venture. Then step carefully and take your time.

Answer 7

A local book store might have some beginners books. Hasting's stores have a new age section that in my home town is ok. You can also find some info by googling and eBay has some books. If you want to practice with a group you might try a local new age or hippie store if there is one close. The owners of such stores might be able to put you in touch with the right people. I suggest doing a lot of research before settling into a spiritual path. I found many Wicca items to my liking but alas some did not fit in with my particular beliefs. REMEMBER DO UNTO OTHERS ONLY WHAT YOU WANT DONE UNTO YOU.

Answer 8

firstly decided what you want out of this, witchcraft can be in a bloodline(family inherited)real witches or it can be taught.wicca is a recognised religion since the 1970's, in that certain rules are followed, spells and rituals are performed in that it is neutural not black or white as in witchcraft.people involved in wicca practice the wiccan rede wich has one main rule "do as though wilst harm ye none" which means do what you like but harm no one, there are 13 rules to the witches creed. And the fundemental rule never betray a coven(group of witches) or you can be a sole practitioner(just yourself)kitchen witch,black witch, white witch etc but if you are doing it for revenge on someone be prepared to get back what you give out, mainly 3 times 3, it can be 9 times 9.

Answer 9

First off, PLEASE do not enter into this way of life lightly. Yes this is a way of life. I am a mom and our whole family is pagan. We (not always) practice together, but we first and foremost respect each others views and opinions. We have a large collection of books that we send thru the family, I myself prefer Scott Cunninghams books, not because he states that you do not need to belong to a coven. My own personal belief is that YOU do not need to belong to a coven. As most of the others who have responded have suggested is also true with myself, READ as much as possible. I also do not advise any books by Silver Ravenwolf (simply as I read 1 and thought it was geared more for teenagers) But my teenagers do not like her books either. Barnes and Nobles has a very good collection of "new age", "metaphysical", or what ever else name they can go by. But the section in B/N is called the "New Age" section. Witchvox.com is also a good start for information. and some groups here on yahoo has a lot of useful information to share. Hope this helps.
Blessed Be,
Solace

Answer 10

Start by studying. You can buy books like Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practicioner by Scott Cunningham and Wicca for Life: The Way of the Craft from Birth to Summerland. Those are some great books to start with.

Also, you can do some studying online. http://www.witchschool.com/

Also, you can check out my Youtube page which has loads of videos on Wicca and Sabbats and such.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=BlueFireWitch

Answer 11

Search www.witchvox.com and look for Witches in your area. Go to a local Metaphysical or New Age shop and ask questions of the owner.

Ask yourself this: Will you be a Wiccan or just a Witch? Find out the difference and how you can be both.

Are a Pagan? Do you want to be. You don't have to be to be a Witch... but you do to be a Wiccan!

It is a little confusing at first, but ask anyone you can... and READ as many books on the topic you can.

Try to stay away from most things Llewellen has published in the last five years or so... Most of it is crap.

Authors to look for: Scott Cunningham, Raymond Buckland, Laurie Cabot, Carlos Castaneda to name a few...