Is calling yourself a witch, a delusion from reading too many fairy tales,or an effort to empower yourself?

Question

I mean seriously, you have no power.what can be gained from pretending you do? If you mean you serve the devil, why not say so?

OK most of you don't worship the devil I get it but am still confused are witches devided into different denominations and what can be gained from faithful service of your belief?

Ngj1225... No I am ashamed of those times like most christians and non christians. but it seems most debates between christians and non christians have a lot of input from wicca and atheist so I am trying to understand what fuel feeds this fire,excuse the pun. others including yourself always puts their 2 cents into every christian debate so why is my question offensive to your kind?

Siar.... you defend wicca and sorce atheist are they connected?

jonjon418...If you think Christians don't respect women or motherhood you need to talk to other Christians. do you think a man would join a woman and become one flesh with something he didn't love and respect?

daughter of Isis...am I to gether you are a pagan or witch if pagan why so defensive and if witch why so defensive can you not openly ask and answer questions on your beliefs?

Nora explora... I am not mocking anyone it is agianst my nature. But know this I fear no power on earth which include witches or the devil. I am trying to understand your thinking, if your a witch. If you are of the devil.You have no power here,

Hedgewitch....I'm not able to judge anyone, you sound more like a naturalist than a witch, using mother earth for cures, you know christians use natures supermarket too.

JackP....You say a person should know something about the question he is asking before asking the question...wow then what is the point of asking.. I noticed you joined answers one month ago yet have asked 115 questions and answered 1534 times.did you already know all those questions?

Coralsnayk...no input or do you just hissssss.

Nursebetty....I'm not sure if you are for or agianst but I don't use meaness and I am sorry you lost someone dear to you but that doesn't mean that if you used witches instead of prayers that there would be any different outcome. some things happen and there is no stoping it, perhaps you will see them agian, that's what is promised in christian belief.

Jessie o....to not express ones self or ask questions is ignorance. one only learns thru association or questions, I am no more guilty than you for you assume I and all christians think alike if that was so there wouldn't be so many variations.in my profile is a link address to free reading of my thoughts for the world to see, for I know what I believe. if what you say is true that I am ignorant then you should have a few laughs.

PS... this has realy been fun and so far I'm still not a frog.

Allen t.....that scripture has been interpreted many different ways by many different bibles, and mostly used as justifacation for killing during the dark ages. don't get me wrong I am a christian, but I don't interpret it as that kind of statment. It doesn't mean kill them, but not suffer for their choices. the proof is the very next verse. whosoever lieith with a beast shall be put to death. if it was meant to kill it would have said so just like the next sentence. Also the bible says to love your neighbors, it doesn't say depending on what they believe. each person has their entire life on this earth to make their name worthy to be in the book of life. it is not up to us.

Answer 1

1. We do believe in self-empowerment and that everyone (not just Wiccans) have innate abilities
2. We do not believe in the devil - that's part of Christianity
3. We are no more delusional than anyone else

Answer 2

Q: Is calling yourself a witch, a delusion from reading too many fairy tales,or an effort to empower yourself?

A: Sometimes, for some people it might be as you describe.

Q: [statement] you have no power.

A: You know nothing of what you speak.

Q: what can be gained from pretending you do?

A: What's gained, or lost, by pretending is a question all human beings should ask. It's a legitimate question. For instance, your pretense of knowing enough to ask a question about something you know nothing about in order to make a statement is merely indulging your bloated ego.

Q: If you mean you serve the devil, why not say so?

A: Those who serve something they believe is the devil are almost never shy about saying so. On the other hand, people such as yourself who strive something that resembles your idea of what a devil is in every way except the label you put on it, never give it that label.

Answer 3

Do you call yourself a Christian to empower yourself? No, there is no devil in the craft and "power" is not interpreted the way outsiders think. Everything in this world is energy and there are things we can do to harness that energy.

Never mind, you don't really want an answer, you just want others to say you are right and talk about the evil you feel witches bring. You might find it interesting though that the term "witch" was first used against women who were midwives and herbalists (they didn't have modern medicine ya know). Men felt threatened by them and labeled them witches and devil worshipers so they could be put to death. I guess you would have loved those times, huh!

Answer 4

ah, i see.
you wish to judge on a topic/lifestyle that you do not know anything about? or are you genuinely curious?
i think its the former, i can feel it in my water. know where that saying comes from? no? look it up and get back to me :D

now then, the fairy tales you have read are gross distortions, many by the Grimm brothers, at a time when most females were burned in an effort by the patriarchal xians to banish any 'old' wisdom or healing abilities that the wise women/witches/healers may have had.

i am not deluded, and a true witch does not seek power over people;
she/he harnesses the energy of Gaia and because we have reverence for the earth, the goddess grants us abilities to alter things when we need to.. we leave that other negative power to religious fundies.

a witch is a person who has innate understanding and curiosity about their environment; some have healing abilities, some grow make and use potions and creams, some meditate....the list is endless.

we do not pretend to have power. we have knowledge. we have the energy of Gaia within us.

and for the last time, witches do not believe in the devil, or god, or jesus etc etc, therefore they CANNOT SERVE THEM. does that make sense to you?
i hope so.

your definition of witch has either come from the bloody bible, or you've hatched some deluded ramblings and decided they're the truth.

good luck to you. i send blessings out into the universe in order that you may gain truer understanding and tolerance for your fellow human beings

blessed be

Answer 5

It really is a shame witnessing such ignorance firsthand....and you've received some good answers (as well as some bad ones)....so I'll try not to repeat *too* much (maybe)
but your first answer is a bit inaccurate to say the least- not all Wiccans are Witches and not all Witches are Wiccan...
I happen to be both Wiccan and a Witch. by religion, practice, etc. Simply as calling yourself Christian doesn't (or shouldn't, at least) "empower" you so much, as just describe to other people a part of you.

You're confused and ignorant at best, and biased at worst- I certainly believe it to be the latter. Witchcraft, in most cases, has little, if not *nothing* to do with fairy tales or dillusions.
we aren't following your devil because we don't believe in your devil- nor the concept of absolute good OR absolute evil. In a lot of cases, you have as much power as you believe yourself to have. Just as your god has power to you because you believe him to be powerful...the difference there, is we Witches typically get tangible results, from said belief.

Also, to many people of many beliefs, YOUR views are delusional and about false self-empowerment; believing that you can sin relatively all you want and be forgiven simply by asking....to believe that you'll get to go to heaven and merely for disagreeing (or *even* just questioning) with you, others will go to hell.....well, the way a lot of you flaunt it- it'd seem safe to maybe assume that you're empowered by that belief.

If you took the time to understand BEFORE making judgements and assumptions, you might have my respect; I'm not sorry to say though, that you surely don't. I, and most Wiccans/Pagans/Witches/etc I've met have NO problem with your religion itself or it's practitioners, until you/they begin to judge and degrade others simply to boost their own ego. I sincerely hope you learn && grow && become more tolerant of other people; as much for your benefit as everyone elses' sake. you'd have my sympathy if you were seeking to understand.

Blessed be.
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*edit*:: as for your response to nora explora, you very well shouldn't fear anything simply because a true Wiccan and/or self-respecting Witch would not wish to harm another, and they wouldn't begin a ritual or spell or anything else if they weren't yet rid of the anger or annoyance w/ said other person.

Answer 6

Seriously prayer hasn't much clout either.
I tried it repeatdly and *nothing*. We still buried her, after about 9 years and thousands of prayers.
Wicca is a religion and spells are their way of praying.
They may or may not work as well as any prayer.
Stop using meaness to make your beliefs "better".
*added note: Spells are energy used to change the outcome in a Wiccan's life...odd sounds like prayer to me. And true Wiccans would not use a spell on another person. So, no I wouldn't have done anything "to" her, so I prayed for her to her God. A simple solution and a harmless one. As a Catholic kid, there is a time at mass that is given to personal prayer and I was taught by Nuns to not waste that time. Know what? Most of it went unheard. Didn't feel much power there.
And to call prayer outside what you believe delusional IS in fact mean spirited.

Answer 7

Like the first answerer said, Witch is a name for someone who practices, for example, Wicca, like Muslim is a name for someone who practices Islam. And you need to get the Devil worship thing out of your head - that's a Christian/Muslim idea. As far as I'm aware, Witches do not believe in the Devil.
As for your question about power - what's the difference between a Witch believing he or she can use spells as a tool and a Christian believing he or she can use prayer as a tool?

Answer 8

The definition of :power" is "the ability to cause or prevent a change."

I have power. Some of it comes from magick, which is defined as "changing physical reality through an act of will."

Some of my power is mundane. I work, so that I earn money, which gives me the power--that is, the ability--to shelter and feed myself and my children.

I neither believe in nor serve "the devil." I honor the world and She who created it. I am a witch because I can do that, and because I can use the energy in the world for my own ends. Just because you can't see the results, doesn't mean they don't happen.

I don't have to "empower myself." I AM powerful, because I choose to be.

Answer 9

Do you feel that your religion gives you "power"? If you're religious at all, I presume that you do, in some sense.

Modern "witchcraft" is really just an alternative religion, usually focusing on the female rather than the male "powers." I'm a guy but it's not hard for me to imagine why a woman might choose to reject the traditional patriarchal religions like Christianity and Islam, and instead go with a tradition that treats her with respect.

Speaking of being delusional from reading too many fairy tales, perhaps we should consider that a majority of Americans believe that the blood of a 2,000-years-dead magical carpenter gets them off the hook with God for their own personal misdeeds.

Answer 10

Ok...I am going to count to ten to calm down and then type...... ok There is no more or less "power" in our religion then in any other. There is no devil. The devil is a Christian demi-god and has no place in ours. Set is the closest thing I have to a devil. Magic is ritualized prayer. It's not Harry Potter. Not all Pagans are witches and not all witches practice magic.
Do not feed into the smear campaign. You bear false witness.