Wiccans... Witches etc?

Question

given the answers to my question about why Christians oppose Witchcraft and think it to be evil...
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhOr_wDU63Fz4qAddTb7sZ0gBgx.?qid=20070902182113AAkYYUV

is there anything in there that you would like to correct ?
any misinformation , misunderstandings etc
maybe we can all learn something

Gwhiz , that was already covered in the previous question
maybe you would like to answer that one with your thoughts

meister
I dont switch beliefs
I am a Spiritualist who is open and tries to be respectful to all
I try to help others learn about each other
and try to help clear up any misinformation out there
even when it is not my own beliefs

Answer 1

We do not sacrifice animals, or anything for that matter, and we do not hurt people
Some of us, (I think most of us) follow the rede
These Eight words the Rede fulfill:

"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
I shave my legs and wear underwear......I harm no one by talking to my Lady and Lord, I harm no one by loving and raising my child as I see fit and I harm no one by practicing at night. We are peaceful, loving adn do not go around trying to convert people!

Answer 2

It appears that a lot of people think you should read an ill written fantasy (aka The Bible). I am not sure if you are looking for some good reads or books that address Wicca &/or witchcraft. If you want reality that is not specifically Wiccan, I recommend anything by Scott Cunningham and a book by Raynmond Buckland called "Scottish Wtichcraft, History and Magick of the Picts". But please! avoid Silver Ravenwolf unless you want to read some fairly interesting reading, but remember not to take anything she says. I think she writes more for the disenchanted teens, and for some reason they hang on every word and treat it as the truth.. Personally Ithink she is the goddess of Fluffy Bunnies. If you ar looking for a good fictional book involving witches, Wiccans etc I am afraid I can't help you, BB )O(

Answer 3

(I'm an eclectic pagan, and remember the following is only IMHO)

Wiccans and most Witches, can all be grouped as pagan. Modern Heathens slightly different, but have many beliefs in common.
Magicians might be Pagan, Heathen or even Christian. Their focus, is mainly on the study/practice of the occult, rather than religion.

I believe that sacrifice is allowed, but only where you own that to be sacrificed. In modern pagan theology you can't own another life (animal, or human), and as it's daft to throw back gifts that Deity give us, it would be wrong to take your own life, but you can give surplus time and effort.

There may be an ethical way to do blood sacrifice, that is to donate the blood to medical practitioners, for the use of those in need. I'm sure Deity have little direct use for it, and I sure appreciate the attempt to help others.

Not all pagans are pacifists, While causing Harm isn't PC, nor should be bragged about, it is allowed in some pagan traditions.The use of the Neiding Pole in Scandinavia, and the pointing of Kangaroo bones in native Australian systems, are examples of pagan ritual intended to cause harm to others. My take on it is if someone has gone out their way to cause you, or something important to you, grief then you are entitled to fight back.. If you think someone has caused you harm, but you're not sure ask Deity if they can help target them. Then nobody who's an Innocent bystander should get thumped.

Like many pagan's I see life as interweaving, interconnected paths. Sometimes there's is no turnings for a while, this is due to our past actions, but eventually turnings will appear. It's up to the individual which direction they take.

I feel that to be good means helping and assisting others along the way, maybe explaining what I think is beyond the next corner, and maybe pointing out a shortcut they've not seen. If they don't want any help then I'll tried and don't need to force my help upon them. I try to remember that ignoring help sometimes forces us to make good progress, and ignoring advice is something I catch myself doing from time to time. However I find the best progress is made when there's someone to chat with on the way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagan

Answer 4

The first thing that LEAPS to mind is this :

We DO NOT WORSIP "THE DEVIL". Augh! This misconception is SO frustrating, not to mention ign - well, I don't wanna use the ' i ' word - just horribly, horribly misinformed !

The Craft is a Pagan philosophy, predating Christianity. Pan (the sweet lil' feller with the goat legs, playing a sryinx) was the Woodland Father. As Christianity gained power, it was decided to take Pagan god/ess forms and dement them somehow. Ergo, Pan became 'satan'. Then it got all confused with . . .

The Lord's most beloved angel, Lucifer (which means "light-bringer") and everyone was off and running. SATAN is a Christian invention - there IS NO SATAN in The Craft!

Pagan holiday like Samhain (All Hallows Eve) and Saturnalia (Christmas) were absorbed by the Church and Christianized - because they knew they could not stamp out the so-called "Pagans".

Even Satanists are practicing an inside-out version of Christianity. Most of their rituals are symbolic mockeries of Christian ritual . Satanism is more Christian influenced than Pagan.

Whew! Thanks for the rant - I feel better now :) *peaceloveandunderstanding*Sj

Answer 5

From some experiences I say some who do this Witchcraft are evil people.
When it's done to harm someone .....it's plain old evil.

And you don't have to be a christian to know evil when you see it. I am not saying that all Witchcraft witches are evil, just the ones whom like to put a spell over you to harm someone.

Some of my family members were burned at the stake in the pass, accuse of being Witches because of their abilities to see and communicate with the dead and other things. But back in them days they burned everything they didn't understand.

Like I said there's good and evil in all religions and nonreligious, it's basically an individual within these groups.

Answer 6

pangel, two monster questions there. in 2 questions you have shown the sheer scale of misconceptions christians have about pagans/wiccans/witches. and misconceptions/ignorance is just what they are. having been brought up in a christian family i feel i can say this is an indisputable fact. christians do NOT even look at other beliefs to see for themselves what is fact or what is nothing more than fiction. in all honesty, it would take at least one full book to correct these misunderstandings, and even then you would have the problem of getting christians to actually read the book, hten the problem of getting them to believe what was written in it. it would be the work of satan to cause confusion, and loss of faith. christian teachings don't work for me, but i can except they work for them. the next question would be why it doesn't work from the other direction.

Answer 7

LOL Pangel, it seems that the Bigots have followed us here too. Well, I'll adress them individualy.

Belladonna - Just exactly HOW do YOU know the WILL of the Divine? Because you read it in your Bible? Ha ha ha, a book that was written long after your Jesus died, by only TWO people who were around when he WAS alive but years after the fact. A book that has undergone so many rewrites, ommissions, changes, additions and censorshi8p that it isn't even CLOSE to being what it started off to be.

gwhiz - We DO honor God, Goddess too. Just not YOUR God. What makes you think that makes a single bit of difference?

Fitz - "one true God"? Fro OUR perspective YOUR God is the FALSE God, ours is the TRUE God and TRUE Godess. This makes YOU in OUR eyes the INFIDELS and Apostates. If we HAD a Hell, YOU would be going there for your blasphemies and turning away from the God and Godess of your ancestors.

See? This is exactly what YOU do to US, everytime you make an attack on us for OUR beliefs. YOU condemn us to eternal punishment. Well that concept is just as easily turned around on YOU. Repent and return to the Gods of your forefathers or suffer the consequences.

Kinda stings, doesn't it?

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 8

Honestly, P.. it won't do us any good.. how many times have we asked and answered this question only to have the same old tripe thrown up at us again?

The one I will clear up is an answer you received on that previous question.. anyone.. and I do mean ANYONE who says that they were once involved in witchcraft in which they had to perform ritualistic sacrifice or cast spells that caused harm (other than defensive or protective spells) is full of shite.. they were NEVER and I mean NEVER in the Craft.. these are the people who love to garner sympathy and a perverted kind of respect within Christianity as "one who's been there".. and it's all b.s.
I know hundreds, if not thousands of witches.. and not one of them has ever harmed another living creature in order to appease a god.. that is strictly a judeo-christian concept.. their god requires a blood sacrifice, either of an animal or a human being to be appeased.. our gods do not.
I'm sick to death of these christians who try to portray us as evil simply because it makes them feel better about themselves.

Answer 9

Yeesh some of those answers scare me...

Well here goes: one person said that most ritual require sacrifice/abuse/etc. This simply isn't true. And most people use magic for good, not evil. Then someone else said that we worship the created not the creator... which makes me want to laugh because that's the biggest lie I've ever heard. And it's not unnatural like some other guy said. I also don't "crumble" under the power of prayer, either.

Answer 10

hoooo boy

there is something in the Christian Bible that forbids mediums, sorcery, etc. I am too tired to look it up, but it is there.

I think we are mising the point here, the elephant in the living room, so to speak. basically, the Wiccan thing is very fashionable right now, gives lots of bang for the buck as a shocker to parents and family. Every generation has to form its own unique rebellion, and Wiccan, witchcraft, whatever is wildly effective in achieving this goal. (my generation did heavy-metal music and unspeakable hairstyles, among other things...) I'm sure you will feel it condescending for me to say that this is just a phase that a lot of young people are going through, but, uh, it really is. As a Christian I am not alarmed by it.

Answer 11

You asked, "what you know about witchcraft that makes it evil? do you know what they do, what they use how they work" ... and so very few of the replies paid any attention to those very basic aspects of your question -- "what they do, what they use, how they work."

I'm not Wiccan, but I would so much like to "correct" an approach to answering a request to focus on practical information with dogmatic, non-practical, parrot-like bombast.

It has always been my experience that when we stay closest to the practical, how-it-works aspects of valued human practices that we then are in a position to best appreciate why of course persons do indeed value them.

(I get the same exasperation from many atheists who pay not a whit of attention to spiritual technique and practical realizations, but without any direct investigation dismiss out of hand anything in any way related to human religiousness.)

(I'll try and follow Shae J's example and feel better now.)
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