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| Traditional Witchcraft Witchcraft is neither good nor bad, but you can use it both ways. Traditional witches work with the surrounding energy, or spirits, to bring forth a desired change in ours, and the lives of others. We do not typically see a distinction between "white" magic or "black" magic, and it is up to the witch to decide whether she will work with all energy, or only one side. Many of us do not believe in a law of three, meaning we do not believe whatever type of energy we send out (i.e. negative) will return to us threefold negatively. Therefore many of us do not believe in the Eastern belief of Karma, or the Wiccan rede of And you harm none, do as you wish. Traditional Witchcraft is not a religion, it is a way of life. To some of us, religion does not play a role in our crafting, but to others is plays a major role. You will however meet many pagan witches. Some will believe in a dual God/Goddess, multiple Gods/Goddesses, a single God/Goddess or even some agnostic witches (do not believe nor disbelieve in deity). Then you will meet the atheist witches like myself, who do not believe in any deity, and if you are really lucky, you may even meet witches who consider themselves to be Christians. Trad witchcraft is a contemporary form of witchcraft inspired by folk magic and historical accounts of witchcraft through the ages. There are many paths in traditional witchcraft, and each one is unique to the witch wandering it. Some of us follow a very distinct path that rarely strays, while the rest of us wander a path that changes direction constantly as we continue on in our life. There are witches who have been raised in a family tradition which is passed down from one generation to the next, there are witches like myself who came to traditional witchcraft through Wicca, and others who stumble upon traditional witchcraft first and have yet to stray. Many practitioners believe in animism which is the belief that all things in nature have a soul or divine spirit within them. Many call upon spirits or ancestors to aid them when they need guidance, in spell work and for other reasons. I say many because I am a witch who does not believe in animism, nor do I call upon a spirit-realm. But I am still a witch, I just have my own way of doing it. It is okay to be yourself and believe in what you feel is right. Almost every trad witch you will meet will honor and respect your personal beliefs if you do so to his. Trads will never try to force their beliefs down your throat the way the Christians do. When you take the step to living as a witch, you will be empowered to stand up for yourself and your beliefs, you will be more in-tune with your desires and wants out of this life, and you will be free to express yourself openly regardless of what others may think of you. This is the core of witchcraft for me and many others; being who you truly are inside. |
| What About Wicca? Unless you have been living in a bubble, you have probably at one point come across the religion known as Wicca. If you read the introduction on the main page, you would have noticed I said this is not a place for practitioners of Wicca. Why? Because Wicca is a new concept invented by a man named Gerald Gardner back in the 1950's. Wicca is a fertility based religion that just so happens to incorporate witchcraft in its practices. It may look like plain old witchcraft to outsiders, but there are big differences. Firstly, Wicca is a religion. It is NOT witchcraft. Traditional witchcraft is a lifestyle and practice. Wiccans MUST believe in God(s) and Goddess(es). Traditional witches can believe in God, Goddess, God and Goddess, multiple Gods, multiple Goddesses, multiple Gods and Goddesses, be agnostic or like me, atheist. You will find trads from all kinds of religious faiths, and trad without any religious faith. To traditional witches, religion is a personal belief and does NOT affect our witchcraft unless we want it to. Wiccans are also taught to follow the Wiccan Rede which tells them to harm none, while trads do not mind hexing the shit out of idiots who cross them. Wiccans believe that anything they put out into the universe will return to them threefold, so they only perform "good" magic. Us trads do not believe in this threefold thing so we have no problem performing "good", "bad" or "in-between" magic. Wicca denounces the use of any crafting that may be seen as "black" magic, willing it's practitioners to only do good. This love and light mentality is not typically shared by trads. Wiccans also use ceremonial crafting when casting spells. For many Wiccans it can take up to 30 minutes just to cast a circle to begin the actual spell! Trads do not feel the need for such elaborate display when we cast a spell. Wicca is also hierarchical. They believe that if you read enough books you can become High Priestess or High Priest of a coven. Many Wiccans also believe you must wait a year and a day to call yourself a "Wiccan" or "witch", and in that time must read and study your little heart out. Trads are typically solitary practitioners, and so long as you believe you are a witch; you're a witch. When Wiccans go about performing magic, they believe one must cast a circle to create a sacred space for their work. Traditional witches view the entire earth as sacred, and therefore will only cast a circle (we call it a compass) for protection or any other reason the witch feels it is needed for. Wicca also wishes its practitioners to run around naked (or skyclad) during rituals, but for the more modest Wiccans they can wear ritual garb like robes. Trads do not need to dress up...unless we want to. I personally do not care for looking like Maleficent or Frodo Baggins. The last difference I want to touch upon is the fertility aspect of Wicca. When you read any Wiccan book they always mention fertility in some way. Whether it is how their God impregnates their Goddess at Beltane, how the Earth is a mother or even how sex can be a powerful magical tool. But the biggest issue I have with Wicca is it is always between a man and a woman. Even though Wiccans claim that there is plenty of room for homosexuals in Wicca, we are made to feel like outsiders pretty quickly. And those who are not comfortable with sex at all are often frowned upon by the "open-minded" Wiccans. In traditional witchcraft, sex being apart of the craft is up to the witch and his/her partner(s). So you are saying Wicca is bad? Nope. Wicca in it's own right is a perfectly acceptable religion and way of life if that is the path you choose to go down. But you make Wiccan sound inferior to Trad witchcraft! Well duh, I don't practice Wicca! I mean, I don't practice Wicca any more. I used to, and I left it after 5 years because to me the beliefs and practices ARE inferior. But I don't believe Wicca practitioners are beneath me. I'm more apt to hang out with a Wiccan over a Christian or a Jew just because we do share some of the same beliefs. It isn't up to me how YOU feel about a certain religion, practice or belief. Don't be a sheep; make your own decisions and stand by them. |
| Fluffy Bunnies You mean the cute widdle bunnies with wiggly noses and cotton ball tails? No not those kinds of bunnies! Fluffy Bunny is a term many trads use when referring to the Wiccans who blow pink bubbles from their wands, vomit goodness and rainbows, and have sunlight shining out their asses. These Wiccans really aren't even Wiccan; they many go through the motions, but they typically do not do the actual research into Wicca and all its teachings. They do not get their facts straight and are really only in it for the glamor Wicca has been drumming up these days. So you mean not all Wiccans are Fluffy Bunnies? Fuck no! There are plenty of well educated Wiccans who I admire and respect. Wicca is a religion, and everyone is free to have their religion or lack thereof. Many, many, MANY Wiccans are actually well-rounded people who DO get their facts straight. They understand and respect the other sides of witchcraft, and they do not go around with a chip on their shoulder acting like their shit smells rosier than the next witch's. How do you know if you are dealing with a Fluffy Bunny? Oh. You will know. They are the "Wiccans" who still believe Wicca is a revived old time religion. Its not. Wicca is a MODERN take on the old religions and witchcraft practices from years ago. Fluffy Bunnies will argue this with you until they fart out a unicorn. They are also the "Wiccans" who believe goodness, love and light is the ONLY magic that should be practiced. They will usually gasp in horror when you reveal to them that you have no issue hexing someone. Fluffy Bunnies are also those "Wiccans" who refuse to think, learn and believe they could ever be wrong. They usually find one author or book on Wicca and follow the teachings to a "T", following it like the Christians do the bible. Fluffy bunnies will often lash out at anyone who tries to "persecute" them by trying to get them to think outside their neat little box of delusions. They can also be those "Insta-Witches" who decide they are witches one day because it sounds cool to them. These fluffy bunnies are also usually in Wicca just for the shock value, and will wear all black and six pentacles just so you know they are Wiccan. They may also call themselves "Lord" and "Lady". They really get upset when you remind them that Gardner made Wicca up. They'll scream, cry and tear their eyeballs out if you so much as utter the words, "Wicca is not the Old Religion". There has been quite a bit of outcry from Wiccans (and even non-Wiccans) about the term "fluffy bunny" and how derogatory it is. Some even claim we feel all newcomers to Wicca are fluffy bunnies. Shit no. I have met plenty of fluffy Wiccans who had been into Wicca for years. Usually when Trads (or anyone else) refers to someone as a Fluffy Bunny, they are calling them that because they are CHOOSING to stay ignorant. Just because someone is new to Wicca doesn't make them a Fluffy Bunny automatically, and to say "well everyone is technically a Fluffy Bunny when they first start on this path" is a total crock. You can begin learning about something new without acting like a complete douche. And that is basically it; Fluffy Bunnies are the douche bags of Wicca (and other Pagan beliefs) who do not educate themselves on the practice/craft/religion they are actually following. |
| Oh, Oh, Oh Its Magic! Er...Magick! Magik? Majik? WTF?! Dude...stop with the butchering of the word magic already. Its MAGIC. M-A-G-I-C! Spelling it any other way just to be "different" is being a douche. But we spell it different so people know it's not magic you find in shows in Vegas! In this day and age, no one needs to explain the difference between illusions and spellcraft. People aren't going to mistake you for Harry Houdini when you say you practice magic. We also live in the 21st century, so leave the Olde English spelling for the Renaissance Faire and Theatre geeks. And this is coming from someone who worked for the local Renaissance Faire and still supports it yearly. |
