Answering Witchy Questions

Do Witches believe in God? Witches believe in both a Goddess and a God. Many view these as two parts of the Divine – a masculine and feminine aspect. They may take their Gods and Goddesses from different pantheons, such as Greek, Roman, Norse, or Celtic. These "different" deities are viewed as different faces of the Divine. Witches do not believe in, much less worship, the Christian devil.

What kind of ethics or morals do they adhere to? You’ll find that Witches have two basic rules most everyone agrees on. The first one is known as the Rede, "An it harm none, do as thou will". What this boils down to is "Do onto others as you’d have them do onto you", or do what you want, as long as you don’t hurt anyone, including yourself. The second rule is Karma, also known as the Three-Fold Law. Whatever you do, good or bad, will come back to you three-fold.

Do Witches pray? Yes, yes, and again YES! Witches do pray! We don’t have the same set prayers you’ll find in Christian religions such as the Hail Mary or the Our Father, but we talk to God and Goddess in the same way Christians talk to their God. We ask for help in our daily lives, give thanks, and just say hello.

What about spells or magick? First of all, Witches don’t use spells to turn people into frogs or to make a million dollars suddenly appear in the middle of the kitchen table. Spells are basically a very intense form of prayer – a way of focusing our energy towards a particular goal. For example, someone wishing to draw love or friendship into their life may empower a rose quartz, which is associated with loving energy, to draw love into their life. Its not actually the stone doing the work, it’s the focus of the energy. With the spell also comes work on a mundane level – love isn’t going to come knocking on your front door – you need to be friendly, go out and meet people, and believe in yourself as well. We spell ‘magick" with a "k" to distinguish from the slight of hand tricks from David Copperfield or Harry Houdini. Magick is a focus of energy.

Do Witches have baptisms and weddings, too? A wedding ceremony in Witchcraft is called a Handfasting. The equivalent of a baptism would be a Saining, Naming, or Wiccaning. Witches do have the ability to become legally ordained to perform these ceremonies. A Handfasting spiritually binds two people as long as their love lasts – "Death does not separate, only lack of love". A Saining introduces the child to the Craft and asks the blessings of the Goddess and God for the child, but does not predetermine what spiritual path the child will choose as an adult.

What happens after death? Most Witches believe in reincarnation. This is the belief that after you die, you are born again into a new body. Each soul has a certain number of lessons they must learn while on Earth. After they’ve learned all they need to learn, the will spend eternity with Divinity in a place called the Summerlands, an equivalent to Heaven.
Are there churches dedicated to Witchcraft? Churches for Witchcraft are few and far between, although they do exist. Most Witches practice either alone, as solitaries, or in a coven. A coven is a group of Witches who celebrate and work together, often learning together and teaching new students. Some covens are very public, teaching public classes or holding open events, while others choose to remain in the shadows known only to their members.

Do Witches believe in angels? Some do, and some don’t. Some Witches believe in angels as a totem animal or an unnamed spirit that watches over them. Others believe in the same kind of angels you learned about in Catholic grade school. It’s a personal choice.
Is there a central book, like the Bible, that they follow? No, there’s not. Witchcraft is a very personalized religion. Each Witch has their own views on the Rede, Karma, Deity, and how their rituals are run. Most Witches keep a Book of Shadows, or a book of notes on what they’ve learned or information they use often. Each person’s book will include different information and is generally not lent out to other people. This is the only "real" holy book they have.

What holidays do they celebrate? Witches have eight holidays a year, called Sabbats. They also celebrate the full moon, called an Esbat, each month. The eight holidays are Samhain, Yule, Candlemas, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, and Mabon.