Magic, Witchcraft, Wicca: A Brief Overview

Magic is the practice of influencing energy to achieve a goal or make dreams come true. It can improve your life and help you overcome obstacles on your life path. Take advantage of universal energy to achieve the changes you want. Everyone has the ability within them, but in order to perform powerful magic, you must be in tune with the laws of nature and firmly believe that you will achieve your desired end.

Wicca comes from an old English word that simply means wise. Practicing Wicca or witchcraft (known as the ancient religion and having its roots in paganism) is called the craft of the wise. The old religion was a way of life based on love and respect for nature: plants, animals, stars, the moon and planets were thought to have magical consciousness. People structured their lives around the cycles of the seasons and the monthly phases of the moon, they worshiped various forms of the Goddess, the great mother of the earth and the universe.

Actually witchcraft was primarily a healing tradition thousands of years ago. In the past, people who were herbalists, midwives, counselors, protectors, healers, and guides in their community were highly respected and sought after to help people. This predates Christianity, but when Christianity began, the church actively discouraged such practices, and witch-hunts began between 1542 and 1684.

Witchcraft laws were repealed in 1951, which is when a modern branch of witchcraft, known as Wicca, emerged based on ancient pagan sources. Dr. Gerald Gardiner was the key person in this movement, which became known as the Gardinerian tradition. Other forms of Wicca soon began to emerge from Gardner, one of which was Alex Sanders, who founded Alexandrian witchcraft. There are many forms of witchcraft, but most witches today practice eclectic witchcraft, which is a style they have made their own and includes concepts from a wide range of traditional witchcraft. There is, of course, a set code of rules and laws that a witch must abide by, but as long as her intention is pure and from a place of love and trust, whatever feels right to them is perfectly fine.

Witches have and have always had a very close personal relationship with nature. They celebrate the changes of the seasons, the phases of the moon, they practice magic (which can include healing, performing rituals, spells, and the practice of divination). Wiccan rituals take place within a sacred space or circle. Witches believe in the Goddess and the Horned God, the male and female aspects of creation: nature. They honor these two primary deities of witchcraft.

Witches fall into two job categories, solitary and coven. Solitary witches work alone. Some gather in small groups to celebrate the clogs, but most are happy to work alone. Most witches new to the craft start out this way. A coven (derived from the word coven meaning to meet or unite) is a group of witches who meet and work together on a regular basis. There are teaching covens as well as open and closed covens.

But all practicing witches abide by the same law known as the Wiccan Rede. Wicca is the tradition of respect and tolerance and of working for the highest good of all.

Obey the wiccan law you must,
in perfect love and perfect trust,
Eight words that the wiccan network fulfills;
and do not harm anyone, do what you want.
What you send comes back to you
so be careful with the law of three.
Follow this with your mind and heart.
Happy to meet and happy to leave.

Debbie Fitzgerald.