TT #10: witches

Thirteen things people should know about witches We don't look like the witches you know from fairytales: old, ugly, crooked nose with big pimple, etc. There is no stereotype really! We do have besoms or brooms; however they are not used for flying but for cleaning the circle, the sacred space, before doing a ritual. We do not worship satan. We don't even believe in the devil or his existence. We don't have a holy book like the Koran or the Bible. We have a Book of Shadows (or BOS), but that's a personal book in which a witch records his or her personal beliefs, rituals, etc. It is called "Book of Shadows" because in earlier times witches had to hide it to prevent being accused or burnt. The term has nothing to do with 'dark magic'. There are a lot of male witches and they are called witches too. Gothic is not the same as witchcraft. Some goths are witches and some witches are gothic, but there's no connection. We respect people of all religions and don't want to convert anyone to the Craft. Everyone should be free to choose his or her own path in religion. If someone shows real interest though, we'll do our best to explain and help further. Witchcraft is a generic term for a lot of traditions within the Craft. To name a few: Gardnerian Wicca, Celtic Wicca, eclectic witchcraft, druidcraft, etc. etc. (*Gardnerian comes from Gerald Gardner, the founder of Wicca) We use another concept of deity. Some witches believe in one God and one Goddess, others are polytheistic. We all believe in a feminine form of deity right next to the masculine form. Like everything in nature there has to be a balance: the God can't exist without the Goddess and vice versa. We don't need a church or temple (although they are sometimes used). Nature is our sacred space and very important to us. We cast a circle to do a ritual; the circle is our sacred space and can be cast anywhere we want. We celebrate the Wheel of the Year: a full circle of the seasonal year, consisting of eight holidays or sabbats, starting at Samhain then Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon. Sometimes other names are used (solstices, equinoxes). The moon has a special place within the Craft. We live by the phases of the moon. Full moon celebrations are called esbats. Although there are witches / traditions that work skyclad (dressed in sky=naked) in ritual, a lot of witches don't. Some wear special garments, some work in day-to-day clothes, some work naked. The thought behind skyclad is being closer to nature, no hindrances in the form of clothes. In any case it has nothing to do with sex (*I know, it's hard to believe but it's true!)!! If you have any additional comments or questions, please feel free to leave a message! I have Blogger Beta. If you have classic Blogger and don't allow anonymous comments, I can't leave a comment on your blog. I'm sorry! Blogger will fix that later. In the meantime I can recommend Blogger Beta! ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ The Gatekeeper ~*~ Silver ~*~ Nathalie ~*~ Caylynn ~*~ Incog & Nito ~*~ Darla ~*~ Addie ~*~ Velda ~*~ Carmen ~*~ Gattina ~*~ ma ~*~ Skittles ~*~ Mandy ~*~ Peppylady ~*~ The Shrone ~*~ Cheysuli ~*~ Geggie ~*~ Candy Minx ~*~ Nikki ~*~ Nicole ~*~ Whiskey ~*~ Duchess ~*~ Brony ~*~ N. Mallory ~*~ Nadiah Alwi ~*~ crse ~*~ Sparky ~*~ The Merry Rose ~*~ Joy Renee ~*~ Faerylandmom ~*~ Danielle ~*~ Silent Prayer ~*~ Judy Callarman ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants