| Witch Wiccan Pagan Neo-Pagan Earth-Centered |
| Okay, so let me get this straight... you are a witch? |
Yes. I have been since 1992. There are many, many of us
around the world, with some estimates numbering at least
800,000. It is unknown how man there are as there are
many who are still secretive about their beliefs and
practices.
I am open about this because it is my nature to stand up
for what I believe is right. It is one of the many words of
wisdom passed to me from my father... "do what you think
is right". Oppression of a group or the furthering of
stereotypes are to be combated. I cannot wish that they
go away and the gods help those who help themselves. I
must, therefore, strive to affect positive change, to be that
change I wish to see in the world.
There are so many websites and books on witchcraft.
There is also a great deal of misunderstanding of what we
are and believe. First, there are MANY types of Christians
(there are at least 50 separate groups in the U.S. alone)
and they don't all agree. Paganism has much broader and
looser definitions than the dominant monotheistic religion
in the U.S. and to attempt to define all of them now would
be beyond the scope of what I am doing. If you really want
to learn, read, go to a library, listen to a podcast , use the
net. Keep in mind that as you read one thing, there is
likely another group that will disagree completely with what
you've just read.
I wear a pentagram. I am a witch. I do not say this for
shock value. I say it to try and ease some of the shock
value. A cursory glance in popular culture would have the
unknowing investigator believe at first glance that witches
are generally one of thefollowing...
a: A teen goth who is obsessed with black, cemeteries,
and macabre music
b: A hippy that smokes a lot of pot, is a vegan, and can
be found outside... naked.
c: Something like what you'd see on Buffy the Vampire
Slayer or Charmed.
Not quite. The thing is that you will find each of the three
types listed above and many many more. You'll find police
officers, computer technicians, lawyers, doctors,
psychiatrists, musicians, and all manner of folk. Paganism
and Witchcraft are not the same, though you will find
witches who are pagans... but to be a pagan is not
necessarily the same as to be a witch nor vice versus.
I am just one type of witch that one could find if one knew
where to look. Being that we are NOT evangelistic, you
don't see us knocking on doors or asking for money or
such. We mostly stick to ourselves as most witches in the
U.S. (and we are all over the world) are solitaries, getting
together in groups and circles for holiday events.
I am not here to attack Christianity or other religions. I am
not a Pagan Apologetic and am not here to defend myself
to other faiths. I follow what is True to me, moved by
those stirrings of the Divine that are meaningful to me.
Allow me that and I'll allow you your own beliefs. Attack
me and be prepared for that which you send to me to
come back to you. I defend that which I love. We have
many inconsistencies under the very broad terms 'Pagan'
'witch' and 'Wicca' just as there are many in the Bible and
other faiths. Think you that an Infinite Divine cannot be
expressed, approached, understood, experienced in a
multitude of ways depending on our time, place, culture,
society, personal experience and so forth?
Yet I must say something, quickly here, about the mood
and tone of some who question us. My experiences have
come from Evangelical Christians, though they are not the
only group in the world that attacks and kills those they
deem heretical, atheist, or immoral. Many attrocities have
been caused in the name of religion. But I get off point...
I am not here to point out the inconsistencies and errors in
the Bible. I am not here to point out flaws in a Christian
theology. To attack others is an expression of the lacking
of their own faith. Yes, even a snobbish atheist who
makes snide comments from his cafe table is insecure in
his beliefs. If you must attack, you do not truly know love
or peace. Yet there are some who will first claim that they
are 'not bigoted' (I"'m not a racist/closed-minded/hateful
person... but...") and apologists are just this. Example
here. They try to be nice, say nice words, but when it all
comes down to it they are as intolerant as others. At least
with a loud-mouthed bigot you know where s/he is coming
from. Writers, like those from this website hold that my
sacred beliefs are not true. Period. I may have a right to
them, but they aren't really correct (they say) and I am
really just a mislead person.
Is this tolerance? Yes. Am I for tolerance? No. I am
against tolerance. We tolerate what we do not like. We
'suffer it' to exist.
I am against tolerance of mixed races marriage. I am for
the recognition of such marriages for what they are, a
union of loving people.
I am against tolerance of gay rights. Human rights is
human rights and why would we 'tolerate' it? We should
strive, always, to support it. I would not tolerate gays in
the military. Instead I welcome individuals of integrity and
honor to stand beside me in the ranks of those that defend
this country. What does sexual preference have to do with
honor? (Think outside your genitals)
I don't mean to pick on the above website, there are many
more like it, but I wanted to illustrate a point. I am not
asking for your tolerance. I am demanding your respect
and acceptance. I do not tolerate my friends and family
who are Christian. No. I recognize it as the deeply
spiritual experience that fills their own hearts and gives
them strength and hope and joy. I celebrate it with them,
will attend services with them, and support them. I do not
tolerate it. I love them and that which they also love.
I wear my pentagram openly because I have nothing to
hide, I am an honorable person, and I hope that by living
an open example of a "normal person who is also a witch"
then I can dispell (hey... a witch dis-spelling... that is
funny) the myths that we are wicked evil people out to
molest your pet goats.
around the world, with some estimates numbering at least
800,000. It is unknown how man there are as there are
many who are still secretive about their beliefs and
practices.
I am open about this because it is my nature to stand up
for what I believe is right. It is one of the many words of
wisdom passed to me from my father... "do what you think
is right". Oppression of a group or the furthering of
stereotypes are to be combated. I cannot wish that they
go away and the gods help those who help themselves. I
must, therefore, strive to affect positive change, to be that
change I wish to see in the world.
There are so many websites and books on witchcraft.
There is also a great deal of misunderstanding of what we
are and believe. First, there are MANY types of Christians
(there are at least 50 separate groups in the U.S. alone)
and they don't all agree. Paganism has much broader and
looser definitions than the dominant monotheistic religion
in the U.S. and to attempt to define all of them now would
be beyond the scope of what I am doing. If you really want
to learn, read, go to a library, listen to a podcast , use the
net. Keep in mind that as you read one thing, there is
likely another group that will disagree completely with what
you've just read.
I wear a pentagram. I am a witch. I do not say this for
shock value. I say it to try and ease some of the shock
value. A cursory glance in popular culture would have the
unknowing investigator believe at first glance that witches
are generally one of thefollowing...
a: A teen goth who is obsessed with black, cemeteries,
and macabre music
b: A hippy that smokes a lot of pot, is a vegan, and can
be found outside... naked.
c: Something like what you'd see on Buffy the Vampire
Slayer or Charmed.
Not quite. The thing is that you will find each of the three
types listed above and many many more. You'll find police
officers, computer technicians, lawyers, doctors,
psychiatrists, musicians, and all manner of folk. Paganism
and Witchcraft are not the same, though you will find
witches who are pagans... but to be a pagan is not
necessarily the same as to be a witch nor vice versus.
I am just one type of witch that one could find if one knew
where to look. Being that we are NOT evangelistic, you
don't see us knocking on doors or asking for money or
such. We mostly stick to ourselves as most witches in the
U.S. (and we are all over the world) are solitaries, getting
together in groups and circles for holiday events.
I am not here to attack Christianity or other religions. I am
not a Pagan Apologetic and am not here to defend myself
to other faiths. I follow what is True to me, moved by
those stirrings of the Divine that are meaningful to me.
Allow me that and I'll allow you your own beliefs. Attack
me and be prepared for that which you send to me to
come back to you. I defend that which I love. We have
many inconsistencies under the very broad terms 'Pagan'
'witch' and 'Wicca' just as there are many in the Bible and
other faiths. Think you that an Infinite Divine cannot be
expressed, approached, understood, experienced in a
multitude of ways depending on our time, place, culture,
society, personal experience and so forth?
Yet I must say something, quickly here, about the mood
and tone of some who question us. My experiences have
come from Evangelical Christians, though they are not the
only group in the world that attacks and kills those they
deem heretical, atheist, or immoral. Many attrocities have
been caused in the name of religion. But I get off point...
I am not here to point out the inconsistencies and errors in
the Bible. I am not here to point out flaws in a Christian
theology. To attack others is an expression of the lacking
of their own faith. Yes, even a snobbish atheist who
makes snide comments from his cafe table is insecure in
his beliefs. If you must attack, you do not truly know love
or peace. Yet there are some who will first claim that they
are 'not bigoted' (I"'m not a racist/closed-minded/hateful
person... but...") and apologists are just this. Example
here. They try to be nice, say nice words, but when it all
comes down to it they are as intolerant as others. At least
with a loud-mouthed bigot you know where s/he is coming
from. Writers, like those from this website hold that my
sacred beliefs are not true. Period. I may have a right to
them, but they aren't really correct (they say) and I am
really just a mislead person.
Is this tolerance? Yes. Am I for tolerance? No. I am
against tolerance. We tolerate what we do not like. We
'suffer it' to exist.
I am against tolerance of mixed races marriage. I am for
the recognition of such marriages for what they are, a
union of loving people.
I am against tolerance of gay rights. Human rights is
human rights and why would we 'tolerate' it? We should
strive, always, to support it. I would not tolerate gays in
the military. Instead I welcome individuals of integrity and
honor to stand beside me in the ranks of those that defend
this country. What does sexual preference have to do with
honor? (Think outside your genitals)
I don't mean to pick on the above website, there are many
more like it, but I wanted to illustrate a point. I am not
asking for your tolerance. I am demanding your respect
and acceptance. I do not tolerate my friends and family
who are Christian. No. I recognize it as the deeply
spiritual experience that fills their own hearts and gives
them strength and hope and joy. I celebrate it with them,
will attend services with them, and support them. I do not
tolerate it. I love them and that which they also love.
I wear my pentagram openly because I have nothing to
hide, I am an honorable person, and I hope that by living
an open example of a "normal person who is also a witch"
then I can dispell (hey... a witch dis-spelling... that is
funny) the myths that we are wicked evil people out to
molest your pet goats.
