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What is a witch and/or what is it like being a witch? Are witches devil worshippers? Who or what do they worship? What are their beliefs? I will do my best to answer all of these questions to the best of my knowledge. |
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What is a witch and/or what is it like being a witch? According to Webster's Illustrated Dictionary copyright 1961(my desktop companion, big, thick & beaten to hell over the years), witch(wich) n. A woman supposed to bein contact with evil spirits and to possess supernatural powers; a sorceress. -vt. To fascinate, enchant, bewitch. And their definition of witchcraft is even funnier. It simply says The practice of sorcery or black magic. Wow! No wonder we've gotten such a bad rap over all the years. We've been dealing with under-educated, misinterpreted, mislead as well as ignorant people. Gratefully, people are becoming more educated since those days. We are talking copyright 1961! According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 2006-2007 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated: WITCH Main Entry: 1witch Pronunciation: 'wich Function: noun Etymology: Middle English wicche, from Old English wicca, masculine, wizard & wicce, feminine, witch; akin to Middle High German wicken to bewitch, Old English wigle divination, and perhaps to Old High German wIh holy -- more at VICTIM 1 : one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially : a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar : SORCERESS -- compare WARLOCK Main Entry: war-lock Pronunciation: 'wor-"läk Function: noun Etymology: Middle English warloghe, from Old English w[AE]rloga one that breaks faith, the Devil, from w[AE]r faith, troth + -loga (from lEogan to lie); akin to Old English w[AE]r true -- more at VERY, LIE 1 : a man practicing the black arts : SORCERER -- compare WITCH 2 : CONJURER 2 : an ugly old woman : HAG Main Entry: 1hag Pronunciation: 'hag Function: noun Etymology: Middle English hagge demon, old woman 1 : an ugly, slatternly, or evil-looking old woman 2 archaic a : a female demon b : an evil or frightening spirit : HOBGOBLIN 3 : WITCH - hag-gish /'ha-gish/ adjective 3 : a charming or alluring girl or woman 4 : a practitioner of Wicca 5 : WITCH OF AGNESI Main Entry: witch of Agne-si Pronunciation: -än-'yA-zE Function: noun Etymology: Maria Gaetana Agnesi died 1799 Italian mathematician; witch, translation of Italian versiera cubic curve (influenced by Italian versiera female demon) : a plane cubic curve that is symmetric about the y-axis and approaches the x-axis as an asymptote and that has the equation x2y = 4a2(2a - y) - witch-like /'wich-"lIk/ adjective - witchy /'wi-chE/ adjective |
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So now that we have the definitions (prejudiced & slightly less prejudiced), what is it like to be a witch? I guess the best way to answer that is to say it's no different than being a Christian or anything else. I am saddened by the ignorance of people around me and the many types of prejudice I deal with all the time; not only against myself because of my religion but other for their myriad differences from others who are not afraid to express ignorance. Ignorance is bliss they say. I choose to disagree with that sentiment for obvious reasons. |
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Are witches devil worshippers? That's a tough one to answer point blank. While there are those that apparently do, most DO NOT! The easiest way to explain the difference is to make the comparison of the varity of Christian religions so that most can understand the concept of the variations. There are many variations of the Christian belief system. Asking if all witches are devil worshippers is like asking if all Christians are Catholic. NO! The general synopsis is that while Catholics are Christian, not all Christians are Catholic. The same could be said about witches. While all devil worshippers are witches, not all witches worship the devil. Just as there are many different groups within the Christian religion (ie:Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Nazarene, Scientologists, etc.), there are many different factions of pagan religion (Hereditary, Traditionalist, Eclectic, Gardenerian, Alexandrian, Druid, Strega, Celtic, Dianic, Pictish, Teutonic/Nordic, Solitary, just to name some of the more major groups). While I could go on and on explaining the many varities and their beliefs, I'll save that for another page. None of the previously mentioned groups worship the devil. For myself, I don't even believe in the devil so why would I worship something I don't believe exists? If someone is truly interested in learning the real truth about Witchcraft instead of the generally accepted misrepresentaions, I highly recommend 'Witchcraft: A Secret History' by Michael Streeter. It is an excellent book, a good read and the man certainly did his homework as it clears up many fallacies about the religion and it's history. |
| For the last two questions, Who or what do they worship? and What are their beliefs? at this time I will direct you to another page for a more extensive breakdown of pagans and their beliefs. Please see Pagan Religions. |