Wicca FAQ

Wicca, also known as the WitchCraft, the Craft of the Wise or simply the Craft, is the art and science of creating change in conformity with the will.

At its simplest, it's a Craft like any other - a practical means of producing desired results. There are many ways of doing this, depending on what results are desired. They can include the use of ritual, trance, herbs, crystals, or other items and activities whose energies or symbolism relate to the task at hand. At some point during most if not all of these methods, the Witch sets a clear and strong intention, thus creating the will to achieve a desired result. Then, they raise energy and charge it with that will. Once that charged energy is released into the world, it aids in the manifestation of that which is willed.

The above process of channeling energy to create change in conformity with the will is called "magick." Magick is spelled with a "k" at the end to differentiate it from stage magic and other forms of illusion. Real magick is no illusion - energy is moved, and actual change occurs in conformity with the will that is behind the flow of that energy.

In a word, yes.

This may be hard to swallow for someone who's not a Witch and doesn't work with magickal energy. We're told at an early age that magick is imaginary, and that imaginary means non-existent. We're presented with a very mechanistic, Newtonian understanding of the world as a simplistic machine, wholly separate from the abstract or even non-existent realm of consciousness and spirit.

However, even the scientists no longer live in a Newtonian world. The world of quantum physics is quite a departure from the mechanistic worldview, and the holographic model of the world is step further into a far more fascinating and accurate understanding of reality. We are beginning to understand that consciousness plays a far greater role in this world than previously realized - not as a limited phenomenon generated by specific interactions of matter, but as a quantity unto itself that is just as substantial and powerful as matter if not more so.

Even so, the idea of magick may be difficult to swallow for some. Witches and other practitioners of magick claim to be able to accomplish extraordinary feats. They claim to heal the sick using only the conscious direction of energy; to perceive that which is generally considered to be beyond our perception; to communicate with distant people and people long dead; to change the course of physical reality through focus and changes in their own consciousness.

Consider this: how far is the Sun from the Earth? Far, far, away! Yet the Sun is such an inconceiveable source of power that it can reach through the dark of space and bathe our entire world in its radiant light. The very fabric of spacetime is curved and molded by the mere existence of such a intense localization of matter and energy.

Is it so absurd, then, to consider the possibility that human beings - complex bundles of energy, children of Earth and Sun - can consciously direct the flow of energy to produce changes in the course of events? The only difference between that and the sun's energy is that science has devoted more time to the study of physical solar energy than it has to the study of magickal energy. Both are powerful; both can be understood empirically and rationally; indeed, both are two aspects of the same power.

I predict that within my lifetime, we will make such strides in research that a disbelief in magick will be considered superstitious. In my opinion, we're already halfway there - do an Internet search on terms such as "human energy field," "spiritual healing," "science magick," to read the latest on the debate.

Not yet.

In a word, no.

First of all, I have yet to meet a single Witch who professes a belief in the existence of the Devil. He's an invention of Christianity, fabricated by combining aspects of a Christian fallen angel with portions of the likeness of the Horned God of the pagans. By uniting their most despised symbol of evil with aspects of a benevolent pagan god, early Christian patriarchs may have hoped to villify and demonize the pagan religions that they intended to surplant.

Second... no.

On a fundamental level, magick is the work of physics. Scientific research into the Human Energy Field is coming closer and closer to linking up with a spiritual understanding of human energy that has existed in various forms for thousands of years. Principles familiar to "mundane physics" such as harmonic resonance are also prominent in "metaphysics." Witches and other energy workers are the spiritual equivalent of engineers - consciously directing the flow of energy to achieve a desired result. So in other words, there are only two clear answers to the question of who is responsible for the power of magick - the universe in which magick energies flow, and the magick-user who is making conscious use of those energies.

Third... no, no, no.

Just about all magick use that I've ever encountered has sought to help and heal others, or at least sought to harm none in the pursuit of one's own needs and desires. In fact, prayer is a passive form of magick - sending a petition to your God(dess) or your world with the faith that it will be answered.

Don't believe everything you hear on TV or read in a book. Magick isn't the work of the devil - it's the work of us all, and in the right hands, it can change the world for the better.

That depends on who you talk to. I practice the Craft as the heart and soul of my Pagan spiritual path; therefore, you might say that it's a central component of my religion. However, there are some people with similar spiritual beliefs who don't do what Witches do, and other people who practice the Craft in conjunction with a different spiritual tradition - or none at all.

In other words, WitchCraft is usually part of a religious or spiritual tradition, but not necessarily.

Here's an imperfect but illustrative analogy: hatha yoga versus the yoga of yogis.

For many people, yoga is simply a form of exercise - a means of building strength and flexibility in the body, perhaps even a method of improving energy flow and opening chakras. It is not, however, their religion. There are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, agnostics, atheists, and people of other religions who practice yoga for its health benefits.

A yogi, however, treats their yoga as the heart and soul of their spiritual development.

In other words, hatha yoga is a basic spiritual practice and the yoga of yogis is an entire spiritual or religious tradition that is centered around a practice of yoga.

The same is true of WitchCraft and Wicca.

The Craft is a basic spiritual practice open to people of many religions. It is primarily practiced by Pagans, but predates the modern neo-Pagan movement and is open to people of all religion. It's even been practiced by atheists! Granted, some religions such as fundamentalist Christianity forbid the practice of WitchCraft, but sadly enough, the same could be said of yoga.

Wicca is a religion that has centered itself around a particular style of religious practice of the Craft. Depending on who you talk to, the actual form and content of this religion can be very different. This ranges from Gardnerian Wicca, which started it all off with a very specific structure of belief and practice, to various non-traditional and ecclectic interpretations of Wicca, most of which are so different from the original Gardnerian tradition as to be unrecognizeable.

In other words, WitchCraft is a basic spiritual practice and Wicca is a religious tradition that is centered around a practice of WitchCraft.