Lesson 1: What It Is, History, and Names

Note: I know you’re probably thinking, oh heck, I don’t want to learn about history. I got enough of that in school, thanks. But I’d really advise you not to skip over this. It’s important in learning about your magickal studies.

What Is Witchcraft?

So you’ve sparked interest in witchcraft, whether it be Paganism, Wicca, the Gardnerian Tradition, etc, etc. But do you even know what it is?

First, let’s focus on what it’s NOT. It is NOT devil worship. The ‘devil’ and ‘satan’ are Christian terms. It is NOT a quick, easy fix to make some guy/girl fall in love with you. It is NOT a tree huggers groupie club.

Paganism (I will use Paganism and witchcraft interchangeably throughout the lessons, please take no offense) is a nature-based religion. We believe the God and Goddess is not watching us from up in the clouds, but is rather the earth itself. We do not need to go to the pope to talk the Divine, which is actually pretty handy. We do not need a priest and priestess to talk to Them either, but rather just ourselves.

Paganism is filled with spirituality, magickal workings, and a relationship to the Divine. It is filled with hope, love, and a renewed sense of The One. Pagans learn of past lives, fix their current ones, and harm none.

Beliefs

Almost every single Wiccan (and most Pagans, too) follow the Wiccan Rede. This can be summed up by saying “An it harm none, do as ye will”. This means that as long as you don’t harm anyone, this is including yourself, that you can do as you like. While that seems like a simple rule, it’s actually pretty limiting. When it says “harm none” that can also be translated as “don’t take away their free will”. So if you’re casting a spell to FORCE someone to love you, you’re going against the Wiccan Rede.

The Threefold is also referred to as the Law of Three. It means whatever you send out into the world, whether it be good or bad, it returns to you three times. In other words, it’s karma.

Pagans, Wiccans, and Witches; Oh my!

Let’s talk about names. This means the difference between Pagans, Wiccans, and witches. Paganism is usually considered an “umbrella term”, meaning it contains a bulk amount of other terms. Both Wiccans and witches usually consider themselves also Pagans, but not always. Wiccans do not always consider themselves witches. Witches do not always consider themselves Wiccans, because Wicca is another Pagan tradition that they may not be studying. This also means that not all witches worship both a God and a Goddess, like in Wicca. Then there’s where a Pagan doesn’t consider themselves a Wiccan, but would call themselves a witch. Most likely, all witches that are men DO NOT consider themselves ‘magicians’, but rather all of us [both male and female] consider themselves witches.

History

Okay, take a deep breath. This isn’t going to be that bad. In fact, let’s start with an Oh My Gods! cartoon to get you in a good mood.

So here we go! I’m going to make this short. First off, if you want to get into the sticky, technical stuff about the history, click here. If not, here’s a watered out, simpler version:

Gerald Gardner is considered the father of Wicca after the end of WWII. Obviously, this was a pretty big deal and the name became pretty popular among us. Dorothy Clutterback initiated Gardner her coven. After that, Gardner initiated Raymond Buckland. If you’ve been reading up on witchcraft, this name is probably familiar. He did in fact write a very popular book on witchcraft called Raymond Buckland’s Big Blue Book of Witchcraft. I know many people that refer to him as Uncle Bucky!

Witchcraft, though, has pre-dated Christianity. That’s right, evidence of witchcraft came way before evidence of Christianity. We’ll talk more about this in later lessons.

Now what about the Salem Witch Trials? We’ve all heard of it, many of us as The Burning Times. This was time when many people became paranoid and blamed their problems on those who practiced witchcraft. The first to die of being accused was Bridget Bishop. There is SO much information on the Burning Times out there on the web, that I’m going to stop right now. But if you’re worried that the Burning Times will return, it’s very unlikely. People are much more accepting now, and there are laws to prevent this! If you want more information about the burning times, trying looking stuff up on Google. But remember to recheck information!

For more information on history, click here. I definitely recommend this website.

The next sections are recommended. Please, please, PLEASE at least attempt these. I know it seems like a lot of work, but it’ll help you in the long run.

Reading For The Week

Pages 1- 15 of Paganism: An Introduction to Earth Centered Religions by Joyce Higginbotham(Feel free to browse more of the book)

Pages 1- 7 of Wicca: A Guide To The Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

Exercises

For this lesson we’re going to focus on the basics. So, let’s talk about nature!

Out of all the things I had to do in the beginning with my studies, there was one thing I had particular trouble with. What would that be, you ask? My biggest problem was realizing that the Goddess and the God were inside of me, as well as the earth. This was just incredibly hard to understand for me! It took me awhile to realize they were all around me.

So what do we do about it? The most common answer is to simply spend time in your backyard, listening to the sounds of nature. Well, this isn’t going to work very well if you’re surrounded by loud city noises and those lovely bird chirps are being strangled off with smog. But even in big cities, you’ll usually find at least one park that’s been cleared out. Go there. Listen. Breathe. Meditate. Or buy a potted plant and put it on a window sill. Bring nature to you if you can’t go to it! Spend more time outside, listen for Her. It won’t be hard since She’s everywhere.

Exercise 2: This is a meditation to do while in a bath or shower. Obviously, you’re going to want to get in one of these. If you’re taking a bath, you can always throw in some fresh or dried herbs. But if you’re like me, you don’t really have much herbs. That’s OK, too.

Turn the water on so that it’s at a comfortable temperature. Feel the water running over you. Picture it coming out of the facet as a pure white light filled with love and happiness. If you’re in the tub, imagine all of the tub filled with this white light, and as you sink deeper, you can feel the pure energy there. Make it so the white light touches all of you, expanding and stretching to enclose you in a safe and secure spot. Make it reach from the tip of your toes to the top of your head, filling out everything in between. Eventually, you should be entirely filled with the white light, and you yourself should feel like you’re glowing.

This is an example of visualization. This can be pretty tough for a lot of people. Don’t worry if you can’t really imagine or see the light. Just keep practicing.

After you dry off, you’re going to want to ground all that energy. You’re probably feeling pretty darn good about yourself right now. The problem is, the extra energy can clog things up. You’ll feel dizzy, off center, and have problems concentrating if you have too much energy in your system.

Again, don’t feel bad if you can’t feel the energy. You will. It just takes a lot of practice.

There are a thousand and one ways to ground your energy. You can look at billions of different websites. Go ahead and look it up on Google or Bing or something. But one way is by first standing firmly on the ground. Visualize roots coming out of your feet and reaching to the core of the earth. Now start pushing all that white light out of your body and through the roots. Eventually, you’re body will be drained of the excess energy and it will have all gone back into the earth. After, get a nice chug of water and congratulate yourself.

Things To Do: Reach the 13 Goals of A Witch

Below are the 13 Goals of a Witch. Go ahead and try to reach them!

1. Know Yourself

2. Know Your Craft

3. Learn

4. Apply Knowledge and Wisdom

6. Keep Your Thoughts In Good Order

7. Keep Your Words In Good Order

8. Celebrate Life

9. Attune with the Cycles of the Earth

10. Breathe and Eat Correctly

11. Exercise the Body

12. Meditate

13. Honour the Goddess and the God

For further explanation on the 13 Goals of a Witch, click here.

Questions

1. Who was Gerald Gardner?

2. What is karma?

3. What is your own definition of Paganism?

Resources and Links [relating to this lesson]

Teen Witch Questions & Answers

Witchvox

1. I do not claim to be an expert. Someone who has been practicing for 23 years most likely won’t claim to be one, either. I’m simply offering up information that I know. I try to check my information on at least two sources before posting it; You should probably recheck information, too.

2. You do not need fancy tools. I most likely won’t be posting anything that requires you to use tools. If you really feel you need them to do magickal workings, think it over. While they do come in handy, they can also have a pretty big price tag.

3. You don’t need to buy a thousand books on Paganism for these lessons. While reading lots of books is nice, I’m not going to say you have to read a specific book or anything. If I want you to read over something, I’ll give you a link. The link will either lead you to another website, to a book on Google Books, or something on Scribd. As for other things than the lessons: Consume every bit of information you can!

4. Do not believe everything. This is a mistake I made when I was starting out. I would go to one website, it’d tell me something completely wrong, and I’d automatically assume it was right. HINT: Check, recheck, double recheck, and triple recheck information!

OK. So each lesson will most likely be organized in this manner:

- Main topic

- Reading for the week (from a website, Scribd, Google Books, etc.)

- Exercises

- Things To Do

- Questions

- Resources and Links

Occasionally, I’ll add on another section. Examples would be: Herbalism, Crafts, Stones, News, etc.

So yea

Blessed Be!

~Luna

P.S. I’m going to try to make them as simple and understandable as possible. I’ll limit the fancy words :}

We, as Pagans, think of ourselves as gentle people. We think of ourselves as embracing, loving people who do good things towards everyone. That is, of course, until we see some weirdo show up at one of our Pagan outings in jeans and a tank top.

You’re kidding me, right? This is absolutely ridiculous. I myself have met only a few Pagans because I am a solitary practitioner, but the few that I’ve met have not made the best impression. I mean, really, Pagans have got to be some of the most pissy people.

First, there are Pagans that want to maul any Christian that gets close to them. They absolutely refuse to listen Christian beliefs. Why? Are we afraid something is going to rub off on us? Or are we just insecure about our own beliefs? While we may disagree with Christians about religion aspects, aren’t we comfortable enough with our own beliefs to have a calm discussion about it? Apparently not some.

Then there are those who think you have to dress like a Pagan. And how the hell does a Pagan dress, I wonder? I don’t know about you, but I wear jeans and t-shirts. I don’t smell like lavender oil and wear ritual garb everywhere. Now, people that do do those things are still Pagans, but I feel I’m pretty Pagan without all that stuff.

Obviously, not every Pagan is like this. But aren’t the ones that ward off the “normal looking Pagans” the ones causing the trouble?

Anyone have a run in with someone like this?

~Luna

So I guess I should start writing on this blog again, huh? I know, it’s been forever (as I’ve said repeatedly). And I apologize (again).

I’ve learned a lot in the time I’ve been gone. I ventured from the Pagan path for a month or so, but immediately returned. I’ve gotten closer to the Goddess, listened to a thousand Pagan podcasts, finished my Book of Shadows, etc. I also just checked my email, which is why I suddenly remembered I had this blog!

I’ve gotten quite a few emails letting me know that you guys are interested in the path (or a practitioner). One of the most asked questions was: Am I a practicing witch? The answer is yes. I am really and seriously a practicing witch. More specifically, I’m a solitary eclectic Wiccan.

Another question I got was how someone might become a witch. And this was a question I’ve thought about a lot. What I started to wonder was if someone really became a witch, or if they simply were one. My first response was that by thinking you were a witch, you simply were one. But after mulling it over a little bit, I realized how much effort it took. And just because someone thought they were a witch doesn’t necessarily mean that they are one. Take for example you declared you were Wiccan, followed the Wiccan Rede, then went out and murdered someone. That, most definitely excludes you from being one. So I decided, heck, I have so much time on my hands; Why not type up some lessons to help you out?

I know there are a lot of websites and blogs out there with lessons on them already. Feel free to leave and check them out. But I figured I could put some on here, too. I mean, why not? So, the next post will probably the first lesson.

Light and Blessings,

~Luna

I just logged off of Magicka Space [magickaspace.ning.com if you're interested] and had an interesting chat with a girl online. Here it is[I'm bold, she's italisized]]:

Luna I: Soo…what should we talk about then? What’s your path?

vera raven hecate: well im not really sure i dont do much magic im mostly wiccan as religion

Luna I: Yea I get that I haven’t really done much relating to magick…

vera raven hecate: i just dont no how to sneak it around my family

Luna I: Oh I know it’s really hard…So your in the broom closet too, huh?

vera raven hecate: yep pretty much except my friends and the entire school i dont really care what people think but i guess family is the exception for everything to not feel unwanted

Luna I: No one knows about me…I’m thinking about coming clean soon but trying to figure out when. It would suck if your family just kind of ‘rejected’ you because you weren’t into like Christianity or something.

vera raven hecate: yeah so what changed you

Luna I: You mean what drew me to it?

Luna I: When I was ten I saw a book about it…asked my mom to get it…she said NO…Came back to it two years later. It just felt right is all. I once tried to forget about it, but I always came back.

vera raven hecate: well i guess for me ive always been curious and i have a very scientific frame of mind so when we did a project in world history about religions i got stuck into toaism which is very nature based like wiccan two years later i learned about wicca and

Luna I: Toaism? Never heard of it. Weird but a different way to find Wicca.

vera raven hecate: its the whole yin yang love the animals and the trees they live in kind of thing

Luna I: Yea

Luna I: I recently lost my favorite yin and yang necklace v_v

vera raven hecate: that sucks i cant find a small pentagram necklace anywhere

Luna I: Like in stores?

Luna I: I know there are hardly any stores near me…

Luna I: And even if I did get one I’d have to sneak it in and hide it…So I’m going to wait a little before I even TRY to get one.

vera raven hecate: yeah thats why my school knows i hate hiding it its like an offense

Luna I: I know…It seriously sucks.

Luna I: But at least you don’t have to hide it at school if everyone knows..?

vera raven hecate: yeah i dont understand christianity its so hypacritical

Luna I: I know…and if you have one little screw up you get sent to ‘hell’!

Luna I: What kind of religion is that?

vera raven hecate: exactly and there god idont know he seems so sexist and thats why we are called devil worshipers because we have a goddess uh

Luna I: Exactly! Insane! And I don’t want to always worship a guy…I’ve always hated that. I mean, sure, there are a few of us that worship the devil, but I would rather not be associated with them. Plus we don’t even believe in the devil..Another Christian term.

vera raven hecate: i know women in power is to scary come on guys lets put bullshit down in this book and blame a devil

vera raven hecate: i dont even belive in a devil

Luna I: Yep! That’s also why we don’t have a women president…They’re probably afraid that women would do a better job.

vera raven hecate: i know!!

vera raven hecate: *eye role*

Luna I: Ditto.

Luna I: It’s absolutely insane…

Luna I: Then there’s the ‘sin’ thing….I’m not even going to touch THAT.

vera raven hecate: you know what would be weird

Luna I: What?

vera raven hecate: what if every religion was right and all these gods and goddesses were fighting for our souls for the final war its like civil war to tenth power

Luna I: Wow. Talk about a lot to think about….I still think it would be stupid to be fighting for our souls. They’re not really something you can capture, really.

vera raven hecate: i know but like the last thing you belived in religion wise

Luna I: Yea…

vera raven hecate: i wonder why religions were made

Luna I: For belief maybe? Like the ancient Greeks needed a reason why it rained, why plants were grown…And they thought they should worship them

Luna I: Or maybe it was because they needed some hope

Luna I: Like for slaves, they prayed every night to their God/Goddess to help them get through the night and all that.

vera raven hecate: makes sense

vera raven hecate: um i dont want to cut this short but i got to go

Luna I: KK Byee

Sooo yea, just something to think about really. I mean, what if the Gods & Goddesses really ARE fighting for our souls? Why WAS religion created?
That’s all for now The next post will be up by 10 p.m. tonight!

Blessed Be!

~Luna

Because when you’re in the broom closet, everything is different. Especially for teens, like me. See, when it comes to lighting candles [light a white candle all the time, you'll see...], they usually have to be scented so you can say ‘I love how they smell’ instead of saying that you lit them for a ritual, or to say a prayer to the Goddess. Because now you have to say that it’s the smell that attracted you to it.

Then there are the rituals. When do you have them when you have to hide? Midnight, or later usually, when the rest of the family is asleep. It really sucks how sometimes we just have to hide who we are, in fear of reactions and ridicule. Or how there would be a disappointed glint in your parents’ eyes when they find out. Or maybe that they’ll scream because they’re ultra religions in another religion like Buddhism or Christianity. It’s a horrible thing to have to hide the true you…

And then there’s the fear when you’re meditating…You’re soul will drift off to somewhere else and you’ll be so into it that you won’t notice if you’re parents walk in. Then they’ll wonder…

Anyways, let’s just say it sucks. And I hope to get out of it soon enough.

Blessed Be.

~Luna

• About Me
• Luna’s Book of Shadows
• Herbalism
• Tarot/Astrology
• Links

And some other stuff Enjoy!

I, myself, was raised as a Christian. They did not push me too hard, heck, I didn’t even own a Bible. We didn’t go to church every Sunday like a dedicated Christians did.

I didn’t realize what the big deal was. All my mom had me understand was that ‘Jesus’ was our savior, we go to Heaven when we die, God was the big guy, and He was always watching.

That last part made me paranoid. ‘He’ was always watching me? Let me tell you, that scared me to death. I didn’t pray to God when I wanted to, I didn’t treat him as a best friend. The fact was: I was scared of him.

I didn’t think this was right, being scared of who supposedly saved me or who made me be born. I rarely even prayed to him. The only time I did was when I was with my grandparents, and they dragged me to church. This whole thing was making me a little frazzled.

These people were trying to shove Bibles down my throat and make me pray! I felt horribly uncomfortable inside churches, always wondering why I was there. It didn’t feel right at all.

Suddenly, I felt horrible whenever I thought of God ‘punishing’ me if I ever committed a ‘sin’! A father should never punish a daughter, right?

Then one day at a bookstore when I was ten, I found a book on the shelf that had topics about Paganism. I immediately smiled at it and ripped it off the shelf. I asked my mom, pleaded in fact, for the book, but she refused to let me have it.

At the time, I didn’t understand why. I thought it was just a book, that had the greatest ideas in the world.

I let it go for about two years, then it came back into my mind. I accidently discovered teenwitch.com, and started reading up on it.

It brought me comfort in the fact that I could be reincarnated, instead of just dying and never coming back ever again. That I could talk to a Goddess and she would never punish me as long as I treated her kindly and celebrated certain days. I could bring peace to myself. And…

Well, I guess every witch knows what I mean when I say it felt ‘right’. It did, in fact, feeling like coming home.

But this religion was frowned upon in my house. So I told no one. I started reading whenever I could, or when I was alone. I would pray by candlelight to the Goddess, telling her of my troubles and treating her like she was my best friend.

And I wasn’t, aren’t, the least bit scared of her. I discovered I love magick.

So now here is my journey. Beginning from being raised as a Christian, to discovering my new way of life all on my own. Just feeling ‘right’.

I can bet it’s been worse for other Pagans, being raised as a true Christian, some going to church every Sunday, and even every other day of the week. Having to pray once a day, or every night. I would like to say I ‘pity’ you, but that sounds absolutely horrid.

It’s hard to tell everyone you’re a witch in the first place, and trying to tell ultra-Christian parents is even harder. I can only wish you luck, and hope you continue this journey, even though it is the roughest path.

If only society accepted us as who we are, we could get along so well. If only the other religions weren’t so harsh on others that aren’t like them.

If only the Burning Times never occured.

So, now to your opinions. Think about it:

1. If you were raised as a witch, imagine how much harder life would be if you were raised as a strict Christian.

2. If you were raised as a strict Christian, imagine how much easier it would have been if the religious society accepted you.

Thanks for reading

Blessed Be.

~Luna

I’m positive it happens to each of us once in our lives as a witch. What would that be, you ask?

Losing the magick.

Ever feel like…well, maybe you just get bored. Or maybe all of the information you learn just burns out. You feel farther from the Divine than ever.

This would be losing the magick. You feel like half of you is still a witch, and the other half isn’t. It’s a horrible feeling, isn’t it?

You feel like a ‘bad Pagan’ for stepping away for awhile. But sometimes, we actually need a breather.

Even good Christians or good Jews need to step away sometimes. After being shocked by the information and such, you feel strange.

Mostly, this happens to solitary Pagans. It takes a lot of self energy to assert yourself in a religion with no interaction from other witches. But even witches in covens experience this feeling.

But the question is…How do you get it back?

First off, start at Square One. It doesn’t matter if you were doing witchcraft for years, it all starts at the beginning.

Go back and research like you did when you were just beginning. Learn everything again, feel the magick all over again. Start at beginner meditations and beginner spells, and work yourself up. Try and get closer to the Goddess.

But you also want to make sure that you are positive that this is the right path for you. To put it blankly: If you have no passion, you will not succeed.

Leave comments about what you did if you lost the magick, if you will.

Thanks for reading

Blessed Be.
~Luna

It’s hard to come out about who you are. About the path you have decided to follow that you know is completely right.

But how do you do it?

First of all, make sure this is really your path and that you are completely dedicated. You don’t want to go through all the trouble of coming out of the broom closet if you decide it’s not right after all.

If you decide this is really your path, your way of life, it’s time to make a decision: How will you come out?

You could just straight out say it: ‘Hey mom, did I mention I’m a witch?’ But that may not be the best way.

Here are some ways to tell family and friends:

Right a paper. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? But it could be very helpful. Explain that you don’t worship the ‘Devil’ or ‘Satan’ or any other Christian name. Explain that you worship the Divine, and you have laws, so you will never hurt anyone[you could also explain about karma here]. Or talk about reincarnation. Be ready to answer questions if they have any!

Casually start a conversation that will move to Paganism. Start with something like, “Hey, I found out the other day that witches aren’t evil or anything!” or ask about their religion. Move slow into the topic so it doesn’t come as a complete shock. Again, be ready to answer any questions they might have!

Just say it. This could go more than one way. They could absolutely freak or they could take it really well. I don’t recommend this method for anyone that has parents that are really dedicated to a different religion.

Those of you who were raised as witches, lucky you! But for the rest of us, well, it just kind of sucks, doesn’t it?

Hope this helps at least a bit!

Blessed Be.
~Luna