This was written by Jackie after a staff member asked her about her wiccan beliefs. Here is Jackie response as she shares her beliefs with us.

I’ve been a practicing witch since I was 13 years old.  I got my first deck of Tarot cards then, too.  My gramma gave them to me, and I still have them.  They are my first deck of choice when doing readings.  I’ve even done readings for Jim.  : )  I follow the Old Ways, not the New Age stuff.  ;)

Witches believe in a God and a Goddess, who both go by several names.  A really, really good book to read to get acquainted with Witchcraft is a book called “Principles of Wicca” by Vivianne Crowley.  It’s a paperback, and I paid about $10 for my copy. 

Our God is a man with deer antlers, and he is commonly called by his name “Cernunnos” (Ker noon oh s).  He came about because waaaaaay back when, it was the man’s place to hunt for food in the Winter, so the God came to be represented by a deer, which was the main source of food.  He also came to be known as the God of Life and Death, because the deer would have to die in order for the tribe to live.  It was a natural thing for Him to become represented by the image of a man with deer antlers.  The God came to represent the Winter time of the year, when death was always a threat.  He rules in the Autumn and Winter, or the masculine times of the year.

The women were in charge of tending fields, and growing food in the Spring.  Springtime is also when babies are born, so the Spring became associated with women and the Goddess aspect.  Spring is when everything is being born, new grass is growing, seeds that are planted are sprouting, baby animals are born then, and at the time, most baby humans, too.  So the Spring and Summer months became the Feminine time, the time of birth and growth.  The Goddess goes by many names. 

By tradition, the Goddess rules the Wheel of the Year beginning with Beltane (May 1^st) and ending with Samhain (Oct 31st), when she turns over rule to the God.  He rules from Samhain to Beltane. 

Now, we do not believe in Hell or a Devil…those are Christian concepts.  When Christianity was spreading throughout Europe, and there were the horrible witch hunts by the Inquisition (we call them “The Burning Times”), the Christians decided that the best way to turn everyone to Christianity was to declare any other religion as evil.  So they took one look at Cernunnos and decided that because he had antlers, that he was the horned Devil, and that’s why they persecuted witches as devil worshippers. 

The truth about Devil Worshippers is that they came about because of the Burning Times.  Witches are ruled by their first Law (or Rede) which states “An that it harm none, do what thou wilt”.  You see, originally, witches were village doctors and veterinarians.  They learned the secrets of plants to heal, and they would write these secrets in books, and pass them down from parent to child, usually women.  The child would add to the book during her lifetime, and then pass the book down to her children, and so forth.  In this way, a wealth of knowledge about Nature, plants and animals was gained.  There were no doctors or vets then, so if you had a toothache, you went to the village witch, who would mix up some herbs to put on your tooth.  If a woman needed help with conception, or even childbirth, again, the village witch was turned to.  If your cow had an abscess or wasn’t conceiving, you took her to the village witch.  If you wanted your land blessed so that you would have an great harvest of grain, you asked the village witch to bless your fields before you planted them.  Native American Shamans work the same way.  Sometimes the witches would use herbs, or they would cast spells, making charms as well to help the spell work.  So you might take your cow in because she wouldn’t conceive, and the witch would cast a spell, give you a charm for the cow to wear around her neck, and maybe even give you herbs to mix in her food to help her conceive.  The village witch was regarded with great respect.

Then along came the Christians…who dubbed our God the Devil, even tho we don’t believe in one (so how could we worship what we didn’t believe in?).  The Christians hunted down, tortured and burned those who were thought to be witches.  They found our books, and burned them as well, a lot of times burning them in the same bonfire that the witch was burning in.  They build churches on top of our holy temples after destroying them, thinking that witches would still come to the sacred site, and end up converting to Christianity by default because a church now sat on top of the temple site. 

There wasn’t any such thing as Black Magicians or Devil Worshippers then.  But what happened was that because of being persecuted (there were millions killed as witches then), some witches decided to use their powers to protect themselves and hurt the ones persecuting them.  This goes against our First Rede, that we would harm none.  Basically, it was that they were being pushed, and decided to push back.  It was originally an act of desperation.  Eventually, some decided that they would adopt the Devil, turn the crucifix and pentagram upside down, and go against our Redes as a way of thumbing their noses at the Christians and also Witches.  They saw “kind” witches as weak, because they refused to use their powers for self-gain or to hurt others.  That’s how Devil Worshippers came to be.  Yes, they are a branch off of Witchcraft, but they are not true Witches who follow the Old Ways.  They have given up the Old Ways, which do not stress hurting others or casting spells for self-gain.

Our books were destroyed, but our knowledge was still passed down by word of mouth.  When some began keeping books again, it was at the great risk of death, so these books had to be kept very secret.  That’s why the Witch’s bibles are referred to as either the Book of Secrets, or Book of Shadows…because they had to be kept secret, or kept in the shadows and out of sight. 

I have cast spells many times, I read Tarot cards and runes.  I celebrate the Witches’ holidays, too.  : )  The store I went into recently was called The Sacred Grove, which is fitting because before there were temples, witches worshipped in clearings in forests.  These groves became sacred places, connecting us with the Gods and the Earth. 

Witches stores usually sell things like incense, oils, witch related books, tarot cards, runes, jewelry, sacred objects for the altar, wands, staffs, cloaks, crystals and stones, items for spell casting, etc.  Most will offer classes on witchcraft, too.  : )
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