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The Witches Creed


Hear now the words of the witches,

The secrets we hid in the night,

When dark was our destiny's pathway,

That now we bring forth into light.

Mysterious water and fire,

The earth and the wide-ranging air,

By hidden quintessence we know them,

And will and keep silent and dare.

The birth and rebirth of all nature,

The passing of winter and spring,

We share with the life universal,

Rejoice in the magical ring.

Four times in the year the Great Sabbat

Returns, and the witches are seen

At Lammas and Candlemas dancing,

On May Eve and old Hallowe'en.

When day-time and night-time are equal,

When sun is at greatest and least,

The four Lesser Sabbats are summoned,

And Witches gather in feast.

Thirteen silver moons in a year are,

Thirteen is the coven's array.

Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,

For each golden year and a day.

 

The power that was passed down the age,

Each time between woman and man,

Each century unto the other,

Ere time and the ages began.

When drawn is the magical circle,

By sword or athame of power,

Its compass between two worlds lies,

In land of the shades for that hour.

This world has no right then to know it.

And world of beyond will tell naught.

The oldest of Gods are invoked there,

The Great Work of magic is wrought.

 

For the two are mystical pillars,

That stand at the gate of the shrine,

And two are the powers of nature,

The forms and the forces divine.

 

The dark and the light in succession,

The opposites each unto each,

Shown forth as a God and a Goddess:

Of this our ancestors teach.

 

By night he's the wild winds rider,

The Horn'd One, the Lord of the Shades.

By day he's the King of the Woodland,

The dweller in green forest glades.

 

She is youthful or old as she pleases,

She sails the torn clouds in her barque,

The bright silver lady of midnight,

The crone who weaves spells in the dark.

 

The master and mistress of magic,

That dwell in the deeps of the mind,

Immortal and ever-renewing,

With power to free or to bind.

 

So drink the good wine to the Old Gods,

And Dance and make love in their praise,

Till Elphame's fair land shall receive us

In peace at the end of our days.

 

And Do What You Will be the challenge,

So be it Love that harms none,

For this is the only commandment.

By Magic of old, be it done!

 

 

From Doreen Valiente's, "Witchcraft For Tomorrow

 

Witchcraft: A Short Concise Introduction

 

Witchcraft is a myriad of different practices to many people. Most individuals that are interested will borrow from several traditions to tailor one that fits them. This can be fine if you are dabbling in practices that you have no real commitment in and feel that it is the style that you and your friends are embracing for the moment. This gives you temporary power but it certainly isn’t long lasting. Magic (or Magick) can be an interesting sort of energy that flows from the individual and the energy is as diverse as individuals can be. However, if your intent is purely for your own gain and you aren’t honest, you gossip about people maliciously, you go out of your way to break up relationships; you steal from the company you work for and lie though your teeth, your magic is going to be flawed. Your intent is going to backfire and the results aren’t going to be pretty. Clarity is necessary which means that you should be able to foresee in advance the results of your spell because you meditated and envisioned on the outcome. Your desire and therefore your energy should spring from you. Make your personal self and the code or rules you live by as honest as you possibly can and you can do this by modifying your behavior so that you can attempt to achieve a higher level of being.

 

There are two ways you can go about being a witch. It is not enough to say “Hey! I’m a WITCH”! The first way is to research the type of tradition that fits you. If you’re lucky the most ideal tradition will find YOU. Make your decision and read everything you can get your hands on including the crap. You will begin to build a frame of reference to draw from so you can discern what is right for you.  The more you know the more you can make informed choices for yourself. Knowledge is POWER.

 

Admittedly this is a lonely way to go. There are no witches listed in the want ads or in the phone book The old adage still stands: when the student is ready, the teacher appears. It is preferable to have a teacher or a mentor though if you go the second way. When you combine the teacher with the knowledge and information, you are getting the best of both worlds, written and learned experience from someone who has been there. You may be lucky enough to be admitted into a coven, which is very much like a family with members who will be brothers and sisters for life.

 

 

 

Either way you chose to be a witch is to embark on a personal journey of your spirit and a commitment for life. To be a Witch isn’t something you just get “into”. This phase is one of my pet peeves. To get into something implies that you can get out of it just as easily. Nothing can be further from the truth when it comes to this sacred practice. It is not only a slap in the face to those of us who practice the craft, but it is extreme disrespect to the Old Ones as well.

 

 

 

Witches are lights and shadows, blessings and curses. They walk the balance between light and dark taking responsibility for the choices they make in their lives. They part company with the Wiccan whose sole focus is the light only. The Wiccan tradition has a three-fold law that is sound and keeps people from screwing up their lives. The three-fold law stipulates that everything you do comes back to you three times. It is a sound ethic to embrace for those new to the path and not familiar with responsible magic, but this is not practical to the Witch. In the vein regarding hexing, here’s why.

 

 

 

If you are someone who is on the brink of losing their job because of underhanded colleagues that sabotage your work and your projects or they take your ideas and tout them as their own thus getting the credit and the promotion you should have earned, you are justified in creating a hex that will uncover their deceitful practices. You don’t want to zap them into dust, the idea isn’t to punish them. They already did that to themselves the moment the boss becomes aware of their actions. A Wiccan will turn the other cheek and hope for the best. This results in a bruised cheek.

 

 

 

If you are a woman and you live in fear because the man you live with beats you and your children, you are justified in bringing a hex down on him. The Wiccan will cast white light on him so that he will see the error of his ways. Because the pattern to abuse is already established in this guy, he will think that he is justified in keeping his woman in her place. The white light will empower him and warp his perceptions into something he that he will use against her. A good ole fashioned hex will take the power out of his hands.

 

 

 

Blessings however, can be done anywhere at any time. Witches bless newborns, both animal and human. To the stranger on a bus, a Witch can bless a person who appears to be in pain and the stranger need not know. They can offer words of kindness to people losing a loved one, leave clothes and food on the doorstep of a needy person. On the flip side, Witch can trust that everything that she/he needs will come to them when the time is right. There is so much more to cover.

 


 

Be Well in Your Walk upon the Path.

 

Written by: Kahat