84 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
84 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
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WITCHES--Who Are They?
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by
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Queen Ellery
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Witchcraft was commonly beleived to be associated with Satanism and
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devil worship. During the "Age of Discovery," millions of Witches
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were killed throughout the world in a great holocaust whose existance
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is yet denied by many in the Christian community today.
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I am a Witch. I am not a Satanist. I worship Nature and I also
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practice magic for personal development and for the welfare of
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others. My religion is called Wicca--a faith that is being
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practiced by thousands of others in Canada today. Fear of
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Witchcraft is based upon ignorance and superstition, against
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which I offer the following information.
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Witches are ordinary people. THey practice their religion in private;
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a custom that has been observed since the Burning Times of the 15th
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to 18th centuries. In those days, seven million Europeans alone were
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killed by Christian fanatics after being labeled as devil worshippers.
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In reality, the Witches' religion is a combination of Pagan festival
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observances and folk magic. Today, many Witches combine a private worship
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called Wicca with a public expression of conscience through participation
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in various human rights and ecology movements.
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Modern Wiccans are diverse in their beliefs. They have no sacred texts,
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no written code, and no central authority. Their social unit is the
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coven: a group of three to thirteen people who meet to worship the
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old Nature Gods and work magic in a spirit of "Perfect love and perfect
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trust." When they greet each other it is with the phrase "Merry meet,
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merry part, and merry meet again," or "Blessed be." Their ethics are
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both individualistic and responsible as expressed in the Wiccan Rule:
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"Do as you will, if it harms none." This is not the undisciplined
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freedom of a wastrel. To follow this rule in its full meaning
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requires that one act according to one's true nature and accept all
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the consequences of one's acts.
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An obvious difference between Wicca and the Judeo-Christian-Islamic
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religions is in the concept of sin, especially as it is applied to
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sexuality. Wiccans reject this idea; in fact, their religion often
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expresses gender polarity in a joyous, sexual manner. They worship
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the Great Goddess who is reported by certain Wiccan traditions as
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telling Her followers: "All acts of love and pleasure are My
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rituals."
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Their Deities are emblems of the seasonal changes of Nature in the
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eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The Gods of Nature are
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subtle Beings that personify both the Light and the Dark forces.
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As such, They represent the great mysteries, like the Christian
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mystery of the Ressurection of Jesus Christ, that cannot be
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explained--only experienced.
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They believe in reincarnation. Instead of seeing Death as either an
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eternal reward or an eternal punishment, Wiccans view it as a state of
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peace and spiritual rest. THey see Life and Death forming the cycle
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that they observe in the seasons of the year. Their two major festivals
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are held six months apart, at May Day and Halloween. May Day is a
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celebration of Life, with its may pole phallus evoking dances of sexual
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liberation--a time when the first green growth of the year bursts forth.
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Halloween is a celebration of Death, with its jack o' lantern skull
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evoking memories of the dead--a time when the Hunter's Moon shines upon
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the killing frosts. Wiccans know that the death of the older plants and
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animals seen at Halloween is necessary to the life of the young
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ones seen at May Day.
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Wiccans believe their religion to be true to the spirit of the earliest
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cultures of Paleolithic Europe in that they respect the Earth, the
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regenerative powers of Nature, and the divine Masculine and Feminine
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principles that humankind began to worship more than twelve thousand
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years ago. And Wiccans believe magic transforms their lives and serves
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as a balance to the materialism of modern industrial society.
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They do not proselytize; but they do teach religious tolerance. Wicca
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is not for everyone, they say. All paths lead to the Centre, and Wicca
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is but one path. A Path is but a path--not the Destination.
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Blessed be, Ellery
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Ottawa, Ontario, July-1993
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