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There are many different opinions as to the origins of the word "Witch". In old Anglo-Saxon, Wiccan and Wicce (masculine and feminine) refer to a seer, one who divines information magickally. from these root words comes the word Wicca which is the term used in the craft today. It also points to our beliefs and practices.
Wicca is an earth religion which honors nature and the powers behind it. It includes paying homage to the Goddess as well as the God in our rites, recognizing the feminine as well as the masculine aspects of the divine. In Wicca, we strive towards balance. at any rate, the word "wych" in Saxon and "wicce" in Olde English means to "turn, bend, or shape" (See "Power of the Witch", pg 14 by Laurie Cabot)
What does this mean for us as witches? we bend the energies of nature to work our will. There is a chant that goes like this..."Everything changes everything she touches, and everything she touches changes".
Two Types of Magick:
Basically there are two types of magick...positive and negative.
"If it harms none, do as ye will" - The Witches' Creed, Doreen Valiente, "Witchcraft for Tomorrow".
This is a basic rule that Wiccans are called to follow. We have the powers of nature and the universe at our disposal to work whatever type of magick we desire, but the one thing we must do is to practice morally and responsibly.
While the energies behind magickal workings are basically the same, it is the intent of the witch performing the magick that is the deciding factor of what type of magick is being worked...positive or negative.
How do we know if what we are doing is harmful to another or not? Well, we might ask ourselves a couple of questions before we set out to work magick:
1. Will the spell we are thinking about performing cause the object of our magick to be hurt, maimed or disfigured in any way?
Ok, so getting angry at someone doesn't give us the right to work a spell that will cause them to break a leg or get hit by a truck. That's pretty simple. The next question we might want to ask ourselves is...
2. are we in any way going to be causing the object of our magick to act in any way that would be against their wishes under normal circumstances?
This is where free will comes in. Every person and being that exists has the inherent right to choose. We cannot deny that right to anyone.
There was a movie that came out a while back called "Teen Witch". It depicted a young teenage girl who was learning to tap into her magickal powers. One day she was having difficulty with a teacher who had humiliated her in class. So she went home and made a doll (poppet) that resembled that teacher. The next day in class she started stripping the doll of its clothing, piece by piece, and as she did, the teacher started removing his clothing as well, leaving him in a very embarassing position.
I must admit, this example is a bit extreme, but the point is clear. If anything we do causes a person to behave in a manner that they wouldn't normally, it is considered negative and unethical.
One of the most popular types of spells out there are love spells. There are whole books devoted to them. It is so easy to get caught up in the romance of it all, especially when we have been done wrong by someone we care deeply about, or if we are terribly lonely, but if the love spell compells a specific person of our desire to behave towars us in a manner that they normally wouldn't, for instance call us on the phone suddenly, or have a sudden desire to kiss us, then we have stripped them of their free will and that is also negative and unethical. There are however, certain types of love spells that we can perform that aren't negative and manipulative, but rather draw the right person to us according to the free will of all and harming none, but we'll save that for a future lesson. For our purposes now, the main thing to remember is that there are two types of magick...positive and negative. If what we do harms just one person or being, then it is negative magick and for our own sakes as well as theirs, we must consciously decide not to have any part of it. There is a price to be paid by all. |
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