What Being A Witch Means To Me What does being a witch mean to me? Being at peace with myself Being one with the world Being one with humanity Being one with "all" Understand yourself. Respect yourself. Give you word and abide by it. Do not waver in your abilities and your own faith. Trust your heart and instincts. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt (once). Live by your personal creed and tenets. Express yourself as best you can and ignore idle criticism Do not fall into the thought that all things "witchey" are always and light. You must balance and respect the opposite polarities of existence. Many would say that being a witch means to be nice and loving and kind, but as a faith that is one with nature one should be able to be violent when need be, fiery and tempestuous and even perhaps at times cruel. Because as nature and the world around us is "nice, loving and kind, it too is violent, fiery, tempestuous and cruel. There are many who are "self proclaimed" witches who have lost sight or blissfully ignore the balance of nature. Many worship the Earth, and the Earth is most violent, born in a fiery cataclysm and a torrent of storms, many see Her as peacefully and the giver of life, however the Earth is violent. Too many witches see only the blue sky and ignore the storm clouds. To be a witch you must understand the two natures of all things. Big fish eat little fish regardless of how nice the sea looks. Nature is based on balance, that which dies becomes food and life giving for that which is born. I do not believe I need the confines of buildings, standing under a cloud is a more holy and "living" experience, nor do I need any of the preconceived notions that come with organized faith and religions, If I choose to "alter" my faith to suit the day or the weather that should be my choice. To which is to say, "We are free to worship as my heart sees fit and as your heart alone sees fit". If there is a "godhead", a source of divine power and guidance, they can read my heart and mind. So, I see that which is called morality and judgment as very personal, and honesty and integrity are very important. Ever day you are part of the Divine, and so you should love yourself, every day is perfect so you should acknowledge the Divine nature of the day in all you do, even a smile at the sky is an act of praise to the "Source". As a witch I do not need to nor do I feel the need to celebrate my faith with others as none of us have the same beliefs, similar but not identical. I see a witch as some one who is honest and strong, willing to stand for their convictions with wavering and without error. As the master (or mistress) of ones own beliefs why should you and how can you share with those of different values and ideals? In an ideal world all would be very lovely, however in "witchey things" things are usually far from ideal. If each "witch" sees himself/herself as the only one with the ideal understanding and perception of the Divine, then egos will come into play. So I think to be a "good" witch is to practice and grow alone. Listening and learning from others is very important, "but to your own heart be true". Many people I think will respond with other opinions and that is their right, however they may allude to being part of a group. I do not think you need the group mentality to be a witch, in fact I think it (groups) are counter to what "witching" is all about. © Steve Morrison 1998 |