They believed in many deities,but
the most important to them was their
Great Mother Goddess.
They believed in and lived with the
powers of Nature.They reveled in
the Wind,the Rain, the Snow and the
Sunlight.They marveled at and revered
the changing of the seasons and saw
therein great excitement and wisdom to
be gained.
They knew that if they tended,cared for and loved the Earth,in return She would provide for,care for and love them.
They saw that all around them the world
was filled with Life,much as their own
but in many different and wonderful
forms.
They
felt the life of the flowers,plants
and trees and respected them for that
life essence.They looked about and
observed all the many types of animals
and saw that they were kindred to them
and loved them.
They felt and observed the great Love
of the Goddess all about them and knew
kinship with the Moon.
They were
practioners of The Old Religion,
worshipers of The Great Mother.
Witch!
The very word instantly invokes
visions for each of us,visions which
vary greatly from individual to
individual.
Many of these visions, however, are
quite false,brought about by many
centuries of severe persecutions,
mis-representations, prejudice and,in
recent years,lack of knowledge.
Witchcraft! What is it really?
Witchcraft is the oldest,most irrepressible religion in the world because it stimulates the intellect, promotes a simple, practical way of life and,most importantly,is emotionally satisfying.
Its roots lie in the ancient Matriarchal systems of Goddess worship.
A religion of Nature in which the primary deity is female (The Essence of Femininity, The Earth Mother, The Great Mother, etc.).
It was easy for the Wise Ones to look
at the world around them and see the
great importance of Feminine
Principle.
The female was,indeed,the one who bore
the young,perhaps the most magickal of
all events to ancient man.
Then,she played by far the most
important role in rearing the young,
being totally responsible for feeding,
for without her milk there was no
life past birth.
She was responsible for the teaching and
early care of the young.
In all youths the greatest comfort and
nurturing love were connected with
the mother.
These revelations and experiences could hardly lead to any other choice than the total reverence and deification of the female.
Although The Great Mother is the most important deity,Witches do, generally, recognize many Goddessess and/or Gods and are,therefore,polytheistic.
The tenets of Witchcraft are few but
all-encompassing.
For with three simple Universal
Observations all of life can be
explained and understood:
1)Reincarnation-Mortality
2)Cause & Effect-Magick
3)Retribution-Morality
Reincarnation enlightens the Witch to the fact that,as we come to this material world over and over in a series of learning periods,or lifetimes, we will eventually have to experience all things,be all things,understand all things.This creates a great tolerance for other viewpoints in the Witch.
Cause & Effect,and an understanding of it,allows the Witch to see what makes the world work and how to live most efficiently. It gives them a great advantage in that it explains the working of Magick.
Retribution shows the Witch, in
graphic terms,that every thought one
might have,every action one may take,
is returned in like kind.
This realization forms the basis
of the Moral Code of the Witch.
The Patriarchal Societies which
evolved in later times had no tolerance
for the Goddess religions and
systematically set out to destroy the
material vestiges,kill or convert the
adherents and wipe out all
knowledge of them.
They destroyed the temples and other
places of worship,desecrated the sacred
groves and magickal places,attempted to
pervert the old deities, mutilated and
totally suppressed sacred art,tore down
libraries and burned books,tortured and
killed many of the practitioners of the
Old Religions,demeaned,persecuted and
oppressed women in general and passed
strictly enforced laws which made theirs
the State Religion and forbade all other
viewpoints.
Despite the centuries of insidious persecution,deliberate destruction and perversions at the hands of the Christian Conspirators,Witchcraft has survived.
EARTH-RITE/ Mission San Jose, CA/
415-651-9496 Copyright(c)1981 The
Witching Well Education & Research
Center. Used With Permission
LINKS: