What do witches believe?
A witch is a person who believes in the 'Old Religion' that is at present called Wicca. This religion is one that emphasizes the unity of the natural world and the spiritual powers that it possesses. Witches believe that all living things have 'soul' and spiritual power, and that the world is composed of a network of spiritual forces. These forces causes the rhythmic changes in all life, and the witch acknowledges these times of change by holding celebrations eight times a year.
In order to give form to these celebrations and to provide a sense of personal communication with the life-force that animates ourselves and our cosmos, witches, like members of other religions, personify the power they serve and worship. Wicca is a religion of the world of nature and of fertility. The worship of witches is therefore directed towards a Great Goddess, who, together with her male consort, rules the universe. This goddess has appeared in many religions in man's history, and witches vary in the names they use for her. Many see her as being a goddess with three characters, that of the young maiden, that of the mother and that of the old woman who is wise and who is the layer-out of the dead. These three names maybe Diana, the goddess of the spring, Selene, the moon goddess who creates the tides of the ocean and the mentrual tides, and Hecate, the goddess of the night. Other names for her include Isis(Egypt), Artemis(Greece), Rhea(Crete), Ganga(India), Mokosh(the Ukraine), Brigid(Ireland). Her consort has fewer names in common use. Four of them are Cernunnos, Janicot, Herne and Karnayna. The Goddess is pictured as ruling from spring until autumn, and her consort throughout the late autumn and winter. together they form the unity that in the Far East has been seen as the Yin and the Yang, the unity of feminine and masculine principles.
Some hereditary witches perceive the Goddess as quadruple rather than triple, and Hecate, the goddess of death and transition, as being seperate from the crone or old woman. For these witches the number four fits perfectly into a system of thought that lays stress upon the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water, the four directions or points of the compass, and the four quarters of the moon.
There is no way in which one can summarize the beliefs of witches about the Goddess and her consort, for there is no orthodoxy in witchcraft. The names change from one group to another, and different groups emphasize different attributes of these powers. One can, however, easily stte the central belief of all witches as regards human conduct. The Witches' Law, handed down through the generations, is "Do what ye will an (meaning 'provided that') ye harm no one." To this is added the statement of principle, "Perfect Love, Perfect Trust." The law has also been expressed in the words "Love and do harm to none" and "Love, and do what you will under the law of love." The Old Religion is, indeed, a religion of love.
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