What Are Your Most Pressing Questions When It Comes to Witchcraft and Magic?

Witchcraft
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Very good! I wish I knew that when I first moved, because there was both an Alexandrian Wiccan

coven and a Eclectic Pagan coven in my new area, and I was told that the Wiccan coven had

a very specific God and Goddess and I would not fit in very well. I was of the (wrong) opinion

that the Deities would not be central to the coven practice, Magick would be. One question you

not answered, but is probably ‘it depends’ is can one be a Wiccan and a non-Wiccan witch at

the same time? Practice Wicca with and in the Coven and do as one wished outside @ home?

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I would think the answer is “it depends.” Most of the covens I know work with a specific deity or deities, but are ok with their members working with other deities. But the members all do believe in and work with that deity or deities that the coven is devoted to.

For Wiccans, the God and Goddess are central to the rituals and honoring them is an essential part of being in those covens. Wicca is a religion, not just a practice of witchcraft, so if you didn’t feel connected to the God and Goddess (that’s what they call them, among other names), that would feel out of alignment. I imagine it would be like being a Christian and being like, yeah, I’m not really into Jesus. Which maybe happens if someone likes the teachings but doesn’t care about the figure, but that probably isn’t the norm.

Does that answer your question?

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43

Yes it does thank you. I have a God & Goddess, but not by the same names as that Alexandrian

coven. It would be fine if the service was just ‘God & Goddess’ using those general labels but

specific deity names from pantheons I don’t know would be… awkward and jarring. In my past,

in churches they pray to ‘God’ or ‘Lord’ but rarely if ever use an actual name, such as Jehovah.

See, I think that every God name points to one overall God that humanity sees in many ways,

and calls by many names. Same with the Goddess (but less common in this Abrahamic world).

So if a Coven would insist on using specific names, it would just always break my immersion.

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It’s funny because that sounds kind of like a variety of Wicca to me. The names they give their god and goddess are not rigid. Wiccans freely use whatever names that suit them - the main thing is it fits into the structure of duotheism - one god, one goddess. There are varieties of Wicca that go beyond Alexandrian and Gardnerian - some Wiccans are styled more toward the Norse, some Egyptian, etc. It sounds like an eclectic Wiccan coven would be a good fit for you.

While it’s got some structure, it’s still flexible like other pagan traditions. (Sorry for jumping in, just thought I’d give my two cents.) :trident_emblem:

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45

I like that, that’s what I am all right. I have room for other gods and goddesses by attributes,

I will study them and learn, it might even alter my ‘mental picture’ a bit. I always assumed

that in any ‘church’ the people each have their own mental image of ‘God’ as they are praying

and no two are exactly alike unless the ‘church’ system imposes rigidly one ‘picture’ for all

to follow. That’s what growing up RC was like, there’s the Crucifix hanging in the front, all eyes

are on that statue nailed to it in service. I gather that each coven is different, some may indeed

say “our one god, goddess are to be called by these names and these images and none else.”

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46

Nice! Interesting.

Yeah since Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca are more traditional those covens are more likely to be rigid about the names they use. An eclectic Wiccan coven is going to be much more open. Dude, from what you’re describing, you sound practically Wiccan lol. :bell:

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47

Please allow my slightly off-topic rant. :upside_down_face:

Aside from my absolute disdain for authority figures, in any form, my spiritual path is one of my own choosing, including any and all aspects of deity, worship, ritual, and so on. In the coven setting we all followed established practices and procedures. Outside the coven we did whatever we wanted, so long as it didn’t compromise the integrity of the coven. I strive to be open to new ideas and consider any suggestions and continue to learn and grow, but my spiritual path is just that, mine. As soon as anyone tells me I must do something or do it a certain way, I question their authority, often finding that they are a self-proclaimed authority. Last time I checked, the only things I must do is breath, eat, drink, and transition.

I think I was blessed to be in a coven that was essentially absent drama, no power struggles or negativity. I chose to be in the coven, so I willingly followed any and all rules (I cringe at even using that word). I will not place myself in a situation where I am not free to follow my spiritual path in the best way I see fit.

Thanks for letting me rant. Brightest Blessings!

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48

It’s not that far off topic. ALL our threads get a bit off target, it’s forum nature.

It’s more a ME problem than a COVEN problem. My G-d (EL) is a jealous god.

While I can learn about the nature of the Masculine Deity by learning about other

people’s gods and maybe even incorporating those insights into my understanding of

THE G-d, I can’t call on any other G-d by name, which of course would be a problem in

the case of these strict Wiccan covens who use a discrete name and not a general one.

(God, Lord, etc.) Now the Goddess, there I have less of a problem, She does not have

stated a name She insists upon. (Tho I still only pray to Her as ELAT). Demigods and

Guardian Spirits and Patron Saints I have no issues with at all, by definition they won’t

challenge the status quo. That might make me a poor example of a Pagan, but it’s just me.

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Well… like I said there’s plenty of flexibility still within the craft, and Marcus explained it well. Heck, there are Christian witches that work with Jesus somehow.

My beliefs were pretty static for most of my life - it started as a kind of animistic panentheism that had place for a singular creative force - but I never attached a name or humanoid shape to that force. I saw it like an invisible cosmic river that permeated all things. I still kinda see it that way but I’ve leaned much more polytheistic with time and more small changes have occurred since I became a Buddhist.

To me, the idea that one culture has authority to proclaim that their god is the ultimate god above all others is just human arrogance. I still hold this view in the way that I hold no creator gods over any of the others - they’re all on equal playing ground as the many faces humans have applied to the divine to me.

When I encountered the Buddhist world it was like discovering a new dimension, one that peeled apart the layers of the divine and humanity. It completely changed my view of reality, but most of my core beliefs haven’t changed - just tweaked slightly to reflect this new understanding. But I don’t want to derail this conversation even further by getting into that thought - I guess after Marcus got his rant I got “jealous” and wanted to do one too. LOL Cheers. :lotus:

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The religions in the Ancient Near East were very different than what we think of religion today.

ELOHIM (EL+ELAT) were the Supreme Deities for multiple tribes, no one claimed ‘ownership’

and cities, tribes, and even families had their own Patron deity that was worshiped in addition

to (but never ‘ranked’ above) ELOHIM. We’d certainly consider them Pagan in that regard.

However, like Abraham my (spiritual) Father figure, I have a Covenant with ELOHIM and so

have particular limits by Oath? Vow? Vrata? Geas? that I must seriously uphold or face dire. (!)

(But only really effects EL not ELAT … BTW, Eilat on the Red Sea is named after Her, I think?)

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Christian Wiccans too for some reason, but they might be confusing it with Christian Witches too.

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Ah yes the tribes do sound very pagan! That mirrors some other cultures. Makes sense!

Oh yes, especially if it’s like a geas that’s quite serious. I’ve Taken Refuge as a Buddhist, the closest thing we have to the covenant I think, but it’s still not quite the same:

If you’re in a Dharmic faith and you screw up a vow you don’t have to worry about an angry god. If you’re working with a deity they may get disappointed, but as long as you keep trying they don’t rake you over the coals over it. They’re very hard to piss off. As the deities of chill their patience is legendary. Also once you take up an oath, they’ll stay with you for countless lifetimes - if you made one in a previous lifetime they will remain in the background as “watchers” even if you’re practicing another faith, waiting until it’s time for them to return to the front.

That’s what having an oath in a Hindu/Buddhist practice looks like, from my experience. :lotus:

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53

My most pressing question is how to come to terms with loving nature, practicing largely nature based traditions, but having nature try to destroy me every chance it gets. I have collected all the allergies, but not in a fun action figure sort of way. In a “should I really go outside?!” sort of way. I just moved to a new state which does not agree with my physiology exactly so this is front and center in my mind.

Short story long, I’ve been trying to wrap my head around being at odds with what I love in a radical acceptance style, but also in mindful, spiritual terms. I suppose nature has not actually destroyed me. Yet. So I do have gratitude for that.

I do believe there is a lot of practitioners that also have allergy and other concerns, so I think there could be such a thing as a framework to tackle this dichotomy in a cheeky yet accepting manner.

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lol I can relate to you completely. For about 7 months of the year my place is virtually uninhabitable with extreme sub-zero temps, snow, ice… But before moving here I had terrible allergies of all kinds too and endured fires and pollution when I lived in California. The air here is significantly cleaner at least! lol

To a degree it is radical acceptance - like being married and accepting the changing moods of sickness and health, yet staying with the partner you love. Even in the worst months here, there’s beauty if you look at the snow just right as it glitters at night, and in knowing that as I hibernate, so too are the other mammals up here.

Being in a place with better air quality helped me - but also getting testing done, making some lifestyle adjustments, and finding the right treatments too. :lotus:

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Without giving it a lot of thought, I wonder if virtual reality would help. Considering how real it is these days and improving all the time, the fact that our perception is our reality, and avoiding the very distracting qualities of allergies, I wonder. When I watch certain movies, contemplate certain things, read certain books, and so on, I have a noticeable reaction, I feel a change in me. Why wouldn’t it work with VR? And now my mind wanders down another path…

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