Lesson Title: The Basics!
(Lesson Updated: 5-31-06)

Foreword: This lesson is an overview. All people should know the following information, to have a better understanding what Paganism and Witchcraft really is.


Coven - A coven is a group of practicing Witches. Covens are usually lead by a high priestess, a high priest, or both. A coven meets together regularly to perform spells and worship.

Craft, The - The Craft is the practice of Witchcraft.

Eclectic - An eclectic Witch or Pagan is one that doesn't follow any particular tradition or religion. He/she will mostly borrow pieces from various other traditions or religions, and maybe write a few, until they have made a tradition or religion for themselves.

Magic - Magic is taking something that you visualize in your mind, and bringing it into being in the physical world. This is done by the force of will. This is what we often refer to as spell work. It is often spelled with the final 'k' (magic) as to not be confused with stage magic, such as David Copperfield performs. Magic is the conscious use of psychic energy to accomplish a goal. The art and science of focusing your will and emotions to effect change both in the world around you and the world within you. Magic is neither good nor evil, positive nor negative. It is the use of the power that determines the path it will take.

Neo-Pagan - The prefix 'neo-' means new or modern, so a 'Neo-Pagan' is a modern Pagan. The word Neo-Pagan is not a widely popular term. It seems to be a direct result of the New Age lingo. Unless you're pretending to live in the 16th century, all of today's Pagans are Neo-Pagan.

Pagan - This word originally comes from Latin. 'Pagus' means a canton or district, or in other words a parcel of land, usually in rural area. A 'paganus' was one who lived on this parcel of land, usually working it as a farm or performing other rural tasks. 'Paganus' came to mean country folk. As Christianity came to various parts of Europe, the people in the towns and cities were converted, but those in the country were not. So country folk were non-Christian and still practiced their own spirituality. The word 'pagan', which originally meant country person, came to mean non-believer and worse. Today some people still believe the original misconceptions, but in actually a Pagan is anyone who practices a non-Christian, Jewish or Muslim religion, which worships multiple gods and/or nature.

Spell (Cast a Spell) - A form of magic that involved extended mental and emotional energy spoken aloud, written, spoken to oneself, drawn or even danced.

Solitary - A solitary Witch is one, who by preference or circumstance practices their path alone. A solitary does not belong to a coven.

Warlock - This is a word that is not used much by Witches today. The original meaning of the word is one that breaks an oath or breaks faith. It is a derogatory term. During the Burning Times it was used to denote someone who broke their faith with God. Witches also used it to refer to a Witch who revealed too much and brought the Witch hunters down upon his fellows. This would fit with the 'oath breaker' meaning. Either way, it is not a nice word. Thanks to the media, it is now often used by the public to refer to a male witch. I don't know of any true Witches who would use the word to describe a practitioner of the Craft.

Witch - A Witch is someone who practices Witchcraft.

Witchcraft - Witchcraft is, for the most part, the use of Magic. Witchcraft is a practice, an action, a craft, and an art. It is not a religion. Many Pagans use witchcraft and don't mind being called both a Pagan and a Witch. The reason so many Pagans also practice Witchcraft, in addition to their religious practices, is because witchcraft and Paganism are both drenched in nature and share other parallels. In some Pagan religions, like Wicca, it's hard to tell where the religion ends and the craft begin. None-the-less, it is important to know that you do not have to be a Witch and be Pagan or vice versa. You can be one and not the other.

(Source: Sowan)


Wiccan or Witch?

Though you can be both a Wiccan and a witch, these two words do not mean the same thing. One of the biggest sore points among Wiccans is the improper usage of the terms "Wiccan" and "Witch". Too many people use the terms interchangeably, presuming that they both mean the same thing. They do not.

Wiccan
Wicca is a religion, and someone who follows that religion is called a Wiccan. Sometimes it can be difficult to accurately define Wicca, and not all Wiccans will define themselves the same way. Observing the 8 Wiccan Sabbats, honoring the Gods and/or Goddesses, creating sacred space for rituals, to name a few. Many traditional Wiccans also feel that belonging to a coven is also a requirement and those who practice their religion as a solitary, should not refer to themselves as Wiccan. Typical Wiccans also practice magic, and therefore are also witches. You cannot be a "natural Wiccan" any more than you could be a "natural Christian".

Witch
The practice of witchcraft is not associated with any religion, therefore you can be a witch and yet also be a member of any number of religions (or none). Using the natural energies within yourself, along with the energies of herbs, stones or other elements to make changes around you is considered witchcraft. Though the skills and gifts that are part of witchcraft can be inherited from parents or grandparents, you aren't automatically a witch just because your grandmother may have been one. The use of magic takes practice, experience and learning. On a side note, a male witch is called a witch, not a warlock.

Pagan
While I'm explaining terminology, I thought I would throw in "Pagan" as well. Paganism refers to a variety of non-Christian/Jewish/Islamic religions that are usually polytheistic and are often nature-based. Wicca is only one Pagan religion, but there are others such as Santeria, Asatru, or Shamanism. Many people do not necessarily identify with a specific religion, and just use the broad term "Pagan" to define their spiritual path. Pagan religions are distinct and separate from each other, and it should not be assumed that they are just different names for the same faith.

(Source: http://www.about.com)


An Exploration of Eclectic Pagans

What is the Eclectic Way? No one has really written a book about it- you would need a forklift to pick it up if all its references were fully played out. Basically, it is a path of Creative Synthesis. Here, just to give you a little taste, is the Eclectic Rede:

Nine words the Eclectic Rede attest:

Use what works
Fix what's broke
Dump the rest.

Now, there are variations of this Rede in various places, and it has been applied to TechPagans like myself, but that, in essence is the Eclectic way. We take a little from Column A, Column B and Column C and synthesize something completely different and definitely interesting from the parts. We do this with the utmost respect and reverence for our source material, and many of us have been taught or raised in more traditional paths.

A Closer Look at Eclecticism

Eclectic: 1. Deriving ideas, tastes, style, etc from various sources. 2. selecting one's beliefs, etc. from various sources; attached to no particular school of philosophy. (From Greek eklektikos- to pick out)

Orthodox: 1. (a) Holding correct or currently accepted opinions, esp. on religious doctrine, morals, etc. (b) Not independent-minded, unoriginal, unheretical. 2. Generally accepted as right or true; authoritatively established, conventional.

Heretic: from Greek hairesis- choice, able to choose. (From the Concise Oxford Dictionary.)

Eclecticism is the cutting edge of magick, and creative recombinant synthesis is the innermost kernel of its living practice. I have been on this path for 28 years, and have been lucky enough to know that I cannot grow in knowledge and wisdom without looking at other practices. Witchcraft is an individual path- no matter if you find like-minded folks to work with (if you're lucky and there aren't any ego trippers to contend with) nothing is truly set in concrete, as are the religions of the Book (Christianity and all...). If you stick to a certain sharply defined practice, and ENFORCE it, you begin the slide into orthodoxy, which is the beginning of the end for any living path. When one practice comes to dominate others, suddenly you have things like heretics and pogroms and by then, the original kernel of practice has been long buried. This was the fate of early Christianity, which was an eclectic mixture of practices and worship. When the Roman Church eventually won the 'war' for orthodoxy, it was the death knell for any non-conformists. I sincerely hope that this doesn't happen to our Craft.

Eclecticism should be welcomed into the fold as happily as the original modern Witches- the Gardenerians and Alexandrians and all. If you look at it logically, our whole fold is rather Eclectic, with the germ kernel of magickal knowledge, intelligence and practice bringing us all together.

Eclectics, to my mind, anyway, are the 'early adapters' and magickal pioneers and engineers of the Craft. They are the ones scouting the horizon, scouring the old texts, reading about both science and social movements, gleaning the bits of truth from all these sources, and recombining these ideas in whole new ways. Serendipity is a supreme blessing for an Eclectic Witch as is Synchronicity. Through these two gateways, knowledge and wisdom are gained. In practice, the Eclectic 'travels without moving'- avidly permitting Intuition and Instinct to lead them from one hyperlink to the next- and connecting passages and ideas in completely different disciplines. Long practice attunes them to that gut feeling of what is Truth, and they avidly pursue it. By necessity, an Eclectic must be a generalist rather than a specialist, and must be widely read in many subjects. My personal library includes books on science (hard and soft), anthropology, sociology, major religions, fiction (mostly science fiction, but also tech thrillers) and scholarly tomes that have to be slowly absorbed. My books bristle with little bookmarks with cryptic notes on them, breadcrumbs of the journey I have undertaken so far. I possess three library cards, and those poor people know me by sight. They keep threatening to buy a wheelbarrow and engrave my name on it! I also have a huge collection of articles gleaned from the Internet that cover all sorts of subjects that lend their threads to the warp and weft of the fabric of my practice.

Even 'bad' or poorly written and researched books have their redeeming qualities- even if only to serve as a example of what not to do. Eclectics are driven by curiosity- and burn for knowledge- life is a vast puzzle, and a day of delight is one where another major part is discovered and laid into place in their mindscape. Eclectics practice with deep reverence to the source material, but also with the deep knowledge (not belief- they KNOW) that All is One if you dig deeply enough. This inner Gnosis keeps their equilibrium and sanity when forces tempt them to be swept away into religious orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is deadly to the Eclectic soul- it forces them to abandon the Quest. And some of these Orthodox paths are very tempting- they offer shelter and comfort of routine and rote practice and like-minded community in an unpredictable world. Evangelicals are especially good at eroding defenses and undermining the confidence of the religious seeker, tearing down their worldview and replacing it with Biblically derived pabulum. With the underpinnings of certainty eaten away by the Evangelical, the unfortunate Pagan may fall into the trap, and be permanently damaged and sidelined. (But that is a whole 'nother essay, one that I am currently researching and writing.)

This continuous questing doesn't mean that the Eclectic is a flaky butterfly hopping from one path to the other. Youngsters (and this isn't chronological age, but spiritual age) may hop from one practice to the other, but their goal is to find a path that fits their lifestyles, and then step into a sharply defined practice when they find the right fit. Others are only interested in collecting degrees and accolades and egorgasms. Such things generally do not interest the genuine Eclectic, who is usually a spiritually mature person. True Eclecticism is a steady progress from one path to the next- a steady growth and recognition of the limits of some paths. If degrees are obtained, they are usually conferred, and rarely mentioned when the Eclectic begins exploring the next stage in the Quest. Knowledge is the goal, not glory.

I hope that this gives you all a little more insight into a wonderful and challenging Path. As I remember it now, my own Wiccan training was "Alexanderian" in practice, but my own Teachers were kind enough to fit my own peculiarities into their teachings. I will be forever grateful for the good foundation they created for me, and the deep respect for this planet and all its inhabitants they instilled in me.

A postscript: Every path has a symbol that consolidates their essence. I do not know if there is one for Eclectics, so I shall inaugurate one here and now: the calico cat. Her fur shows a wonderful patchwork of all the cats who created her; like Jenny Anydots tiger stripes and leopard spots- and every color on the cat fur spectrum. But in spite of her colorful coat, the calico is a unique and distinct creature herself.

(Source: Unknown)


Pagan Culture Never Died

Pagan culture never died. It changed, was hidden, became hushed -- but never died. We can look around and see that many of the old ways are still part of everyday life. Here are a few examples. What others can you see in your own surroundings?

A personal favorite is the candle-magic ritual we do once a year, celebrating one's incarnation with the chant "Happy Birthday to you." A wish is made, the candles blown out and gifts given. This custom dates back to worship of Artemis, Greek Goddess of the Moon. On Her day, cakes were baked in the shape of a crescent moon and decorated with candles. If worshippers could blow out the candles in a single breath, the Goddess would look upon them with favor. Whether ancient Greek myth, or a modern-day spell, the way we celebrate our birthday is truly magic!

"AH-CHOO!!!" Bless you. (If you lived during the time of Tiberius Caesar, you may need it.) Ancient Rome circa 150 ad. was stricken with a deadly disease, which the first symptom was sneezing. People, including Caesar, believed that the more blessing you received from others, the more likely you would be to survive. Perhaps today's common courtesy was yesterday's healing spell? The myth of Prometheus includes him sneezing, having caught cold from stealing the fire of the Gods. (And we know what happened to him.)

Perhaps the richest remnant of Pagan culture still survives in the wedding ceremony! Terms like "giving your hand in marriage" and "tying the knot" certainly refer to handfasting. It doesn't take a Celtic scholar to recognize the word "Bride" as an Old name for the Goddess. And Groom? In matriarchal life, the man came to work in the wife's family's home. A groom is a term used to describe a laborer who cares for the horses. The term husband, meaning "bound to the house" or house-bound, also dates back to such customs. The word matrimony refers to the custom of inheritances being passed down through maternal blood lines. "Matri" means mother; "mony" or monium, means money. But, in ancient Germany, carrying the bride over the threshold welcomes her into the groom's family, since his ancestors were once buried below the home!

The wedding cake was baked by the couple, as a symbol of the ingredients of their lives coming together as one. A form of sympathetic magic? And the kiss at the altar? In times of Old, the union was consummated right there in front of witnesses. Even today, a marriage can often be considered legally void if never consummated. The term honeymoon refers to the lunar cycle immediately following the wedding. For the full lunar cycle, the couple ate honey each day, believing it to be a sweet aphrodisiac! June weddings are still a fashion, perhaps dating back to the days where a festive Beltane celebration (late April/early May) resulted in conception! (June weddings are rooted in Spring fever.) Brides, not grooms, were also showered with wheat, so that they could bear children like wheat brings bread.

The wedding ring placed on the third finger was believed to be a direct connection to the heart. This was even called the Medical Finger, which doctors used to stir medicines. If poison were present, the doctor's heart would skip a beat! But of all places to wear wedding jewelry, the ring is likely related to handfasting. Why not a wedding necklace, brooch or tiara? Also, the action of the finger penetrating the circular ring is not all that different from other Pagan symbols of union. Likewise, wearing and throwing the "garter" seems not so distant.

Giving flowers to a loved one? Flowers are brightly colored, heavily scented reproductive organs! An agricultural society might see this. So might our deeply rooted animal instincts which relate color and scent to the courting rituals of nearly every species, including homosapien!

Knock on wood? This probably dates back to the Druids. Opening an umbrella indoors? Umbrella comes from the Latin word for shade. The device was used as a parasol ("stop the sun") before it was used as protection from rain. Not opening it indoors showed respect for the realm of the solar deities. Tie a string on your finger to remember something? (Sounds like cord magic to me.) I wonder why sailors put so much skill into the knots they tied over the centuries? Fishermen and fisherwomen, even today, have special words they say when throwing their lines into the water.

Naming things seems rich in magic. Look at the names of farms, race horses, and even pets. Notice that boats are referred to as She, probably linked back to She of the Sea. (Probably no accident when they named the greatest ship "The Queen Mary.") Even the Greek and Latin languages that descended from Pagan Europe assign gender to every person, place, or thing. Perhaps all things were linked to a God or a Goddess. Days of the week, months of the year -- some are still named after the Old Ones. Friday the 13th? (Can you get more linked to Goddess worship than that?) Perhaps it was fairly new beliefs, from cultures who did not worship the Goddess or note her lunar cycles, which gave Friday the 13th an unlucky connotation.

We can go over hundreds of holiday customs, which date back to Pagan roots. We can find Pagan traces in many practices of the newer religions. But more importantly, we can make our own new traditions every day. We are catalysts of the future, not mere conduits to the past! We are the Ancestors of tomorrow. See the magic in everyday events, like knotting your neck tie, leashing your pet, or even fastening your seat belt. Feel the sacred union when you share any event with a loved one, whether sharing a hamper or sharing a bath. Feel the sudden release of stored up energy as you uncork that special old bottle of wine, or open that priceless photo album. See all cycles as magic; use the monthly rent payment as a blessing for the home.

Doing so is the difference between a culture which has never died -- and a culture which is truly brought to life!

(Source: unknown)




The Calling

A witch is one who has power over her own life
one who makes her own rules
one who refuses to submit to self-denial
one who recognizes no authority with a greater esteem than her own
who is more loyal to self than to any abstraction

one who is untamed
one who says "I am a witch" aloud three times
one who transforms energy
one who can be passionate about her ideals/values as they are changing

one who is explosive, whose intensity is like volcanoes, floods, wind, fire

one who is ecstatic
one who alters reality


(Source: Lee Lanning and Vernette Hart)


Lingo

In the Pagan & Witch community we use some phrases that may seem unusual to the outsider. Here is a breakdown of some of those phrases so you don't feel left in the dark.

Merry Meet!: A Pagan greeting taken from an old saying: "Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again!" Once again emphasizing that all things come full circle.

Broom Closet: Witches who do not publicly announce their beliefs are said to be "in the broom closet".

Blessed Be: Used as a farewell.

(Source: Sowan)


Book of Shadows

A book of shadows is a personal journal - a magical and spiritual diary. Find or make a blank book to use for this purpose; it will be the first of many.

You may add anything you'd like to your BOS and at any time you feel inspired. Poetry, ideas, struggles and jokes are just a few basic ideas. Don't limit your BOS to just words though; photographs, article clippings, small items and artwork can all be glued or stashed in your BOS.

During each lesson record your adventures in your book of shadows.

Some Witches also keep a book called a grimoire. A grimoire is less personal than your book of shadows and can be shown to others without hesitation. Another way to put it: your book of shadows is like a diary; your grimoire is like a textbook. You can keep both a grimore and a book of shadows or just a book of shadows.

(Source: Sowan)




Read, Read, and Read Some More.

Most bookstores and libraries have a new age section that sells books on Witchcraft and Paganism. Find a book (or more) that you are comfortable with and read it while you do you lessons. Having more than one source of information is extremely valuable.

(Source: Sowan)




School of Witchcraft and Nature

You have learned what a Witch is and that there are several different Pagan religions. Here at Sowan you will learn numerous forms of Witchcraft, the appreciation and use of nature and some aspects of specific Pagan religions. To sum it up, Sowan teaches Eclectic Paganism and Witchcraft.

Many of the lessons at Sowan are only the very basics of the subject. It's up to you, the student, to pursue the subject and master it. Some subjects can take a lifetime to master.

By the end of the lessons, you should be self-suficate and able to continue your studies as your desire.



(Source: Sowan)


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