drugs in a ‘recreational’ manner. The effect of some of the ingredients was to give the illusion of flight. Most Witches discourage the use of artificial aids to increase awareness, partly because such use can be dangerous (sometimes causing long-term physical and mental problems and occasionally death) and partly because if awareness or heightened senses are acquired or enhanced with drugs or herbs, they are not truly your own. It is, if you like, a second-rate form of enhancement compared to that which can be achieved through study and practice, and the use of artificial aids often slows down the development of unaided skills.
Witches do, however, use the broomstick, or ‘besom’ as it is also called, to sweep, whether practically as in removing autumn leaves from the garden or metaphorically in preparing a working space. The besom is also used in some kinds of fertility rituals to represent the union of male and female. At a Witch’s wedding, or Handfasting, the couple will jump over the broom to symbolize the leap from their old lives into their new one and to encourage fertility – physical, mental and spiritual – in their union.
Witches brew strange concoctions in Cauldrons.
Witches who practise herbal work or who make ointments, salves and lotions tend to do so in the kitchen, in clean surroundings and comfort. These brews are often no stranger than any other natural remedy – indeed, they could be as normal as onion soup for a cold sufferer.
The Witches’ Cauldron is often used to contain fire when working outside, or candles when working inside. This confines the flames so there is no risk of a fire getting out of hand and so that no damage is done to the surroundings. Sometimes a Cauldron is used to hold water as a symbol of the Goddess, or as an aid to divination or scrying (more on these later).
You may by now have noticed a number of main themes running through all these misconceptions:
But by far the most insidious myth about the Craft is that Witchcraft makes life easier. Witchcraft does not make life easier. As a Witch, you will not have fewer problems, you will probably have more. Witchcraft is about hard work, study and self-discipline. It is about knowing when to speak or act and when to hold back.
If you practise Witchcraft you will almost certainly have to be careful about whom you tell about it and about what you tell, so you will have to learn to be very discreet. There will always be things which you need to keep secret, for example the names of those you have helped and their problems. As a Witch you must keep your word – you cannot give away the secrets of others, even though you may feel that this might solve a problem.
The Craft will give you the means to understand the way others think, feel and behave, and this understanding will eventually enable you to see that there are always two or more sides to every situation and many possible outcomes to every action. In time this knowledge will make you a better Witch, but often in the short term you will feel as though every potential action is going to fail. This can be the very time when you learn to wait and see.
For anyone who thinks that the Craft will make their life easier I would recommend that they give serious thought to the Wiccan Rede and the Rule of Three, both of which are explained in more detail in the next chapter.
Having looked at the misconceptions people have about Witches and Witchcraft, let us look at what Witches do believe in and practise.
One of the best definitions I have heard for a Witch is ‘healer, teacher and parent’. The Craft has its roots in a time when people lived in small communities, when communication and travel, over even small distances, were the exception rather than the rule. The village Witch was the nurse, doctor, midwife, vet and counsellor for the community. Witches were the ones who held the knowledge of healing and prepared the medicines of their time. They were the ones whose study of human actions and human nature enabled them to help their friends, family and neighbours solve their problems and resolve their differences. They were the ones whose observation of nature enabled them to advise on when to plant crops and when to harvest, and how best to treat and keep the animals which provided food for the months ahead. They cared for the people, the land, the growth and the future of their community. As keepers of knowledge they also took the responsibility of selecting and training the next generation of healers and teachers.
Today’s Witches often use the term ‘near and dear’ to refer to their community and, in a world where travel and communication are so much easier, this can extend to friends and Witches from far away. But the feeling is still that of family, whether through blood, fellowship in the Craft or simple friendship. The work is still that of healing, sharing knowledge and of caring for those in the immediate circle.
There are many kinds of Witch and many ways of practising the Craft and I shall talk about some of the better known variations later, but there are many common threads which link us together. To be strictly honest I should say that most Witches believe the following statements, but that their beliefs may be stated or emphasized in individual ways.
THE GODDESS AND THE GOD
Witches believe that the divine is both male and female, equally and in balance, and that we should strive for that balance both in ourselves and in our lives. Speaking practically, we believe that there is a Goddess as well as a God and that both are equally powerful, although some festivals and workings may be more appropriately directed to one or the other.
Both the Goddess and the God may be referred to by different names at different times, but this does not mean that each Witch believes that there are many Goddesses and many Gods. To illustrate this, think of a ball with many facets, similar to the kind seen at some concerts or discos. If each face of the ball is a different face of the Goddess or the God, there is still one ball, just as there is one Goddess and one God. If you were, say, working Magic with the aim of increasing your ability to study, you might wish to choose a different image, or facet, of the Goddess than you would if you were hoping to bring relief from illness for a friend.
Seeking the balance of male and female within us does not mean that we are seeking to become bi-sexual, rather that we respect and acknowledge the so-called male and female elements within our make-up. It is commonly thought that being assertive, logical and in control are masculine traits, whilst being sensitive, emotional and expressive are feminine ones. But we each have all these attributes to a greater or lesser degree and not accepting this, or being unable to use these skills, can make us very unhappy. Also, there are other, older stereotypes linked to gender: light, the Sun, daytime and good are seen as male; darkness, the Moon, the night and bad as female. Bringing these opposites into balance and seeing them for what they really are can enable us to see ourselves for what we are and what we are able to achieve. This personal balance is not simple to achieve, but is a task