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  1551

Subject: MY WICCA
                                    By Durwydd MacTara

               My RELIGION is Wicca, my LIFE-STYLE is Witchcraft!  I belie
ve in
          a supreme being that is both Immanent and Transcendent, that is
          expressing  itself within AND without.  However, I also believe
that
          trying  to define/describe  such  an infinite  Divine Being  in
finite
          terms to be a waste of time and energy.  I CAN describe my perce
ptions
          of the Ultimate  in terms of  the energies that I  work with and
  find
          significant in my  daily living.  My style and  methods of relat
ing to
          what I can perceive of these Divine Energies are what I describe
 as my
          RELIGION. How I  apply these  insights gained via  my religious
 prac-
          tices, I term my CRAFT.

               The name for my religion is derived from the Saxon root "wi
cce"
          (pronounced "witchy") and is loosely translated as "Wise".  The
word
          "Wicca" was first used in modern times in England by Gerald B. G
ardner
          to describe/define an attempt at restoring "the old wisdom" of p
re-
          Christian beliefs and practice into a modern context in the 1940
's.
          Ergo, I could call my religion "wisdom" and my style of applicat
ion of
          this wisdom "wise-craft" or more simply, "The Craft of the Wise"
.

               For the sake of convenience and easy understanding, I divid
e the
          expressions of the Divine Energies into two groups; that of the
active
          positive (symbolically "male") energies represented to me by the
 stag
          horned Lord of the Forest, and those of a more passive, nurturin
g, or
          "negative" polarity represented to me by the Threefold Goddess.
          Approaching  my perceptions of the  universe and its  energies i
n this
          way allows me to break them down into  "bite sized chunks", appl
icable
          to  my daily life  in a  mundane world,  and what  good is  ANY
belief
          system if it is not of immediate and practical use here and now?

               So what are some of the beliefs and practices of this relig
ion
          called Wicca, and how do I apply them to my daily life?  What do
es it
          all mean?  The following explanation is based on a press stateme
nt
          released by the American Council of Witches released in the earl
y
          1970's, with some editing on my part to reflect my own beliefs a
nd
          practices.

                             =================================

                            BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CRAFT

          1. The first principle is that of love, and it is expressed in t
he
          ethic,
                    "AN IT HARM NONE, DO AS THOU WILL"

               a) love is not emotional in it's essence, but is an
               attribute of the individual as expressed in relation
               to other beings;
               b) harming others can be by thought, word, or deed.
               Thought is included here, because for the Witch,
               "thoughts are things" and every action, even thoughts,
               can become magical actions, whether consciously intended
               or not;
               c> it is to be understood the "none" includes oneself,
               though it is permissable to harm self in helping others,
               should one so choose;
               d) the harm which is to be regarded as unethical is
               gratuitous harm; war, in general, is gratuitous harm,




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               although it is ethical to defend oneself and one's
               liberty when threatened by real and present danger,
               such as personal defense or defense of another WHEN REQUEST
ED.

          2.   The Witch must recognize and harmonize with the forces of t
he
          universe, in accord with the Law of Polarity: everything is dual
;
          everything  has two  poles;  everything has  it's opposite;  for
 every
          action there is a reaction; all can be categorized as either act
ive or
          reactive in relation to other things.
             a) The Infinite and Ultimate Godhead is one unique and
             transcendent wholeness, beyond any limitations or expressions
;
             thus, it is beyond our human capacity to understand and ident
ify
             with this principle of Cosmic Oneness, except as It is
             revealed to us in terms of It's attributes and operation.

             b) One of the most basic and meaningful attribute of the One
             that we, as humans, can relate to and understand, is
             that of polarity, of action and reaction; therefore
             Witches recognize the Oneness of the Divinity, but
             worship and relate to the Divine as the archetypal
             polarity of God and Goddess, the All-Father and the
             Great Mother of the universe.  The Beings are as near as
             we can approach to the One within our human limitations
             of understanding and expression, though it is possible to
             experience the divine Oneness through the practices of the
             Mysteries.

             c) Harmony does not consist of the pretty and the nice,
             but the balanced, dynamic, poised co-operation and
             co-relationship.

            3.   The Witch  must recognize, and operate within the  framew
ork of
          the  Law of  Cause and  Effect; every  action has  it's reaction
,  and
          every effect has it's cause.   All things occur according to thi
s law;
          nothing in  the universe can occur outside this law, though we m
ay not
          always  appreciate the relation between a given effect and it's
cause.
          Subsidiary  to this  is the Law  of Three, which  states that wh
atever
          goes forth  must return  threefold, whether  of good  or ill; fo
r  our
          actions affect  more than people generally realize,  and the res
ulting
          reactions are also part of the harvest.

          4. As Above, So Below.  That which exists in the Macrocosm exist
s, on
          a smaller scale and to a lesser degree, in the Microcosm.  The p
owers
          of the  universe exist also in  the human, though in  general in
stance
          they
          lie dormant.  The powers and abilities can be awakened and used
if the
          proper techniques are practiced, and this is why initiates of th
e
          Mysteries are sworn to guard the secrets from the unworthy: Much
 harm
          can be done by those who have power without responsibility, both
 to
          others and to themselves according to the Laws of Cause and Effe
ct and
          of Threefold Return.

            a) Since our philosophy teaches that the universe is the
            physical manifestation of the Divine, there can be
            nothing in the universe which does not partake of the
            nature of the Divine; hence, the powers and attributes
            of the Divine exist also in the manifest, though to much
            smaller degree.




  1553



            b) These powers can be awakened through the various
            techniques of the Mysteries, and, although they are only
            capable of small effects in and of themselves, it is
            possible to use them in order to draw upon the forces of
            the universe.  Thus humanity can be the wielders of the
            power of the Gods, a channel for Godhead to act within
            It's own manifestation.  This, many feel, is further reason
            for the oath of secrecy.

            c) Since the universe is the body of the One, possessing
            many of the same attributes as the One, it's Laws must be the
            principles through and by which the One operates.  By
            reasoning from the known to the unknown, one can learn
            of the Divine, and thus of oneself.  By experiencing the Myste
ries
            a person can truly LEARN more about the One. Thus the Craft is
 a
            natural religion as well as a MYSTERY religion, seeing in Natu
re
            the expression and revelation of Divinity.

          5. We know that everything in the universe is in movement or vib
ration
          and is a function of that vibration. Everything vibrates; all th
ings
          rise and fall  in a tidal system that reflects  the motion inher
ent in
          the universe and  also in  the atom.   Matter and  energy are bu
t  two
          poles of  one continuous  phenomenon. Therefore the  Witch celeb
rates,
          harmonizes with,  and makes use  of the tides  of the universe
and of
          life as expressed through the  cycle of the seasons and the  mot
ion of
          the  solar system.    These ritual  observances  are the  eight
 great
          Festivals of the Year, referred to as the Wheel of the Year.  Fu
rther,
          the  Witch works with the forces and  tides of the Moon, for thi
s body
          is the mediator of much energy to our planet Earth and thus to o
ursel-
          ves.

          6.   Nothing is dead matter in the universe.  All things exist,
          therefore all things live, though perhaps in a different manner
from
          that which we are used to calling life.  In view of this, the Wi
tch
          knows that there is no true death, only change from one conditio
n to
          another. The universe is the body of Godhead, and therefore
          possesses one transcendent consciousness; all things partake of
the
          consciousness, in varying levels of trance/awareness.

            a) Because of this principle, all things are sacred to
            the Witch, for all partake of the one Life.

            b) Therefore the Witch is a natural ecologist, for Nature
            is part of us as we are a part of Nature.

          7.   Throughout the development of the human race, civilizations
 have
          seen and worshipped many and various attributes of the Divine.
These
          universal forces have been  clothed in forms which were  express
ive to
          the worshipper of the  attribute of the Godhead which  they expr
essed.
          Use of these symbolic representations of the natural and divine
forces
          of the  universe, or god forms, is a  potent method for contacti
ng and
          utilizing  the forces they represent.  Thus the Gods  are both n
atural
          and  truly divine, and man-made in that  the forms with which th
ey are
          clothed are products of humanity's striving to know the Godhead.





  1554



            a) In keeping with the Law of Polarity, these god-forms
            are brought into harmony by the one great Law which
            states:  All Gods are one God.  All Goddesses are one
            Goddess.  There is one Initiator.  This law is an
            expression of our understanding that all of the forces of
            the universe, by whatever ethnic god-form is chosen to
            clothe and relate to whichever force, can be resolved
            into the fundamental polarity of the Godhead, the Great
            Mother and the All-Father.

            b) It is the use of differing god forms, of differing
            ethnic sources or periods, which is the basis of many of
            the differences between the various Traditions of the
            Craft. Each Tradition uses the forms, and thus the names,
            which to that Tradition best express and awaken an
            understanding of the force represented, according to the
            areas of emphasis of the Tradition.

            c) Because we know that differing names or
            representations are but expressions of the same divine
            principles and forces, we require our  members to swear
            that they will never mock the names by which another
            honors the Divine, even though those names be different
            from and seemingly less expressive than the names and god
            forms used by our Tradition (for to the members of
            another Tradition, using it's names, ours may easily seem
            equally less expressive).

          8. A Witch refuses to allow her/himself to be corrupted by the g
reat
          guilt neuroses which have been foisted on humanity in the name o
f the
          Divine, thus freeing the self of the slavery of the mind.   The
Witch
          expresses responsibility  for her/his actions, and  accepts the
conse-
          quences of them; guilt is rejected as inhibiting to one's self-a
ctual-
          ization, and replaced by the  efforts of the Witch to obey  the
teach-
          ings  of harmlessness,  responsibility for  the consequences  of
 one's
          actions, and the goal of  actualizing the full powers of  the in
divid-
          ual.

            a) We refuse to believe that a human being is born
            innately sinful, and recognize the concepts of sin and
            guilt are tremendously inhibiting to the human potential;
            the consequences of the Law of Cause and Effect, called
            karma by some, are not punishment, but the recurrences of
            situations and their effects because the individual has
            not gained the Wisdom needed to handle or avoid such
            situations.

            b) There is no heaven except that which we ourselves make
            of our life on Earth, and likewise there is no hell
            except the effects of our unwise actions.  Many of us believe
            in a "waiting place" sometimes called Summerland where we rest
,
            recuperate and prepare for our next sojurn in the earth.  "Dea
th
            is not followed by punishment or reward, but by life and the
            continuing personal evolution of our human potential.




  1555



            c) One cannot damn the divine in oneself; one can,
            however, cut oneself off from it through the rejection of
            wisdom and a refusal to strive for self-realization.
            This cutting off does not lead to personal suffering in
            "hell", for there is no Self to suffer if the tie to
            one's own divinity has been severed; what remains is
            merely an empty shell, a "personality" or thought-form
            devoid of it's ensouling Spark of the Divine Fire.

          9.   We  know of  the existence  of the  life-force which  ensou
ls all
          living things,  that is, all  that exists.   We know  that a spa
rk  of
          this Divine Fire is within each  and every thing that exists, an
d that
          it does not die; only the form of it's existence changes. We kno
w that
          this  spark of the life-force returns to manifestation again and
 again
          in  order to  fully  realize and  actualize  it's potential,  ev
olving
          finally to the peak and essence of existence which  is pure bein
g.  In
          this  process of reincarnation  each form returns in  the same t
ype of
          form,  though it's  ever-increasing actualization  may lead  to
higher
          levels of existence of that form.  Man returns as man,  cat as f
eline,
          mineral  as mineral,  each class  of form  evolving as  the indi
vidual
          forms of that class evolve.

          10.  This process of evolution through successive incarnations i
n
          manifest form works through the utilizations of wisdom gained, t
he
          essence of the life-experience. This essence of experience, or W
isdom,
          is an attribute of the spark of life itself, one and inseparable
.

          11.  We must care for the body, for it is the vehicle of the spa
rk of
          life, the form by which we attain.  Thus we must heal the body o
f it's
          ills and keep it a tuned and perfected tool; so must we heal oth
ers
          (both physically and psychologically) as far as it is within our
 power
          to do so.  However, we cannot interfere with the life of another
, even
          to heal, except  at their  request or with  their express  permi
ssion.
          The reasoning behind this  apparent limitation is that we  are e
ndowed
          with  Free Will,  and what  the Gods  themselves hesitate  to in
fringe
          upon, is best left alone by us "mere" mortals.

          13.  Harmony with, and utilization of, the great natural forces
of the
          universe is called magick.  By magick we speak, not of the  supe
r-
          natural, but of the superbly natural, but whose laws and  applic
ations
          are not as yet recognized by the scientific establishment.  The
Witch
          must strive to recognize these forces, learn their laws, attune
          her/himself to them,  and make use  of them.   The Witch must  a
lso be
          aware that power corrupts when  used _only_ for the gains of the
 self,
          and  therefore  must strive  to serve  humanity:   Either  throu
gh the
          service in the  Priesthood, or by example and  effects of his/he
r life
          on others.  The choice must be made in accord with  the true nat
ure of
          the Witch.