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We get asked quite frequently to answer
questions about our beliefs. One person requested an actual interview
so that they could fulfill a class assignment. Below, you will find
that interview.
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How does
everyone treat you after they find out that you are a "Witch" if they didn't
already know?
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| I have found that I basically get two
different reactions. Which one I get depends on whether or not the
person is religious. The religious people tend to ask me questions
about how I believe and then tell me why I should believe their way.
I have only had one person really get offended and ask me to leave their
house. She was the extreme tho. Generally a religious discussion
ensues.
The non-religious people also ask me questions
about what I believe they just don't try to preach at me. Most people
are just curious as to whether or not I do "spells" and if so what kind.
Basically, they just want information. Some try to joke about it
because they don't understand it and are used to the stereotypes, but after
I answer them in all seriousness they are then just interested in discussing
it. |
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How did
your parents take it when they found out that you were in Witchcraft?
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| Well, since my parents are retired Baptist
Sunday school teachers... they were a little upset. However, they never
stopped loving me and never tossed me out or even yelled. They too,
were curious as to what it was I believed. My mother says that she
has to believe that I am already "saved by Christ" or she just couldn't
even think about it. She says that she couldn't bear to think of
me burning in hell. I assured her that I wouldn't be burning in hell,
as hell didn't exist. Since I respect my parents and their beliefs,
they respect mine. We may not agree, but we respect each other's
right to believe whatever we choose. Both of my brothers accept me also.
My younger brother who was a youth minister has a little bit of a hard
time with it, but he truly just doesn't understand. His faith in
god is so great that he really can't comprehend why I don't believe.
My older brother is basically Christian but he doesn't practice his faith
much. He just shakes his head at me and says that I was always different!
I have a very loving family, we accept
each other for exactly what we are. Nothing is going to change that.
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Do you
dress in the "traditional" witch attire or do you dress like other people
would?
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| Interesting way of putting it… "like other
people"… Since I am a perfectly normal person I dress perfectly normally.
I understand what you mean tho. I do have ceremonial attire that I wear
for special occasions. Just like some people have their "Sunday Best",
I too have my "Sabbat Best". If you research Witchcraft
you will find that a lot of the first public Witches were actually just
the local wise woman. They didn't wear anything unusual, just normal
attire for their time period. What you are calling "traditional"
isn't traditional at all. It is the stereotypical attire. Black
clothes, weird makeup, pointy hats, chunky jewelry, etc are NOT the traditional
clothes of a Witch. People of the craft wanted to blend in, not stand
out. Since, historically, people of the craft were hunted and killed,
wearing odd clothing that made you stand out was not something you wanted
to do. |
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What
are some of your beliefs?
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| That is a huge question and can't be answered
in a small paragraph or two. I'll quickly run through a list here… I'm
sure I'll forget stuff tho. Basically I believe that you should be
the best person you can be, teach people everything you know freely, love
people and the earth, take care of the earth, honor your family if they
are worthy of being honored, forgive people, be true to yourself and your
beliefs and live what you believe. |
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Do you believe
in "black" and "white" magic?
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| Yes. All of magic has an intent
behind it. I do not believe that you should use magic to manipulate
people or to do harm to anyone or thing. |
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Do you
believe that magic should be looked at in the way some very religious people
look at it?- as in it is bad and evil/work of the devil.
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| That is a silly question. Why would
I believe that it should be looked at that way? If you had researched
Witchcraft at all you would have discovered that Witches don't believe
in the devil. Therefore there is no way that I could believe that what
I do is "of the devil". Besides, why would I want to believe that
what I do is evil? Also, very religious people practice magic all the time,
they just call it prayer. |
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How old
were you when you knew that you were supposed to become a witch?
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| I started studying Witchcraft when I was
25 years old. I find it interesting that you seem to think of it
as something a person "discovers" about themselves and then "becomes".
Witchcraft is a religion just as Catholicism or Judaism or Baptist is a
religion. It is a belief, not a disease or something in a persons
genes. |
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How did
you realize that you were supposed to become a witch?
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| I met a woman who I then became friends
with. In the process of becoming friends with her we discussed religion
and I became interested in learning more about her religion. So I
started studying Witchcraft and found that I had the same beliefs.
I just hadn't known that there was a religion attached to them. As
I said before a Witch is not something you are "supposed to become", a
Witch is a person who believes in Witchcraft just like a Catholic is someone
who believes in Catholicism. |
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Do you
believe in magic other than Wicca?
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| Magic is not exclusive. Magic is
in every day life. Everyone uses magic and they just don't call it
that. To make if very simple let me put it this way. Have you
ever made a wish and then blown dandelion fluff into the wind? That
is magic. You are sending your wish into the wind so that it can
come true… who are you asking to make it come true? A power greater than
you. You are using your will… that is magic. |
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What
advice would you give your child-if you do or don't have one- if he/she
asked you what it is like to be a witch and that they want to be one?
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| I don't have children but if I did they
would be raised with my beliefs, as that is the only way I could raise
my children. Just as anyone else does, I was raised Baptist because
my parents were Baptist. It would have been silly for them to raise me
Jewish since they were Baptist, right? When my child was grown up
enough to be interested in different religions I would encourage them to
explore and find out for themselves.
My children wouldn't have to ask me about
being a Witch because they would already be Witches. Witch is not
a female term, it is the term given to someone who studies and practices
Wicca. |
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Thanks
so much again for all of your help.
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| Anytime, if you have any more questions,
feel free to ask. I get the feeling that you have a picture of Witchcraft
in your mind that is not quite correct and I would love to answer any other
questions you might have so that we could clear up any misconceptions you
have. |
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| © CRB - Amberwood 1999 |