A brief examination of Paganism

   A more encompassing term for witchcraft would be paganism. It has
been called "man's first attempt at technology or his initial effort to
gain control of his environment. Paganists chose certain people to be
in charge of these efforts who were called shamans or Witch doctors.

   Shamans gave human names to natural forces and then would use
various means to attempt to communicate with these environmental units.
When the Shaman's efforts failed, he would inform his followers that
the "gods" required or demanded a sacrifice or gifts. Confusion began
during the middle ages when Paganism and Christianity met head on.
There was a blending of beliefs in an attempt at compromise to keep the
peace and encourage social acceptance.

   Many of the Pagan traditions in force in America today are easily
identified by religion and philosophy dating back to Greek, Roman and
Egyptian worship and beliefs. There is a difference however in
religions which derive some sort of "divine revelation" and natural
religions.

   Paganism centers around goddess worship or worship of the "earth
mother" or the "huntress." The most common form of goddess worship is
wiccan, which is a masculine noun. The feminine form being wiccee, with
the performance of wiccee beliefs being called "wiccee-craft" or
witchcraft. There a number of forms of the Wiccan religion which
include Gardnerian magic, Crowlish magic, Druidism and neodruidism, and
Shamanism.

   Throughout history, persons practicing the wiccan religions have
persecuted, ostracized, stigmatized and murdered. History shows that
thousands of persons were accused, tortured and convicted on charges of
witchcraft even though involvement was slim to none. Thus in many
cases, true witches escaped and managed to blend into society.

   Paganism often involves "circle magic" whose purpose is to summon
positive or negative forces. Many of the Pagan ceremonies resemble
those carried out by Satanists. they include a circle large enough for
the entire group of worshippers for protection and a consecrated altar
in the midst. Attendees may wear a variety of different colored robes
or be "sky clad" (naked). The chalice used in the ceremony represents
the female sexual organ; while the athame - at least 9 inches long (a
razor sharp knife) - represents the male sexual organ.

   Confusion occurs in discussions of the various forms of magic.
Pagans make a distinction between the "negative" and "positive" force.
Black magic is used for purposes while so-called white magic is
summoned to perform good. All the members of the church of Wicca
strongly deny any connection with Black magic. Instead, they claim the
title White Witches. Their aims, they assert, are only good ones.

   They dislike the term witches, and prefer to be called Practitioners
of Wicca, The Craft, or The Old Religion. The Wiccan religion is based
on the natural cycles of the earth and all things related celestially.
They work with all the phases of the moon and with multiple facets of
the creating energy, which they term god and goddess. They claim to
worship the creator but that the creator is both male and female in the
same image as man was created. They do not see god or goddess as being
above, in the heavens, but as being all around us in the earth.

   They own the reason their god has horns is due to the fact that he
represents both man and horned animals. They have many names for their
god such as Pan, Kerminos, Mars, Zeus, Apollo, Thor, Odin. They claim
the d not worship many gods, but rather one god and one goddess with
many names. They point out the difference between themselves and
Satanism as Satanists practicing a form of anti-Christianity, or the
belief in the force of evil.

   Wiccans believe that all forces are natural, that are created by the
god and goddess, and are neither good nor evil. "We can work good with
them, or we can work evil with them, but they are just there." They
state that they are pantheistic and believe that all things of the
earth are part of the creator. They observe both summer and winter
solstices, spring and fall equinoxes, and cross quarters.

   A good Pagan will follow the two sets of laws they have. The first
is the Wiccan Read, a set of laws from ancient times. It culminates in
the following words: "Ye harm none, do what ye will" meaning you can do
anything you want so long as it hurts no other living thing. The
second, `The Charge of the Goddess' is allegedly the word of the
goddess, commanding believers to worship the goddess, respect all life
on earth for she put it there, and that believers must gather on the
sabats and the full moons and worship her. It is required that they
celebrate Samhain (October 31), a Celtic holiday honoring the ghosts of
warriors who've died.

   It is believed that this is a time when the physical world is
closest to the other world. It is their concept of heaven although they
do not believe in rewards after death. They believe, "when you die, you
just go to the other place." There is strong belief that whatever the
ask when the moon is full will be granted by the goddess. They also
believe in reincarnation.

   Another part of the `Charge of The Goddess' says if you want to be
truly free, you shall be naked in all your rites. Despite their claims
that nudity has nothing to do with sex, their literature states
elsewhere that magic and spells are best performed immediately after
orgasm. Of course they are quick to point out that this only involves
consent with individuals.

   Members wear an amulet with a five pointed star, the single point
pointing up. The five points represent earth, air, fire, water and
spirit over all. It is also the symbol of man within the universe. At
different levels of competency within the craft, they are tattooed.
This tattoo includes a seven pointed star which is reported as being
"tied in with the seven mystical planets." There also is a circle "that
contains the knowledge" and a crescent moon denoting one who has
attained the third or teaching degree.

   The minimum time for a recruit to become a witch is about one year,
as they must participate in all eight sabats, and all thirteen full
moons each year. Then a student qualifies to ask for initiation to
become a witch. Before, they were a Pagan, but not a witch. One is
initiated when they receive the "power." When one knows how to direct
energies into the great energy of the creation, it is the same as being
a priest, clergy or rabbi. After another year one may qualify for the
second degree in where they are taught teaching technics. The
culmination being the third degree, when one is allowed to go out and
teach others how to be witches.

   What about their practices of magic? They claim to use magic only
for "good" purposes and never evil. They use a number of objects such
as crystals to channel energies. One of the laws they live by is `The
Law of Three' which basically stated, mens anything you do returns to
you three times. Therefore, they exclaim why would I want to evil to
anyone if it returns unto me three times? Besides, their first law is
"harm no one, do as Ye will." Nevertheless, if they feel they are being
threatened, they will use their powers to turn "your evil (in their
eyes) back on you with a very strong `Law of Three'." Of course this to
be construed as your fault and not because of anything they did.

   While professing no belief whatsoever in Satan's existence, they are
very careful in how they conduct their rites, as if the circle drawn
using the `athame' or wands should be broken, they would then be
vulnerable to a horde of evil spirits. They insist that hell does not
exist. They often take occult names for themselves as a cover.

   Some final beliefs; the belief that `Self' always comes first, and
with your body being a temple, must always be first. The conviction
that as witch, one's spirit and soul will become part of the goddess,
part of the natural energy of creation and will be channeled into
whatever is next.

   So what is the difference between witchcraft and Satanism? Both are
anti-Christ by definition. The term anti-Christ means not only opposed
to, but of a necessity implies something in place of Jesus Christ. Both
are forbidden in the Holy Scriptures. Satanism openly proclaims their
reverse image of Christianity, while Paganism hides behind semantics by
calling their use of the black arts "only for good." Both are centered
around self gratification of lust.

   In conclusion, both are of the occult and should be avoided at all
costs by Christians. We have no reason to fear, for He Who is in us is
greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

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