Paranormal Discovery

 I think perhaps this addition to the website is well overdue. We have found as we work that generally people assume we are Spiritualists and that I am a Spiritualism medium, which I am not. In fact, it may shock people to learn that  I have only been to the Spiritualist church once in my entire life. I am in fact Pagan as are a few of the people in the team.  I find as I speak to members of the public and generally people who I encounter that there are many different ideas out there of what a Pagan and a witch really is. So firstly let’s just clear up a few points.  

If Christianity is the religion and prayer is the practice then paganism is the religion and witchcraft is the practice. Not every Pagan is a witch just as not every Christian prays. And not every witch is a Pagan.

Paganism is an umbrella term and a lot of different belief systems fit into the Pagan label. Paganism is not an organised religion so there is freedom of religious expression throughout it. Unlike many mainstream organised religions Paganism is not monotheistic, believing in one god. It is polytheistic acknowledging the existence of many different gods, goddesses, spirits and energies that help make up this world in which we live.   

I have to say that in the last 50 years there has been a great improvement in people’s education and opinion about witches. The media cover has been great and it is now not only popular but one of the fastest growing belief systems out there.  I have seen a vast difference from when I first became a witch. I am less likely to get abuse hurled at me or my windows broken nowadays  but in saying this there are still many misconceptions which I would like to clear up.

Fact - No we aren’t. Witches don’t believe in the devil let alone worship any devil.  We are responsible for our own actions and take full responsibility for them whether good or bad and do not blame an external force for anything. And we do not believe there is any being that is responsible for evil. In fact, personally, I think that no matter how bad anybody is there is good in them as well and vice versa. Sorry but life just isn’t that black and white.

Fact - Divination is not communicating with demons, devils or low entities.  Divination is simply using tools to enhance the medium or psychics natural gifts to attempt to find out information previously unknown.

                                                                          Fact - The real witch knows that true magick is neither black nor white. The morals behind the spell work are what’s important. Magick itself is neutral. We have different beliefs but there are two themes with run through Paganism. The Wiccan Rede is one which is the one law most witches live by, “And it harm none do what you will”, in other words do unto others as you would have them do unto you....the principal is the same. Also many witches believe in the laws of karma and a law called the law of three fold return. This means that what you do will return to you three times as strongly. So it makes no sense to cause harm because we would end up coming off worse.

Fact - No we don’t. Witches respect and honour nature. We work with the ebb and flow of the seasons and cycles. We respect the rights of others and do not believe that people have rights over animals. The only things we sacrifice are our time and we offer things like food and gem stones and wines or items we have created ourselves. In days gone by it was common practice to use animal parts in magick but this was simply using left overs. After all, if you hunt a rabbit then there is no use in wasting what’s left over. In this day and age we do not skin and butcher our own meat so we have no left overs to use.

Fact - Now I enjoy sex and nudity just the same as the next person and as witches we do not see the subject of sex and nudity as a tabooed subject. After all, it is perfectly natural. Because there is much to do with fertility within witchcraft it is easy to confuse it with sex and reproduction. Fertility is however a very open word. It is about a fertile mind and a fertile life full of growth.  Also many people associate a ‘nature religion’ with naturists, the two are completely different. There is nothing in the craft that demands nudity and nobody should ever be forced to do anything they are uncomfortable with. Some witches do prefer to do their rituals naked, we call this ‘Skyclad’. Others work in special ritual robes or in special but everyday clothes. Some just work in their normal clothing.  This comes down to the individual's preference.

Fact - We are not a structured organised religion we have no text book to tell us what’s right and wrong. We are each our own priest and priestess, we need no church to house our gods and we find the divine in everything. We each believe what we believe and we see no need to fight or argue about our beliefs. Our idea and concepts come from our experiences. We do not bend down and worship some high and mighty force. We honour nature and the forces that govern her. Our religious beliefs can vastly differ and we find them extremely personal to ourselves.

Fact - Witches are ordinary people so they wear whatever ordinary people wear. They come from all walks of life and all nationalities and backgrounds. As with anything that is good for you, witches respect their bodies and their health and tend to look after themselves well but really that’s just what self respect and a healthy happy life do. You don’t need to be a witch to do that.

Fact - Witches have pets the same as everybody else. The familiar came about during the witch trials, which we witches call  the ‘Burning Times’. If the unfortunate person had a pet is was sometimes accused of being a shape shifter or a demon and it was further ‘evidence’, and I use that word extremely loosely, that she was a witch.  Most weren’t witches at all. Being part of a nature based religion does whoever make us inclined to seek out the company of animals. And many of us have strong bonds with our pets. They are not however demons who do our bidding.

Fact - I personally prefer to take an aeroplane. This myth came from something called “flying ointments.” These were simply drugs that gave you a trip , just as people use recreational drugs nowadays. Most witches disagree with the use of drugs like this and discourage the use of artificial aids to heighten senses. I personally feel that the use of such drugs slow down the senses rather than release them.

Fact - Yeah we do, it’s called herbal tea, we sometimes make incenses and oils, soaps and creams. These all keep us healthy and happy and we do incorporate much of our magick into such things.