{"collection":"bos","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bos/bos319.htm","path":"bos/bos319.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/bos/bos319.htm","text":"Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999]\n \n \n \n MY WICCA \n By Durwydd MacTara\n \n My RELIGION is Wicca, my LIFE-STYLE is Witchcraft! I believe in\n a supreme being that is both Immanent and Transcendent, that is\n expressing itself within AND without. However, I also believe that\n trying to define/describe such an infinite Divine Being in finite\n terms to be a waste of time and energy. I CAN describe my perceptions\n of the Ultimate in terms of the energies that I work with and find\n significant in my daily living. My style and methods of relating to\n what I can perceive of these Divine Energies are what I describe as my\n RELIGION. How I apply these insights gained via my religious prac-\n tices, I term my CRAFT.\n \n The name for my religion is derived from the Saxon root \"wicce\"\n (pronounced \"witchy\") and is loosely translated as \"Wise\". The word\n \"Wicca\" was first used in modern times in England by Gerald B. Gardner\n to describe/define an attempt at restoring \"the old wisdom\" of pre-\n Christian beliefs and practice into a modern context in the 1940's. \n Ergo, I could call my religion \"wisdom\" and my style of application of\n this wisdom \"wise-craft\" or more simply, \"The Craft of the Wise\".\n \n For the sake of convenience and easy understanding, I divide the\n expressions of the Divine Energies into two groups; that of the active\n positive (symbolically \"male\") energies represented to me by the stag\n horned Lord of the Forest, and those of a more passive, nurturing, or\n \"negative\" polarity represented to me by the Threefold Goddess. \n Approaching my perceptions of the universe and its energies in this\n way allows me to break them down into \"bite sized chunks\", applicable\n to my daily life in a mundane world, and what good is ANY belief\n system if it is not of immediate and practical use here and now?\n \n So what are some of the beliefs and practices of this religion\n called Wicca, and how do I apply them to my daily life? What does it\n all mean? The following explanation is based on a press statement\n released by the American Council of Witches released in the early\n 1970's, with some editing on my part to reflect my own beliefs and\n practices.\n \n ================================= \n \n BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CRAFT \n \n 1. The first principle is that of love, and it is expressed in the\n ethic, \n \"AN IT HARM NONE, DO AS THOU WILL\" \n \n a) love is not emotional in it's essence, but is an \n attribute of the individual as expressed in relation \n to other beings; \n b) harming others can be by thought, word, or deed.\n Thought is included here, because for the Witch,\n \"thoughts are things\" and every action, even thoughts,\n can become magical actions, whether consciously intended\n or not;\n c> it is to be understood the \"none\" includes oneself,\n though it is permissable to harm self in helping others,\n should one so choose;\n d) the harm which is to be regarded as unethical is \n gratuitous harm; war, in general, is gratuitous harm, \n \n \n 1552\n \n \n although it is ethical to defend oneself and one's \n liberty when threatened by real and present danger, \n such as personal defense or defense of another WHEN REQUESTED. \n \n 2. The Witch must recognize and harmonize with the forces of the \n universe, in accord with the Law of Polarity: everything is dual;\n everything has two poles; everything has it's opposite; for every\n action there is a reaction; all can be categorized as either active or\n reactive in relation to other things. \n a) The Infinite and Ultimate Godhead is one unique and\n transcendent wholeness, beyond any limitations or expressions;\n thus, it is beyond our human capacity to understand and identify\n with this principle of Cosmic Oneness, except as It is \n revealed to us in terms of It's attributes and operation. \n \n b) One of the most basic and meaningful attribute of the One\n that we, as humans, can relate to and understand, is \n that of polarity, of action and reaction; therefore \n Witches recognize the Oneness of the Divinity, but \n worship and relate to the Divine as the archetypal \n polarity of God and Goddess, the All-Father and the \n Great Mother of the universe. The Beings are as near as \n we can approach to the One within our human limitations \n of understanding and expression, though it is possible to \n experience the divine Oneness through the practices of the \n Mysteries. \n \n c) Harmony does not consist of the pretty and the nice, \n but the balanced, dynamic, poised co-operation and \n co-relationship. \n \n 3. The Witch must recognize, and operate within the framework of\n the Law of Cause and Effect; every action has it's reaction, and\n every effect has it's cause. All things occur according to this law;\n nothing in the universe can occur outside this law, though we may not\n always appreciate the relation between a given effect and it's cause.\n Subsidiary to this is the Law of Three, which states that whatever\n goes forth must return threefold, whether of good or ill; for our\n actions affect more than people generally realize, and the resulting\n reactions are also part of the harvest. \n \n 4. As Above, So Below. That which exists in the Macrocosm exists, on\n a smaller scale and to a lesser degree, in the Microcosm. The powers\n of the universe exist also in the human, though in general instance\n they\n lie dormant. The powers and abilities can be awakened and used if the\n proper techniques are practiced, and this is why initiates of the\n Mysteries are sworn to guard the secrets from the unworthy: Much harm\n can be done by those who have power without responsibility, both to\n others and to themselves according to the Laws of Cause and Effect and\n of Threefold Return. \n \n a) Since our philosophy teaches that the universe is the \n physical manifestation of the Divine, there can be \n nothing in the universe which does not partake of the \n nature of the Divine; hence, the powers and attributes \n of the Divine exist also in the manifest, though to much \n smaller degree.\n \n \n 1553\n \n \n \n b) These powers can be awakened through the various\n techniques of the Mysteries, and, although they are only \n capable of small effects in and of themselves, it is \n possible to use them in order to draw upon the forces of \n the universe. Thus humanity can be the wielders of the \n power of the Gods, a channel for Godhead to act within \n It's own manifestation. This, many feel, is further reason\n for the oath of secrecy. \n \n c) Since the universe is the body of the One, possessing \n many of the same attributes as the One, it's Laws must be the\n principles through and by which the One operates. By \n reasoning from the known to the unknown, one can learn \n of the Divine, and thus of oneself. By experiencing the Mysteries\n a person can truly LEARN more about the One. Thus the Craft is a\n natural religion as well as a MYSTERY religion, seeing in Nature\n the expression and revelation of Divinity.\n \n 5. We know that everything in the universe is in movement or vibration\n and is a function of that vibration. Everything vibrates; all things\n rise and fall in a tidal system that reflects the motion inherent in\n the universe and also in the atom. Matter and energy are but two\n poles of one continuous phenomenon. Therefore the Witch celebrates,\n harmonizes with, and makes use of the tides of the universe and of\n life as expressed through the cycle of the seasons and the motion of\n the solar system. These ritual observances are the eight great\n Festivals of the Year, referred to as the Wheel of the Year. Further,\n the Witch works with the forces and tides of the Moon, for this body\n is the mediator of much energy to our planet Earth and thus to oursel-\n ves. \n \n 6. Nothing is dead matter in the universe. All things exist,\n therefore all things live, though perhaps in a different manner from\n that which we are used to calling life. In view of this, the Witch\n knows that there is no true death, only change from one condition to\n another. The universe is the body of Godhead, and therefore \n possesses one transcendent consciousness; all things partake of the\n consciousness, in varying levels of trance/awareness. \n \n a) Because of this principle, all things are sacred to \n the Witch, for all partake of the one Life. \n \n b) Therefore the Witch is a natural ecologist, for Nature \n is part of us as we are a part of Nature. \n \n 7. Throughout the development of the human race, civilizations have\n seen and worshipped many and various attributes of the Divine. These\n universal forces have been clothed in forms which were expressive to\n the worshipper of the attribute of the Godhead which they expressed.\n Use of these symbolic representations of the natural and divine forces\n of the universe, or god forms, is a potent method for contacting and\n utilizing the forces they represent. Thus the Gods are both natural\n and truly divine, and man-made in that the forms with which they are\n clothed are products of humanity's striving to know the Godhead. \n \n \n 1554\n \n \n \n a) In keeping with the Law of Polarity, these god-forms \n are brought into harmony by the one great Law which \n states: All Gods are one God. All Goddesses are one \n Goddess. There is one Initiator. This law is an \n expression of our understanding that all of the forces of \n the universe, by whatever ethnic god-form is chosen to \n clothe and relate to whichever force, can be resolved \n into the fundamental polarity of the Godhead, the Great \n Mother and the All-Father. \n \n b) It is the use of differing god forms, of differing \n ethnic sources or periods, which is the basis of many of \n the differences between the various Traditions of the \n Craft. Each Tradition uses the forms, and thus the names, \n which to that Tradition best express and awaken an \n understanding of the force represented, according to the \n areas of emphasis of the Tradition. \n \n c) Because we know that differing names or \n representations are but expressions of the same divine \n principles and forces, we require our members to swear \n that they will never mock the names by which another \n honors the Divine, even though those names be different \n from and seemingly less expressive than the names and god \n forms used by our Tradition (for to the members of \n another Tradition, using it's names, ours may easily seem \n equally less expressive). \n \n 8. A Witch refuses to allow her/himself to be corrupted by the great\n guilt neuroses which have been foisted on humanity in the name of the\n Divine, thus freeing the self of the slavery of the mind. The Witch\n expresses responsibility for her/his actions, and accepts the conse-\n quences of them; guilt is rejected as inhibiting to one's self-actual-\n ization, and replaced by the efforts of the Witch to obey the teach-\n ings of harmlessness, responsibility for the consequences of one's\n actions, and the goal of actualizing the full powers of the individ-\n ual. \n \n a) We refuse to believe that a human being is born \n innately sinful, and recognize the concepts of sin and \n guilt are tremendously inhibiting to the human potential; \n the consequences of the Law of Cause and Effect, called \n karma by some, are not punishment, but the recurrences of \n situations and their effects because the individual has \n not gained the Wisdom needed to handle or avoid such \n situations. \n \n b) There is no heaven except that which we ourselves make \n of our life on Earth, and likewise there is no hell \n except the effects of our unwise actions. Many of us believe\n in a \"waiting place\" sometimes called Summerland where we rest,\n recuperate and prepare for our next sojurn in the earth. \"Death\n is not followed by punishment or reward, but by life and the\n continuing personal evolution of our human potential. \n \n \n 1555\n \n \n \n c) One cannot damn the divine in oneself; one can, \n however, cut oneself off from it through the rejection of \n wisdom and a refusal to strive for self-realization. \n This cutting off does not lead to personal suffering in \n \"hell\", for there is no Self to suffer if the tie to \n one's own divinity has been severed; what remains is \n merely an empty shell, a \"personality\" or thought-form \n devoid of it's ensouling Spark of the Divine Fire.\n \n 9. We know of the existence of the life-force which ensouls all\n living things, that is, all that exists. We know that a spark of\n this Divine Fire is within each and every thing that exists, and that\n it does not die; only the form of it's existence changes. We know that\n this spark of the life-force returns to manifestation again and again\n in order to fully realize and actualize it's potential, evolving\n finally to the peak and essence of existence which is pure being. In\n this process of reincarnation each form returns in the same type of\n form, though it's ever-increasing actualization may lead to higher\n levels of existence of that form. Man returns as man, cat as feline,\n mineral as mineral, each class of form evolving as the individual\n forms of that class evolve. \n \n 10. This process of evolution through successive incarnations in\n manifest form works through the utilizations of wisdom gained, the\n essence of the life-experience. This essence of experience, or Wisdom,\n is an attribute of the spark of life itself, one and inseparable. \n \n 11. We must care for the body, for it is the vehicle of the spark of \n life, the form by which we attain. Thus we must heal the body of it's\n ills and keep it a tuned and perfected tool; so must we heal others\n (both physically and psychologically) as far as it is within our power\n to do so. However, we cannot interfere with the life of another, even\n to heal, except at their request or with their express permission.\n The reasoning behind this apparent limitation is that we are endowed\n with Free Will, and what the Gods themselves hesitate to infringe\n upon, is best left alone by us \"mere\" mortals.\n \n 13. Harmony with, and utilization of, the great natural forces of the\n universe is called magick. By magick we speak, not of the super-\n natural, but of the superbly natural, but whose laws and applications\n are not as yet recognized by the scientific establishment. The Witch\n must strive to recognize these forces, learn their laws, attune\n her/himself to them, and make use of them. The Witch must also be\n aware that power corrupts when used _only_ for the gains of the self,\n and therefore must strive to serve humanity: Either through the\n service in the Priesthood, or by example and effects of his/her life\n on others. The choice must be made in accord with the true nature of\n the Witch. \n \n \n 1556","title":"Internet Book of Shadows: What is Wicca (Durwydd Mac Tara)","type":"page"}