SeekingAnswers asked this question on 4/5/2000:

I have a research project due very soon and nobbody has been able to help me so i'm hoping you can. I have questions more about withcraft than wiccan but there are no withcraft experts so i had to come to wiccan.I have been told that they are two different things but if nessecary i'll translate it. Please HELP!!!! Below are my questions~ thank you for your time and help******** 1.How did witchcraft originate? 2.What is the Other World? 3.What was the Inquisition? 4.Why does this craft worship gods? 5.Is there any absolute standard for beliefs? 6.Are there things that could ban you from being a part of a "group" or "clan" of wiccan? 7.Can any other religons (ex. Christian,Jew,Buddhist)also practice the Craft? 8.What does the "dedication" or "rites of passage" have to do with the initiation of the religon of withcraft? Thank you so much if you can answer any of these questions~i am very grateful

*Lauren*

mothergoddess gave this response on 4/6/2000:

DEAR LAUREN, WOW! IS THAT A MOUTHFUL...

THOSE EIGHT QUESTIONS WOULD TAKE UP VOLUMES OF TEXT... AS THE OPINIONS OF EVERY WITCH AND WICCAN AND PAGAN DIFFER AS DO THE SNOWFLAKES PATTERNS... I CAN GIVE YOU VERY BASIC AND CUT DOWN ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS TO HELP IN THE RESEARCH, BUT I AM ALSO GOING TO GIVE YOU ONE OF THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ON-LINE SOURCES FOR ANY AND ALL INFORMATION YOU COULD EVER HOPE TO FIND IN ONE SPOT.

BUT I HAVE TO ANSWER THEM OUT OF ORDER TO MAKE IT EASIER TO FOLLOW...:

HOW DID WITHCRAFT ORIGINATE?

I CAN ONLY TRANSLATE THIS IN WICCAN TERMS.... A WIICAN BELIEF IS THAT OUR LIVES ARE RULED BY THE FORCES OF NATURE, THAT ALL WE ARE, ALL WE HAVE AND ALL WE CAN OBTAIN IS GIVEN TO US BY NATURE... THE MAJOR RULERS OF THIS WORLD ARE THE MOON (MOTHER GODDESS) AND THE SUN(FATHER GOD) AS WELL AS THE ELEMENTS, WIND WATER EARTH AND FIRE...THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER GODDESSES AND GODS, BUT THESE ARE THE FOUNDATION...EARLY MAN PROBABLY REALISED THAT THE RISING SUN BROUGHT WARMTH AND GOOD HUNTING DAYS, AND THAT THE WATERS MOVED WITH THE MOON CYCLES FOR GOOD FISHING... BEING AN INTELLIGENT BEING...HE PROBABLY THOUGHT THAT BY DOING CERTAIN RITUALS (A DANCE OR A SONG) WOULD INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF A SUNNY DAY, OR BETTER CATCH...BECAUSE THIS WOULD PLEASE THE SUN AND MOON...AND BECAUSE HE JUST HAPPENED TO SING THE NIGHT BEFORE HE CAUGHT THE BIGGEST FISH EVER, OR DANCED THE DAY HE KILLED A LARGE GAME....WE ARE SUPERSTICIOUS BY INSTINCT. ALL CULTURES HAVE THEIR OWN COMMON BELIEFS... THE EXPANDING CAME WITH TIME.... AND MAY HAVE DEVELOPED INTO THE PAGAN BELIEFS OF TODAY...

ARE THERE ANY ABSOLUTE STANDARD FOR BELIEFS?

YES, NO AND YES... THE ONE LAW OF A TRUE WITCH...IS TO DO NO HARM... THE PRACTICE OF BLACK MAGICK IS AN ANTI WITCH TERM... IT IS A BASTARDIZED FORM OF THE CRAFT, BUT DOES NOT HOLD ANY OF THE SAME TENENTS. IT IS IN ESSECE THE OPPOSITE OF WITCHCRAFT. A TRUE BELIEVER WOULD NEVER HARM SOMEONE BY ANY MEANS, AS WHAT IS DONE TO OTHERS WILL SURELY BE BROUGHT BACK UPON ONESELF THREEFOLD.(OR BETTER, DEPENDING ON THE TEACHINGS OF THE DIFFERENT SECTS)AS FAR AS TYPES OF RITUALS, TEACHINGS, AND VARIOUS OTHER FACETS OF THIS PRACTICE, THE BASICS ARE VERY SIMILAR, BUT BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN A SUPPRESSED RELIGION, OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE STORIES AND TRADITIONS HAVE TAKEN ON A VERY PERSONAL FORM, AND MAY DIFFER IN THAT RESPECT....

CAN ANY OTHER ELIGIONS PRACTICE THE CRAFT?

THE CRAFT (WITCHCRAFT) IS IN ITSELF, A SEPRATE PRACTICE FROM ANY OTHER, HOWEVER, MANY, MANY OTHER RELIGIONS INCORPORATE THE SAME BELIEFS OF PAGANISM IN GENERAL.BUDDISM, HINDUISM, WICCA, OLD GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY, ALL WORSHIP (ED) MANY GODS AND GODDESSES (WHICH IS THE DEFINITION OF PAGANISM) AND A FEW OF THE MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS HAVE INCORPORATED SOME OF THE HOLIDAYS AND PRACTICES (ESPECIALLY BEFORE AND AFTER THE REFORMATION, AND INQUISTION) TO EASE THE PAGAN POPULATION INTO ACCEPTING THEIR SINGLE GOD BELIEFS.... A GOOD EXAMPLE IS EASTER.. IT INCORPORATES THE RABBIT AND THE EGG AND DEATH AND REBIRTH FROM AN OLD PAGAN BELIEF. THAT AS THE GODDESS ENTERED FROM WINTER INTO SPRING (DEATH TO REBIRTH) OVER A THREE DAY PERIOD, THE LUNAR CYCLE OF THE FULL MOON (THE THREE DAYS IN HELL CHRIST SPEND BEFORE THE RESSURECTION) TO ARRIVE IN JUBULANT GLORY (THE GODDESS OESTRA {LIKE EASTER, THE EPITOME OF FEMINE/ BIRTH WHERE WE GET THE WORD ESTROGIN FROM}, HER SYBOLS WERE THE HARE (REPRODUTIVITY) AND THE EGG, FOR BIRTH.)

EASTER IS HELD AROUND THE SAME TIME AS THE CELEBRATION OF LADY DAY (REFERING TO OESTRA) EXCEPT THAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, IN ORDER TO HIDE THE SAMENESS OF THIS HAS DECLARED A LAW THAT EASTER BE A CERTAIN SUNDAY AFTER THE FIRST FULL MOON OF SPRING SO AS TO AVOID PEOPLE CATCHING ON TO THE COMPARISON, AND SO THEY COULD DENIE ANY CONNECTION TO THE OLDER PRACTICES... i COULD GO ON ABOUT EXAMPLES FOR DAYS... BUT YOU GET THE GENERAL IDEA.

WHY DOES THIS CRAFT WORSHIP GODS (GODDESSES)? BECAUSE MAN HAD TO EXPLAIN HOW AND WHY THINGS WORKED ON THIS PLANET... AND BECAUSE HE KNEW HE WAS TOO SMALL AND INSIGNIFICANT TO CONTROL HIS INVIRONMENT, HE HAD TO COME UP WITH A THING, A FIGUREHEAD TO ATTRIBUTE THEM TO.... A FORCE, OR HIGHER BEING.... KNOWING NONE OTHER ON THIS PLANE ASINTELLIGENT AS HIMSELF, OR HIGHER UP THE EVOLUTIONARY CHAIN. HE CAME UP WITH A PICTURE IN HIS MIND OF THIS FORCE, HIGHER BEING, THING THAT WAS GREATER THAN HE... AND GAVE IT HUMAN AND ANIMAL TRAITS, BECAUSE THAT WAS ALL HE HAD KNOWLEDGE OF AT THE TIME.AND HE NAMED THEM.... AND THAT IS A PRETTY GOOD IDEAL OF HOW HE FOUND THE GODS.

WHAT IS THE OTHER WORLD... WELL, THAT IS TOO BROAD OF A QUESTION... AND I NEED TO KNOW WHAT EXACTLY YOU ARE REFERING TO... DEATH? HEAVEN/HELL/PARADISE/THE GARDEN/THE NEXT DEMNSION/ THE INNER MIND... I COULD GO ON AND ON UNTIL I FIGURED OUT WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW... PLEASE WRITE BACK AND DEFINE IT A LITTLE BETTER.

WHAT WAS THE INQUISITION? THAT WAS A TRIBUNAL OR COURT HELD BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO SUPRESS HERESY, WHICH IN THEIR OPINION WAS ANYONE WHO DID NOT HOLD TO THE CHURCHES DOCTRIN OR BELIEFS... THAT INCLUDED ANY OF THE OTHER FAITHS, NOT JUST WITCHCRAFT.. ALTHOUGH IT WAS EASIER FOR THE CURCH TO CALL ALL OF THOSE WHOSE FAITH WAS DIFFERENT A WITCH, BECAUSE IT BROUGHT MUCH FEAR INTO THE HEARTS OF THE PUBLIC, AND GAVE THEM THE CONTINUED FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF PEOPLE AND MONARCHS TO CONTINUE TO WIPE OUT THE NON CHRTISTIAN POPULATION UNTIL THEY CONTROLLED ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE AND RELIGION... THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AT ON TIME OWNED 1/3 OF THE FREE WORLDS REAL ESTATE AND MONEY.... SO IT WAS VERY PROFITABLE FOR THEM TO DO THIS... BUT THAT IS A PERSONAL OPINION (SHARED BY MORE THAN A FEW OF US) AND I AM SURE CHRISTIANS WILL DIFFER ON THEIR VERSION. BUT EXTERMINATION OF A RACE OF PEOPLE HAS BEEN THE FODDER OF MANY STORIES, INCLUDING SOME IN THE BIBLE, AND MMORE RECENTLY THROUGH HITLER, AS A MEANS OF CONTROL.... SO THIS STORY HOLDS VERY TRUE....

ARE THERE THINGS THAT COULD BANN YOU.......?

YES, OF COURSE, AS WITH ANY GROUP OF HUMANS, THERE ARE UNACCEPTABLE THINGS ONE COULD DO.... AND WITH REGARDS TO WICCA.. TO ABUSE THE KNOWLEDGE BY CAUSING HARM TO ANOTHER... IS THE ONE HIGHEST RULE. ALTHOUGH MANY PRACTICE SOLITARY AND DO NOT HAVE TO ABIDE BY A GROUP RULE, THIS IS BASIC TENET.... THERE MAY BE OTHERS, LIKE SHARING SECRET RITUAL/SPELLS.... BUT THOSE TOO DIFFER FROM GROUP TO GROUP.

WITH REGARDS TO THE DEDICATIONS AND RITES OF PASSAGES YOU ASK ABOUT... THESE ARE USED BY ALMOST EVERY RELIGION, FRATERNITY, SORORITY, CLUB, ORGANIZATION...ETC. NOT TO WEED ANY ONE OUT OF THE GROUP... BUT TO GIVE THEM SUFFICIENT TIME TO LEARN AND DECIDE IF THIS IS A PATH THAT ONE CHOSES TO FOLLOW. A YEAR AND A DAY IS THE GENERAL "WAITING PERIOD" FOR A LOT OF PRACTICES... IT GIVES THE INDIVIDUAL "TIME" TO STUDY AND APPRICIATE WHAT THEY THINK THEY WANT TO JOIN, NOT TO EXCLUDE ANYONE. AND A CEREMONY TO WELCOME A NEW MEMBER INTO A GROUP IS ALWAYS A JOYOUS AND WONDERFUL THING... BECAUSE WITHOUT FEELING ACCEPTED.... IT IS MEANINGLESS TO WANT TO JOIN... HOW CAN ANYTHING GROW WITHOUT NEW LIFE BEING BROUGHT IN.... ?

I HAVE RUN OUT OF ROOM SO HERE IS THE LINK... WHEN YOU GET THERE, CLICK ON SEEKERS CIRCLE, THEN GOTO WICCA READING ROOM, THEN TO THE BOS (BOOK OF SHADOWS). THE FIRST 100 PAGES HAS A TABLE OF CONTENTS.. FOLLOW IT TO WHAT YOU NEED.. GOOD LUCK AND BLESSINGS TO YOU. WRITE BACK, LET ME KNOW HOW IT IS GOING, AND IF I CAN HELP ANY MORE. LOVE.. BETHANY

http://the.wicca.net/

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SeekingAnswers rated this answer a 5.

Thank you sooooo much! I will get back to you, when I get my grade! *Lauren*