Redundant Repetitious Corrections

Ok, so this might seem like a redundant repetition of what I've said before, but I find that the more you correct misinformation (however over-repeated), the more people will recognize it in the future, and perhaps correct it themselves, and I'm all about educating people.

I encountered yet another "article" on Witchcraft, this "Traditional Witchcraft". It's not necessarily the same one I found on such unnamed website (which will remain unnamed for reasons that I will not get into lest this turn into a rant, rather than an attempt at correction) which is available for reading in one of the posted articles....I'm not sure where this person got this "article". I'll link to the blog post so you can read it in it's entirety...here I'll just quote misinformation and make the necessary corrections:
http://www.paganspace.net/group/traditionalwitchcraft/forum/topics/traditional-witchcraft-found-the-article

Quote 1:
"Witches are not evil-doers, rather, they are the most moral, most aware and sensitive people you will ever come across"
--Sorry to burst the authors bubble, but to naively think that ALL Witches are "the most moral" or "sensitive people you will ever come across" does NO ONE any good. Witches are human. We are all prone to human faults and those faults include making bad choices. The difference between Witches and everyone else in the world, is that many of those Witches who make bad choices, use their craft IN those bad choices. A Witch who chooses to use their craft for negative, petty reasons are no less Witches than someone who chooses to use their craft more responsibly. It simply means they used their craft in less than honorable ways. It doesn't make them evil, but it doesn't make them the lead in the "Best Witch in the World" pageant.

Don't assume that because someone who chooses to use their craft for less-than-honorable purposes, means they're not a "Real Witch". What constitutes a "Real Witch" is someone who has taken the time to study Witchcraft, learned what it entails and how to use the craft to gain whatever purpose they use the craft for. No where does it say that, the moment someone uses the craft for negative purposes, means that person is no longer a "Real Witch".


Quote 2:
"Witches abide by a code of "Harm none, do as thou will"
--I could bang my head against a brick wall at this moment. This article is discussing Traditional Witchcraft, in a group that discusses NON-WICCAN Witchcraft, yet they choose to publish an article that states that ALL WITCHES adhere to a WICCAN concept. Anyone see the redundancy here? If you were to look at the other discussions on this group, there's quite the elitism hovering around against Wiccans, calling them "fluffy" and whatnot, yet again, they allow an article that clearly states "Witches abide by a code of "Harm none, do as thou will" which never existed before Wicca was invented.

Non-Wiccan Witches...do NOT "abide" by the Wiccan Rede!!!
(this one quote is perhaps what inspired THIS blog post!)

Quote 3:
"Witches tend to be pantheists"
--Again, this author seems to be lumping all Witches into this one broad category, instead of separating practices into their own separate categories where they belong. All Witches do NOT "tend to be pantheists". A Witches belief in a deity is purely personal...it's not based on their craft. Witchcraft is a craft, a set of skills developed after years of study and practice. There are no gods that are required to be worshiped in order to practice Witchcraft. This is why so many people mistake Wicca for Witchcraft...because people mistakenly (either intentionally or unintentionally) interchange the terms.

It is a bit of a relief that in the next sentence, the author FINALLY used the word "most" when stating "Most Witches in some fashion worship the Goddess and her consort, the Horned God", however I wouldn't have chosen the word "most" but would have said "some". "Most" would imply the majority of Witches.

Quote 4:
"Instead, Witches believe in a transient-like afterlife, sometimes called the Summer-lands, as well as reincarnation"
--Uh...no. Again, lumping us all into one category. Not all Witches believe in some transient after life. In fact, there are MANY Witches who don't believe in an afterlife at all!! Much less believe in reincarnation.


I can understand someone trying to define "Traditional Witchcraft"...however when you use elements of other religions and systems IN that definition, it's not Traditional Witchcraft you are defining, but some form of eclecticism. Traditional Witchcraft is traditional and non-religious. It's perfectly find if you want to be a Wiccan and incorporate Witchcraft into your practice, however, you cannot call it Traditional Witchcraft because of the modern Wiccan elements applied. Same as you cannot practice Christianity, incorporate Witchcraft into it and call it Traditional Witchcraft when it's not traditional at all.

Please be careful when trying to define Traditional Witchcraft, that you do not unintentionally lump all Witches as being Wiccan Witches (as this author mistakenly did).





Ma’iingan