WHAT IS WITCHCRAFT?

The PURPOSE OF WITCHCRAFT, MAGICK & TAROT, as taught at The Magickal Path:

To work with the natural energies of 'Self' and the Universe as a way to heal, learn and grow; To live your Divine Purpose, contribute to the world, improve negative situations, manifest a joyful life, and evolve your Soul. 

A WITCH is a person of any gender who works with Spirit, their Higher Self, and the many energetic frequencies of Nature as a way to heal, grow, and live their Divine Purpose, and is one who knows the ultimate energies in the Universe are joy, love, and compassion.

WITCHCRAFT is the life-affirming nature and energy-centric practice and lifestyle through which a person achieves their spiritual and life goals. Witchcraft is about power–not over others, but over yourself. To be in control of your own life and spirituality is really what the Craft is all about.

MAGICK is the art and science of manipulating both the energies of Nature and the energy within to manifest positive change; malefic magick taints the energy and the spirit within, and is therefor highly discouraged and not taught at The Magickal Path. 

TAROT is a form of divination that taps into the wisdom of Spirit and the Higher Self for the purpose of receiving Divine guidance for Self and others; it is also used as a tool for personal and spiritual growth.

SPIRIT has many names... the Divine, the Universe, Source, Creation, All That Is, Great Spirit, God, etc. At The Magickal Path, we do not teach you who or what to believe in, worship or venerate; we do not proselytize any deities or religion because we believe in religious and spiritual freedom. Any course you take with us will support your personal spiritual path. Your Spirit is the eternal energy and consciousness that is always connected to Source; your Soul is who you are now, in this lifetime's incarnation. 

No, Wicca and witchcraft are not synonyms. They are two different practices that can be combined.

Witchcraft is often confused with Wicca, the Pagan religion that practices Witchcraft. While many Witches are Wiccan, and most Wiccans do identify as Witches, Wicca is a hierarchical, structured religion. It has its own rules and methods that practitioners follow and implement.

Each denomination of Wicca reveres specific deities that their members venerate. Wiccans who practice within the framework of a coven will undergo initiations and have degrees to attain. Wicca is the perfect path for some and can be highly rewarding. However, not all who aspire to be a Witch have the desire to do so within the construct of an organized religion.

Solitary Wiccans are free to choose any deity or pantheon to venerate. They do not attain degrees, nor have a role within a coven’s hierarchical structure. They do, however, follow the tenets of the religion.

Eclectic Witches do not. They choose their own gods and goddesses to venerate and be in relationship with. Some Eclectic Witches, such as myself, venerate none at all. Rather, we focus on the Divine as a whole, and work with various energies in nature, both earth and cosmic. A huge part of my practice is working with the natural energy (power) that is within me–that embodies ‘animating factor’ which is the soul, spirit, and consciousness itself.

There are many beautiful and relevant elements in Wicca, and the Eclectic Witch is free to incorporate any parts that resonate with them into their practice.

In Eclectic Witchcraft, a Witch doesn’t have to worship any gods and goddesses. If they do, the they are free to work with any deity or pantheon they intuitively resonate with. Multiple deities from various pantheons are sometimes part of the Eclectic Witch’s practice. Witches work with gods and goddesses to venerate and to obtain assistance from. Deities, however, are not static, and may not permanently remain in one’s practice. They may change over time as the individual Witch evolves, and as needs arise. Witches venerate gods and goddesses equally, as they believe in the balance between masculine and feminine energies. Neither is greater than the other.

Many witches believe that deities (gods and goddesses) are actual beings, and are front and center in their Witchcraft practice. Others believe that any given deity is not an actual being, but a singular energetic resonance of the Divine. Examples of these energies include invoking Venus to aid you in love, friendship or money matters. Or Mercury, to aid you in all matters relating to commerce, medicine, magick and communication. These archetypal energies are but a fragment of the infinite sum of Creation--the Divine, Universal Source Energy that the witch invokes in their spiritual and magickal practices.

Think of the Divine as a diamond. Each facet resonates a particular energy and is associated with a particular god or goddess. Some witches work with a combination of energetic resonances and personification of them, and refer to Divine archetypal energies as specific deities. 

Some Witches are secular though, meaning they do not practice their Craft from a spiritual standpoint. Rather, their focus is solely its magickal and possibly, healing aspect. Here at The Magickal Path, we practice and teach Witchcraft as a spiritual, magickal and healing practice.

OUR CORE BELIEFS AND DEFINITIONS. ARE THEY YOURS, TOO?

WITCHCRAFT & PAGAN DEITIES

IS WITCHCRAFT EVIL? THE IMPACT OF CHRISTIANITY, PATRIARCHY AND MAINSTREAM RELIGIONS

IS WICCA AND WITCHCRAFT THE SAME THING?

Absolutely not! Christianity demonizes anything to do with an individual claiming power over their life, particularly women, with the witch being one of it's primary targets. That is because the role of the Church is to control the masses in order to make money and 'stay in business', and do so through threats and fear (think of all those rules, and if broken, the ultimate price your soul will pay in hell).

Free-thinking, strong-willed people resist being controlled, not as license to do whatever they want to others without consequences, as karma will always catch up to the evil-doer, but do so to be their truest, most authentic selves and live out their Divine Blueprint. When a person is operating from their truest self, they are whole, and have plenty leftover to give and help others. This way of being does not align with Christian dogma, and the Church vilifies all who live life their own way. The witch is the quintessential example of a person who lives life their own way, not from a place of selfishness, but from a place of self-care and personal Divine Truth so they can indeed, show up to help, heal and comfort not just themselves, but others. Historically, 'witches' were the 'wise ones' - they were the healers, midwives, herbalists and folk magicians people went to for help. 

Christianity has always feared losing its firm grasp on the masses. It therefore brainwashed its followers, pounding the fear of eternal punishment by its supposedly loving, yet cruelly punitive, Father God for anything that was deemed 'unholy' by the Church's controlling patriarchal hierarchy. 

So where does Jesus fit into all of this? The Christian religion is a male-dominated, patriarchal human construct that when looked at closely, bears little resemblance to anything Jesus ever said or did. Jesus preached unconditional love, egalitarianism and was anti-caste.  He was a person of the people and supported the individual. And guess what? He was a magician, too! Think about 'water into wine' and all those 'loaves and fishes'! Christians call it a miracle. We call it magick. We do magick to make our lives a little better in the here and now. That's exactly what Jesus did, too!

You are no less of a witch if you do not want to remove Jesus from your witchcraft practice. As an Eclectic Witch, you incorporate what speaks to your heart into your practice. And Jesus is, after all, an Ascended Spiritual Master, and the embodiment of unconditional love, which is the highest vibrational frequency in the Universe. Working with Jesus, his energies, and his principles are an excellent way to live and even be a witch. Too bad most Christians don't ask themselves WWJD (what would Jesus do?) before they open their mouths or do something that is less than nice. Living by the 'Golden Rule' is the most fundamental of his teachings (do unto others...), and is an excellent principle to live by. 

Unless you are a witch who chooses to practice malefica (black magick), there is nothing inherently evil about witchcraft. It's unfortunate for the rest of us who practice under the principle of 'do no harm' that we get lumped into this evil-doing category.  

Lastly, there is no Satan, Lucifer or Devil in witchcraft. We believe this character to be part of the Christian mythology (all religions of the world both ancient and present, are mythologies), and that it has no bearing or affect on us whatsoever. Satan was created by the Church to scare people into converting, and does not exist. So, no, there is no consorting or other weirdness happening between witches and Christianity's false weapon of fear.

Yes, evil exists. All the Universe is based on polarity. So where there is light, there is dark, and that goes for energies and spirits, but does not apply to the mythological Satan of Christianity. If you are a witch and steer clear of malefica, you are practicing in the light and have no need to fear the dark. 

JUPITER

Fiona's spell jar, with the help of wolf energy and photo of a wolf she met named Zephyr

“Magick is the art and science of manipulating energy to create change.” ~Fiona Duncan

It is the harnessing and directing of natural forces, including the energy (power) within us, and it is very real. The witch's magick is not a 'slight of hand' trick or the ‘magic’ the film industry depicts. While having a small ‘Harry Potter’ moment is not impossible, a spell takes time to manifest. And always, the success of any spell depends upon many variables such as the witch's unconscious shadows (repressed emotions), their vibrational frequency, mundane pathways and more.

Energy in any magick spell is neutral; it is neither good, nor evil. The intention of any spell, whether its is for good or to harm, is born of the person casting the spell. In part, it is because of the witches who curse, hex and manipulate the free will of others, that witchcraft still suffers such prejudice. This is because people fear those who could do them harm in this way.

In Eclectic Witchcraft, all methods and modes of spell casting are utilized, and those used are dependent on the aim of a particular spell. There is a lot to learn about magick and spell casting, and finding the right teacher is crucial to your magickal success. Your magick teacher should be one you trust and that aligns with your own beliefs about how to use magick. The person who teaches you magick should also have a lot of experience with witchcraft and spell casting, and that has your best interest at heart.

At The Magickal Path we do not condone or teach malefica (black magick) because hexing, cursing and manipulating the free will of another (such as in love spells with a particular person in mind) is dark, and will not only cause harm to the targeted person, it will taint the life and energy of the malefic witch or magician who cast it by attracting more and more things they will feel the need to hex or curse. It's a nasty cycle and leads to a life of problems and unhappiness, and a general low vibrational frequency for the witch or magician. And let's not forget about karma... 

This is not to be confused with doing magick for protection. Sometimes a powerful banishing or binding is necessary in order to protect one's self or family member from imminent or ongoing harm. This falls in what Fiona calls the 'grayscale' in magick, and is neither black or white in nature. It can be equated to what she also calls, 'energetic kung-fu in the ethers', which is protecting yourself energetically with magick, just as you might do through martial arts, police protection, alarm systems, and other earthly mundane ways of protection. It's recommended to always support your protection magick by following through with mundane means as well. 

WHAT IS MAGICK?

Yes, there absolutely are male witches!

Males who walk the path of the Witch do not feel threatened by feminine power and energy. These men understand that masculine and feminine power is equal, but different, and know there is no need or reason for dominance. They know that dominance is born of ego and fear, and choose not to operate from this low energy.

The idea of men embracing their feminine side–-the receptive, intuitive and magickal part of themselves, is not the norm or considered ‘acceptable’ in the world's male-dominated cultures. Despite this, the male witch's innate masculinity is not threatened. He soulfully walks his unique sacred path, and ultimately comes to abide in his authentic self in ways that he could never experience through patriarchal norms, religion and culture. Further, why would a man not be interested in connecting with the energies of Nature, and want to learn to use them and live in sync with them? Modern male witches are society's spiritual pioneers.

ARE THERE MALE WITCHES? WHAT ABOUT GENDER IDENTITY?

“Eclectic Witchcraft is a carefully curated compilation of time-honored, globally-referenced magickal, spiritual and occult practices that have great meaning and resonance to the individual Witch.” ~ Fiona Duncan

Every Eclectic Witch’s practice is singularly their own, which in our opinion, is as it should be! Creating a magickal and spiritual practice that is uniquely suited to just you, is the heart and soul of Eclectic Witchcraft.

There are no rules in the way you practice your Craft, only guidelines to help you find and develop the practices that resonate with you on a soul level. Ultimately, freedom is the operative word in Eclectic Witchcraft. It has no set practice or tradition, yet is by no means a hodgepodge of practices. Aspects of any spiritual and magickal practices that have meaning to the Witch are what make each Witch’s Eclectic practice unique.

Positive, energy-driven, life-affirming spiritual and magickal practices are the underpinning of the Eclectic path. Although Eclectic Witches are free to practice any form of magick they desire, ranging from black to white, most choose the path that does no harm.

There is no dogma or hierarchy in Eclectic Witchcraft. That is because there is always more than one way to do things. In Eclectic Witchcraft, every Witch is their own ‘High Priest’ or ‘High Priestess’, if one chooses to use these designations. There is no need for a ‘middleman’ to tell you how to do things, nor do you require degrees, initiations, and the like. If you feel you are a Witch in your heart and soul, then you are. You don’t need anyone else to validate this fact.

To be an Eclectic Witch means you wield your power to create the life of your dreams. It means you discover your soul’s purpose so you can not only serve your own highest good, but also contribute to the good of the world!

Witchcraft is a haven and is accepting of all in regard to race, background, sexual orientation or identity. However you identify, witchcraft is a safe place for you to be your beautifully unique self.

WHAT IS ECLECTIC WITCHCRAFT REALLY ABOUT?

Written by Fiona Duncan, MA, MSed,
Creatrix of The Magickal Path School, LLC