Be Ye a Witch!?

"A Witch is an individual who engages in Witchcraft. In turn, Witchcraft is what Witches do. By defining Witch, we automatically have described Witchcraft...and vice versa."

My first attempts at communicating with other pagans was through the old computer 'bulletin boards'. I asked a lot of questions. Believe me, I got a lot of answers. I spoke with witches that followed "The Craft". I met numerous people that claimed they learned witchcraft from their mothers, who learned it from their mothers and so on. And I met Wiccans.

Depending on which bulletin board I was on, those that followed "The Craft" were often of the same coven, although the term clan seemed more applicable to me. Sometimes, the coven had hived into more covens in other towns and even states. I believe I was in conversation with at least three different groups that followed "The Craft". The most interesting thing about those groups was their treatment of their High Priestess. They were to be treated with the highest respect at all times. She was a clan chief in many, many ways. Followers of "The Craft" that I spoke to pretty much despised Wiccans.

There was one group in particular, that I would have packed it up and moved if they had given me even a small hope of becoming a member of their coven.

If my memory serves me correct, many of the hereditary witches I spoke to were from Russian states. I can't remember writing to any Italian Stregha witches, but, I may have. Generally nice people and willing to answer pretty much any question that I tossed at them. For the most part, they too had had their run-ins with the Wiccans.

Then there were the Wiccans. As a newcomer, they were a mixed bag of tricks. Some claimed to be Wiccans, but, repudiated the term witch. Those that did call themselves witches claimed that only a Wiccan is a witch. (This was obviously the main source of much of the warring.) Then there were the British Traditionalists bashing any Wiccan that wasn't a British Traditionalist. And to top it off, there were the Christian Wiccans. Claims that Wicca had been around intact since prehistoric times insulted my intelligence. The law of three was just another version of 'the devil's going to get you' to me. I had left one religion based on lies and fear, I wasn't in the market for another one.

Since then, I have met Wiccans that I respect. I make no claims that the people I talked to in my early pagan days are or were indicative of the majority of Wiccans. Most of the Wiccan books, that I read, are now acknowledging that Gerald Gardner is the father of modern day Wicca. I have read a lot of books on Wicca and will probably continue to do so, but, I can't ever see me becoming a Wiccan.

Am I a witch? Since I sometimes engage in witchcraft, I guess I am. :)

Cited:
Robinson, B.A., Definitions of "Witch" and "Witchcraft" Found In Dictionaries. Religious Tolerance.org, http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_dict.htm July 17, 2000