? for religious Witches

[SoulFire]

I have a question for those here who practice religious Witchcraft, but do not consider themselves Wiccan:

If you are one who considers themselves to be a non-Wiccan Witch, yet religious nonetheless, from whence do you draw your thealogical (or theological) and ethical or moral beliefs? What is your concept of Deity or Deities, and how do you venerate them? Just curious.

[skilly-nilly]

I have a question for those here who practice religious Witchcraft, but do not consider themselves Wiccan:

If you are one who considers themselves to be a non-Wiccan Witch, yet religious nonetheless, from whence do you draw your thealogical (or theological) and ethical or moral beliefs? What is your concept of Deity or Deities, and how do you venerate them? Just curious.

I have never studied nor followed Wicca, I am a Witch and feel that it is a part of my religious expression. I am a kind of Irish Re-Constructionist from whence cometh my ology. I am an extreme polytheist, well into the animist shading and I honour the Gods with communication, ritual, offerings and love.

[CassiaMoon]

By religious you mean, christian religion? Perhaps a melding of the two?

Or do you mean someone who considers themselves spiritual through other religious means?

For example, I was raised christian, Catholic was the precise RELIGION that I was christened into as an infant. As a young adult I began seeking other spiritual paths, but do not deny myself belief that a man called Jesus may have existed and was a great healer, and the the Magi were documented to have sought him out and visited him upon his birth. In the same instance however, I do not limit myself to believing that he is the only begotten son of the "one true god" I dont believe that he had any more of a position than the magi, or the apostles that followed him. I believe they were all ,what we would call in modern terms, energy workers. That in itself would define me as being a Pagan, regardless that I include a christian diety in my belief system. Most people also raise an eyebrow when I attempt to explain my strong belief in the triple goddess, which to me, has always made perfect sense because I feel it in the very nature of my existence. And at that point, I figure there is not even a chance that they would understand any hoodoo so I don't even bother raising that topic, although I've seen it with my own eyes the results.

A majority of the people I've met in my lifetime have a really hard time, or find it impossible to distinguish between religion and spirituality.
And as cheesy as it sounds, I derive most of my ethical and moral beliefs from the golden rule, and try my damndest to live by it.

[RainInanna]

I would say in my spirituality, the Craft is constant, but the religion is variable. I would summarize by saying I am panentheistic, as I feel the Divine is both immanent and transcendant. At the moment I am focusing on the immanent Divine within the Self, so a lot of my spiritual work revolves around self-transcendence through meditation, reflection, energy work, seeking knowledge, etc. This involves daily prayer to the Sacred with thanks for specific elements of my life and expressing the desire to focus on certain qualities in myself. I also offer gifts of flowers and almonds etc. to the Divine.

At other times I have focused on individual deities and duotheistic deities with emphasis at times on the Goddess (simply focusing on the Sacred manifested in the gender I identify with, not denying the importance of the other gender). I worked within Kemeticism for awhile and worshipped the Kemetic Gods using the ritual I learned from their own culture. I worked within eclectic Wicca for a time, worshipping the God and Goddess in the rituals of that path. This has also involved earth-centered spirituality such as working outside with devas, seasons, and moon cycles. The focus on the turning wheel is something that has probably stuck with me to some degree. Goddess-focused Witchcraft has become more prevalent as I explore the Sacred feminine and fertility; this type ties in with the first paragraph above.


I have dabbled in Buddhism & Taoism, as well as Ceremonial Magic. I didn't stick with them as I prefer working with gods I can feel. I like the idea that the Sacred is within and without, not distant, strict, or entirely absent. I like connecting with God, in whatever form is taken, and I believe all forms are valid and meaningful.

[Mouse]

I could write an essay on this :lol: So i'll have to come back to it later, but the quick answer would be, I believe in two Gods. (A God and a Goddess - Not the lord and lady). I worship them through ritual, prayer, by leaving offerings and by giving my life to them in service. I do what they tell me to do. I consider all acts of magick to be a part of their worship, even if it is for something mundane. I play them music or sing or recite poetry. Whatever I have in me at the time.

Where did I get it from? Well if I were to say that the Gods told me, I'd sound like a loon. A lot of my morals have been shaped by my mentor through the course of my study, and I continue to question them.

This'll have to do for now, but I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.
~miri

[seekerofknwoledge]

I am a non-Wiccan witch from the Helenistic/ecletic persuasion. Meaning, I primarily worship the Greek Gods like Zeus, Aphrodite, Artemis, etc. Also, due to my characterization as "eclectic" I bring in divinities from other pantheons too (usually when I'm praying for a friend who's divinity it is, or I need a specific favor from another God/dess).

[Morr]

I focus more on Kitchen Witchery than other witchy stuff, though I have studied Witchcraft and can do witchy stuff, if needed.

My religion is Irish Reconstructionism. My theology and beliefs come from that. I am a hard polythist worshipping the Irish Deities, the ancestors and nature. I follow a very Hearthy path within Irish Reconstructionism, so Kitchen Witchery works great for me. I am also interested in Herbology.

[Nitefalle]

I'm pretty much with Morr on this one, though I am not an Irish Recon, per se. I am a hard polytheist that, though I came to Paganism through Wicca many years ago, quickly discovered it wasn't for me. I have now come home to a Celto-Germanic path, blending the two parts of my ancestry that speak to me the loudest. I tend to rely on personal gnosis and inspiration a bit more than the history books, but I don't ignore the history either. My concept of deity is inspired by the history and the lore, but also from my direct interaction with Them. I venerate them through ritual offerings, attention & building of a relationship, learning more through lore and meditation, and love. I believe my devotion is the greatest gift that I can give.
My ethics / morals are my own, derived from what I believe to be common sense and my personal sense of justice, influenced by the ethics / morals of the society I live in. I wouldn't really call it religiously based, though, except to say that many American ethics and laws are pretty Judeo-Christian in their origin.

[SoulFire]

By religious you mean, christian religion? Perhaps a melding of the two?



No, I do not mean Christian (unless you consider yourself to be a Christian Witch). Personally, I do not define "religion" in terms of Christian beliefs and practices only. Are Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists not religious simply because they are non-Christian (rhetorical question)? I am interested in reading if there are religious Witches here who are non-Wiccan.

Thanks for asking for clarification.

B*B
:chattin:

[Arion]

I believe in two Gods. (A God and a Goddess - Not the lord and lady)

What's the difference? Just curious :)

[fangedeshana]

What's the difference? Just curious :)

I had a similar answer to Mouse, so perhaps she might have a somewhat similar answer to this as I would?

Perhaps the difference is she is simply not Wiccan in her practices? I myself follow a God and a Goddess, and I adress them as such until I am given names.

Of course, the other difference is a perference in lables :P If I said Lord and Lady in ritual I'd still be calling my God and Goddess. :lol:

[Mouse]

What's the difference? Just curious :)

I find with most Wiccans who worship the Lady and Lord they do so until they have other names to give them, usually comeing from a pantheon. I find many people say "Lady and Lord" when they are in a eclectic group setting, or as a way of saying they have not been claimed by any Gods yet.

With the God and Goddess I'm not leaveing a space for a name until a patron comes along. They are my patrons - but they don't have names. I'm a firm believer that to name something is to have power over it.

Also with the Lady and Lord I often find people saying that they are like gemstones, each face being a different aspect/face/name of the Goddess/God, meaning that all Gods are one God etc. I don't see my God and Goddess like this at all, so I guess it's a way of making that distinction.

The terms "Lady" and "Lord" also remind me a great deal of the SCA, which makes me uncomfortable (and I have no idea why :lol: )

I hope this makes sense, I know I'm not great at explaining this stuff. :hahugh:

[Zephyrstorm]

I'm a Kitchen Witch. I see my religious views as inseperable from my magic and from my actions. They are one.

I was walking the path of Kemetic Orthodoxy for the past year, but felt myself pulled back to the Gods I followed before I discovered the Kemetic Gods. I still honor the Gods of Egypt that I have, but there's a distance there now.

I worship a God and a Goddess, but they aren't the same as the Wiccan deities. There's a difference in concept and in symbology, in mythology, and in how I approach them. *shrug* But I make no bones about the fact that my years as a Wiccan influences what I do today.

[Qeniheru]

I was Wiccan when I first started, but I've always been a witch at heart. :) It tends to be pretty unified with my religion, even though it's changed a couple times now. Right now I'm a budding Kemetic Orthodox, for example.

[Rosetta Morrigan]

I believe all gods and goddesses are one ultimate being and I believe this ultimate being chooses the form the most appeals to us. Like for me, I relate to the Ultimate through the Christian Trinity (with a twist): Mother/Father God/Ess, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I do consider myself most closely a Christian Witch but I'm also very eclectic in my beliefs, drawing ideas and morals from many different paths. :smile: