The craft, or Wicca, is a form of neo-Paganism. But to speak of witchcraft, Paganism, Spell-craft and Magic, to some is silly at best and these words have no place outside of fairy tales and films; they're figments of overactive imaginations that don't belong in the "real world"but I would respond to Christians who believe this that God has knowledge far beyond yours and HE WARNS THE CHURCH NEVER TO PRACTICE WHAT HE HATES, DO WE HAVE MORE WISDOM THAN HIM?.
This is how some in the church have treated those who have had the "Guts" to come out of her spell and reveal her whoring ways to the world, this is how I was treated and still am in some sectors of the church. But let's be real here, the opinions of the few misinformed clergy matter not when God has called me to unmask the enemy of all souls for who he is.
The practice is (from the Old English wiccecræft or "Wise craft" meaning "sorcery , necromancy" or communing with the dead ), in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, it is the use of certain kinds of so-called supernatural or magical powers. The term super means simply "Above" the natural abilities of normal physical law, BUT as I have taught in previous articles on these things:
1.) Satan is a MASTER SCIENTIST who knows the laws of the physical universe in far more advanced way than even our greatest scientist's today.
2.) All that is connected to the practice is a part of the physical world and IS NOT SPIRITUAL IN NATURE AT ALL, all of it can be explained by the physical laws of science.
3.) Satan uses these UNKNOWN PHYSICAL LAWS to wage war against the knowledge of God in the earth. Because they falsely appear to the "Miracle status"to the untrained eye just does magic on a stage, the earth is Satan's stage and we are his audience manipulated and turned at his behest!
The practice of the Craft refers to the activity of those who claim (or don't even know that they are witches), who are alleged to use supernatural powers (Which are simply fleshly powers both controlled and directed by demonic entities), in the form of what is called magic, to influence and to change people or events. It can be roughly defined as the power of a person to do harm by curses or influence nature through occult means, and remember that means is through WORDS which are what God himself used to create the universe.
There has also existed in popular belief the concept of white witches and white witchcraft, which is strictly benevolent this I can say is a pure fantasy as NO FORM of manipulation is benevolent in the end, and to play God is harder than we can imagine.
The practice was a crime, mainly prosecuted in Catholic and Protestant Europe which was in great spiritual ignorance on these matters and many others as well and ripe for deception to take root.
Many texts describe it as pacts with the Devil in exchange for powers to do evil and harm others (Of course knowing witchcraft as I do, this is a false concept not so much in detail but in their true understanding of what witches believe in.
They do not know the concept of SATAN as a person, ONLY EVIL as a concept exists to them, so the pacts they were said to make were MADE UP IN THE MINDS OF MID-EVIL CLERGY and more than likely destroyed more true Christians who were unaware of such practices because they loved God for real and the clergy, not wanting to admit their sins in public, KILLED THE TRUE BELIEVERS AS WITCHES. Witchcraft BECAUSE OF WIDESPREAD IGNORANCE has donned a new mask of respect in many places formally against such practices including the modern church today!
Witchcraft is becoming more widely accepted, even by those in the church because we have stopped learning from God's Spirit true DISCERNMENT and replaced it with "Emotional Witchcraft" which is completely devoid of God's power and thus we have given over our authority to "Pagan concepts of power and authority."
The modern church has traded her birth right for the ability to control the natural realm by natural means instead of controlling our lives by true Supernatural means by Faith. Remember that to be a witch you must be able to influence nature and people to YOUR ADVANTAGE through spells (Words) and incantations. (The use of physical objects such as hair,or other personal items that are prayed over using the spells, these prayers can be positive or negative.) Witchcraft and Paganism are earth religions, and they don't worship any 'evil' deities AT LEAST WHAT THEY THEMSELVES DETERMINE AS EVIL PERSONS. Witchcraft of a more benign and socially acceptable sort WHAT THEY SAY IS WHITE WITCHCRAFT, may then be employed to turn the malevolence OR EVIL INFLUENCE aside, or identify the supposed evil-doer so that punishment may be carried out.This is no different that fighting fire with gasoline as BOTH are equally bad in God's sight because the influence is the same evil one.
The practice as a religion respects Mother Nature but is neither completely positive or completely negative, this is the same for all witches, therefore there can be no "White vs Black better to say "Dark Grey vs Black" for there is no true good in witchcraft only Good intentions.
The belief in its practices seem to have been widespread in the past covering a large part of the world BUT nothing compared to today as many practice it and deny it exists in the same breath. It is also a magnet for feminists, who identify with its female deity, and for environmentalists drawn by the reverence for nature. It is often erroneously confused with Satanism which is a far different religion BUT has many similarities in concept if not practices. Witches have nothing to do with either the philosophy of Satanism as far as specific practices are concerned but have much in common when looked at from a Christian biblical viewpoint. Witchcraft is the continuation of the practice of the native religions and cultural beliefs of Europe after the advent of Christianity. But witchcraft is more than just holding rituals and worshiping the "horned god or the goddess", it is a way of life fully ingrained in the lives of many people around the world.
Wicca which I practiced for a short period of time is only one variety of pagan Witchcraft, with specific beliefs and practices unique to this one practice alone. However, the umbrella term Paganism encompasses many faiths that have nothing to do with Wicca or witchcraft, some are completely ATHEIST AND HUMANISTIC IN PRACTICE.
The Protestant Christian explanation for witchcraft, such as those typified in the confessions of the Pendle Witches, commonly involve a diabolical pact or at least an appeal to the intervention of the spirits of evil.
The Church did not invent the idea of witchcraft as a potentially harmful force whose practitioners should be put to death, THIS CONCEPT WAS USED BY OTHER CULTURES WHO FOUND DISAGREEMENT WITH OTHER CULTURES. To blame others who you do not agree with of grievous crimes is not new to the world scene and it will never end till Christ returns.
The word in most New Testament translations is "sorcerer" "sorcery" rather than "witch" "witchcraft". Jewish law views the practice of witchcraft as being laden with idolatry and/or necromancy; both being serious theological and practical offenses in Judaism.
In the Holy Scripture references to witchcraft are frequent, and the strong condemnations of such practices which we read there do not seem to be based so much upon the supposition of fraud as upon the "abomination" of the magic in itself. Some societies regard a witch as a person with inherent supernatural powers, but in the West witchcraft has been more commonly believed to be an ordinary person's free choice to learn and practice magic with the help of the supernatural. Moreover, different cultures do not share a coherent pattern of witchcraft beliefs, which often blend other concepts such as magic, sorcery, religion, folklore, theology, technology, and diabolism.
False ideas about this practice and the witch-hunts persist even today, with false histories about the time period confusing what really happened. Moreover, not all persons accused of the practice of magic were women, let alone old women with warts on there noses; indeed, there were witches of all ages and sexes, BUT the real question is not "were there witches?" but rather "Were the real witches the ones hanged in Salem?. The answer will astound you......NO! The ones hanged were Christians not Witches. The false church used "The Burning Times" as yet another excuse to kill God's people under cover of "Piousness and false righteousness". "
The Bible is clear about issues such as witchcraft, demons, devils and the occult. While I will say that their is truth that Witchcraft has been around before Jesus walked the earth, was crucified, and rose from the dead, It is not the oldest belief system that has ever been on earth, it is simply similar to early forms of God hatred AND REBELLION that existed before it.
The death blow to all who think that witchcraft is a supernatural super power on the world scene is found here:
Galatians 5:19 -21 " Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, Witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, sedition's, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. "
This is what I have been saying for years concerning this practice and I have been ridiculed for it, BUT HERE IN PLAIN ENGLISH IT IS ....WITCHCRAFT IN ALL IT'S FORMS IS A WORK OF THE FLESH NOT THE SPIRITUAL WORLD! Now either God himself or Paul are ignorant or God is right!
Supernatural my eye! Another lie from a powerless Devil!
Because of secrecy among the various sects of the practice, it is difficult to estimate how many people actually practice the craft as a religion.
a.) Eclectic Witchcraft which is what I practiced as a witch for 8 years, is an individual approach in which a witch picks and chooses from many different traditions and creates a personalized form of witchcraft that meets the need and abilities that the witch has.
b.) Traditional Witchcraft is a term that was introduced to refer to the aboriginal spiritual traditions of Europe, the Old Religion as it was called.
The real problem is there is no Bible or sacred text defining all of the practice, in all its many sects or traditions because there are just as many as the stars of heaven. Think of it this way: The tradition is to Witchcraft what a Baptist sect is to Christianity. Just as in the Christian faith, you'll find Catholics, Baptists, Methodist and so on, there are variations in tradition and practice within it's many and varied practices.
The fact is: With all it's many variations it has no real source of authority beyond personal opinions and experiences which is a good place to be so you cannot get nailed down to specifics. Again, the practices of the Craft have opinions, but Christianity which has a Savior who fulfilled real prophecies in history, and has written down traditions and real histories in a book called "Holy Scripture"has the advantage. A real battle is raging between Witchcraft and Christianity and we can win it, if we know the enemy we are dealing with.
The three basics of witchcraft & most Neo-paganism (and some Eastern belief systems as well) are pantheism, monism, and usually polytheism. Witches CLAIM the Bible does not condemn their practices, since THEY assert that the real interpretation of the Hebrew word for "witchcraft" should be sorcery, divination and those who practice such things. They assert that the original religion was centered on the Goddess, and that Christianity, being a patriarchal religion, suppressed the Goddess religions like witchcraft. In all three forms of the practice, practitioners are believed to have special powers that permit them to alter the natural course of events for good or ill, such as the ability to cause drought or rainfall, heal or cause illness, and affect fertility of livestock, people, or plants this is what God Hates, the manipulation of the natural course of God's world because it run in an order that is perfectly set. If his creation messes with that order then things go wrong, nature goes off balance and it US not God which are to blame.
We must ask ourselves "Has Satan repackaged witchcraft to fit our modern Christian tastes, but left the essence the same? Even Christmas is filled with this FALSE MAGIC.
I say YES!.
Witchcraft is simply the BULLY ON THE BLOCK who wants to be a spiritual "mover and shaker" without submitting to God who truly controls ALL SPIRITUAL POWER, it's that simple, this is the ultimate tantrum from a child without knowledge of what's right and wrong for it and UNWILLING to wait and grow into TRUE SPIRITUAL POWER FROM GOD. WHY? Simple:
John 8:44-45 (NIV) "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire."
The irony is, that due to the inherent deceptive basis of all it's practices, the practitioners of it often think they are serving God, while accessing a power from below (earth)--not from above, Like it or not Satan is the controller of all forms of magic practices.
Even though Satan is usually the furthest thing from the mind of a Witch, the "father of lies" honors the self-delusion inherent in these practices by occasionally releasing power, even doing seemingly supernatural miracles of healing and circumstance change for those who have rebelled against God and yet still want to be spiritually effective in life or even in their churches (Yes I said CHURCHES!), for there are many "Spiritual witches" in the pulpits of the world today.
Witchcraft is practiced in the Church today otherwise God would not have warned us not to practice it in the camp of the Lord, just look at:
Deuteronomy 18:14 (NAS) "For those nations, which you will dispossess, who listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so."
It is sobering to see how similar modern witchcraft (Wicca, or "white witchcraft") is to modern Christianity but it is true, we are in bed with what we condemn on a regular basis. We gossip and attack one another as no self respecting witch would do and then turn right around and bad mouth the world around us. We manipulate others and criticize our leaders and we rely on technique and not God. If we do these things then we are flirting with the craft. (Matthew 4:5-6, Genesis 3:1) The destiny of those who continue to practice the craft as "free agents" from God is certain, even if their miracles are said to be "good works".
"Micah 5:12 (NIV) says" I will destroy your witchcraft, and you will no longer cast spell."
Some simple questions to ask in discerning the Craft are these: Is it based on the truth of God's word , or is this just a distraction from his plan or an outright lie that has twisted the truth of the gospel to meet a personal end?. Are we blind not to see how similar it is to traditional witchcraft?
While some revel in these practices under a "Christian" banner that "looks like and smells like ", others in the world and even our families see through this false bravado and are so disgusted that they are suspicious of the real gifts of the Spirit. Because not everything that claims a godly cloak is TRULY CHRISTIAN just as NOT EVERYTHING THAT CLAIMS TO BE SUPERNATURAL REALLY IS, but there are the real experiences out there and The skeptic should filter through these fake spiritual experiences to find the real God of truth.
