E-Book Overview
Modern Wicca is a vibrant, uplifting nature religion practiced by hundreds of thousands of people in the United States alone. But wearing "witchy" jewelry and casting a few spells does not make one a witch, for Wicca is a lifestyle and those who walk its path have solemnly dedicated themselves to the service of the Goddess and God.
Wiccan Beliefs and Practices was written for the solitary witch or non-traditional small coven. Written by a Wiccan High Priest and retired aerospace engineer, Wiccan Beliefs & Practices includes crucial information not found in other introductory Wiccan books, including:
• Ethics of a Witch, including the Code of Chivalry
• How to write and develop your own spells and rituals;
• The physically-challenged Witch
• Out of the broom closet: is it right for you?
• Know your rights: the legal protection of Wicca as a legitimate religion
Author Gary Cantrell speaks from personal experience with Wiccans of all ages and degrees of physical ability, bringing you an earnest examination of modern Wiccan beliefs and a practical guide to the Craft of the Wise.
E-Book Content
Why I Chose to Come Out of the Broom Closet I elected to reveal my practice of witchcraft publicly simply be cause I personally feel that the time for intentionally hiding ourselves has come to an end. We are practitioners of a kind, gentle, and peace-loving religion. We are not the bloodthirsty or depraved, orgiastic fanatics all too often portrayed by the entertainment and news media. The general public has been misled about witchcraft for over a thousand years, and now with our numbers reaching an all-time high, possibly in excess of one million people worldwide, we need to stand up and set that record straight. We are out there by the hundreds upon hundreds of thou sands. We are in the arts, the sciences, and the humanities. We are law enforcement officers, engineers, builders, doctors, and farmers. We are a legally recognized religion under the protec tion of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and our isolation from the rest of the religious commu nity should and must come to an end. With the phenomenal growth of witchcraft since the 1 970s and with the free and easy interchange of information afforded to us by things like the In ternet, that time will come to pass and it will happen soon. It may be happening now.
With Rituals for Solitaries &
Covens
Llewellyn Publications Woodbury, Minnesota
Wiccan Beliefs & Practices: With Rituals for Solitaries & Covens © 2001 by Gary Cantrell. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or re produced in any manner whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Edition Seventh Printing, 2006 Book design by Donna Burch Cover art © Colin Sammuels/Photonica/Getty Images Cover design by Lisa Novak Editing by Andrea Neff The story of the Louisiana Coven in chapter 1 0 is used by permission. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cantrell, Gary, 1 93 8-2002 Wiccan beliefs & practices : with rituals for solitaries & covens I Gary Cantrell.- 1 st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 13: 978-1-5671 8- 1 1 2-8 ISBN 1 0: 1 -5671 8-1 1 2-0 1. Witchcraft. 2. Covens. I. Title: Wiccan beliefs and practices. II. Title. BF1572.C68 C36 2001 299-dc21
2001029073
Llewellyn Worldwide does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsi bility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the public. All mail addressed to the author is forwarded but the publisher cannot, unless specifi cally instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number. Any Internet reference