We've all seen our share of movies and TV shows about Witches and magic. At least once in our life, we've been told that Magic is bad. We've also been told to believe that there is a white magic and a black magic.

Wicca came about in the 50's.
Wicca was a newer way of looking at the craft, and also, for some, an easier way to understand.
Though I do not blame Wicca for the popularity that witchcraft has gained, I do have to say that it had some small part.

For years, I've seen many people who followed some Pagan path.
A lot of times, they were young, they did not know what they were really following, and it seemed that they were not the types I wanted to study with.
And then there were those odd times, those times when I did not really focus too much on Witchcraft that a real witch would come into my life, befriend me, and show me that maybe I should jump back on the tracks of Witchcraft.

It's been a hard 7 years. How do you make your friends understand that you practice Witchcraft?
And how do you let your family know?
Of course, you do not have to tell them, but when it takes up a good part of your life, why shouldn't I?

People believe that there are white and black magic.
That's completely false.
The witch creates the magic. Therefore, if the witch is good, he will do good. If the witch is bad, he will do bad.
Plain and simple.

We need to have some tolerance for magic.
If we can have the tolerance, we can begin to understand.
And when we begin to understand, we can teach our kids, relative, and friends that maybe magic isn't so bad after all.

Think for yourself.
Just because people may tell you that magic is all bad, look for yourself.
It's sad to see such a powerful, helpful, and friendly tool get such a bad name.

i love having a magical spell on me , espically when i know it's coming from a angle and showing me what i need to know ...

yea but if there r good witches and bad witches then they create white magic and black magic therefore it existes

No, black magic doesn't.
They either do magic to harm or not to. That's the only difference.

Everyone,

I'm going to offer my own beliefs on magic or magick if you follow Crowley / Golden Dawn. You will probably think my opinion is offensive, if so...tough. I really don't care. The title of the thread offers us all to give our opinions on magic.

When you aren't filled with the Holy Spirit, other spirit can enter your body. Those spirit deceive anyone who practices magic into believing that their spells have worked. I have no doubt if people who practice magic think that it's real or not, I practiced Kabbalah and the Hermetic tradition for years. What I do doubt is that anything ever actually happens other than the practitioners are deceived. The deception allows the evil spirits to lead those who practice magic into spiritual slavery.

Interesting.

Magic is a stated term in both the Old and New Testaments. Christians are asked to stay away from it for it uses practices that are supposedly deceptive.

This is why you will find people who are against it.

Spidercmb stated it well from the Christians perspective I believe.

J

Christians teach "tolerence and acceptance" but it seems to me the only ones they tolerate or accept are other Christians.
My grandmother told me I was going straight to hell just because I went to a Catholic church. I can only imagine what she might say if I told her I was a witch.

Answer this? Why do you feel the need to use "Magic" in your life?

If we understand maybe there is more tolerance... and I am a tolerant person of many views and ways of living life. I only care that people are good to each other. So who's tolerance are you talking about??? Your families? What is it that they have to be tolerant of? Do you practice in front of them?

Stevie Nicks is known for stating that she practices.

infectious_witch, very well put. There is a lot of intolerance and unacceptance in a lot of areas, not just religion.

Education is crucial to dispell myths and stigmas. Thank you very much to talking about your beliefs.

My best friend in high school is Wiccan and her whole family practiced wiccan or witch craft (expect her Grandma was Catholic). Wiccan had an explosion when I was in high school, but there were those that were just experimenting.

I don't practice wiccan, however as a social worker, I am glad to see you sharing your experience and feels about the intolerance and unacceptance of people who practice Wicca.

Thank you.

I agree, there is not white or black magic or witches.
Anyone can make anything as evil or as good as they want to, it depends on the person.

Because magic is always around me. Magic is life.
Magic allows you to create your existence the way you see fit... from a general idea of life to your daily routines in life.
It helps me to focus, to learn discipline, to open my mind, and to allow new experiences to come into my life.

Tolerance


Acceptance


I will tolerate your belief, just as you must tolerate mine. I will not accept yours, just as you will not accept mine.

It's not intolerant to answer a question. If you ask a Christian a theological question, you will get a Christian answer.

I used to work with a guy who was a huge advocate of magic and witchcraft. He and his wife had converted their garage into a sort of "white witchcraft temple" and they would do all sorts of rituals and things there.

They had a circle of about 15 friends who were also involved, and there were regular gatherings and things.

It was fascinating. I learned a lot about it all, just from hanging out with them and absorbing it all.

But in the end, I never saw a single thing to indicate that there was anything legitimate to it -- other than a bunch of people with a desperate desire to believe in something bigger and more powerful than themselves.

So I guess I would see it as just another "religion" -- and I'm not saying there ISN'T anything to it (I can't truthfully say that about any religion -- I simply don't know, and I don't believe anyone else does either) -- just that I never saw it.

Because magic is always around me. Magic is life.
Magic allows you to create your existence the way you see fit... from a general idea of life to your daily routines in life.
It helps me to focus, to learn discipline, to open my mind, and to allow new experiences to come into my life.
Yes. Different people are drawn to different "religions" by what they feel is right for them, what makes sense to them, and what helps them feel more connected to "God"
I do not believe any one relgion is the correct one and all of the others are wrong and going to burn in the depths of hell fire for all eternity for believing in something different.

Here's the thing.
I accept that their is a Christian belief.
I accept that you follow it.
And I even accept that fact that there are a lot of good Christians out there living by the true message and not just what the book says.

Yes, I will probably never follow the Christian faith... but that does not make me hate it, nor does it make me intolerant.

I do believe, however, that when a person uses their religious text to answer everything about life or the way things work, they may be a little blind sided.

I do that through meditation so I just don't need newt of anything to do that. j/k cause I'm not saying you use powders and fire but if you do..... so be it. Hope its all for peace.

Peace to you though,

I am tolerant of others even when they are not tolerant of me. The way you put it is Tit 4 Tat? If we show tolerance we can hope to gain it from others who learn from it.

J

I don't participate in any organized religion...I believe religion is a personal spiritual path. That being said, I do find attraction towards Wicca and other philosophy that Christianity does not provide for me. I don't try to advertise my beliefs, but if anyone asks, I try to explain my feelings as simply as possible. A large majority of americans are of christian beliefs, and I have no anger towards them. I understand them, and I accept them, I even sympathize with them, but I do not follow them. To me, it is not so much what your religion tells you about how to be good at it, it is more that a focus is needed to achieve the desired result....that is the truth in all religions. Sadly, many have died trying to prove whose focus is the right one. That animosity still exists today.

Maybe a little blind sided if they are not tolerant of your views. While I am pro-life.... I do not "Force" my beliefs on others.... but I would state them.

That guy that won the HUGE lottery is starting a Wiccan learning center in like Michigan or somewhere over there.


I think that Christians may worry for you and your direction in life and that is why they might turn away from conversations about your like of magic to balance your life. I suppose you would have to be tolerant of their beliefs and manner of living magic free (including discussion of it) correct?

John

Isn't that the same exact thing as Christianity or Catholicism? What proof do you have? Nothing but a desire to believe that there is order to it all, that something/someone is behind the wheel and make sure everything works out in the end. You can't say that statement without considering that any religion is a group of people who desperately want to believe in something bigger than themselves.

Very well said, I completly agree.