Caroline Tully wrote:
> So... what about non-Wiccan-derived Witchcraft, as in pre-Witchcraft
> revival witchcraft (not Robert Cochrane Witchraft which I think is too
> like Wicca to be particularly "pre" revival)? Doesn't that usually
> incorporate deities or some other ritual-empowerer? Even cunning folk
> added "the Father Son and Holy Ghost"...
From what I know of it, revival
witchcraft, as you are calling it, does
involve working with gods, even though
to my mind, gods are not required for
witchcraft generally. I wouldn't
conclude, though, that gods not being
required means that witchcraft is
atheistic. From what I have seen,
witches believe power is outside of
themselves, existing in either gods,
spirits, objects and/or places and can
be tapped into by the skilled witch. The
trick is coming to know the right
combination to open the lock that lets
the power flow. IME, this does not come
about from the simple exertion of one's
will, as in Chaos, but flows from
outside of the witch, who is approached
in some way or who at the very least
studies how things work and thus learns
their secrets by keen observation.
Then there is the whole witchblood
thing, which is a monkey wrench in any
comparison one might make between other
types of magic and witchcraft.
Harry Roth
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