Being A Witch: guest post by Carolyn Wolfe

Today, I have the pleasure of hosting Carolyn Wolfe on Mind Reader, and she will share a fantastic guest post about... Oh, here you are! Welcome Carolyn!

Carolyn Wolfe is a free-lance writer and author of six books. Her body of work includes two children's books "The Unhappy Little Dragon, Lessons Begin, "The Unhappy Little Dragon, Lessons Learned","The Bedtime Of The Sky and Other Sleepy Bye Stories. two collections of poetry, "When The Moon Speaks" and "Notes From The Shadow Self." and her first collection of  original short fantasy stories, for a general readership, "The Moonsparrow Collection". Carolyn Wolfe is an animal activist and advocate of human rights. Her passion for animals and her advocacy for creating a better world for our children to grow up in, is the subject of many of her poems and stories. Ms. Wolfe currently coordinates local poetry events in The Shenandoah Valley, where she lives with her husband, artist/photographer Scott Wolfe, and her many animal companions.

Find Carolyn:

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Being a Witch

This is a topic that you could write a book about, and many, many people have. Because the subject is broad and fraught with misunderstandings, I will just state that in my point of view, being a Witch means viewing the world as magical, knowing the earth is alive and conscious and taking personal responsibility for, well everything.

The Witches Rede is "Do As Thou Will An Harm Ye None" this simple but very basic "rule" is taken very seriously by those in the Craft. Harm none, is a tall order when you think about it. That means non-interference too. In other words weaving a spell to bend someone to your will is right out! Spells? You ask. Well, yes, energy work, working to transform yourself and the planet, healing, co-creating positive change, through ritual, through using tools that help raise and direct energy- this is considered spell work.

Everything is imbued with energy, and with knowledge and practice we can direct it towards the goals that we are seeking.

So what is a Witch?

A Witch is a practitioner of the Old Ways. Usually a witch believes in two or more Gods, I personally believe in the God and Goddess, The worship of the Divine feminine and masculine is no new thing, many religions incorporate this belief system and have since the dawn of time. A Witch believes that all things are Sacred, that you can create a positive change both by directed thought/energy work as well as action. They also believe in care taking the earth "Gaia", who is viewed as a conscious entity, and celebrate each change of Season, the phases of the moon, as well as Agricultural Holidays that pre-date the Judeo- Christian Holidays.

This is a very simple explanation of Witchcraft. The subject itself has so many wonderful variations, derived from the rich tapestry of our collective past, and is multi-cultural in its origins. Deriving it's beliefs from the ancient Celtic, Roman, Greek,Egyptian, Nordic, Asian, African, Slavic, etc.. religions as well as the spirituality of all indigenous peoples such as Native Americans, Aborigines, and other Tribal communities.

Whew! That is a lot to take in. My advice, if you are seeking this path is to follow your heart.

It is said that when you are ready, the right teacher will come to you. I firmly believe that!

I met people who introduced me to the Craft, but long before that, as child growing up, I was captivated by the Magical realm that was everywhere around me. I have always believed in magic. I have seen the most remarkable things happen in ritual, happen in meditation, happen when a group of like-minded individuals work in an energy circle to bring about a positive change.

When I first learned of the Spiritual Path of Wicca, it was like all of a sudden everything clicked. I was always on this path believing that everything was Sacred and there was more to the world than what could be seen, and here it was. My belief system had a name.

That is the subject of the very first story in my book of short stories "The Moonsparrow Collection" about inner knowing, not the knowing of the label, but the magical knowing of how the universe works it's magic. The inner knowing that I was/am a Witch.