Basic Principles of the Craft
The Craft (Witchcraft - NOT to be confused with Satanism. A true Witch has nothing to do with this, even though there are some Satanists who (unrightfully) call themselves "Witch".) contains a large number of groups with bonds to each other, for the most part, which are looser than those you will find between Christian churches. Each has it's own traditions, it's own beliefs, it's own pantheon, etc. So just WHAT is it that, overall, a Witch believes in? The American Council of Witches was formed to determine what it was that all Witches have in common, belief-wise. In the early 1970's, a paper was released with their findings, and gives a good overall picture of it. The following is the text of that paper.
Basic Principles of the Craft
1. The first principle is that of
love, and it is
expressed in the ethic,
"DO AS YOU WILL, SO LONG AS YOU HARM
NONE"
a) love is not emotional in it's essence, but is an attribute of
the individual as expressed in relation to other beings;
b) harming
others can be by thought, word, or deed;
c) it is to be understood the
"none" includes oneself;
d) the harm which is to be regarded as
unethical is gratuitous harm; war, in general, is gratuitous harm,
although it is ethical to defend oneself and one's liberty when threatened
by real and present danger, such as defense against invasion.
2.
The Witch must recognize and harmonize with the forces of the universe, in
accord with the Law of Polarity: everything is dual; everything has two
poles; everything has it's opposite; for every action there is a reaction;
all can be categorized as either active or reactive in relation to other
things.
a) Godhead is one unique and transcendent wholeness, beyond any
limitations or expressions; thus, it is beyond our human capacity to
understand and identify with this principle of Cosmic Oneness, except as
It is revealed to us in terms of It's attributes and operation.
b) The
most basic and meaningful attribute of the One that we, as humans, can
relate to and understand, is that of polarity, of action and reaction;
therefore Witches recognize the Oneness of the Divinity, but worship and
relate to the Divine as the archetypal polarity of God and Goddess, the
All-Father and the Great Mother of the universe. The Beings are as near as
we can approach to the One within our human limitations of understanding
and expression, though it is possible to experience the divine Oneness
through the practices of the Mysteries.
c) Harmony does not consist of
the pretty and the nice, but the balanced, dynamic, poised co-operation
and co-relation.
3. The Witch must recognize, and operate within
the framework of the Law of Cause and Effect; every action has it's
reaction, and every effect has it's cause. All things occur according to
this law; nothing in the universe can occur outside this law, though we
may not always appreciate the relation between a given effect and it's
cause. Subsidiary to this is the Law of Three, which states that whatever
goes forth must return threefold, whether of good or ill; for our actions
affect more than people generally realize, and the resulting reactions are
also part of the harvest.
4. As Above, So Below. That which exists
in the Macrocosm exists, on a smaller scale and to a lesser degree, in the
Microcosm. The powers of the universe exist also in the human, though in
general instance they lie dormant. The powers and abilities can be
awakened and used if the proper techniques are practiced, and this is why
initiates of the Mysteries are sworn to guard the secrets from the
unworthy: Much harm can be done by those who have power without
responsibility, both to others and to themselves according to the Laws of
Cause and Effect and of Threefold Return.
a) Since our philosophy
teaches that the universe is the physical manifestation of the Divine,
there can be nothing in the universe which does not partake of the nature
of the Divine; hence, the powers and attributes of the Divine exist also
in the manifest, though to much smaller degree.
b) These powers can be
awakened through the various techniques of the Mysteries, and, although
they are only capable of small effects in and of themselves, it is
possible to use them in order to draw upon the forces of the universe.
Thus humanity can be the wielders of the power of the Gods, a channel for
Godhead to act within It's own manifestation. This, then, is further
reason for the oath of secrecy.
c) Since the universe is the body of
the One, possessing the same attributes as the One, it's Laws must be the
principles through and by which the One operates. By reasoning from the
known to the unknown, one can learn of the Divine, and thus of oneself.
Thus the Craft is a natural religion, seeing in Nature the expression and
revelation of Divinity.
5. We know that everything in the universe
is in movement or vibration and is a function of that vibration.
Everything vibrates; all things rise and fall in a tidal system that
reflects the motion inherent in the universe and also in the atom. Matter
and energy are but two poles of one continuous phenomenon. Therefore the
Witch celebrates, harmonizes with, and makes use of the tides of the
universe and of life as expressed through the cycle of the seasons and the
motion of the solar system. These ritual observances are the eight great
Festivals of the Year, referred to as the Wheel of the Year. Further, the
Witch works with the forces and tides of the Moon, for this body is the
mediator of much energy to our planet Earth and thus to ourselves.
6. Nothing is dead matter in the
universe. All things exist, therefore all things live, though perhaps in a different manner
from that which we are used to calling life. In view of this, the Witch
knows that there is no true death, only change from one condition to
another. The universe is the body of Godhead, and therefore possesses one
transcendent consciousness; all things partake of the consciousness, in
varying levels of trance/awareness.
a) Because of this principle, all
things are sacred to the Witch, for all partake of the one Life.
b)
Therefore the Witch is a natural ecologist, for Nature is part of us as we
are a part of Nature.
7. Astrology can be useful in marking and
interpreting the flow and ebb of the tides of our solar system, and thus
of making use of those tides; astrology should not be debased into mere
fortune-telling.
8. Throughout the development of the human race,
civilizations have seen and worshipped many and various attributes of the
Divine. These universal forces have been clothed in forms which were
expressive to the worshipper of the attribute of the Godhead which they
expressed. Use of these symbolic representations of the natural and divine
forces of the universe, or godforms, is a potent method for contacting and
utilizing the forces they represent. Thus the Gods are both natural and
truely divine, and man-made in that the forms with which they are clothed
are products of humanity's striving to know the Godhead.
a) In keeping
with the Law of Polarity, these god-forms are brought into harmony by the
one great Law which states: All Gods are one God. All Goddesses are one
Goddess. There is one Initiator. This law is an expression of our
understanding that all of the forces of the universe, by whatever ethnic
god-form is chosen to clothe and relate to whichever force, can be
resolved into the fundamental polarity of the Godhead, the Great Mother
and the All-Father.
b) It is the use of differing godforms, of
differing ethnic sources or periods, which is the basis of many of the
differences between the various Traditions of the Craft. Each Tradition
uses the forms, and thus the names, which to that Tradition best express
and awaken an understanding of the force represented, according to the
areas of emphasis of the Tradition.
c) Because we know that differing
names or representations are but expressions of the same divine principles
and forces, we require our members to swear that they will never mock the
names by which another honors the Divine, even though those names be
different from and seemingly less expressive than the names and godforms
used by our Tradition (for to the members of another Tradition, using it's
names, ours may easily seem equally less expressive).
9. A Witch
refuses to allow her/himself to be corrupted by the great guilt neuroses
which have been foisted on humanity in the name of the Divine, thus
freeing the self of the slavery of the mind. The Witch expresses
responsibility for her/his actions, and accepts the consequences of them;
guilt is rejected as inhibiting to one's self-actualization, and replaced
by the efforts of the Witch to obey the teachings of harmlessness,
responsibility for the consequences of one's actions, and the goal of
actualizing the full powers of the individual.
a) We refuse to believe
that a human being is born innately sinful, and recognize the concepts of
sin and guilt are tremendously inhibiting to the human potential; the
consequences of the Law of Cause and Effect, called karma by some, are not
punishment, but the recurrences of situations and their effects because
the individual has not gained the Wisdom needed to handle or avoid such
situations.
b) There is no heaven except that which we ourselves make
of our life on Earth, and likewise there is no hell except the effects of
our unwise actions. Death is not followed by punishment or reward, but by
life and the continuing evolution of the human potential.
c) One cannot
damn the divine in oneself; one can, however, cut oneself off from it
through the rejection of wisdom and a refusal to strive for
self-realization. This cutting off does not lead to personal suffering in
"hell", for there is no Self to suffer if the tie to one's own divinity
has been severed; what remains is merely an empty shell, a "personality"
or thought-form devoid of it's ensouling Spark of the Divine
Fire.
10. We know of the existence of the life-force which ensouls
all living things, that is, all that exists. We know that a spark of this
Divine Fire is within each and every thing that exists, and that it does
not die; only the form of it's existence changes. We know that this spark
of the life-force returns to manifestation again and again in order to
fully realize and actualize it's potential, evolving finally to the peak
and essence of existence which is pure being. In this process of
reincarnation each form returns in the same type of form, though it's
ever-increasing actualization may lead to higher levels of existence of
that form. Man returns as man, cat as feline, mineral as mineral, each
class of form evolving as the individual forms of that class
evolve.
11. This process of evolution through successive
incarnations in manifest form works through the utilizations of wisdom
gained, the essence of the life-experience. This essence of experience, or
Wisdom, is an attribute of the spark of life itself, one and inseparable
(see 9a).
12. We must care for the body, for it is the vehicle of
the spark of life, the form by which we attain. Thus we must heal the body
of it's ills and keep it a tuned and perfected tool; so must we heal
others (both physically and psychologically) as far as it is within our
power to do so. However, we cannot interfere with the life of another,
even to heal, except at their request or with their express permission;
unless such non-interference would be inhibiting to our own, ethical
existence and development -- and even then the responsibilities and
consequences must be understood and accepted. This, then, is one of the
important reasons for the communal life the Witches under the
guidance of the Priesthood: That the group may be guided by wisdom and
experience, with the aid and support of one's peers; and that one's
actions may be guided by the influence of the ethical life of the group as
a whole.
13. Harmony with, and utilization of, the great natural
forces of the universe is called magick. By magick we speak, not of the
supernatural, but of the superbly natural, but whose laws and applications
are not as yet recognized by the scientific establishment. The Witch must
strive to recognize these forces, learn their laws, attune her/himself to
them, and make use of them. The Witch must also be aware that power
corrupts when used _only_ for the gains of the self, and therefore must
strive to serve humanity: Either through the service in the Priesthood, or
by example and effects of his/her life on others. The choice must be made
in accord with the true nature of the
Witch.