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Witches, The Most Popular Halloween Symbols
 Witches First of all the term 'witch' is a bastardization of the words wicca, wiccian, or wicce, all meaning 'wise woman, or in the plural, wise women'. From the start of time there have been women, and men, who have been versed in the ways of healing, the properties of plants, the courses of the stars, moon, and the planets—as well as other aspects of the natural world. Generally, witches are associated with the earth-based religion known as Wicca, but there are many who could also be called witches who are not followers of this particular religion. These people are solitary practitioners of a hodge-podge of old pagan ways that existed long before the advent of Christianity and the Catholic church who coined the term 'witch' and started the idea that all those who lived by the cycles of the natural world worshiped the church's “devil”. Until the Catholic church came on the scene there was no concept of a Satan or a devil. The term 'pagan' itself actually means 'country people'--not “devil” worshippers. Men can be witches, too, but the term is more associated with women. There is a misconception that male witches are called 'warlocks'--this too is another of those Hollywood driven ideas because the term sounded “more masculine”. The term warlock comes from the Middle English warloghe, and from Old English waerloga, it means one that breaks faith, or betrayer. It is a term of derision and loathing, and was used by the followers of the pagan ways to describe one who had betrayed his people and the ways of Nature. It is well known that witches cast spells. The word 'spell' is derived from the old german word spiel, which means prayer, or to pray. Essentially, to cast a spell is to pray for a certain outcome, which is no different than what the followers of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. do. The belief is that one can harness the power of the life force of the universe to call into being what they desire. The tools used to help cast spells are 'props' to evoke the right atmosphere and frame of mind—much like the props and costumes actors use to help get them “get into character”. Many people think witches are evil. The fact is, whether or not anyone is good or evil is up to the particular individual. Magick is neither black nor white, but merely is. How it is used depends on the user. As the basic law of magick states, “Do what thy will so long as it harms none. For as you send, so shall it return to ye thrice-fold”. Remember this and happy spell casting! About the author: I'm an European history and tarot cards passionate; crazy about Halloween and always looking for the best and most creative Halloween ideas to help you make the most of your Halloween party. You're allowed to reprint this article for as long as you credit me using the following reference (just copy/paste): Article, copyright and courtesy of My Happy Halloween; your one-stop resource for <a href="http://myhappyhalloween.com/scarystories" target="_blank">scariest Halloween stories</a> ever. |
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