Witchcraft is not..

Witchcraft is not a religion; it is a practice involving natural energies to bring about change in the world. I see time and again two bit authors and other confused people who don't know the difference between witchcraft and wicca, and they spout information that is fallacious and sometimes deceptive. Wicca is a beautiful and versatile religion, but I have seen authors disingenuously repackage information on it as witchcraft, green witchcraft, kitchen witchcraft, traditional witchcraft, Norse Paganism, faery and elemental magick.

There are no rules or ideology that all witches must follow; they can be as dogmatic or anarchic as they want. Witches don't have to honor or acknowledge the God and Goddess, the elements, pagan sabbats, or really any kind of theurgy at all. Some witches know no creeds or follow beliefs far outside the mainstream occult community.

I've asked a number of newbie wiccans what appeals to them about the religion, and I frequently get responses like "I want to use magic" and "I want to feel connected with the earth." True you can do these in wicca, but how does being religious confer an advantage over doing these on your own? It would be equally wrong to say that only satanists can use baneful magic or only jews can use ceremonial magic. I don't hold it against them for being misinformed about what witchcraft is given the plethora of bad information written about the topic. Some are lead to believe 9 million witches were killed during the "burning times" or that wicca is an old religion. (Well it's older than Jedism)