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MLA FORMAT Student
Example
Witches Misunderstood By Annie _____________________________ Professor _________________________ English 102 10 April 2009 Student’s Last Name 1 Witches Misunderstood “Witch” is a very
strong word with many meanings attached to it. Different people think of
different things upon hearing it. Some might think of pure fantasy, while
others think of the Christian devil and then there are those who think of the
Wiccan religion. Though there are Wiccans who do not like to be called
“witch” because of the negative history, there are quite a few who accept the
word with pride. They accept it in order to try and erase the bad press
associated with witches. There are so
many aspects and layers to Wicca but one only needs to know a few things to
understand that a witch isn’t someone to judge right away. Wiccans have rules
like any other religion, they worship a Divine Being (often more than one),
some of their more recognizable symbols need to be brought to light, and they
have holy days and rites of passage just like anyone else. First, one must
know the rules. The most important rule
of Wicca and really the only one expected to be followed is “Harm None.” It
is our Golden Rule; it basically means the same as “Do unto others”. Most of
the Wiccan Rede which can be compared in some ways to the Ten Commandments is
really more like advice or guidelines if you will. It is not necessary and
certainly would be very difficult to follow it to the letter. However, the
last eight words should be followed if one wants to be a good person. Those
words are “An it harm none, do what ye will.” The precise wording varies but
it means the same. As long as it harms no one, yourself included then you may
do as you like. This is not a free for all—far from it. You have to think
about every possible outcome, consequence and repercussion before you do anything. There
is something else attached to this and that is the Law of Three or the
Threefold Law. This means that whatever you do will come back to you
threefold. If you do something good the reward will be three times greater.
If you do something bad then the punishment will be three times worse. It is
that whole karma thing in action. Of course, sometimes the rewards and
punishments will not be obvious. Patience is an important trait or skill to
have in Wicca. If a spell does not work then you should not be doing it.
There is something else that you should know about Wicca; witches do not
proselytize. “Most Wiccans consider it unethical to impose their beliefs on
others, let alone tell them how to worship” as said in Exploring Wicca
(Sabrina 25). This is very true, it is highly unethical to tell someone how
to worship, not to mention highly annoying. A person should be free to choose
his or her own path. It shouldn’t matter what it is as long as the person is
truly happy with their decision and chosen deity, if they in fact choose one. Wicca
is a nature based religion and therefore sees deity everywhere in the natural
world. However, some put a face or faces on a supreme being or beings. The
main deities of Wiccan Witches are the Mother Goddess and occasionally the
Father God also known as Mother Earth and Father Sky, Sister Moon and Brother
Sun. Scott Cunningham in Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
states that “Every deity that has received worship on this planet exists with
the archetypal God and Goddess” (9). This of course means that some only
believe in the two instead of believing that all the pantheons are not made
up of individuals, that they are aspects only. Now, some Wiccans believe the God is the
Goddess’s consort only, and others believe they are equal partners. Goddess
religions though have been around a lot longer than today’s patriarchal ones.
This is why Wiccans, great deals of whom are female and/or feminist prefer
the Mother. Actually, that is not the only reason. A lot of Wiccans are
converts, “born again Wiccan” if you will and they were disillusioned by the
patriarchal religion they were brought up in. There
are of course those who believe that the Divine Being is genderless and
capable of many faces and places. In other words there are monotheistic Wiccans
who don’t define themselves as Pagan, though they are few and far between.
According to Margot Alder, these people are often scoffed at by the more
traditional Wiccans and are told that they should call their religion something
else (125-126). So, we will not focus on those monotheistic people. Now,
instead we will go over some of the symbols of Wicca that you may or may not
have heard of. These symbols are the pentacle, the wand, the cauldron,
everybody’s favorite, the broom and the Book of Shadows. The pentacle first of
all is in no way related to the Christian devil—not originally anyway; it is
only the inverted pentacle that Satanists use. Wiccans don’t even believe in
a devil. “Their perversion of our sacred symbol doesn’t make our symbol evil
any more than their inversion of the cross makes that Christian symbol evil”
(Holland 37). I just want to make sure
that’s clear before continuing. Now, the proper pentacle stands pointing to
the sky and its five points represent the five elements that witches like to
work with. These elements are spirit, air, water, earth, and fire. The
pentacle can be used for such things as protection, meditation and other
positive things. The
wand is an iconic symbol of magic users but I’m sad to say that unless you’re
a good illusionist wands do not make things appear. Nor can they be used to
blast people with light shows and the like. A wand is just a tool in ritual
kept on one’s altar. It is used for casting circles (drawing a circle in the
air) to keep magic from going haywire and can also be used to channel energy.
If you want a light show, you’re going to have to have a really superb
imagination. Most witches will agree that it is better to make your own wand
rather than buying one already made. If
you know anything about witches then you’ll know that they make potions in
cauldrons. Though cauldrons are often used for making potions no witch in her
or his right mind would use actual newts and frogs and dogs. In fact, ‘Tongue
of Dog’, a phrase I’m sure most people have heard is a folk name for the herb
Houndstongue which is Cynoglossum
officinale in science speak. In his Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs
Scott Cunningham says that Houndstongue can be used to tie dogs’ tongues “If
placed in the shoe, this herb will prevent dogs from barking at you; in
effect ‘tying’ their tongues” (128). Cauldrons are meant to be cast iron and
have three legs; however, exceptions can be made as some witches can’t afford
a big ol’ cast iron pot. They’re not just used for potions by the way, you
can actually cook food in them; they’re great multi-taskers. A
witch flying on a magical broom before a full moon is probably one of the
most recognizable images there are, especially during the Halloween season.
However this is impossible in real life. Brooms or besoms as witches call
them are typically used for ritual cleansing of workplaces and the like. They
are also used in some fertility rites. In the Encyclopaedia of Witches and
Witchcraft it says “…the association between witches and brooms relates
to pagan fertility rites to induce crops to grow high” (Guiley 33). Rosemary
Ellen Guiley also states that people would mount the brooms rather like hobby
horses and danced in the fields leaping into the air (33). It is easy to
believe that if viewed from a distance this could have been mistaken for
flying. Spells
are indeed kept in a witch’s Book of Shadows but it is so much more than a
spell book. Some witches though prefer to call their Book of Shadows a
Grimoire. “I prefer to call them grimoires, because they are in fact, Books
of Illumination” ( Like anyone else witches have holy
days. There are eight of them and they are called Sabbats or Cross-Quarter
and Quarter Festivals; four major (Cross-quarter) and four minor (quarter).
These are days of celebration, harvest and looking at life and the world
anew. Imbolc on February second is the first of the major Sabbats. This day
celebrates the nearing of spring when trees begin to bud and grass begins to
push through the snow. There is a line in the Rede that says “When the time
for Imbolc shows watch for flowers through the snows.” Imbolc is sacred to
the Celtic goddess Brighid and is a fire festival. It is also when Witches
start spring cleaning. Beltane is the second of the major Sabbats, usually
falling on the first of May. In the Celtic calendar this marks the beginning
of summer, the days are longer and everything is full bloom (unless you’ve
had a long winter). It is a festival of fire and fertility, the perfect time
for fertility rites. In the old days men and women would dance and feast
around a bonfire and couples would be formed. The third major Sabbat is
Lughnasadh on August first when the Harvest begins. It signifies the coming
of autumn and Witches mourn the death of the sun but give thanks for what
they have. The last major Sabbat is Samhain also known as Halloween the end
of harvest season. This is the Witches New Year and the beginning of winter
and when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest. The
minor Sabbats fall in between the major ones, why we call them major and
minor I honestly have no idea. The first Quarter festival is Ostara which
falls on March twenty-first, the spring equinox. The days and nights are the
same length and Witches rejoice in the freshness of spring. This day can be
called the Witches’ Easter because we have many of the same traditions such
as dying eggs and had them first by the way. But I do not want to get into
religious politics. Litha or the summer solstice is the next minor Sabbat and
marks the middle of summer. Why else would it be called Midsummer? Everything
is in bloom and Witches celebrate the beauty of nature. According to In
a Witch’s life there are certain important events that are called rites and
are marked with rituals. However, according to Wiccan
Rites are essentially rites of passage and are scattered throughout the
person’s life. If born into Wicca then the first rite would be a Wiccaning,
which is rather like a Baptism. This would be a ritual to place the baby
under the protection of the Goddess. Usually, as the child grew he or she
would be allowed to choose their own path. The next rite would be Initiation
which simply marks a new Witch’s dedication to the Goddess and the Craft ( The Great Rite is also
something that a Witch might choose not do to. It represents the sacredness
of sexuality, where the Goddess and God are evoked into the performing
couple. No worries, the act is only symbolic (i.e. with clothes) when in
front of a group but in private the couple may do as they wish. The Great
Rite might be done at Handfastings. A Croning ceremony is for female witches
only and it marks her transition into the last stage of her life. This
typically takes place after or during menopause. Finally, there are the
Funeral rites which should be fairly self explanatory. As Wiccans believe in
reincarnation they see death as part of a cycle and the chance to continue on
to the next life. So, this can be either sullen or a grand affair. There is so much left
unsaid on witches in this paper but hopefully what was said is enough to help
understand them just a little better. “Witch” is still a strong word and will
likely remain so for some time to come. However, as more and more witches no
longer fear to come out of the “broom closet” so to speak, others are
beginning to see that they or perhaps I should say we are not to be feared. It will be a slow process as most still
don’t recognize Wicca as an actual religion and the more stubborn of
Christians will simply refuse to see that true witches are not evil. With any
luck though as witches keep putting the word out, telling anyone who will
listen about our beliefs and rules, then maybe one day we will be accepted
(or at least left alone) by others. Wiccan witches are good decent people who
deserve the respect that everyone else gets. Works Cited Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids,
Goddess Worshippers, and Other Pagans in Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical
Herbs. 27th. Llewellyn
Publications, 1997. Cunningham, Scott. Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary
Practitioner. 29th. Llewellyn
Publications, 2001. Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches and
Witchcraft. 2nd. Checkmark Books, 1999. Holland, Eileen. The Wicca Handbook. York Beach, ME:
Samuel Weiser, Inc., 2000 Sabrina, Lady. Exploring Wicca: The Beliefs, Rites, and
Rituals of the Wiccan Religion. |
