13 Goals of a Witch

1. Know Yourself
Know who you are. Discover who you are. Go out in nature and reflect on yourself. Know where you've been and where you're going. Know your goals and dreams. Know your hopes and fears. Keep journals.

2. Know Your Craft
Study and learn the Craft. Don't just read one book and call yourself an expert. Take courses, learn from others, read many books. Learn as many points of view as you can, so that you can form your own opinions. It would also be a great idea to attend public rituals to learn how others practice. Maybe they will have ideas and knowledge you haven't thought of. Maybe you can exchange ideas.

3. Learn
You never stop learning. Read as many books from as many points of view as possible. Ask other Wiccans questions. Don't just learn about Wicca and Witchcraft. Learn about other religions, history, or anything that might interest you.

4. Apply Knowledge With Wisdom
As you learn, the best way to solidify the knowledge in your head is to apply it. Always think before anything you do. That way you can be sure you're doing the right thing.

5. Achieve Balance
Too much of one thing is never a good thing. You should strive to achieve a balance between all things. For instance, you have home and family, but you also have a career, and you have your spiritual path, among other things. If you spend too much time in one area, then the other areas will be neglected. In my opinion, this is one of the harder goals to achieve because it's difficult to keep everything in life balanced.

6. Keep Your Thoughts in Good Order
This goal can be taken a couple different ways. Everyone knows about the law of attraction and the famous quote, "Thoughts are things." What you think is usually manifest somehow in the world. If you think nasty things all the time, if you think how bad your life is, then things will continue to not go as well for you. However, if you think positively, then things will start to look up for you. Also, don't think of others badly. If you think of other people badly, then people will not want to be around you, because it can be sensed subconsciously by others.

7. Keep Your Words in Good Order
This goal is similar to number 6. It's better to speak positively for the same reasons. You want people to be happy when you enter a room, not happy when you leave. Others flock to positive people. Also, if you encourage someone, or say nice things to them, it will often make their day. You don't know if they were having a bad day and really needed a pick-me-up.

8. Celebrate Life
Live in the moment. Live every moment. Stop to smell the roses, so to speak. Don't get caught up in the hustle and bustle of every day life. Stop to enjoy it. Take a long nature walk and listen to the animals and the breeze in the trees. Spend time with your loved ones. Do things that you always wanted to do. Don't waste your life sitting around complaining and not enjoying your time here.

9. Attune With the Cycles of the Earth
This is very important. We celebrate Sabbats that are based on these cycles. The reason why we celebrate them at certain times because they all fall on turning points in our year. If you track all the Sabbats and Esbats in one year, and you note the important things you notice in the world around you, especially the natural world, then you will see how the cycles work.

10. Breathe and Eat Correctly
We should eat healthy and breathe the way we're meant to breathe. Too many people eat junk food and fast food. While that's occasionally ok, it's not healthy. And if you're body isn't healthy, it starts to break down and as you get older, you will have problems. As for breathing, most people don't breathe properly. Most people breathe very shallow. You don't take in nearly as much oxygen as you need. You should be breathing deeper, and not just when in Yoga class.

11. Exercise the Body
This is another thing that keeps your body healthy. Regular exercise. Don't be lazy and sit in front of the TV all day. I don't understand how a witch would do that, while following a nature spirituality. You don't have to run marathons, but if you go outside and walk once a day, it's very good for you. As witches, we should try to go out for walks several times a week, and be out in nature. Even if you live in a city, there's still nature around you. I'm glad I live away from the city. I have woods and animals - all kinds of nature.

12. Meditate
Meditation is difficult for many people. In this day and age, the mind is always running. It's hard to still the thoughts. Meditation is great for many things. It's a way to connect with the Goddess or God. It's a way to visualize a place that calms you. It's a way to forget about your daily stresses. People who meditate are often happier because they have learned to let go of the stress. It's advisable to meditate for at least 10 minutes each day.

13. Honour the Goddess and the God
This is an important goal. If you follow a religion, you really should honour your deity or deities. Otherwise, what's the point? It's important to establish a relationship with them. It helps you to become a better person. If you don't know your deity, then why are you a part of your religion? Honouring them should be done every day, not just at Sabbats and Esbats. You don't have to sit down and do daily devotions. If you help someone in need, you are honouring deity. If you pick up litter, you are honouring deity. If you give thanks or say what you're grateful for, you are honouring deity.

Know Why You Believe What You Believe

As some people may know, I'm a Wiccan. I once heard a wise man say, "Know why you believe what you believe." Everyone has a different path. What's right for me, may not be right for you, and vice versa.

I would like to explain why I chose Wicca. It's not because it's cool or a fad, or because of a TV show. I thought long and hard and did a ton of research before committing myself to this path.

Wicca is a nature religion. I respect the Earth. I always felt drawn to nature.

Most Wiccans follow the Rede: An' it harm none, do as thou wilt. That seems to say it all, doesn't it? I find that I have been thinking long and hard about everything I do, because I also believe that whatever I do comes back to me threefold.

I like how open-minded most Wiccans are. The religion doesn't discriminate against gender, race, sexual orientation, or even other religions. I felt welcome, just as I am.

I like the idea of having a Goddess and a God. I don't like the patriarchy of other religions. It feels like there's something missing. There's no balance without having the female aspect. Balance is very important.

I love that I can practice solitary. My relationship with the Goddess and God is a personal one and sometimes I find it easier on my own. Other times, it's good to practice in a coven.

I'll admit, I also enjoy the magick that I do, but the religion side of Wicca has always been more important to me.

I will admit I came from a Christian background. I didn't go to church often because it never felt right to me. A lot of things didn't make sense. It may be fine for someone who believes in those things, but it just wasn't for me. One thing I never understood is the concept of sin. I thought it was pessimistic to always think of myself as a sinner. And it always seemed like I was doing something wrong...and that made me more of a sinner.

I hope I'm not offending anyone. I'm just being honest about my beliefs and why I chose this religious path. There are a lot of people who follow a religion because of their parents, or because the religion seems cool, or any number of reasons. All I say is that before you believe something, know why you believe in it. And please don't force your beliefs on others. Everyone is entitled to their own belief system. I don't know why the world can't be more accepting. I know there are a lot of stereotypes out there about Wicca and other Pagan religions. I won't get into that here.

The best part about being a Wiccan, is that ever since I found this path several years ago, it has helped me learn and grow into a better person. Isn't that what religion and spirituality is all about? It doesn't matter what your path is, whether you're Wiccan, Druid, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Islamic, or even Athiest...or any of the other countless religions out there. As long as you know why you believe what you believe, and are happy, then that's all that matters.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my note. Blessed be!

The Burning Times Are Upon Us

I am saddened. I thought the Burning Times were long gone. The Burning Times were a period in history when people were accused of witchcraft, and then burned at the stake, hanged, or tortured until death. Most of the people accused weren't even witches. A lot of them were just healers, or midwives, or even just old and lonely women. It happened because the Christians of the day wanted everyone to follow their religion, and anyone who didn't must be following Satan, which wasn't true.

Today, the persecutions continue. Pagans are losing jobs and their children because of their beliefs. This isn't back in the 1600s. This is as little as a month ago. Some people are losing their homes, or being kicked out of school. There has been one girl, about thirteen, who committed suicide because of all the teasing and bullying at school. There's really no need of that. There's also a case right now in Nigeria, where children - CHILDREN! are being hurt. Their eyes are being burned with dangerous liquids. Their heads are being bashed with two by fours. The parents of these children are taking them to a preacher who does all these things to them. And the parents sit by and watch, believing that the devil is being beaten out of them, quite literally. What scares me is that this isn't the middle ages. This is today, and it's only getting worse.

Why can't people live and let live? Why must they force everyone to be the same? I found the path to follow that is right for me. I'm not going to be threatened into conversion. I'm often told that if I don't convert, I will go to hell. That's a threat. I'd rather find a path that works for me. A path that allows me to fix this life of mine. I have a lot of problems, and I'm going through a dark period of my life. I don't know how long this will last. But I'm hoping that my spirituality will help pull me out of this and get on with my life.

I'm scared that I will one day be persecuted for my beliefs. I'm afraid that I will be hurt, or the people around me, just because I have different beliefs and a different way of life. I don't care what other people believe. Why should anyone else care? Let's all just live and let live.

I want to give a special thank you to my family and friends for accepting that I am a Pagan. I know there are a few of you that had to learn to accept it, but the fact that you eventually got there, I appreciate it.