An Open Letter to a New Witch

An Open Letter to a New Witch:

I do not know what Tradition you follow. That does not matter. Indeed, for all I know, you may not follow any of the traditions. You may be one of those many lonely ones who, for whatever reason, must worship by ‘feel’ rather than through any formal coven training or participation. But whoever you are, and however you worship, all that matters to me is that you hold true to the God and the Goddess. My purpose in writing this letter is to enjoin your aid in destroying that which cripples our Craft. Dissension is the disease. It is not a cancer, for it can be cured; and, as with most herbal cures, the best treatment is that administered internally.

Friend, help spread the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the Craft. do not seek to establish a scale of Wicca purism, (for no two Witches will ever agree on the relative positions on the scale of even their own tradition.) There is no one religion for all people, and THERE IS NO ONE TRADITION FOR ALL WITCHES!  Let this be understood, and accepted. Choose your own path and leave your neighbor to choose his. Remember the primary tenet: “AN IT HARM NONE, DO WHAT THOU WILT.”

Yet never forget: “An it harm none…” If your path leads to sex rites, to homosexuality, to phallic-initiation…do not put it foreword as “THE WICCAN WAY”. It is only A Wiccan way, one of MANY.  And by the same token, if a path so presented is not your way, do not decry it simply because it is not your way. Who are you to say another is wrong, so long as it harms none.

Strive for honesty, friend. Do not make false Craft claims, whether of position, heredity, lineage, or whatever. If you have a quarrel with someone, seek out the one you disagree with, rather than utilize perhaps unreliable intermediaries. Do not spread unfound rumors and question those who do so. News of battle makes more exciting reading than news of peace. Why, then, provide battle news for publication when the serenity of the Craft is what we should be showing?

We have come a long way, my friend, in a few short years. Let us move on along our chosen paths till we emerge – as we will – accepted and respected by ALL as a religion in our own right.

Help us bring an end to washing your dirty linen in public. There will always be disagreements, there will always be those who cannot tolerate others, but they are in the minority and so they should remain, if you wish. But do not deny them their right to those differences.

Friend, we are the Children of the Universe, and Children of the God and the Goddess. Let us try to remember that, and live in Peace.

Blessed Be, and Merry Part!

This letter is from The Internet Book of Shadows, a collection of posts to bulletin boards throughout the late eighties to the mid nineties, essentially predating the modern Internet. This article may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, providing that this original copyright notice stays in place at all times. 

Image Artist: J.J. Grandville, 1803-1847, France from Vie Privée et Publique des Animaux