How Much Do You Know About Witchcraft?

The 8 sabbats of the year are celebrated by many Pagans, witches and Wiccans. They are Samhain, Yule,Imbolc,Ostara, Beltaine, Litha,Lughnassadh,Mabon.

Herbs termed Baneful should never be ingested, or applied to skin. Baneful herbs are often used to poison and cause death sometimes used physically other times used in hexes or cursed. Mandrake for instance is a baneful herb and should never be ingested or used on the skin. It is often used in hexes but can also be used in love spells. Always make sure that the herbs you use are not baneful and if they are be careful when using them. some of them are used in "flying ointment" but this is not recommended as it can cause death quickly.

Black is a powerful colour but it is not the most important as all colours have their positive and negative aspects and all are considerd different but equal.

Witches were traditionally considered all of the above and did all of the above. Wicca the religion has placed strictures upon witches so that they can only do the positive things within the craft. Witches are a powerful archetype for the feminine force she is not good or evil but sits in the shadows and thus encompasses all of these things.

Witches practise magic, not all witches work with or worship deities. many work with universal forces of nature and are animistic.

The Athame is a double sided, traditonally black handled dagger. It is used to cut things on a metaphysical level not the physical one. It symbolises both fire and air in different wiccan traditions, and is always seen as masculine. the potent alcoholic drink that I may have been alluding to is Absinthe which causes hallucinations, it is green in colour and is illegal in most parts of the world. A ritual robe is often worn in magical practices and this is most often just termed a robe. I do not wear a robe I find it constricting i prefer to wear my spider costume which is small and comfortable and does not easily set on fire:)

Traditionally within Wicca and other Occult practices the moon is seen as female due to its growing size emblamatic of the womb and it is linked to the 28 day cycle. In Australian Aboriginal thought however the moon is male as it is within the ancient Egyptian religion. The moon cannot be hermaphroditic for obvious reasons:) and if you believe the moon is androgynous that is alright with me:)

Cinnamon is one of my favourite herbs as it is quite versatile other than the qualities listed it is also a powerfully protective herb. it's sweet smell adds confidence and brings an air of being spicy and seductive. It gives me a warm feeling inside as I always have it on pancakes. Its element is fire and the phoenix's nest is said to be made of cinnamon wood.

The witches broom is one of my favourite witches tool. it is associated with fire and air. it is feminine. Hekate is the goddess most associated with the witches broom. It helps to acheive astral travel, and cleanses and protects the space in which it is.

Explaination is in the answer, but basically any herb can be used to asperge. it is common to asperge the room whre a spell or ritual will be done.

Used by the coastal indians to protect them from the oceans raw power.Grants a long prosperous life, and is associated with success and alltypes of protection including badmouthing, lightning and hexes.

Kali is the Hindu Goddess of Destruction and creation. she is known as the "black goddess" and is associated with death and the most passionate, deepest sexuality. She is a powerful mother goddess and will protect women and children especially. Many fear her for her ferocious appearance but she is a loving mother. She always gives justice to those who need it.

The Raven and the crow have come to symbolise each of these aspects and more. It is a very powerful Totem and embodies the elements of air and earth. It is also recognised in many cultures including the Native american traditions as being a trickster spirit. The raven mocker is the dark side of the Raven/Crow in Native american traditions, it is an evil witch that has come to steal a dying person's soul through the liver. in the Cult movie THE CROW and Native american beleiefs the crow is said to be the soul of a dead person whom you loved and will help make a wrong be righted.

Wicca was founded in 1954, by a man named Gerald Gardner. He based his foundings of the religion on folk magic and many other magical practices that he researched. In America, the Uk and South Africa Wicca is a recognised religion, despite it being a minority one. Witchcraft is still not legalized as a practice in South Africa, so many Witches put down the label Wiccan when filling in forms. Many witches and Wiccans also are still in the broom closet and do not describe their true relgion on forms rather saying Christian or Atheist so as to not lose jobs and job oppurtunities. Wicca and the practice of Wictchcraft remains a hidden in the shadows practice due to prejudice.

The word "wort" is literally translated as herb. It is an old English word. Wortcunning is the practice of working with herbs. It literally means having the medicinal and occult knowledge of herbs in Old English. BTW, witches do not always have weird marks on their bodies, this was an invention of the Christian church as to recognise witches. thus anyone whether they are Christian, Jewish, or Pagan of any sort could be easily accused of being a witch if they had any hidden or strange markings on their bodies.

Blood of the moon is the menstrual cycle as they both correspond to a 28 day cycle. it is also referred to as "moon days". The moon with the red glow, happens when there are certain chemicals in the air, it is sometimes seen as a bad omen as in PRACTICAL MAGIC. The Blood Moon is the full moon of the Samhain month. In South Africa that is the end of april or beginning of May. Vampires may give their coven any name they wish but That is not it's original meaning.

Whispering or murmuring are often used in malevolent magic, it is simialr to a hex or jinx and can cause the recipient of the spell to waste away and die. they may also lose a job or become depressed.It is very similar to the evil eye but is done intentionally all of the time.

All of the above are associated with increase, success, money, wealth, abundance. you can make a charm using all of the above. using ribbons and green or gold baggies.

The scythe is used to gather and cut mainly wheat and grains which is why it is a symbol of death as he gathers up all the maize (us). The bolline however is a traditional cutting and gathering tool, it often has a curved blade, is very sharp and has a white handle. some herbs do not agree with being cut by steel so the hands are better used then.

The term muggle was invented by author JK Rowling and is now often associated with those Harry Potter type witches who are fluffy bunnies. Cowan is the correct term for a non witch and is often pejorative.

Christening is often considered blessing a baby in the name of the Christian god, the baby or child is then brought up a Christian. A wiccanning is when a baby is blessed with protection, health and happiness, there is no obligation for the parents to bring the child up as a wiccan or witch and a wiccaning can be adapted to any religion. The wiccan ceremony of induction is called an initiation and it requires having been studying for a yera and a day after dedication to the craft. and after the initiation there is more study and practice required there are three degrees which soltary witches do not require even though they can gain the equivalent knowledge.

Widdershins is the movement in an anticlockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere. It is more accurately moonwise or anti sunwise direction. Deosil is sunwise or clockwise(Northern Hemisphere). Widdershins is often used in banishing spells and is the movement used to close the circle. deosil is used in invoking spells and to cast a circle

these are a simplified version of my protection incense. all of the herbs can be used to protect against malevolent attacks of both a physical and psychic nature. the purifactory herbs include benzoin and white sage. these get rid of negative energy. the inclusion of black pepper and chillies can be used for sever protection or for hexing. this concoction can be used for cleansing a space of negativity even though it is not the traditional use.