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In 1951, British Parliament repealed the Witchcraft Acts, and replaced them with laws to deal with fraudulent Spiritualists. Their reasoning was that Witchcraft no longer existed.

They were wrong.

Witchcraft has managed to survive for hundreds of years, and has been experiencing an amazing rebirth in recent times. However, there are still many instances of discrimination against practitioners of Witchcraft as well as related religions and beliefs including Paganism and Wicca. The following is information to help clear the path for truths and to dispel common myths and misconceptions...

Witchcraft is often referred to as "the Old Religion" and "Craft of the Wise" by its practitioners. Witchcraft has been present since the beginning of humanity, in many forms. It was never a defined, organized religion, although it was a particularly universal one in many ways; practices varied from region to region, culture to culture, but it was everywhere as it is now. Those who practice Witchcraft are called Witches, no matter their sex. A very common misconception is that a warlock is a male Witch. This could not be further from the truth. Warlock means "oath breaker," and can be applied to either sex. A Warlock is someone who betrays the trust of a coven. Witches are not evildoers; rather, they are the most moral, most aware and sensitive people you will ever come across. They realize that every action has a reaction in every reality, and they strive to maintain or create balance.

Witches tend to be pantheists — that is they recognize the divine in all things. Most Witches in some fashion worship the Goddess and her consort, the Horned God. The Horned God is a deity of fertility and festivity, often represented by a man with deer antlers, or a satyr-like being, as artifacts of Pan and Cernunnos depict. One can easily see now where the Christian concept of the devil originated. It is always wise to remember that the gods of the old religions become the devils of the new in many western cultures. So never have Witches worshipped "the devil" as Christianity portrays. Witches find the idea of personifying evil rather stupid, for if you give something a name, you give it power. Witches, likewise, don't believe in Hell. We cannot believe in an "all-loving" god that would send its own children to damnation, simply because they did not worship him in a certain form. Instead, Witches believe in a transient-like afterlife, sometimes called the Summerlands, as well as reincarnation.

Witchcraft is related to Wicca, which is a much newer religion of about 50 years of age.

For more information on the differences between Wicca and Witchcraft, please go to The Modern Tradition of Witchcraft Web site, as well as the Links and Resources section of The Burning Times.