Sylvan Wicca: Introduction

Modern Witchcraft is based upon ancient beliefs, We try to recover ancient heritage of worship, magic and love of the mystical, but in context of our modern lifestyle. It is a fertility religion . Fertility of the fields, our bodies, our lives, our souls, the universe. To explain what a witch is, is difficult in just a few words.Its a religion, a way of thinking , a belief . To me it is hope, belief, and love of Mother Earth, the Sun, the Moon and in myself. This system, or religion or whatever you would like to call it is as simple as breathing and as complex as the genetic heritage of all of us, for it encompasses all that exists , has existed and will exist.
We believe in ' the all is one ', force or God head that encompasses all, so that everything is a small part of the big picture. Therefore everything effects everything else. This is why magic is a part of our religion.Magic is simply change. Creating change to produce a situation or event by manipulation of this force.This must be handled in a mature and loving manner. The law of Witchcraft states "an it harm none do what thout will", and I would like you to think about this law . We believe no Priests or Priestesses are needed to intevein communication between a person and there higher self or Gods. Therefore direct communication confers directly upon that person their own responsibilities for guilt , hate , love, enlightenment. The Law above apart from the obvious don't hurt anyone , also allows the individual to judge for themselves how far this statement should start and end . Does it mean don't tread on ants? The judgement is yours , the responsibility of this judgement ! is yours. It is also a religion where we acknowledge ourselves as whole beings, consisting of a dark side as well as a light side. To acknowledge this is to have control over it, rather than ignore it and hope it will go away.

Witchcraft is also about worship of nature, we see the seasons as an echo , or reflection of our own lives .We see parallels in being born , growing , having babies, growing old and dying, and the harvest and yearly events .Just as we see parallels between the moons cycles and the natural cycles of woman.

We worship the Goddess and God as personifications of the male and female energies of the "one", because as male and female they have fertility. Just God cant be fertile , neither can just Goddess , only in their union can they bring fertility. I believe without this fertility crops would fail, babies couldn't be born. Nothing else can create the magic spark of life. In many modern covens they Worship the Goddess and acknowledge the God merely as consort. The Sylvan Temple worships both, though after the last two thousand years of the Goddess being nearly completely ignored in western society , I must admit she could probably do with some extra attention and love.

What Witchcraft can give to you

This depends on what you are looking for, to me it gave me improved self esteem and respect. I love so much more than before and more deeply. I feel the flow of life more clearly, I am stronger, I have increased patience. I am a happier person with Witchcraft in my life. It drew me in gently, tugging in my mind and heart, I genuinely feel I was called to it. Once you know your a witch, there is no turning back, it will effect you forevermore, and it is a great feeling.

I would like at this point to get out of the way a couple of often asked questions.

Do we worship Satan?
NO, he is from Christian mythology, no comprohendo for us.

Do we sacrifice?
Um yes, an occasional biscuit, an occasional glass of wine,,,,and if we are feeling really nasty we burn a candle (nasty witchy laughing sound here heheheh!)

Why don't we have a bible?
We don't need one, we are not an instead of Christian group(We predate Christianity by thousands of years!) The trees growing , the seasons changing are proof of our ideals. We do however have a book of shadows, which is just copies of important rituals, spells and ideas so that we don't forget them,,but its not a bible

How do you become a Witch?
You feel it inside, you just sort of know. Many choose to confirm this decision with an initiation ceremony. Initiation can be self initiation or you can be initiated with a coven. Both involve a ritual rebirth,. If you choose to be initiated into a coven there is usually a period of time spent getting to develop friendship and trust with all Covern members, as well as the undertaking of training. When all involved feel the time is right a ritual is performed . This ritual is not easy, it involves overcoming ordeals , such as a three day fast. Where ever you go and what ever you do make sure you know and trust the people your involved with before you jump in the deep end. There are many pretend witches out there that are deviates or just plain silly or even worse those with huge mega ego's.

What will be presented at this outecourt

What will be presented is information on witchcraft as I see it, and how others of this coven see it, because we all have a slightly differing view to the same ideas. Please feel free to take onboard what feels good to you and reject that which isn't your reality.
Everything, and I do mean everything is printed in books nowadays, and everything I tell you will be covered in some book somewhere. There are so many of them nowadays! What I can share with you is a working knowledge of the craft and the of an sharing an experience with like minded people. I can share friendship, and I make a good cupper!
You have been given a list of subject to be covered , please feel free if you wish me to give a lecture on something not on the list that interests you .Please feel free to ask questions , but if the lecturer is anyone but me(I don't mind questions anytime) please show respect to them by asking your questions at the end of the lecture. Its a good idear to bring a pen and paper to jot your question down so you don't forget them. It can disrupts the flow of some lectures. I would also appreciate you shareing your own thoughts and ideas as well, its nice if we can all learn from each other. I feel shared ideas give more rounded concepts.

Outercorts are free, but we do ask that you bring something for supper or agape, also if there is lots of photocopies some nights a bit towards the photocopy costs would be appreciated. We feel it a privilege to teach and that it cost us nothing to run outercourts therefore why charge. The lectures will run for about a dozen weeks or so depending upon peoples interest. Please enjoy.

for the pursuit of wisdom.

Willow trees are graceful, and they are known as the tree of intuition