Laurie Cabot Talks About Witchcraft

Vampires, Ghost hunters and Witchcraft

2009-11-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

Here is another blog, initially released in 2008 and is just as relevant today as it was when first published. Here is the full length post.

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When films, television series or books become popular and deal with the "supernatural" it never fails to awaken the curiosity of millions of people and my emails multiply. Let me start out by saying that the word supernatural as it is applied to us or "phenomena" is insulting to anyone who knows anything about the craft. What a second day student Witch can accomplish at the end of class has nothing to do with belief or supernatural anything, it is natural and it is fact. Nothing we do as Witches is in fact supernatural, it may be unusual, but like a brilliant athlete or mathematician, what we do is the product of our training and intent.

Ghosts, which some of us encounter, are also not supernatural, they are merely another plane of energy and a natural part of our cycle of life, they cannot harm us but can in some cases give important information to those that know how to listen. The poltergeist activity that seems to scare people and make television specials, is not from an otherworld but from disturbed spirits who are alive today.

It is important to remember that anything that happens on this plane of existence can be neutralized in this plane if you know how, you need never be a victim of this kind of activity or "bad" energy. Please notice that you have never seen a Buddhist or a Witch on one of these Ghost shows complaining of being haunted by a demon. To look at it any other way, is to miss the way the world works and to succumb to superstition and the errors this form of thinking often takes. The burning/hanging times are certainly a good example of what this kind of superstitious fear can result in.

Today with the growing popularity of vampires in films and television, you need to understand a few things. No matter how cool the special effects or the pseudo history is, it is nonsense and has nothing to do with Witchcraft, Wicca, paganism and is instead really a Judeo-Christian based distortion (notice the oft present Christian symbolism in such books and films). Christians have also contributed demons, eternal damnation, hell, a vengeful God and other lovely imagery to our culture. They can keep them all. It is not our way. The kinds of people that I would call vampires are another story and not like the depiction you see in popular fiction. It is too complicated a subject to get into here, but there is a saying that one drop of a Witch's blood can make a vampire psychic, two will kill them. I will tell you that what this refers to is not actually blood, but life energy and the statement says that some knowledge of Witchcraft (our life's blood) will teach psychic awareness, while two drops, (or more knowledge) will kill them, meaning will change their ways so profoundly that they will no longer be what they were but will in fact evolve. I will leave it at that, as this kind of information is not terribly relevant in this context.

I understand, despite all of this, why vampires in entertainment are so popular. The tragic hero who tries to redeem himself, everlasting love, the quest for a soul, redemption are all powerful literary devices that have been around for millennia. They can often serve as metaphors in the hands of a skilled writer and as such can be powerful teaching tools. Horror stories, which I personally despise, have also been used to teach and are used in therapy. When these forms of literature overstep their bounds and pass into the gratuitous or begin to masquerade as reality, those who are not careful, are led astray.

I am happy if a fan of this genre, follows their true thirst and begins to investigate Witchcraft or any spiritual path. We need all the help we can get, the battle rages today for the planet and it is no movie.

The old spirits are re-awakening in us and calling our names. It is time we got back to the fundamentals of Hermes, of Lao Tzu of the ancient spirits of our Native American Brothers and sisters, of the pink people of South America and all of the ancients spirits from around the world, which speak in one voice and really speak the same fundamental truth in ways specific to the people of their lands, using the words and context they would best understand.

I can assure you that the reality a true Witch deals with everyday is far more mysterious, interesting and beneficial to the world than all the pseudo gothic nonsense presently mesmerizing millions. It does take study but unlike a movie which entertains for a few minutes or indulges misplaced fantasies, Witchcraft is real and lasts a lifetime.

We are all Magickal and we are all one.

Brightest blessings.

Magick, Miracles delusions and wishes.

2009-10-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

This “blog” is the product of a teaching/ discussion seminar with the Cabot Elders.

“Our miracles are of our own making, not because we are superior to the divine, but because we are their children and capable of no less.”

I care about words and their meaning. I accept the changes brought about in the meaning of words to accommodate modern parlance or legal definitions and have also watched with sadness when words that meant something, like tradition or ethics, are reduced to empty husks used only for ceremony or as a selling tool for people or things who have anything but either quality. In the arts, the words great and superstar have become applicable to the mundane and untalented. Hyperbole is everywhere and sophistry is the preferred form of communication and we communicate more and more while saying less and less.

History has seen the word Witch become distorted by the religions of Abraham and here in the US, the same society that is still spending millions of dollars in court fees to grasp the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction and its destructive impact on the fabric of American society, is stomping on our rights and gleefully revisiting the old lies and living in the dark ages.

On the radio the other day I caught the tail end of a conversation and a psychologist was discussing the bestselling book “The Secret”. Her point was that anyone reading it was delusional and that such books falsely encouraged people towards hope and were doing more harm than good. She concluded saying that in today’s tough times, Magical solutions did not exist and only through a realistic approach could anyone survive.

I agree in some ways that “The Secret” is at best an incomplete work, but if it helps motivate someone into action then so much the better. The Cabot Tradition of Witchcraft holds the Hermetic principles as central to our ways and I watched with amusement as The Secret claimed some “occult” connection to them, a claim with no real validity whatsoever, but a fun read nonetheless. Occult is another word which I do not like, but that is for another day. Similar books like the Celestine prophecy and the Alchemist, were also nice enough but far from functional. This is the way of mass communication and a symptom of a society that has an increasingly short attention span, things only need to seem deep and we are satisfied that because we own the book, we are deep as well.

So getting back to the radio program, the thing that got me thinking was her use of the term Magic as some illusion and wondered how much of that rubbed off on our term Magick with a K. We should all understand the difference between Magick and magic but I am not certain how deep that understanding actually goes. For those of you who do not know, the quick definition is that magic is sleight of hand, the tricks that entertainers practice, while Magick to Witches is the manifestation of our Witchcraft.

Going a bit deeper and comparing the word Magick now with the word Miracle and you will see that people are more likely to believe in miracles than Magick. If someone is healed by a Witch it is coincidence, yet if Christians are around it is a miracle. The difference between these two words is significant except to the cynic who views both as equally farfetched, to them, hoping for a miracle is as stupid an idea as hoping things will change magically or Magickally.

The main difference between Magick and Miracle, is that the idea of miracles is generally thought of as an external intervention by an outside force (typically God, Jesus, Mary or a Saint or in other cultures the deity structure that is in place) operating on its own or in answer to supplication and acting in some grand gesture to fix something. Many have firm belief in such things, but I ask you, how firm is your faith in Magick? For the sake of this discussion, let us eliminate the big Magick of Covens and gatherings and special occasions which are easy to connect with. I mean the everyday manifestation of Magick in your lives? Is it all make believe and delusion as the radio commentator said, or is it a life force that manifests in you with every beat of your heart? Are you a cynic that thinks everything is a trick or coincidence? Are you a believer that accepts everything you hear? Is Magick only relevant when things are hopeless? I see so many people turn to us when all else has failed, don’t you? How much of your recognition of Magick is based on faith or affinity to a lifestyle and how much on actual practice? Do you still think the Universe will reach down and make things better while you watch tv or wallow in self pity?

Witchcraft is a holistic path centered on a working philosophy, it teaches us that we are responsible for ourselves first, then we can help others who might stumble on this day and return the favor by preventing us from stumbling the next. It is an endless cycle of care and assistance, all powered by the ALL (God Goddess, Universal mind). Our miracles are of our own making, not because we are superior to the divine, but because we are their children and capable of no less. Our Magickal paths teach us how to do this, the craft makes it practical in the world of today while our religion allows us to know from whence this power originates. The true miracle is our creation, the rest is up to us and our ability to align ourselves with the ALL. This is not an easy thing to do in a troubled society, but we have the Magick to help us on our way. Magick takes work but it is no illusion.

2009-10-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

The Cabot Tradition and Science explained

This blog was posted on MySpace in an edited version. Here is the full thing originally sent out to the Cabot Clan.

I get a lot of questions about the Cabot tradition and Witchcraft. One of the most interesting ones is about what makes us different from other established traditions. Now mind you, the question itself is loaded since many of the people who ask have no clear definition of what other traditions really are and often times confuse Native American, Pagan, Wiccan, Alexandrian and Harry Potter.

Comparing belief systems is akin to comparing apples and oranges. The good news of course is that any tradition that can get you further along your spiritual path is a good one for you even if at first the search starts off a bit unfocused.

Once we get through the entire Satan and ghost nonsense, I can at least begin to tell them that The Cabot tradition is a modern day teaching and mystical tradition that traces its roots backwards from the Witches of Kent England going further back than any other tradition beyond even ancient Egypt’s Hermes (or Thoth).

Philosophy comes to the Cabot tradition from Hermes and the Hermetic Egyptian Mystery school. Hermes' appearance seems to coincide roughly with the emergence of Lao Tsu and the Tao Te Ching. An adept student will find many things in common between the two philosophies.

Just as Egypt developed several mystery schools, so there are many traditions of Witchcraft and non Witch Magickal systems. What we now call Witchcraft comes to us from the migration of a people who became known as the Celts (and Anglo Saxons) and moved through the Indo European landscape. Along the way and over time, the Celts encountered many people and some new ingredients must have been added to the mix. I imagine that what worked was kept and what did not, fell away.

The Cabot tradition focuses extensively on the science of the craft. What is important to note here is how we use and define the word "science". The word Science has, like the word Witch, undergone some fundamental changes in meaning over time. It is important to know something about the history of this change.

A great many scientists (like Galileo) were destroyed or silenced by the church of Rome for contradicting church views on the nature of the universe, such as the sun revolving around the Earth and other nonsense. When scientific observations became too difficult to silence, the church made a pact with “scientists” that anything measurable or could be seen in some way could be called scientific, while the "unseen" was the jurisdiction of the church. That very act limits what science can now accomplish as it misses the “big picture”. Noted Quantum physicist David Bohm a friend and colleague of Einstein speaks on this very subject. Here is a link to some of his more accessible thoughts:
http://www.youtube.com/wat..ch?v=SvyD2o7w24g

this is a multi part series I urge you to watch it all.

In the days of Egypt the first astronomers were also astrologers, the first doctors were also priests who understood the magickal properties of plants. Architects took into account the movement of the stars and the spiritual impact of their constructs. In China where no church caused a split in thinking, Feng Shui masters use the laws of Heaven and Earth to create harmonious buildings. They consider what they do a design science and it would never occur to a traditional architect to ignore the spiritual impact of a structure on its occupants. Why eliminate the holistic view by sacrificing the spiritual component to concentrate only on the mechanical? Yet that is exactly what was required of scientists by the church or face excommunication.

Today, science can only think as far as what it can measure (something Einstein and others rebelled against) and as it increasingly runs out of measurable stuff, it finds itself at an impasse (Quantum mechanics is where this happens the most).

Our western medical practices are also limited by this thinking forced to deal with the symptomatic treatment rather than the underlying causality. Western medicine is cerrtainly amazing, but by only treating what they can see and inventing ever more complicated devices to scan, poke and probe us they often ignore the fact that a few well placed questions might yield better data. It took a long time for stress or lifestyle to be recognized by western medical practitioners as causing problems, yet Witches and eastern medicine in general have been dealing with this for centuries. The examples go on and on.

So today science looks only at the parts of a system and in their defense, much can be learned by such a method, but looking a the cut up parts of a horse will not yield the full understanding of the horse when it is alive and in one piece nor will understanding the manner in which a piano string makes sound yield an understanding of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

Cabots look at science in the holistic view of our ancestors and respect the present discoveries and methodologies at work today as well. In fact, nothing that is being discovered today changes anything we do or understand but we have a greater perspective and so must allow the present scientists to catch up with the things our ancestors knew 3000 years ago.

Cabots know that psychic powers are real, we know that intent is action and we understand that magick is real since we use it everyday. We teach our students how to make the tools of the craft work for them in very real situations and when combined with the Hermetic principles we get a roadmap on how to use what we know most effectively. This is not a matter of belief, it is a matter of personal experience. When we do our magick we understand very specifically the forces we are using and why. There is not a single element that does not have a specific explanation attached to it. Cabots understand their mythology as myths, designed to teach by example, we never assume that something works, or take it on faith and we have no need to believe, we know. Our books of shadows are in fact field notes about what worked and did not. Our potions are tried and tested and our psychic skills are forever on display as we work health cases or render psychic counseling. I have learned much from other Magickal practitioners and some things I have "borrowed" from other traditions. I can do this because I know the working system which is ours and know what can fit within it. To borrow outside Magicks without that knowledge is something I would not recommend since ignorance is not an excuse when dealing with such things.

That leaves the "R" word which I try to avoid. I see Religion used today to control behavior and to concentrate financial or political power and making all those that do not follow 'expendable". Religion for the Cabots is something else entirely. For me Religion must have a base in philosophy and philosophy must have a base in science and science a base in art since the universe has a purely creative origin. Everything is part of everything else and administrative control is not part of that equation.

As Cabots we are very practical, Magick must work or it is a delusional exercise and self deception, superstition and mere pageantry have no place in our tradition. This is what we teach and what we believe.

© Laurie Cabot 2009 all rights reserved.

The Word Witch

2009-09-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

Why definition is important.

An interesting thing happened on Youtube. My video on the word Witch caused all sorts of controversy and some Christians saw it as a way to create a wedge between what I was saying and the Pagans’ view or the Gardenarians’, while others perceived it as an attack on their Wiccan ways. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is for this very reason that I go out of my way in the first class of the Cabot tradition to explain what we are and where we come from.

Let us put the etymology of the word aside as even the experts cannot agree fully on the word Witch, or Wicca, Wicce, much less Wiccan and it really no longer matters very much anyway. Some people credit Dr. Gardner for term Wican, but the foundations of what he practiced is a form of Witchcraft to which he added naturism.

To have a meaningful exchange however we should agree to a couple of things. One, that the term Witchcraft is not an umbrella term that covers all those people that do Magick. Secondly Witchcraft has its roots in the Indo European migration of people who became known as the Celts and Anglo Saxons. It may have much older roots than that starting in Egypt and beyond, but to be a Witch, no matter the specific tradition, means you recognize the roots as coming from there in some way. The Shamanistic traditions, Pagans, Neo Pagans, the Voudons all have their own name, we have many things in common, but they are not Witches nor would they want to be.

Scientology is a new religion, until L Ron Hubbard came along there was no such thing. While some may argue that there are a lot of echoes from many philosophies, the core of that federally recognized religion and how they practice it, is historically new. If you speak to Wiccans however it does not take long to realize that much of what they believe has ancient roots. Mind you there is a new generation of people who call themselves Wiccan and are also Vampires, Satanists and all sorts of other things. Let us leave them out of this for now.

Many Wiccans point to the 13 principles of Wiccan belief as their definition of Wicca as a religion. These 13 principles were written and debated over in 1974 and the process, with the resulting document, was a historic, bold and courageous step to try and define for all, the general spiritual truths that many of us share in varying degrees, but it was never intended to be the basis of a new religion or a substitute for the fundamental teachings of all the groups that came forth to write, in committee, the 13 principles. It was as someone on a blog put it, a “position paper” and it was meant to ease the pressure on Witches in North America and because of the broad language, it could easily cover many other groups as well. Each group represented got their bit of language in there and had to compromise on others. The council could not be kept together long because of the many differences inherent between them.

I was there and I lived those times, and let me caution you, those times are not over. Prejudice against ALL non Christians is still here and specifically Witches and you can see it the workplace, in communities and even in the courts where you can lose your children in custody battles for being a Witch. Remember Reverend White and all the others who used the elections as a way to get their messages of hate out there? Witches, Buddhists, Hindus,Satanists and even the Jews were all thrown together. Yoga was attacked and taken out of school activities because it corrupted minds indoctrinating children into Hinduism.

So “Wiccans” are under fire make no mistake. To be fair, pressure on all non Muslims is also present in other parts of the world with deadly consequences. Those not of either faith are essentially being squeezed on both sides by long standing enemies who have been warring with each other for centuries. Hindus and Buddhists have greater numbers than we do which gives them some advantage. We must remember that we are older than both Christianity and Islam and there has never been a Witch war, though we do seem to bicker an awful lot.

So to be a Wiccan is now a legally accepted term. Army Chaplains who are to render aid and comfort on the field of battle were issued the 13 principles for fallen troops and used for Witches and Pagans alike. It was a significant step forward, but it still does not define what one believes or provides for an easy path to follow. When Martin Luther broke from the Catholic church he felt he had good reason, he was hunted down and almost killed, and he went back to his core beliefs which were clearly defined in liturgy and practice.

The Wiccan umbrella is so large, it is akin to saying one is from the Americas or from the continent of Asia. There are so many countries there, it is hard to know to whom you are speaking. I personally find the etymology of words interesting and welcome any opportunity to be educated, but the meaning associated with a word is as much a product of history as it is of the cultural frame in which it is used. Witches are now Wiccans, but I will resist the “Wicca as a religion” banner since I see the religion and practices of many Wiccans as coming from Witchcraft which is an ancient and fully working system and needs no new name. Some Wiccans I speak with, seem drawn to the Pagans more than to Witchraft and I would urge them to delve into those practices fully and call them by their rightful and traditional names, which they all have. There are also the Eclectics which find their path from the many, which is fine as long as it works for them but even they, will be looking for the roots of things.

To those that thought I was attacking Wicca, I am not. I am a firm believer however in fundamentals and Wicca is too broad a term for me to use in actual application. The Cabot Tradition teaches the fundamentals and organizes them into a working system that is not based on belief but on experience. I did not invent a religion here, the things I teach are not mine, they are ancient, the small contribution I have made is to develop a teaching mechanism that gives students a way to learn that is compatible with these busy times while focusing on the core which is Science, philosophy, art and lastly religion. I place religion last because I have grown to dislike what that word means to so many. I see it used as a weapon more often than not, which is very unfortunate.

Answers about Witchcraft part 1

2009-09-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

Laurie Cabot is often contacted by students doing college papers and a few months ago Trish Causey asked some great questions about a paper she was writing. We wanted to share Laurie's answers with you as well as some other questions which have been asked in the past.

1. As a respected authority in the Pagan community, how do you define New Age Religion or the New Age Movement? What does it mean to you as a person, as a woman, as a participant?

The "New Age" movement is a testament to a general but unfocused thirst that a growing segment of the population has for spirituality and substantive personal experience. It is not in itself a solution to that thirst.

2. What is your perspective on the New Age Movement from the beginnings of your participation in it and now in the 21st century?

I have never participated in what you call a new age movement, the path I follow is several thousand years old and has survived two thousand years of active persecution and a very well crafted and financed propaganda campaign which continues to this day.

The constitutional guarantees of free speech and basic civil rights has made extreme cases of discrimination illegal, but the daily attacks continue. Not much has changed at all. What has changed is that people are leaving religions and political systems that have failed them and are starting to ask questions.

I am encouraged that a growing percentage of those people are actually investing time in seeking out answers, asking is not enough, but it is a start.

3. In your opinion, was the New Age Movement influenced by other movements, such as Civil Rights, Women's Movement, anti-war/hippie movement, or the American Indian Movement?

The thirst that I define as the prime motivator in the New Age movement was certainly awakened in many by all of those movements and by all who questioned established beliefs without being killed or otherwise silenced. Science has also contributed much to this awakening as have un earthed historical documents and the access to more and more information.

People can stop believing revisionist history and start verifying things on their own.

4. American Indian activists often name spirituality theft by New Agers as a main concern in their pursuit of the re-establishment of their indigenous religious ways. What do you think of the "cafeteria" style of "eclectic" Wicca/Paganism, mixing customs, rituals, tools, and deities from different countries and traditions?

I could not speak to the American Indian activists' positions, but the cafeteria style quest for meaning is a sad side effect of a society that wants its answers in pill form without work. Just like miracle diets fail and the 'too good to be true' ads often are, the path of spirit must be anchored in a working system.

The magick practiced by the American Indians is different from that practiced by the Celts. There might be some superficial similarities but they are each a system. Assembling disparate spare parts will yield nothing of consequence much less a working whole. We can certainly borrow certain things from each other but only when we understand our own system well enough to make the correct determination. Think of it this way; a power lifter will train his body in a very specific manner, but it would not be the same training for him to engage in ballet or long distance running, the same is true for life's other disciplines, and like sports, the Druid's path or Witchcraft is specifically demonstrable and not based on belief. Let us not forget that the Christians took on all of the Celtic religious holidays and many of their practices, yet they do not understand them and pageantry will not create understanding.

There is some confusion added to this by the term Wicca and Wiccan, which have been used differently over time and are now recognized words which now seem to encompass a lot of differing beliefs. This leads to uncertainty as to what path one is on exactly. The 13 principles of Wicca was a position document to reassure Americans and the government as to what Witches and others were not while providing some well worded generalities about Witches' commitments to doing right by the Earth and everyone on it. You must understand that Witches and many Pagan groups were coming under attack. So legally, Wiccan has become a useful umbrella term, but one that does not describe its members or their beliefs accurately. Which is why on one hand I accept the fact that we are now Wiccan, but I stress that we are really Witches and that Wiccan is not descriptive enough for me know the beliefs of one when I meet them.

5. Do you think more Pagans are interested in going back to earth by reconnecting with and/or recreating the past, or are they looking toward a spirituality that is backed by science, particularly in mind/body work and energy fields' research?

I do not see a return to Earth or keeping the values of our ancestors and embracing science as being contradictory. Our ancestors were the first scientists and healers, and they would welcome the work done today while being indulgent with the limitation imposed by empirical practices. It is important to remember that absence of proof is not proof of absence, love cannot be measured in a machine, yet it does exist. Our ancestors knew this, it has taken science a little while to catch up, but they are doing a fine job.

The era of blind belief is coming to a close and people will want proof and systems that work. Thankfully, there are systems that do just that and they are waiting to be re-discovered, the Druidic path of Witchcraft is one.

6. Do you think modern Witchcraft has gone too mainstream with the success of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", "Charmed", and "Harry Potter" or too subculture since it is now popular with Goths, Vampirists, and teens who may only be interested in Wicca to scare their parents?

Mainstream media is very much tainted with Judeo Christian propaganda and the word Witch is a good example. Even the seemingly politically correct Good Witch vs bad Witch or white Witch vs dark or black Witch are incorrect. In truth anyone that does harm is not a Witch, we do not smite our enemies or wage wars against those that insult our gods and goddesses, there is no legitimizing of violence for any reason, the Universal mind is not vengeful or filled with pride and so there might be individuals that do harm and use the pageantry of pagan practices or claim to be doing black Witchcraft, but they are not real Pagans or Witches, no more than a criminal who dons a police uniform to kill someone is a policeman.

As far as the teens, they will rebel using any means at their disposal, it is not always a bad thing and becoming "Wiccan" should scare no one.

7. After a brief time in being openly "out of the broom closet", many modern Wiccans, Witches, and Pagans are turning away from using these words to describe themselves because of negative associations due to the fundamentalist Christian backlash post-Harry Potter, the lingering bad P. R. from the movie "The Craft", the mainstreaming of Wicca, and supposed Satanists who call themselves "witches". Do you think there is a word that better describes what a Wiccan/Witch/Pagan is in the 21st century?

All depictions of evil Witches are insulting to us but popular media is responding to two thousand years of propaganda. Authors publish fiction books as non-fiction, politicians see the truth as a liability while corporations lie to make more money and people go around with resumes that are mostly fiction, we are accustomed to being misled.

If we lie to ourselves by pretending to be something other than what we are because of popularized media pressures, then that is a serious mistake. We must stand up and correct the lies starting with the whole demon nonsense.

Satanists (and there are several groups some worshiping the demon, others the concept) but they are in actuality more connected to Christians or Jews as only those religions have that deity (the Jews have Lucifer). It is not surprising that belief systems with good gods and evil ones fighting amongst themselves, condoning violence and wholesale destruction, would create cults in their wake. Evil deities are nothing more than fear mongering designed to keep people under control. Fear is a powerful weapon as we can see in our headlines. But none of that has anything to do with Celtic Magick or Witchcraft. We do not have any evil deities.

Witchcraft is the common everyday practice of people who follow the druidic path of Celtic magick. It is not an umbrella term that covers all peoples who are magickal. The words and titles are meaningless and in the long run, the actualization of the self is all that matters. I hope that the true seekers will find their path. The others can watch movies and play make believe and be spooky, just like the in the movies, it is no concern of mine.

8. What are your hopes for the New Age Movement and/or New Age Religions? Where do you see it all going?

My hope for the thirst that people increasingly feel is that those that want to quench it, will seek the education and integrate what they learn into their everyday life. It takes an investment of time and focus of mind to walk any path whether being great in school, sports, art and so too in matters of spirit. All of us are capable of doing great things spiritually and changing our lives for the better and in so doing, we can change the world. The good news is there are some great Pagan groups online and the various Witchcraft traditions are now more accessible, so a seeker can find great information and find a path that works for them.

Other questions:

Do you consider yourself at war with other faiths that condemn you and your practices?

Witches do not now or have ever waged wars, still if there is an enemy, it is ignorance, what others may think in that ignorance is of no consequence to the truth of things or to me. Pretending that there was no global warming or environmental crisis, which for decades was the policy of the United States for example, did not mean it was not happening. Thankfully, those who knew never gave up and our new awareness is built on their long years of hard work. Those who follow the Celtic path and Witchcraft strive to be harmonious with the universal principles in full awareness of the natural, social, political and geographic environments in which we live. We are to harm none and live as we must to follow these principles no matter where we are.

What is black magic?

It is neither magick nor black; it is merely people acting against the universal laws as criminals. They are harming themselves more than anyone, but they are no different than your typical street thug. The good news is that this magic as you put it, is very easily neutralized by anyone in the craft.

You say you are healers, are you acting like doctors or Christian Scientists?

There are many Witches who are MDs actually, none are Christian Scientists. We will not work with anyone who is not under a doctor's care,our work is parallel and works differently than western medicine. It also has the advantage of not having side effects. The Christian Scientist assertions that through prayer God or as we call it "The All" can heal is certainly true. Where we differ is that the ability for that process to happen is within us, it does not come from the outside or by invocation. We merely need to get out of its way and that is more difficult than people think. When we 'heal' we use our training and focused intent to help those that have less of the energy and help it flow within them. We do not actually heal, we merely assist another in healing themselves but we have very specific training and it is not based on belief.

You are against horror films, why?

Scary stories have an educational purpose. Many of these myths serve to teach children about the harsh realities of life like not trusting strangers or not lying etc. Stories and dramatizations used in therapy can also make a child (or adult) who has been hurt feel less alone. We live in troubled times and having myths guide us is important but when it passes from educational to gratuitous in nature, then it no longer works as a warning and instead becomes an attractor field. The more violence we see the less appalled we are and the more we are tolerant of it and the more there is of it. This is not a good slope to be on. © Laurie Cabot 2009 all rights reserved.