Witchcraft & The Devil

This week Abraham writes:

“I came across your website while doing a google search for Tarot Readings and I am concerned about Witchcraft & the devil. Are you a Devil worshiper?”— Abraham

This is a great question; something that I am sure a lot of people who do not practice Wicca or Witchcraft are curious about.

The short answer is:

No!

The Devil in Witchcraft

When we look historically at the practice of witchcraft there is not a lot written about it's practices outside of religious institutions who have an obvious bias to the practices of a witch. Most of the historical work on Witchcraft came around the time of the Witch Trials.

This is when people were accused of Witchcraft and executed for those beliefs.

Lets just take a look at some facts:

• Most people accused of witchcraft were either:
• the elderly, women, children, the deformed/mentally challenged
• someone the accuser could gain something from (land, cattle, money, etc.) the person's assets were given to the accuser if the person was found to be guilty! So basically if you had a nice cow and I didn't I could accuse you of witchcraft; if you were found guilty i could get your cow.... 
• Christianity was new and the common folk (aka- the working class) wasn't too keen on giving up their religious upbringing and to fuel their religious agenda they decided to accuse people of witchcraft to instill fear and scarcity into people. Quite a powerful technique that still works today to get people to do something. (Yeah the media uses this, how many times have you rushed out to buy the essentials because the weather forecast told you there was going to be a horrible storm only to have it be a mild inconvenience? )
• Each religion has their own characters that are either worshiped or feared. A muslim isn't going to be praying to Jesus, a Jew is not going to be fearful of Allah's wrath. 

There is absolutely NO devil in Witchcraft- unless a specific practitioner uses the devil in their work!
Remember witchcraft is NOT Wicca, this is not a religion. It's a practice!

Read More About Wicca V.S. Witchcraft

In Wicca there is a figure that I suppose if you are not education could look an awful lot like a scary satanic figure. The Horned God.

The Horned God 

Wicca is a nature religion, which means a lot of it's practices, central deity figures, and beliefs come from nature. The Horned God has horns; deer have horns. It's not the same as the Devil in Christianity.

The Horned God represents: life, virility, freedom, sexuality, etc.

It's the male counterpart to the Goddess which is venerated more, if not solely, in the Wiccan religion.

I hope this has helped you understand a little more about the Devil & Witchcraft.