Paganism, Witchcraft and Occult Page
Paganism is a collection of religious ideologies. This could include those who consider themselves to be Druids and those who worship the Egyptian Gods and Goddess. There is a unifying theme to those who practice under its umbrella and that is a belief in a God and Goddess and the veneration of nature and Mother Earth.Witchcraft falls under Paganism and reveres the God and Goddess, as well as Mother Earth, but they also believe in magick. Not all Pagans believe or practice magic.
The Occult, is considered to be information not gleaned from normal sources and includes many forms of magic, including chaosmagic. Satanism, vampirism and those who claim to be werewolves fall under the Occult. Some Witches and Pagans would fall under this umbrella too.
Here are a few links to further your education:
www.witchvox.com -besides Witchcraft, it has quite a few links to Pagan resources
http://www.thepagangrove.com/forum/- a message forum for Pagans. You can find much information on the message boards.
http://paganseeker.tripod.com/- a place I found that gives information for the seeker.
http://n.webring.com/t/WICCA-AND-WITCHCRAFT a webring devoted to Witchcraft.
http://www.jamesricklef.com/PaganWiccanLinks.html List of sites devoted to Witchcraft and Paganism.
More information you might wish to know is that many Pagans, especially Witches (or Wiccans if you prefer), honor the 5 elements and associate them with a Pentacle, a 5 pointed star within a circle. The 5 points represent Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit and the circle represents the connectedness of them all.
Some Pagans and Witches also worship in a magick circle. It is an invisible barrier that separates the practitioners from the mundane world. The circle is cast using either a wand, athame or sword and the Guardians, (some would call them Angels) or Watchtowers are called. Although some call their ancestors or power animals into the circle. Then the God and Goddess are invoked (called into the circle) and then the ritual or spell (or both) can be done.
There are 8 holidays in the Pagan Year, often called the Wheel of the Year.
They are:
Yule when Pagans and Witches celebrate the rebirth of the God at the
Winter Solstice.
Imbolg When the Goddess is young again and she and the God start
their courtship.
Ostara When the Goddess and God make love in preparation for Yule.
This occurs at the Vernal Equinox.
Beltaine Goddess and God become one. Also called Ceth Samhain.
Litha When the God is at the height of his power. Celebrated at the
Summer Solstice.
Lugnassdh or Lammas The first harvest of bread.
Mabon The second harvest, the harvest of fruits. Celebrated at the
Autumn Equinox.
Finally Samhain Celebrated on All Hallows Eve. When the Dying God
crosses over and the veil between the living and the dead is thin.
Besides these holidays, Witches also celebrate the cycles of the moon, epecially the full moon.
More information will be given on this website as time permits.