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The nuns did their best for me. They really did try. For the first ten years of my adult life I tried very hard too. I had four babies in four years- Irish quadruplets! I had to wonder if this was what God really had in mind for me. I began to use birth control and I wasn't about to confess it and be told I must stop. So that was the beginning of my search for something that made sense, something that I could live by, something that empowered me. It was not an easy path,and I won't bore you with my meanderings. Long story short, I am a witch. And one reason I'm such an able and respected witch is my Catholic upbringing. I adore ritual, candles, incense, and bells. They are familiar and comforting. These acts put you on notice that you are doing something special and help focus attention on the work at hand. Having an acquaintance with many saints, to say nothing of Mary, helped me understand the role of gods and goddesses. My belief is that there is one Creator, and to begin to understand anything we must look to the Creation. We are all one in the web of creation and we all interact in ways that that we don't like to think about. If we really understood this one thing we would have to live our lives very differently. As above, so below. You won't find god looking "up there." This one supreme being is manifest in us, in the stars, in the very stones we walk on. Gods and Goddesses are not some sort of minor beings. They are facets of a beautiful gem, a way for us to wrap our puny minds around the concept of the all.

Wicca is not new. In the 1920's Gerald Gardner reinvented (for lack of a better term) Wicca.I personally don't know any Gardnerians. If he did anything useful it was to get people thinking about the craft. There is no right way to be a witch. It is fluid, ever changing, morphing to meet our needs and understanding. Do I do the same things the same way my ancestors did, rote performance, up, down, kneel, bow my head, kiss the Bishop's ring? Maybe as a Catholic, certainly not as a witch. But I feel confident that a pagan ancestor coming into circle with me would feel comfortable and at home.
"Harm none, and do as you will"is not an easy way to live. It forces you to look at your actions and omissions. Who is being harmed? At whose expense do I have my way? It puts the responsibility for your life on you, Blessed Be!

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