Witchology, n., the study of Witches & Witchcraftby Dr Leo Ruickbie Study and learn the history of Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Magic and the Occult with our courses and resources |
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What is Witchcraft? That's what this website is here to find out. Witchology.com is the website of WICA - the Witchcraft Information Centre and Archive - founded in 1999 by Dr Leo Ruickbie as a research and education provider specialising in the areas of Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Magic (Magick) and the Occult. We have been online continuously since 2000. WICA Recommended by: WICA offers [...] an online resource centre for the study and understanding of witchcraft, wicca, paganism and the occult. (Graduate Planet, 2001) From Witchology.com Visitors: The information you give is very interesting and you get to the point. (Helen, 18th May, 2003) About Leo Ruickbie's Books: Before I published my first book, Witchcraft out of the Shadows, one international literary agent was kind enough to say "... you write well." (The William Morris Agency, 2003)
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History of Witchcraft & WiccaEven today, long after the horrors of the witch trials, people still think they worship the Devil despite their protestations to the contrary, but the question is: what do today's Witches worship? What are the Wiccan's beliefs? What are the mystical experiences that shape those beliefs? And how are these expressed in Wiccan ritual? Beliefs and Mystical Experience in Modern WitchcraftExtract from Leo Ruickbie's Witchcraft Out of the Shadows8. Calling Down the Moon: Belief and Experience in the Modern Religion of Witchcraft 'If I command the moon, it will come down; and if I wish to withhold the day, night will linger over my head...'1 Whilst the Witches of the ancient world really were thought to be able to draw the moon down from the heavens, today’s Witches see little benefit in pulling the earth’s satellite out of its well-established orbit. Instead they seek to connect with the power of the moon and draw into themselves its lunar energy. The Moon, capitalised, also stands for the Goddess herself, a triumvirate of waxing Maiden, Diana, full Mother, Cybele, and waning Crone, Hecate.2 So that when a Witch draws down the moon she is not merely seeking to increase her power, but brings the Goddess into herself in a symbolic counterpart to the Christian Mass. We have already met many of the gods and goddesses associated with Witchcraft from Pagan Hecate to the Christian Devil, we have already seen how the ‘father’ of modern Witchcraft Gerald Gardner presented Celtic Cernunnos and Italian Aradia as the deities of Wicca, but what do today’s Witches worship? How do they actually see deity? Is it an impersonal force moving through their lives, or do they have a personal relationship with superhuman beings? Formatting may differ from the print edition. Find Out More
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