The Samhain Song Press
Ultimate Grimoire
and Spellbook
Of
Real Ancient Witchcraft
Publisher's Preface
One of the hottest debates raging in the 21st Century Neopagan
community concerns the definition of two basic terms – Wicca and
Witchcraft. Most followers of the peaceful, earth-centered, Goddessworshipping Wiccan religion (ala Starhawk, Silver Ravenwolf, Scott
Cunningham and their followers) consider themselves, by their own
understanding of the term, to be practitioners of witchcraft as well.
Religious Wiccan mostly view the two terms as essentially synonymous.
The other side of the debate is argued by a separate, perhaps a shade
"darker" subset of the pagan community, folks who call themselves simply
Witches (never Wiccans!), and who often believe that the witchcraft they
practice is not a religion at all, but rather a supernatural path to personal
power, a system of magickal beliefs and practices designed to bring their
minds, bodies and spirits into alignment with the sometimes violent, always
morally-neutral fundamental forces of nature. Such natural spiritual
alignment empowers them to bend and shape reality in conformity with
Will, sometimes to cure and create, other times to curse or destroy, as
appropriate to the situation at hand. These Witches generally view religious
Wicca as a naïve modern creation, a "fluffy bunny"1 social movement
closely akin to the crystal-waving New Age groups that have flourished
throughout America and Europe since the 1930s.
Darklady's Occult