Wichcraft is by it's nature secular, and I know plenty of magicians, sorcerers, and witches that are agnostic, atheistic, or deists.
Firstly, do research into Chaos Magick. It is a post-modern magico-syle that emphasizes that belief is a tool, constantly experimenting and using magick creatively, and unorthodox methods.
I know one such magician that works with Lovecraftian deities using shamanic techniques and sigils.
The pioneering book on the concept of Chaos Magick is Liber Null & Psychonaut: An Introduction to Chaos Magic.
There are many paths which allow for leeway of understanding about exactly what Gods are and what their use is in magic. I work with deities, but my understanding of what they are changes as time goes on.
I see no issue with taking the advice of exploring Chaos magic, just try working with these Gods, see what happens. You may wish to believe they are portions of your own mind which you have given a perceived separate existence in order to make communication easier. A psychological projection of an internal force.
Of course, one needn't do this at all and simply find a practice which involves controlling one's own internal systems of thought and energy in order to direct the Will in to manifesting the desired outcome. There are many witches who do not work with any being in any shape or form. What any high magician will tell you though, is that if a system works and you get result what exactly these beings are, if they exist at all, is irrelevant.
You mention ritual magic, since that is my forte I will quickly comment. A lot of ritual magic uses the judeo-christian pantheons, this needn't be the case at all. Some practitioners of ritual magic do not view God as a separate being up in the clouds but rather an intrinsic state of consciousness present within us all and which we wish to reach. Freud may have used the term 'Super-Ego', others the higher self, others the Self of Self, the dwarf self, the atman etc. I have thoroughly embraced atheism in the past myself, I'd label myself an agnostic with theistic tendencies these days.
The post by feragnosis should help you out, I do believe that book can be found online as a pdf in some places. I wish you luck!
I believe that all magick is elemental in nature. I draw its power from the elements. Not anything fantasy and all that but the five basic elements and a few others as well. You don't need religion to practice magick at all. Magick comes from within the self first!
Right Joseph,Magick was before Religion and before medicine as well as science,Magick was used in place of all of those thing's
Once we learn how something works it becomes science or meds
The old world was a magicians world
Lots of great posts. I really think I am going in the right direction. I ordered some books on chaos magic today and have found a good traditional witchcraft site, not to mention this one. Things seem to be shaping up nicely. Thanks for all the input. Also will give some thought to the God as ego idea. In psychology the super ego is equated with the little angel on your shoulder. I guess it has a lot to do with perspective. I used to be very into Judeo Christian theology in ritual magic but at some point my faith just left me and try as I might its not coming back. It does oddly seem to be coming back in the form of witchcraft (on a very crooked path!). It actually feels good to have this spiritual side reawakening.
Excellent news,Chaos Magick is not the most exciting system to study,most of it you most likely already know since you said you have a long history of practice..It's just the same old systems without the fancy toppings,Cast it and forget it
Sigil work etc..You will be a pro by this time next year.
Wiccans don't believe in such a thing as heaven or hell. Some believe that they get reincarnated into another being or something.
You don't actually need to have a particular deity or have a deity at all. Some pagans walk alone in their path. Some do have a deity. Just do what you feel is right
