Witchcraft Problems

Gerald Gardner introduced the religion in 1954. All wiccans are pagan but not all pagans are wiccan. You might mean you want to be pagan and just not follow Gardner's outline. Blessed Be!

There really isn't a Wiccan witchcraft". Wicca is a religion while witchcraft is a practice. Witchcraft is not the main foundation of Wicca and is not the main focal point either. Like ZeusUniverse said, all wiccans are pagans but not all pagans are wiccans. There are many pagans from different branches that practice witchcraft. There are even different types of witchcraft known by different names that are not tied into any religion such as kitchenary witchcraft.

My bad.. 0greenwitch said that instead of ZeusUniverse.

A couple of books you might want to look at are:

"Mastering Witchcraft" by Paul Huson

"Witchcraft: Theory and Practice" by Ly de Angeles

"Natural Witchcraft" by Marian Green

And you might want to talk with Brysing on this site. He's been a practicing Witch for over 40 years and can probably point you in the right direction.

Thanks everyone!

Lark, I talk to Brysing occasionally about this. He's very informative and deserves a higher rank, I believe.

I'll look into those books.

My problem is this: I don't feel like I believe in the deities or any high being that has a persona. I feel more athiest but I still believe that Earth is sacred and that the Universe is sacred if there isn't any being out there who created it.

I'm sliding out of Wiccan religion because of the fact I don't feel I believe in deities much at all. That's why I'm looking to just practice witchcraft without the Wiccan religious parts included so I can explore my path more freely.

It's good to take the dogma out of it, I think. That way you don't limit yourself with pre-concieved notions of how it should be. Keep your mind open and follow what makes sense to you.

That's fine. The books I mentioned are not on Wicca but rather on traditional Witchcraft. Exploring witchcraft as a craft and not as a religion is something that many end up doing and why one can be any religion or no religion at all and still be a Witch.

I've been having some issues with asking the gods and goddesses for help with my spells too. I believe in one God, I was raised in 2 religions so it's ingrained in me. But I have to tell you this. A few months ago doing a love spell I asked the gods and goddesses for their help. Afterwards I asked for a sign that my wish came true. I opened my eyes and looked at my alter my one rose quartz had turned orange. So I guess they are real. Still trying to wrap my head around it though.

I think a good question to ask is: what exactly IS a god?

Good question Psmith! And there are so many! I think all beliefs in any Gods are simply that; beliefs. Beliefs born from knowledge.
When Moses wrote of Adam and Eve, other "biblical scholars" wrote in the bits about them being "ashamed" at being naked; that their "sin" was all about sex! Yet, the sin is quite clear, they ate "from the tree of knowledge", and by doing so they condemned Mankind, forever, to the most dangerous knowledge known to Man. We are, possibly, the only animal on Earth that knows with absolute certainty that one day we will die. And it is that sure knowledge that has given rise to every religious belief. Because every religion has the belief in "what comes after death", So many beliefs, so much dwelling in an "after life". And so, even in this 21st century, with all the knowledge acquired by Humanity, Mankind still clings to that "belief" that there must be something after death. I believe that there is! But it is certainly not what most people believe it is!