Should I believe in god and goddess if I want to be a witch

[Gary13wishes]

Hello, guys! Actually I don't believe in God and Goddess and I am starting to wonder is that right? Should I believe in God and Goddess if I want to be a witch? I'm a little confused about that. Thanks for your answers in advance.

[SnowCat]

Belief is a very individual thing.

Snow

[Sphere]

Why do you want to be a witch?

To me, witchcraft is a practice, not a belief system, although it can be combined with a belief system. Just my personal thought on it.

[mikezmac]

Your belief in a god or goddess could actually be in the attributes that they represent and that would be what you would be trying to invoke. You don't have to actually believe that Zeus is sitting on top of Mount Olympus if you wanted to invoke some of the attributes of Zeus.

The existence of a deity is not necessarily physical but more ethereal or as I said above representational.

There is massive amounts of literature on this. I would find what resonates with you and go with that.

[SpiritTalker]

Try not to confuse Wicca, the religion with witchcraft, the practice. There's not much point in trying to adhere to the Wiccan religion without some kind of belief.

A witch practices witchcraft, or a set of skills that generally involves an awareness of Nature, and/or an ability to interact with an energetic force, and/or to experience relevant changes in consciousness.

The short answer to your question as i see it is, you can be a witch and believe whatever makes sense to you.

[breaddd]

There are many secular witches! You don't have to believe in anything but witchcraft to be a witch, and you don't even have to believe in all of it. There are witches who don't believe there's magick in crystals or tarot, but they still practice a form of witchcraft.

Wiccans are witches, but witches are not all Wiccans. A witch could be a Druid or an animist or an atheist (etc). There are even Christian witches!

[Kassandra]

.


My take on it resonates with these thoughts:

witchcraft is a practice, not a belief system, although it can be combined with a belief system

Try not to confuse Wicca, the religion with witchcraft, the practice.

Wiccans are witches, but witches are not all Wiccans. A witch could be a Druid or an animist or an atheist (etc). There are even Christian witches!

And I like mikezmac's thoughts on gods/goddesses being representational of different attributes, that it is the attributes that count, not the "cult of personality" built up around the god's worship. I just wrote something about certain people I've encountered in my academic and professional lives, what they've meant to me, and why. I focused on an attribute or two that each had, what I found valuable and try to cultivate in my own life, etc.

That's kind of how I look at the idea of gods/goddesses, as well. I don't believe in giving my power away to them in worship, but I might utilize what they stood for in spell work in an instructive, anecdotal way, emphasizing how that god or goddess modeled or embodied an ideal of some sort (just as human people do), that sort of thing. Believing in something out of guilt, or because one thinks doing so will make one "better fit in," or because it's expected, probably wouldn't contribute to a sincere approach to one's spiritual path.

I'm with the camp that says you don't need to believe in god and goddess as a requirement to be a witch.

Belief is a very individual thing.

Indeed. Respect your right, Gary13wishes, not to believe in something. Also, it might be fun to examine that word "belief," take it apart a little. Could it mean something like acknowledging an attribute or ideal, and not necessarily have to mean feeling obligated to worship something, sacrifice to it, otherwise change your lifestyle due to that belief? I think with the topic of gods and goddesses we need to make distinctions between different perspectives like these, give ourselves a little wiggle room.

This isn't to say because one doesn't worship gods and goddesses, one should ignore them altogether. I have learned a lot about different pantheons to have insight into what's meaningful to my fellow pagans, and non-pagans alike, basically to be a culturally literate citizen of this planet. So if someone says to me, "I am a Dianic Wiccan," or "I'm a Mormon," I will have somewhat of an understanding of that person's spiritual perspectives and practices. I think learning about gods and goddesses that others hold dear fosters an environment of spiritual tolerance and mutual respect...so needed right now.

So even if you don't believe in them, my advice is to learn all you can about them, since people you meet will make reference to them.

Thanks.




.