How to Become a Witch by Amber K. Page A

Witch population but should make it clear that Wiccans/Witches live in many countries. Great Britain is the birthplace of modern Witchcraft, but our Craft brethren also can be found throughout Western Europe and in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Smaller numbers are scattered around the world, including those serving in the military who are stationed overseas.
    So what are Witches? We are people who follow a spiritual path and way of living that is inspired by the practices and worldview of our ancient ancestors. We keep close to nature. We celebrate the cycles of life and the seasons. We connect with Spirit in many forms. We perform divination and magick. And we learn, grow, and heal ourselves and others. This is the heart of Witchcraft.
    The female factor
    Roughly two out of three Witches are female. Perhaps women are drawn to the Craft because, hey, the Goddess is here, and it’s great to have a divine female role model—or, actually, many of them! Perhaps we like the idea that we can be priestesses, with as much respect as the men get in the male-dominated religions. On the other side, maybe some guys aren’t sure what to do with the male deities in the Craft: all that Hornéd-God, Sun-God, Warrior-God energy. It’s quite a change from Jesus. Nobody knows why there are more female Witches, but the male Witches are happy, and we women are glad that we have as many really great Craft brothers as we do.
    [ 1 ] Thank you, Rowan, for this analogy.
    [ 2 ] Revised by Amber K and Azrael Arynn K, Samhain, 2010.
    [ 3 ] From the Council of American Witches, 1974. Due to the efforts of the council’s chairman, Carl Weschcke, these principles were later incorporated into the chaplain’s handbook for use in the U.S. Army.

Chapter 2
    Seasons of the Sun,
Cycles of the Moon The Wheel of the Year
    C elebrate as the Wheel turns,
    Touching magick, wielding power,
    Dance and leap as the balefire burns,
    I am a Witch at every hour.

    Nature moves in cycles, in circles and spirals. Earth orbits the sun, and the seasons flow from one to the next and repeat the cycle through the millennia. We call it the Wheel of the Year, and for modern Witches, it governs the rhythm of our lives. The Wheel is a circle, coming back to the same seasons and sabbats again and again, but it is also a spiral, because it moves through time. At each year’s spring, we are in an equivalent place—but not the same place. Also, when we reincarnate, we come back to Earth, but it is not the same world we left the time before.
    Likewise, the moon orbits, waxes, and wanes in her changing phases, and the tides rise and ebb. The lunar cycle is also part of our lives and our magick. And when we celebrate, we do it in circles, not lined up in rows, watching someone else have all the fun. Everyone in the circle participates. We live and plan and think in circles and cycles rather than lines.

    The Wheel of the Year
    Most Witches celebrate eight major holy days, or sabbats, through the year, spaced roughly six and a half weeks apart. Four are called the lesser sabbats, one every three months at the solstices and equinoxes. The other four are the greater sabbats, and they are in between the lesser sabbats. See how they are placed on the illustration.
    These are very ancient holy days; not everyone in those days celebrated all eight, but most modern Pagans do. The names are taken from the Irish language, but most have been around so long that they have more than one name. The dates of the greater sabbats (Beltane, Lughnassad, Samhain, and Imbolc) are approximate; they vary a little in different traditions. The lesser sabbats are determined by the astronomical calculations of the solstices and equinoxes, and these vary from year to year. Here’s the list, with approximate dates:
    Yule (or Midwinter, Winter Solstice): December 20–23
    Imbolc (or Oimelc, Brigit’s Eve, Candlemas): February 2
    Ostara (or Eostre, Spring Equinox): March 20–23
    Beltane (or May Eve, Mayday,