The Craft has received a lot of "bad press". In the foregoing it has
been explained that the Craft is almost the direct opposite of the way it
has been characterized by its detractors. Nevertheless one will probably
ask what value there is in the Craft; what is there about it that it might
appeal to anyone?
Why is it that after all these centuries of suppression and persecution, in which the Craft is maligned and charged with all sorts of wild perversions, that there are still thousand persons who still follow the Old Ways? The very fact of its existence after all these years of persecution tells us that there is something here of vast value that can be obtained nowhere else. If these values could be obtained anywhere else, why should anyone risk life and all one holds dear to follow the teachings of the Craft? The answer, of course, to any thinking person is obvious.
Perhaps first, lies the old story about "selling one's soul to the
Devil", to gain power, fame or fortune. Selling one's soul to the Devil is
the propaganda lie put forth by the Churches to underrate Craft
membership. The rest of the sentence is correct. Witches understand that
this mortal world is merely a shadow of the real one, the Mental World.
Everything must exist in the Thought, or Mental World, prior to its
appearance in the Mortal World. The first lesson taught the newcomer to
the Craft is how to manipulate this Matrix of Reality -- the Thought World
-- in order to obtain anything, anything at all, including jobs, position,
and money or property, that the person wants. The Craft does not have the
philosophical idea that the gaining of money is evil or dirty. We
recognize that one must have money, or some medium of exchange, in order
to live. We teach you to get all of it you want. In the process, however,
we learn that Greed is not part of love.
The Craft is the Way to Perfection. We are more or less aware that the
world about us is filled with stress and tension; that all about us there
is pain and suffering, and man's inhumanity to man; that his is the way of
the world and that we are surrounded by conflict, competition, and greed.
In the quiet moments of our lives each of us asks the whereabouts of what
is called the "good life". We hunger after health, and love and security
and peace and long for a greater beauty and serenity in our lives. In
short, we seek, whether we stop to think about it or not, the things which
are the stuff of perfection.
The Craft is a Way to these things, wherein the methods and techniques
for the relief of suffering and the bringing of happiness to ourselves and
to others can be studied, and in which one can grow toward Wisdom and
perfection. It has been said that joy is the surest sign of the presence
of God. The Craft is a great school in which the means of finding joy and
peace with one's brothers and sisters are taught and practiced! The Craft
is a way of life achieved by doing and not a high sounding ceremonial or
intellectual game played for the impression it makes. In the Craft on
first finds harmony within oneself; then the harmony with others, and
finally comes into harmony with the higher Wisdom that rules all
creation.
The Craft of the Wise is a communion of Brothers and Sisters in which the means of gaining Wisdom are taught by the Wiser to the less wise and in which one is always helping someone up from below while, at the same time another hand is reaching down from above to help one up, all in a common effort of love.
Do you want love? The old saws about "love potions" are of course, merely old wives tales. However, the very power that witches work with is love. We teach, preach, and practice love. For the vast majority, here in the anonymity of the Craft, we find love -- pure, unadulterated love -- for the first time. Here we study the methods and techniques for the relief of suffering, both mortal and mental, and the bringing of happiness to ourselves and to others. It has been said that joy is the surest sign of the presence of God. The Craft is a great school in which the means of finding joy and peace with one's brothers and sisters are taught -- and practiced.
In the Craft you will not always be agreed with, but you will always be listened to; constantly helped, if not rewarded and in which you will grow insofar as that is your desire. You will find love in the Craft, and others who will love you, but the key to happiness you will find, lies within yourself. You will be shown how to turn that key. The Craft promises you the magic, but you must learn to perform your own miracles; and as a Witch you will find that you are truly free. Understanding this you will also learn to find peace and the knowledge that whatever you desire is yours when you understand that it is so.
Ariel's Corner
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