I have been practicing witchcraft for over thirty years. During that time, I have learned a few things. Magick is only understood by those who are naturally inclined to it. Those who are not find the whole idea quite silly. You see, magickal folk have an awareness that non-magickal folk do not. The mystical presence in the deep forest…the leaves rustling in the wind…the dance of a candle flame…the sounds of a gently flowing stream…these are all subtle cues from nature that gently lead us to the mysteries of magick. Some will see and hear, while most won’t even notice. The old ways of witchcraft are rooted in mysticism, nature and the elements. They can be glimpsed in the moon, the stars and planets. They can be hidden in symbols and images. They can be interpreted in cards and bits of wood and stone. The old ways are found only by those with the ability to comprehend them. These magickal folk are the witches of the Old Ways. Some modern practitioners scoff at the term ‘old ways’ as if the practice of witchcraft is somehow a new invention. The ways of the witch are indeed old, and hearken back to the time of the Wise Women and Cunning Men. The Old Ways pre-date Wicca or any other “modern” interpretations of witchcraft. Witches of ages past were sovereign, not bound by imposed ‘redes’ or ‘threefold’ laws. They simply lived by their own ethical codes and personal standards. They did not live and move among the people, but dwelled on the outskirts of villages and towns, offering their services in secret. Witches believe that nature is alive and sentient. Plants and stones contain a living, indwelling spirit. We ourselves are divine aspects of nature, working alongside the forces of the universe to bring change. Witches are not just characters in stories and folk tales-we live and work in the world today.

Perhaps you are one, too.