Principles of Wiccan Belief

      In 1974, the Council of American Witches came up with a statement entitled
      "Principles of Wiccan Belief". This statement was drafted in an effort to
      inform and educate both the general public and those interested in
      pursuing the study of Witchcraft.
      The Council of American Witches disbanded later that same year, but the
      points they put down on paper still go a long way in defining what Witches
      believe today.
      Principles of Belief
      The Council of American Witches finds it necessary to define modern
      Witchcraft in terms of the American experience and needs.
      We are not bound by traditions from other times and other cultures, and
      owe no allegiance to any person or power greater than the Divinity
      manifest through our own beings.
      As American Witches, we welcome and respect all life-affirming teachings
      and traditions, and seek to learn from all and to share our learning
      within our Council.
      It is in this spirit of welcome and cooperation that we adopt these few
      principles of Wiccan belief. In seeking to be inclusive, we do not wish to
      open ourselves to the destruction of our group by those on self-serving
      power trips, or to philosophies and practices contradictory to these
      principles. In seeking to exclude those whose ways are contradictory to
      ours, we do not want to deny participation with us to any who are
      sincerely interested in our knowledge and beliefs, regardless of race,
      color, sex, age, national or cultural origin, or sexual preference.
      We therefore ask only that those who seek to identify with us accept these
      few basic principles.
        We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life
        forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and
        Cross Quarters.
        We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility
        toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in
        ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within
        an evolutionary concept.
        We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the
        average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes
        called "supernatural", but we see it as lying within that which is
        naturally potential within us all.
        We conceive of the Creative Power in the Universe as manifesting through
        polarity--as masculine and feminine--and that this same Creative Power
        lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the
        masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each
        to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol
        and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in
        magickal practice and religious worship.
        We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological, worlds
        sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious,
        Inner Planes, etc.--and we see the interaction of these two dimensions
the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect
        neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our
        fulfillment.
        We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who
        teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and
        acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in
        leadership.
        We see religion, magick and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way
        one views the world and lives within it--a world view and philosophy of
        life which we identify as "Witchcraft or the Wiccan Way".
        Calling oneself "Witch" does not make a Witch--but neither does heredity
        itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch
        seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible
        in order to live wisely and well without harm to others in harmony with
        Nature.
        We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation
        of evolution and development of consciousness giving meaning to the
        Universe we know and our personal role within it.
        Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion
        or philosophy-of-life, is to the extent that its institutions have
        claimed to be "the one true right and only way" and have sought to deny
        freedom to others and to suppress other ways religious practice and
        belief.
        As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of
        the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various
        aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and
        our future.
        We do not accept the concept of "absolute evil", nor do we worship any
        entity known as "Satan" or "the Devil", as defined by the Christian
        tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor
        accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.
        We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory
        to our health and well being.


        Council of American Witches'