White and black witchcraft

Intro

It's common to be approached by people wanting to know about the aspects of black/white witchcraft within Wicca and more recently so someone approached me with questions concerning this which gave me the idea to make a short essay for people to read and hopefully understand more about Wicca and white/black witchcraft.

Can I be a White/Black Witch in Wicca?

Anything is possible when it comes to faith but out of respect and good intention I will have to say no. Of course, you can call yourself what you want and still practice Wicca but really that isn't efficient because to be a witch within Wicca AND claim to be a black/white witch is contradictory.

Why?

Mainly it's the clash of beliefs and principles. When you truly make yourself aware of what it means to be a Wiccan AND a white/black witch then you will come to see how being one means it's harder to be the other. Of course Wicca IS a spiritually at heart and spiritualities don't have to dominate your life religiously, but if you claim to be a Wiccan than you must accept the faith as a whole (as far as the basic principles go) and to do that you need to understand the basic principles of both Wicca and Black/White Witchcraft.

What is White Witchcraft

A white witch can be close to anything. The term is often used loosely and mainly followed by those who are taking part of a fad rather than trying to take part in something that is life changing and soul maturing. I was a white witch myself when I first started Wicca because I wanted to be part of that cool fad, however, I learnt the true principles of Wicca and realised I had to choose which one to be. Of course I chose Wicca but this doesn't mean Wicca is better, it simply means I was not happy being a white witch and many others have the same response. The description of what it means to be a white witch may help you see why.

White witchcraft IS a craft but it's generally loosely followed and the basic principles depend greatly on what's 'in' at the time. There are people who have made white witchcraft a serious part of their life and do so successfully, but for someone with just the internet and tons of stereotypical books on the shelves, white witchcraft is generally inappropriate, media driven, stereotypical and seriously disrespectful to other Pagan religions and spiritualities.

White whitchcraft isn't primarily occult but they DO take practices and beliefs from spiritualities like Wicca, Shamanism, druid, celtic ect and reproduce these without a mention of where they come from and what the real practice/belief is all about, often changing them to suit whoever is interested. Of course this isn't something Wicca frowns on as it's all about what YOU want it to be, but the majority of people trying to get into some kind of craft will turn to White witchcraft because it's so approachable and friendly and they'll not consider the bastardised beliefs and practices they're taking on, ultimately ruining the beauty of the actual faith it comes from.

White witches are described as practitioners of 'good' and 'human protective' magic though these spells will often range from anywhere from love spells to hexing.

White Witches are largely eclectic in their practices and beliefs though the majority of what they practice will often be found from one book or a range of similar sources. They are often considered as inferior witches by others within crafts and while this is unfair it is largely blamed on the 'cashing in' market of the media who want to take advantage of all those who enjoy things like charmed and harry potter, and even those who are largely against organised faiths like Christianity and just want to rebel.

White witchcraft is the one most favoured because it is seen as the 'good' version of witchcraft but this is more a fallacy because people who take to 'white' witchcraft can often do more damage to themselves and others through their practices than those who practice 'black' witchcraft. This is because white witchcraft generally does not require an individual to ask permission or inform another that they are doing a spell on behalf/to another, even practising hexing in order to do 'the greater good'. This is largely inappropriate morally and can do a lot of damage to those who find out this has happened.

Black Witchcraft

Black witchcraft follows the same guidelines as White witchcraft, the only difference being that they are more inclined to perform more 'damaging' and 'bad' spells, often to people who are not considered deserving. Other than that it's the same cut.

Wiccan witch

Wicca does have a framework that someone can follow and its diverse enough to enable a practitioner the ability to change what they wish and how they wish without breaking the basic principles. Primarily it IS the fact that Wiccan witches follow the basic principles that make them somewhat more 'respectable' unlike those who will likely ignore their chosen basic principles in order to do how they please within their craft.

Wiccan witches do not hex or curse, not even to protect others, we simply do not do it. Those who do generally have a more laxed approach towards the basic principles and are probably more in favour or other crafts and witchery than Wicca.

Wiccans tend to feel strongly against the terms 'black' and 'white' being used for bad and good. Within Wicca both are seen as important shades with very benefiting attributes. Black is not deemed evil or bad, in fact it's protective and cleansing and because black is such a safe colour within Wiccan practices it often is very offensive to use these terms on Wiccan witches.

Wiccan's also do not perform spells, prayers or rituals on others who

1) Have no knowledge that it's being done
2) Who have expressed they do not want it done

This isn't true for white/black witches as they are free to do these things without permission.

Also, to call yourself a white/black witch means you are either 'good' or 'bad/evil' depending on how you use the spells and so on (black magic, white magic ect). Of course this is just a fallacy as no one is neither completely good or evil. Wicca does not hold the belief that Good and Evil exist separate to each other, and keep firmly the idea that we contain good and evil within us. To claim to be just one or the other is a lie and disrespectful of yourself so to truly accept who you are you must accept that you have bad bits as well as good.

It's not about what makes you a 'good' witch, it's about what makes you a good person.



Conclusion

As you can tell, Wicca and White/Black witchcraft clearly clash and because of this the question of whether a white/black witch can be a Wiccan is pretty much easily answered.

I, in no way, want people to feel like I do not respect them if they take the role of a white/black witch because as long as an individual had the best of intentions than all is fine with me. But like most things, ignorance is greatly damaging and if one does choose to be a black/white/wiccan/other witch than make sure you know what you're doing before you do it. There will always be someone out there to oppose what you are doing, making yourself aware will fight half the battle for you.

Thanks