Legend of the Witches

In the beginning was the moon, Diana.

Sad, silent, alone she wandered.

The waves: her sighs and tears of solitude.

She searched everywhere for a companion,

but found only reflections of herself.

Lonely, Diana desired a lover.

That desire became the dawn.

And from the dawn came the sun, Lucifer, the God of Light.

The moon, Diana, and the sun, Lucifer, loved each other.

The fruit of this love,

were the sky and the Earth, water, and fire,

forests and plants, birds, fishes, and animals.

This is the witches' legend of creation.

Diana and Lucifer also created man.

They gave him the world

and taught him to hunt, kill, and be content

that he might better worship them.

To these powerful gods

man erected huge monuments and temples of stone,

thousands of them,

aligned along the paths of their gods across the sky.

To the gods,

for the chiefs, great warriors, poets, musicians, and artists,

a stone was raised.

A stone which has given them greater immortality than their gods.

Many of these groups of stones, like Stonehenge,

were complex observatories,

predicting what once was thought

the unpredictable, fickle wandering of their gods.

Man, now able to predict,

soon sought to control the gods.

They entrusted this control to priests.

To choose these priests,

the witches, a name which comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "Wicca",

meaning "wise", hold a severe initiation ceremony.

Those already initiated

perform a ritual called "Drawing Down of the Moon."

Since the Moon is a woman, Diana,

the chief of the witches, is a priestess.

This ceremony calls down and concentrates Diana's power in this priestess,

and through her, the Circle and those dancing in it.

Away from the Circle, the initiate, blindfolded,

is prepared for the Ordeals which he must undergo

before becoming a witch.

- Michael. - His name is called,

and he must follow,

regardless of where he is asked to go or what he is asked to do.

This voice both serves as a guide, and although he does not know it...

- Michael! - ...to protect him from death.

On his way to the Circle...

...the initiate is to be made aware through his own experience

of the four elements which make up the universe.

- Water... - Michael.

...air, earth, and fire.

The first is water.

Michael!

Michael!

Michael!

As well as the elements,

the initiate is made acutely aware of himself.

- Naked, blind... - Michael!

...alone,

he's confronted with some of Man's basic fears.

Of nakedness, drowning,

falling, pain.

If he cannot master them and himself,

he will be considered incapable of wisdom and will not be initiated.

Michael!

Fear of falling.

Air.

Fear of being lost.

- Entombed. - Michael!

Earth.

Michael!

Fire.

Fear of pain.

The pain borne, he is challenged...

kissed...

and brought into the Circle.

Before being given any secrets,

the initiate is as bound as he must keep those secrets.

He is presented to the gods of the East, South, West, and North,

that they may approve him.

Symbolic whipping lets him understand

that from now, he is subject to the discipline of the cult.

In spite of this, he is told,

"In other religions, you would kneel..."

"...while I would tower above you."

"But in ours, we are taught to be humble".

"It is we who kneel to welcome you".

"As the knife is to man..."

"...so is the cup to woman".

"Let them be united in truth".

The sacred objects which he will be taught to use, are presented.

The sword, with which all magic circles are formed.

The white-handled knife,

with which all magic objects are carved.

The sensor of incense.

The cords to bind, and by knotting, to work magic.

Once again, he is shown to the gods.

Now unbound, as a full initiate.

With dawn and the passing of Diana,

the ceremony comes to an end.

All traces obscured.

The cords that bound him, burnt.

The initiates are taught the knowledge

reserved for their control of power by the priests.

The magical properties of natural objects.

The healing properties of herbs.

As well as healing,

some of those herbs were found to induce trances and hallucinations.

Given to a trained witch priestess,

these trances and hallucinations can be controlled.

The methods used to trigger off the witch's powers of divination varied.

Animals and birds were also used.

The cock in this circle is watched,

and meaning is given to the position and order

in which it pecks the grain.

Sacrifice to appease the gods,

and examination of the entrails to forecast the future.

Into this blend of magical science and religion came another.

Christianity.

Where it could not destroy the previous beliefs,

Christianity adopted physically and spiritually

the temples and rites of the older religions.

Churches built on Pagan mounds.

Pagan stones in their walls.

The interiors and exteriors of these churches

were covered with the extravagant, beautiful whirls and knots

of pre-Christian imagination.

Sex, fertility, and their attendant rites,

so important to the continuity of life,

could not be banished by the new religion,

however desirable the promised rewards of death.

This small font has been made from a pagan sacred stone.

Pagan symbols, gods and images

covered the new churches,

many of them carved on stones which had once been worshipped outside.

One of the most extraordinary of these converted stones

is this huge menhir

which has been carved apparently with Christian symbols,

but only apparently.

Persecution made the disguise necessary.

of the sun and moon

on either side of the mother goddess

for whom the Virgin Mary now substitutes.

The crossed swords on the left.

The ladder of progress up to the sun, Lucifer.

The whip beside it.

All symbols of witchcraft, not Christianity.

The Christian Church also has its initiation ceremony,

which, in many of its aspects, resembles those of older religions.

The initiates into the Christian faith are baptised,

confirmed and given communion in a single service.

Baptism.

Symbolic death by drowning, followed by rebirth.

"I baptise you..."

"...in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost".

"Amen".

"I baptise you..."

"...in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost".

"Amen".

The priest gives a candle.

"I give you this sign..."

"...to show that you have passed from darkness to light".

"That henceforth you may shine as light in the world to the glory of God".

"He has received you by baptism into his church".

"We therefore welcome you into the Lord's family..."

"...as fellow members of the body of Christ".

"The cup of blessing which we bless..."

"...is it not a sharing of the blood of Christ?"

"The bread which we break".

"Is it not a sharing of the body of Christ?"

"The blood of Christ".

"The blood of Christ".

"The body of Christ".

"The body of Christ".

"The body of Christ".

"The blood of Christ".

"The blood of Christ".

"The blood of Christ".

"The blood of Christ".

"The blood of Christ".

Cannibalism, in primitive societies, is not always motivated by hunger,

but through a desire to absorb the qualities of those being eaten.

Christianity continued quietly,

slowly assimilating and being assimilated by the people,

old and new religions, mingling and tolerating,

until 1066 when William, born of a witch,

symbol of Lucifer on his banner,

conquered and unified England under a single ruler.

The Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of this invasion,

shows how pervasive were the old ideas.

An apparent cross on the shield with its swirling arms

is a symbol of the sun, Lucifer.

Harold is made to swear on two altars,

one Pagan, one Christian,

neither sufficient by itself.

Consultation with a witch priestess.

Astrological significance of a comet.