S - Goddess and Gods of the Witches. First Degree

Copyright 2016 BWS (Black Witch S)

Published by Black Witch Coven

www.blackwitchcoven.com

Also by Black Witch S, available at book retailerseverywhere:

Spiritual Warfare(A 6-MonthCourse for Witches)

Witchcraft Year 1(A complete1st Year course in the craft)

Witchcraft Year 2(A complete2nd Year course in the craft)

2016 Edition. Revised May 29, 2016.

License Notes

This book is licensed for your personal enjoymentonly. However, if you know of another person who would benefit fromthis material but cannot afford to buy their copy, I give you myblessing to Pass It Forward. Give this book to them at no cost.Everyone deserves to have access to information no matter whattheir financial situation.

This book may not be re-sold or re-branded for yourown profit

"I have to admit that, when I started myexploration of the Wiccan Way, this book wasn't the first on mylist. I went through several other beginner's guides before finallyending up with Black Witch S, and I definitely wish I'd come acrossit sooner. This series, makes an excellent portrayal of the corephilosophy of Wicca. Truly, if you have any questions about thereligion and practice of Wicca, it won't take you long to find youranswers. Possibly the greatest aspect of this book, however, isthat over half of it teaches through demonstration. If you've juststarted on the Wiccan Way, I highly recommend this book to roundout your beginner's training and start you towards greaterwisdom."

- Sarah, Utah.

I had not studied the basics in the craftand felt uncomfortable attending Pagan events as I had no clue asto their beliefs. Black Witch S writes in plain language andprovides easy to understand instructions. I dont wish to become aWiccan, but I believe all occults need to know about our historyand how many wiccans, pagans, and witches live theirlives."

- Edwin, Warlock.

"It seems to be a well conceivedintroduction to Wicca, I look forward to reading more of BWS'swork. I intend to follow a self-initiation and self-dedicationpathway, and now know what I need to do. "

- Fatima, UK.

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to all of my spiritualteachers, including my Grandmother, and University professors.

A huge debt of gratitude goes to Lady Hannahwho extremely generously volunteered to read and edit the entiremanuscript. She made many grammatical corrections, a number ofchanges to cumbersome phrases, some factual corrections andsuggestions on how to make some of the sections clearer. She hashad a consistently keen eye for all these things that have slippedpast my attention.

I would also like to acknowledge thosestudents at BWC School of Witchcraft who have written to me fromtime to time, pointing out inconsistencies and things that wereunclear.

Great thanks go as well to my coven members,with whom I discussed many of the ideas within the book.

Contents

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Preface

The Wiccan Witchcraft series of books was writtenfor the person who is looking to learn how to have a deeper andmore enriching relationship with their environment, and themselves.Wiccan Witchcraft can provide the ultimate connection between mind,body and spirit.

Many people were confused when I beganwriting about Wicca, as my spiritual name is Black Witch S. Acommon mistake made is believing that I am a Satanic witch becauseI also practice other forms of occult magic, however Satanism isntmy area of practice. I call myself a Chaos Witch, as I use elementsof many traditions and practices in my spiritual and magickalpractices. As a student looking to understand new-age practices, itis important that you quickly learn the differences between alltraditions. For example, you can be Wiccan, and not practicemagick. Or you can be a Witch and not be Wiccan. I dont recommendyou giving yourself any title at all so soon. Wait and see how youfeel by the end of a years study in Wiccan Witchcraft.

For me, learning Wicca was beneficial in somany ways. I strongly believe that each person entering witchcraftor learning an occult tradition, can greatly benefit from afoundational training in Wicca. By learning Wiccan Witchcraft, onecan understand the origins and strengths of the oldest religion onearth. You will also learn how to participate in Wicca celebrationsand rituals, so you can be part of the Wiccan or Neo-pagancommunity (and not feel left out).

This Wiccan Witchcraft series, provides apathway for learning First Degree Wiccan Witchcraft and SecondDegree Wiccan Witchcraft. They will provide you with enoughfoundational knowledge to pass an online Wiccan Course. You willfeel confident about joining a coven, as you will know what isexpected of you, and how you can contribute to your coven. Yourability to feel proficient as a Wiccan or a witch however, is onlythrough consistent practice, and future research in the areas ortopics of interest to you.

There is no pretense of original orexhaustive research here. The information is drawn from popularbooks and standard reference works such as can be found in anylibrary. There have been many thousands of pagan deities, ofcourse, and a truly complete listing of them is probablyimpossible. This discussion of only a few hundred gods does notpretend to be any more than a sampling of the riches of the paganhistory.

Many will disagree with my choices, Whythis god and not that one? And especially I will have questionson, Why was this pantheon ignored altogether? The answer is thatthe choices are almost completely arbitrary, being those gods Ithought important or interesting enough to make a note of, or thatI have personally taken an interest too.

One caveat. Sources sometimes disagree witheach other, and the pagan pantheons were quite fluid, changing allthe time. One god would split into several, or several gods wouldmerge into one, and often one god was considered an aspect or formof another god. The pagans borrowed deities from each other quitefreely, and the various cults went in and out of fashion much thesame way that rock groups go in and out of fashion in our own day.With that explanation (or excuse), I accept all blame for any trulyglaring errors.

For now, all you need to do is have an openmind and an open heart. Challenge your old beliefs, especiallythose that do not serve you. Dont jump down any rabbit holes toosoon meaning learn all you can on a foundation level before youcommit to practicing an area of this path which leads you in thewrong direction.

For the sake of clarity, I should point outthat in this course the terms Wicca, Witchcraft and the Craftare generally used interchangeably, although it is made clear whena tradition believes that it is not Wiccan and does not describeitself as such [1]. The term Wiccan is applied to most covenWitches and most forms of solitary practice.

I also take a fluid approach to the religionof Wicca, believing very strongly that you should only do thingsthat feel right to you. Inevitably, though, there are otheropinions and other ways of looking at things; at the end of the dayyou will have to make up your own mind and it is sincerely hopedthat this book will give such inspiration, with regard to this andmany other issues...