Monday 11 March 2013

Do witches pray?


We were asked the question recently "Do witches pray and if so, how do they do it"?

It's an interesting question.

Personally I had an issue with the word 'pray' for a long time when I first stated on this journey, it was too 'churchy' for me and didn't seem right for a pagan. (No slur on the church intended).

But the honest answer to the question is yes we do and we do it in various forms.

It can be done by speaking directly to Deity/the Divine whether it is done out loud or in your head and this could be just as if you were chatting to someone standing next to you, or it might be done with your face looking up to the sky.
You might also 'pray' by connecting with nature, out in the woods or down at the seashore.
Setting up an altar is a way of honouring deity and also 'praying' to them by leaving offerings.
Petitions can be written on slips of paper and burnt in the fire or candle flame, sending your message or 'prayer' to Deity.
Working candle magic or indeed any spell working in a way is like praying, you are sending your intent, your desire, your wish out to the Divine, requesting assistance.

There are many ways to pray, although I would think that not many pagans actually get on their knees and put their hands together to do so in the 'traditional' way we think of praying, but then, some of them might!  It is a personal thing, do whatever works for you.

Tansy
x



The artwork used on this post is by Hiroko Reaney www.ebsqart.com



4 comments:

  1. Thanks. I'm still in the 'churchy stuff is all bad' mode - it's good to hear from a survivor that you can use what you want and leave the rest behind.

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  2. Lovely, enjoyed reading
    I never got into the church thing in the first place - even as a catholic - went to a catholic school. always believed in a god - just now in a different way. Always prayed - now its to a goddess and yeah I don't do the get on my knees and pray thing, never have. Even as a kid I enjoyed connecting to nature, I remember sitting up a tree and praying to the spirit at about 9 years. Spell work can also be like praying to me too

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  3. Loving your blog, lots of really informative articles. I keep seeing Pagan prayer beads around at the moment so thought I might have a go at making some. Similar to rosary beads I guess but useful for concentrating your intent(yes I'm a lapsed catholic too!)
    many blessings to you,
    Alison http://www.astartemoonblog.com/(love you to follow me back, I think I've liked you on fb but I'll check xx

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  4. Great blog! Good Fortune to everyone.

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