has anyone out there in mylot world practiced witchcraft before???

One has to be very careful when dealing with the past history of witchcraft - I recommend reading something based upon actual historic text. If you can, try "Withccraft In Western Europe" (out of print but still found in some libraries). Most people burned (or in America, hung) were not witches nor had anything to do with witchcraft. So on to my personal experiences: I freely give this information in attonement and sorrow to warn newly practicing Witches, Pagans, and Wiccans against some types of love magicke. Messing wiht love spells can screw you up! You'll notice that love/romance spells are the most prevalent spells on the market - people sell them create them anduse them without understanding the full extent of the harme that can come back on them. I once did a spell (in my youth) to draw a man, and it was so powerful that he attacked me. I have been working to stop young people from using these spells in the hopes that they will not hurt others as well as themselves. Please do not attempt to work witchcraft upon any other person. it will only backfire, or worse, work too well. Does witchcraft work? In a word, YES. If you have intersts in it, then please check out your local witchy store, ask the clerk to politely offer you a first-timer's guide on practicing, (a book) and read up before attempting any rituals on your own. Better safe then sorry, eh? Good luck and blessings to you, ~Manda.

Actually..at least in Salem, MA. there were no actual witches hung. They were accused Christians killed because of false accusations by a group a teenage girls who let society jumped at the chance, because they were fanaticals.-And Salem has officially admitted this and has apologized. They never looked in their 20's. If they were old, they looked it. If they were young, they looked it. The fact is..they looked the ages they were. (Life was hard back then.)People do not have the ability to look different ages than they are without plastic surgery. There is no magick at the waving of some piece of wood/a wand. I actually was born into the craft. But it is nothing magical. You see, Wittas (the origin of the word witch) were a group of simple country folks that used to live in England. The men hunted for food first by moon and followed the cycles to know when the light would be best for them to go get meat for their families. Later..as they developed agriculture and planting, the men watched the sun and seasons to know when to plant food and when to harvest. It's nothing more than that. Different plants have different chemicals in them that work to heal illnesses that people get. Wittas/Wiccans just keep this knowledge alive, like the people in the Amazon do..and the tribal people living in Africa do. In fact,many of your pharmaceuticals are actually made into big business from the knowledge of herbs/plants and the scientific chemicals that we keep alive and have learned from our families for centuries. And we don't mind helping at all. In terms of "magick," well the people there were poor and could not afford a doctor if someone became sick or injured..and at that ancient time there were not any doctors yet? So the women/moms of the house tended illnesses by observing which plants in the environment and on their lands, etc..cured which illnesses, or supported the systems of people who had broken bones, etc..They tended the kids, helped in the fields and even delivered the babies when the women were to give birth. It isn't magick..but they also did pray, as many do today. We call the prayers spells? But ..it really is no different than your regular prayer to ask God to help heal; someone, etc..Young people who do not understand can give us a bad name, but..that's the way it goes. They are not true Wittas and outgrow it and become something other. The 10 commandments were given to all people, including witches, to follow, and we do. It was a time before Christ was born and Christians did not exist yet..all people were given the commandments, OK? Jews followed them, witches from around the globe and now/later Christ followers also, the Dali Lama followers from Tibet..everyone!Prayers have differetn names in every country..but we all pray to the same God. Only God had the true secrets. They never did, nor do the Wiccans that practise today, believe in any Satan. Actually, Satan was created by Christians later from the stag/male deer god that Witta people had that the men hunted for meat. Since the goal of the new Christains was to convert Wittas, to make their churches more full and to support their lands and buildings..or the simple country folks, to Christianity, they took the stag god, made him look like a man with horns and a tail and then told the wittas that he was called Satan and if they believed in him, they's go to hell. That is the way it is. Real witches never did and don't now believe in hell. The "witch hunts" were excessively unnecessary and cruel. Nothing but prejudice and violence against innocent rural people/farmers that wanted to live quiet lives came from them. Sadly..even here in the USA, Christians are still against Wiccans/Wittas here and strive to make others believe the witches are evil people. They are no more evil than the Amish, frankly. They would forgive you quicker than most others around and would give you the shirts off ther backs, if you needed one. They are peaceful people. There is no "secret." Why harm people? It's all there to know if you just ask. There is no "what he secret WAS," in your above quote. We still have the info. and want to help out. It isn't evil. It is just..a quiet life where the women heal and the dad's hunt for meats and farm. Incidently..unless you are cooking witches with beef..the word is STAKE? And most witches were actually hung or tossed into rivers to see if they'd float or die by drowning, even in Europe. Please..read and be historically correct, as this other kinda offends and is not nice? I know..the whole thing form the Bible? "Suffer thou not a witch to live?" I have actually read the Bible, althugh I am a born witta, 3 times. (Somemething like that?) That is because the Witch of Endor was called by the spoiled king to talk to a person who had passed away and did that for the king. The king asked a question and the ghost would not give the answer the king wished to hear. But the witch of Endor passes along to the king what was told to her. Funny how the witch was called by the king and was OK then? -But when he did not get the answer he wanted.....THEN he did not want to witch to live, like it was her fault the ghost would not tell what the king wanted! SURE...never blame your own question! And yes..some wittas do believe they can speak to those who have passed. So..do we go after? on-wittas who do that also, like John Edwards? The queen, who has her own psychic? Sylvia Browne? Who? The kind of magick you think a witch/witta or Wiccan can do doesn't really exist. This is 2008. Time to be realistic here. Hope this helps!

I used to, wasn't a big deal. It worked, but I never did anything major. I did mostly colour magic for luck and fortune and faerie magic for finding things. I even did a love spell that worked a little too well(I got molested). I fell out of it mostly out of boredom, partially because I was doing "Wicca" and found out it was a bastardization of real pagan religions, so I took a break to do more research.

The age thing is just a myth. The church and men in power were just trying to get rid of the wise women, the herbalists and the midwives. It was a convinent excuse to steal good land from your neighbor and other such things. But they burn plenty of undeserving women at the stake both in the US and in Europe. I am one who practices Wicca. So you could say I practice witchcraft. I think it works. It drew my love (now husband) to me. There are many, many Wiccans out there, although few would want to talk about it since Wicca is one of those religions that Christianity looks down on. If you really want to learn most about it, then I would suggest getting some books about, there is usually a new age store in every bookstore where they carry such books.

I did start reading books about 6 years ago and I had a lot of stuff on it. I believe it can work but you just better watch out because I have had someone try to put something on me and it came back to them 3 times worse and now they can't eat anything or they get sick. I have found them best thing if you are wanting or needing some kind of spiritual advice is christianity.