We see religion, magic and wisdom in living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it — a world view and a philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft — the Wiccan Way.

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You have probably heard the statement that a Witch can be a Witch without being a Wiccan, and a Pagan may or may not be a Wiccan or a Witch, but a Wiccan is a Wiccan and a Witch both.  Principle #7 gives a nod to that by calling our way of life both Witchcraft and the Wiccan Way.

For those of you who are new to Wicca (and before you ask), I regret to inform you that there is no central text or book you can read entitled The Wiccan Way and endorsed by Wiccans around the world.  As part of the lack of central authority that was mentioned in Principle #6, we also lack central religious pamphlets and propaganda.  The Wiccan Way is about as precise as The Wiccan Who’s-In-Charge — which means, not precise at all. 

As with Principle #6, this is both a strength and a weakness.  No, there’s no one telling you what to do, so you might do it incorrectly, but then again, there’s no one telling you what to do, so you get to do it your own way which is right for you!  It always amuses me when people talk about White Witchcraft and Black Witchcraft because, frankly, there’s so much variance and mixing of this and that, I really have no idea how we’d ever come up with anything but grey anyway! 

Principle #7 is actually my favorite because it emphasizes something very central to the practice of Wicca — regardless of how you choose to practice.  This principle is about the sacredness of living and the juxtaposition of what one believes and what one does as the essence of what it means to be a Witch.

• A Witch doesn’t put their spirituality in a box six days a week only to dress it up and bring it out on Sundays.
• A Witch doesn’t see magick as something they do, but rather a living and breathing current in which they participate.
• A Witch doesn’t see their mundane life as separate from their spiritual one, but rather as the same unified existence.

For a compartmentalized society, this is a huge thing to try and understand.  Many people today have a Work box, a Family box, a Play box, a Religion box, a Spouse box… we divide up our lives according to what we are doing and with whom we are doing it. 

That’s not how Witches live.  Within our lives, we have all the same responsibilities and expectations upon us.  However, instead of moving from role to role and task to task, we honor the sacredness in each moment as part of the whole experience.  For us, living and faith and magick are all inseparable from each other. 

This means there’s no need to go somewhere special to have a religious moment, nor is there a need to fulfill special conditions for something to be magickal.  We are equally engaged in a spiritual moment when we are cooking dinner as when we are helping with a child’s homework as when we are snuggling with our mate at night.  We might choose to do ritual, but those rituals are no more or less sacred to us than doing the dishes when your life is unified with your Path.

This point of view is very different from the modern idea that to be religious one must dress a certain way, go to a certain place, do a certain thing and thus faith becomes part of one’s life.  Witches practice in a way that is radical and yet on the horizon of spiritual evolution.  As mankind begins to make strides towards personal ethos and individual relationship with the Divine, the frontier of spiritual development upon which Witches already live will become settled by more of humanity. 

Witches aren’t the only ones who understand this, however.  The world is waking up quickly to this kind of sacred Now-ness and unification of belief with practice.  But all Witches should realize that they are leading by example, even if they don’t realize it.  Personal relationships with the Divine Spirit outside of the need for mass centralized worship is a huge step in human spiritual evolution.  It’s a step that, once taken, will simultaneously make huge strides for peace between peoples and nations.

Follow-up Questions for Readers:

1.  Do you agree with Principle #7?  Why or why not?

2.  Looking at your life, would you say that your religion, magic and worldview are intertwined as you practice your Craft?

3.  What are some ways that your worldview affects how you interact with the larger world around you?  How are you different from others in a way that you can trace directly back to your faith?

4.  Do you believe that, if everyone had a personal relationship with Deity and lived their beliefs, the world would be a more peaceful place?  Why or why not?  Do you believe it is possible for humanity to attain this?

5.  Principles In Action:  Read Chop Wood, Carry Water or another book that talks about the sacredness of everyday moments.  Next time you are doing chores, see if you can find the sacredness in the task.  What beliefs do you have that you have not found a way to embrace in your daily life (ex. you believe in the God and the Goddess, but do you honor them daily)?  Make a list of traits or beliefs that you embrace in your life and then, make a list of things you do that demonstrate those beliefs.  For example, if gratitude is on your list, do you have a regular time each day that you say “thank you” for what you have?  Principle #7 states that it is not enough to simply believe a thing — Witches turn their beliefs into actions, and this Belief-Into-Action holds the mystery of the path that we walk.

Photo by Eddi 07 (via Flickr).