By Durwydd MacTara
b) It is the use of differing god forms, of differing
ethnic sources or periods, which is the basis of many of
the differences between the various Traditions of the
Craft. Each Tradition uses the forms, and thus the names,
which to that Tradition best express and awaken an
understanding of the force represented, according to the
areas of emphasis of the Tradition.
c) Because we know that differing names or
representations are but expressions of the same divine
principles and forces, we require our members to swear
that they will never mock the names by which another
honors the Divine, even though those names be different
from and seemingly less expressive than the names and god
forms used by our Tradition (for to the members of
another Tradition, using it's names, ours may easily seem
equally less expressive).
8. A Witch refuses to allow her/himself to be corrupted by the great guilt neuroses which have been foisted on humanity in the name of the Divine, thus freeing the self of the slavery of the mind. The Witch expresses responsibility for her/his actions, and accepts the consequen- ces of them; guilt is rejected as inhibiting to one's self-actualiza- tion, and replaced by the efforts of the Witch to obey the teachings of harmlessness, responsibility for the consequences of one's actions, and the goal of actualizing the full powers of the individual.
a) We refuse to believe that a human being is born
innately sinful, and recognize the concepts of sin and
guilt are tremendously inhibiting to the human potential;
the consequences of the Law of Cause and Effect, called
karma by some, are not punishment, but the recurrences of
situations and their effects because the individual has
not gained the Wisdom needed to handle or avoid such
situations.
b) There is no heaven except that which we ourselves make
of our life on Earth, and likewise there is no hell
except the effects of our unwise actions. Many of us believe
in a "waiting place" sometimes called Summerland where we rest,
recuperate and prepare for our next sojurn in the earth. "Death
is not followed by punishment or reward, but by life and the
continuing personal evolution of our human potential.
c) One cannot damn the divine in oneself; one can,
however, cut oneself off from it through the rejection of
wisdom and a refusal to strive for self-realization.
This cutting off does not lead to personal suffering in
"hell", for there is no Self to suffer if the tie to
one's own divinity has been severed; what remains is
merely an empty shell, a "personality" or thought-form
devoid of it's ensouling Spark of the Divine Fire.
