Orthopraxicalifragilisticexpialidocious

British Traditional Witchcraft (BTW) is “Orthopraxic.” What that means is that it’s not what we believe that counts, it’s what we do. In fact, what we believe varies widely. I’ve met witches who consider the gods to be thoughtforms, like Dream and Death and their siblings in the Sandman comics. Some witches are atheists, who think that modern science will eventually discover why witchcraft works. Some witches belief in a specific pantheon of gods, like Hindu or Egyptian. There is a wide range of theological beliefs within Wicca. It is not “Orthodoxic,” in that there is no belief required, no leap of faith.

What we share is a distinct set of rituals. What a witch thinks about faith and gods and magic is his own business. The content of the rituals he performs on full moons and sabbats is what makes him BTW.

That’s not to say that we don’t discuss our opinions on these things, we do. Our coven gets together on a weekly basis, and much of what that gathering consists of is discussion of all our various opinions and beliefs. Witches have all sorts of different reasons for holding beliefs – fact, faith, omen, meditation, visit from the gods.

In some ways, this way of doing things makes us less like a “religion” and more like a martial art, or a ritual dance. Sometimes art can go much deeper than theology because each person projects their own life experiences, their own deeper soul. We believe that no one has the right answers for everyone. No one can tell you what the meaning of a dance is, except yourself. When we expand that to the endless mysterious dance of the universe, it becomes an even greater truth.

I practice orthopraxic Wicca because I’ve learned that looking into the universe of my body, soul and mind gives me a unique and personal view of the world. We dance the same dance together, but we each find within it our own meaning.