Welcome to Hexenturm, The Witches Tower

The Witches Tower in Idstein, Germany

 

On October 31, 2004, Samhain (Halloween), I had the privilege of flying to Germany and visiting the Witches Tower in Idstein where many of our ancestors were held awaiting trial on the charge of "Witchcraft" centuries ago. Many innocent women were prosecuted, tortured and put to death. Samhain is the very sacred time when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest and contact with those who have crossed over is more probable on this night than on any other throughout the year. At midnight, I quietly honored these women with a chant to the God/Goddess and left red roses as my offering in their memory. This was one of the most meaningful experiences in my spiritual life.

"Hexenturm" in German, means the "Witches Tower", so welcome to my Witches Tower where I share my philosophy, provide information and insight about Wicca, Magick, Witchcraft, Spellcrafting, Ritual, Spirituality and Religion. There are thousands of books and resources out there on all of these subjects, so my comments although addressing the basics are reflective of my perspective, interpretations and knowledge. The Witches Tower offers concrete truth for those seeking knowledge and validates what is already known by others.

 

My Weltanschauung (Philosophy):

My weltanschauung (German) (philosophy) about spirituality and religion is very simple. Most everyone regardless of religion has the same goal, just a different way of getting there. We seek eternal life--whether it be through reincarnation or resurrection. An interfaith community is the means of acknowledging and respecting everyone's background, heritage, traditions, beliefs, religions, etc. and in doing so we find that we are different but very much the same. By honoring and acknowledging our diversity and finding common ground, we can do great things together instead of working against each other or comparing and/or criticizing each others beliefs.

 

The Wiccan Religion, Witches and Witchcraft:

The Wiccan religion, also known as Wicca, is one of the oldest religions in the world. Wicca is nature based and honors the male/female aspect of Diety, with the emphasis being on the female, the Goddess. There are aspects of Diety represented by thousands of Gods and Goddesses worshipped throughout the world over tens of thousands of years, and we call upon anyone of them at any given time to aide us in our magickal workings.

This spiritual path also believes in reincarnation or rebirth. In each lifetime we continue to develop and fulfill our purpose or mission while becoming more ambrosial and Divine like with each life. While awaiting reincarnation after death, our souls dwell in what is known in Wicca as the Summerland.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the pentacle, a circle surrounding a five-pointed star--each point representing the four elements, earth, air, fire, water and the fifth representing Spirit. This is the Witches symbol and is not an indication of evil.

Witchcraft is an ancient tradition of magick and communication with the Divine/Spirit/God/Goddess in the form of rituals and spells. Those who follow Wicca are called Wiccans, and if they practice Witchcraft may refer to themselves as Witches. Some Witches may not follow the Wiccan religion but practice Witchcraft in combination with another path of spirituality. They may also choose not to use the title Witch substituting it with Practitioner of the Craft or something similar. Those who follow Wicca or Witchcraft may be a part of a coven or work alone as a solitary.

Witchcraft is a sacred and serious practice. The actual spell work can be easy or complicated, depending on the Witch, intent, need and desire.

The media, including Merriam Webster Dictionary and Webster's New World Thesaurus, unfortunately associates the word Witchcraft and Witch with satan, the devil, demonology and other negative terms impacting this ancient spiritual practice with much disgrace. Yes, there are those who practice demonology and satanism and "black magick", but they are not Wiccans or Witches, and their path is not associated with Witchcraft.

It is unethical to use magick or cast a spell on another person or persons without their permission--hence the all time favorite love spell. However, the subject of defensive magick continues to be debated due to the Wiccan Rede and the rule of karma--what you send out comes back many times over. In this lifetime, it is necessary to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Does using defensive magick constitute a violation of the Wiccan Rede, or are we risking negative energy returning to us if our lives or well being are threatened? It is a personal decision each of us must carefully and consciously consider and should we take action, we must maintain accountability for those actions--something everyone should do regardless of their spiritual path or religion.

Magick and Ritual:

Do you believe in magick? Isn't wishing on a falling star and birthday candles, throwing a coin into a wishing well, or carrying a good luck charm, not all forms of magick? And aren't observances, rites, ceremonies and customs, rituals we practice everyday? Miracle is defined as a supernatural occurrence, therefore, is a miracle not a form of magick? Do we not have dreams that come true? When we focus our desire as we do when wishing on stars, candles, wells, have faith in a higher power, or listen to our subconscious or inner voice, etc., we use these acts to carry our message out into the Universe and to the Divine power. And sometimes wishes do come true, miracles happen, and our dreams manifest right before our eyes, don't they? If we did not believe in magick, then Disney would be out of business. Disney creations are labeled"make believe" tales. If we believe in something with our entire being and are willing to do the work needed to manifest our desires, then make believe can, does and will become reality.

I'm not going to get into the techniques of spell crafting and magick. I will say that as far as timing, personnally for me, the best things in life happen at midnight, otherwise known as the Witching Hour. There are a "gazillion" books, internet sites, publications, resources, etc. with an even more infinite number of spells, rituals and how to create them for every need, desire, purpose, etc. you can think of. Whether or not all these spells or magickal techniques and approaches work, can only be validated by personal experience (a subject I'm in the process of researching with my current book project). Regardless of how you practice magick--traditionally using the correspondences and ancient concepts or create your own form of magick applying new techniques that are more scientific and modern, is entirely up to the individual. This subject can be debated among seasoned Witches and Mages forever. This is my thought, if we approached life with an attitude of "we've always done it this way" (addressing traditional Witchcraft and Magick), then our world would have never evolved into the complex and mazed cosmos that it is today.

What I have discovered is that we are all magickal beings with abilities way beyond our imagination, regardless of our study, experiments, spell formulas, structured rituals, etc. Magick is all around us. We have only to acknowledge its presence. Despite the media's destruction of the Craft, the recent remake of "Bewitched" includes a line delivered by Nicole Kidman, Samantha, that actually sums it up, "Something magical happened all by itself".

What I See

As a society, we are evolving and becoming more aware of and acknowledging our connection with Divine power, the existence and activity of the supernatural, our psychic abilities, communicating with those who have crossed over, using magick, etc. demonstrated more and more by the media with shows such as Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Supernatural, Charmed, Buffy, and Harry Potter. And let's not forget the realities such as Ghost Hunter or the Scariest Places on Earth. Are these shows fantasy or make believe or is the media a reflection of who we are and what we are becoming? I believe the latter.

The practice of Magick is being approached more scientifically, using our natural mind, body and spirit to manifest what we seek and need, applying more of ourselves and taping into those abilities I have noted and have no doubt exist. These are magickal times people. Imagine what we can do.....and then do it.

Living the magickal life,

Sage NightStar