THE ROTUNDA VOL. LVI1
LONGWOOD COLLEGE, FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1961
NO. 9
Interview:
With A Witch
By JOE JOHNSON "The word 'witch' has always had such a negative connotation that merely mentioning it outside of Halloween or movies tends to start a panic. Actually it is derived from the Anglo Saxon word Wicce Craft or wise craft." That's what Paul Perkins, a senior at I>ongwood College, has to say. And he should know, because Paul is a witch. But a white witch as he is most careful to point out, not a black witch or practicer of black magic and especially he is emphatically 'not a satan worshipper." Paul, a music education major, became involved with witch craft in his early high school days and has recently (about 14 years
ago) joined the church of Wicca, a bonified religion recognized by the Federal Government, whose cornerstone of faith is, you guessed it, witchcraft. "Magic is the base of our religion. The church of Wicca teaches that nature is the source of all power. There are 2 things necessary to utilize this power and these two things are what we call magic. First you must learn the natural laws of the universe and how to apply them in specific cases, second is learning to direct raised and dawn power. Raised power is that energy which comes from our being and the natural world, dawn power is really very interesting and is
more or less the crux for all the power utilized by us. It is the energy stored in our god or messiah concepts. "You see," he continued, "all psychic energy is like matter — it can be neither created nor destroyed, it remains stored in the images and the concepts of gods, messiahs, goddesses, etc., ready to be tapped. To direct raised power one uses the greatest tool that any witch has — his mind. The power is always there, ubiquitous and undifferentiated, ready to be controlled by the transferer which is your mind. In other words your mind applies it and channels it." "What about the potions and incantations that much literature has been dedicated to in the field of witchcraft?" "We use materials such as potions and incantations for ritualistic purposes largely. They are aides or crutches to help focus in, to but you in the right frame of mind to become in rhythm with the pulse of energy that you are working with. When people think of potions they tend to think of such infamous ingredients as eye of the newt, leg of the toad, etc. These materials are fine but so is anything that you could buy from a supermarket. When I was younger I thought you needed horrendous spells from ancient Egypt or the pits of Persia, but it's simply not true, in fact if using these chants make you feel ridiculous or foolish then they won't work. The main thing is to find something you are comfortable with, if it takes repeating 'baseball' 2000 times to get your mind in the right frame then that is what it takes, but saying words like abaca-
A witch entreats the spirits. dabra just won't cut it, to make magic work, it has to be emotional, you have to get involved in it, you can't have anything nagging at you. Be physically satisfied first — eat a large meal, use the bathroom, fool around and then start preparing yourself mentally. It's almost childishly simple to do, so don't have a really heavy attitude towards it, don't start with the idea that intense belief in it is necessary, it's better to have a 'Well, I don't know if this B.S. is going to work or not but I'm going to have a lot of fun trying it' attitude. You can't force your faith in it, the faith will grow after each successful mass or display of magic. The power you are dealing with is a great force, it can be used for good or evil but it is not intrinsically either. It is energy
Photo by Joe Johnson Paul Perkins holding a ritualistic service to prepare the way for magic.
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Pnoto by Joe Johnson plain and simple like electricity except on a different level. Our great principle pertaining to its use is 'and it hurt no one — do what thou wilt.' We are not a negative faith as so many people seem to think, we are not Satan worshippers and we do have something spiritual to offer, just as any other religion. It is a natural simple sincere answer to the question of man's life." Later, I asked Paul to read my mind. He told me I was thinking of something wicked or evil and an underlying voice kept repeating in his mind "hear me, hear me." I told him I was thinking of my girlfriend. He gave me an enigmatic look and said quietly "be careful."