Freedom of Religion

[genkaus]

witch·craft/ˈwiCHˌkraft/
Noun:
The practice of magic, esp. black magic; the use of spells and the invocation of spirits.

Especially black magic? Where the hell did they come up with that nonsense?

And what's a "spell"? That term right there is highly misunderstood and highly debated even among people who claim to practice "witchcraft". Many people who practice witchcraft as a religion don't even like to use the term "spell". They prefer to think in terms of psychic awareness and the orchestration of will via psychic channels. Replace the term "psychic" with "cerebral" and you could almost be a secular atheist and practice witchcraft at the same time.

Invocation of spirits? What does the term 'spirit' even mean to you?

I can call up a spirit anytime I want. But it may not fit your definition of what you require a 'spirit' to be.

Let's look at a simple definition again:

spir·it/ˈspirit/
Noun:
The nonphysical part of a person that is the seat of emotions and character; the soul.

Well, I can certainly call up my own spirit anytime I so desire. And if you are familiar with the concept of the Occultist's Qabalah (which you probably aren't) I can also call up any spirit associated with the Qabalah anytime I so desire.

Are those "spirits' just facets of my very own spirit? Maybe they are, and maybe they aren't. Who's to say? Even I can't say for sure, and I'm the one who's been calling them up!

That's why I'm still an Agnostic Spiritualist. If I could say with absolute certainty that the spirits I invoke are not merely facets of my very own spirit, then I'd be a Gnostic Spiritualist instead of an Agnostic Spiritualist.

But to claim that I deserve no respect simply because I'm open-minded to concepts that can be loosely labeled as "witchcraft", is truly nothing more than your own closed-minded prejudice and conclusion-jumping that I somehow associate "witchcraft" with ideas that you might imagine it should be.

You're imagination of what "witchcraft" should be, and my imagination of what "witchcraft" should be may be like parallel universes and have basically nothing in common at all.

All you're doing is trying to push your ideas of "witchcraft" onto me and and then passing judgement on me based on your ideas of what you think "witchcraft" should be.

That's ridiculous.

The irrationality in witchcraft is that it believes that you can change reality just by willing it. That somehow simple intention (or expression of it), without associated action, can alter reality. This goes against the primary axiom of existence, i.e., existence exists independently of any consciousness. That is why witchcraft is illogical and irrational and anyone believing it works should be treated accordingly.