Beyond the issues of heredity and exposure, faith becomes a matter of personal choice and commitment. While the debate over whether or not it is possible to -choose- what you believe is relevant here, at some point one must make a choice either to act on those beliefs or to live a life devoid of spirituality.

I have never been able to conceive of such an existence; I am, by my very nature, spiritual. I have investigated other Paths, but none has ever come close to having the ring of truth or bringing the personal fulfillment that I have found in the practice of the Craft, the Old Religion, or whatever name you choose to give it.

So why am I a Witch? Because I believe that Deity is immanent, a part of everything. I believe that energy can be raised, manipulated, exchanged, transformed, and directed. I believe that a principle I choose to call magick works, and that there are laws governing how it works, just as there are laws governing chemistry or physics or any other natural process.

Magick is a natural force, to me, and I choose to employ it in my life. I choose to connect with Deity through the cycle of seasons and the elements, through nature and energy. I choose to commune with the eternal through a somewhat mystical channel, not so very different than the way a Christian divines wisdom and guidance through prayer or Scripture reading. I choose to mark the passages of life through celebrations of the Sabbats and Esbats, as has been done since ages past. I choose to take personal responsibility for my actions, thoughts, and words rather than subsribe to some separate judgment, to honor the Deity in everything and everyone above the canonization of mortal religious figures or thought forms. I choose to live life as a gift, and a treasure, full of mystery, magick, and joy, and to ride the wave of Karma as it guides my existence in this plane until such time as I move on to the next.

I am a Witch, and joyfully so; let no one be afraid of the word, for it signifies power, and responsibility, and wisdom. Maiden, Mother, and Crone are within me, and manifest through me to touch the world and the lives around me, and I endeavor always to exercise my Will with discretion, kindness, beneficence, and love.