Witchcraft religion, also known as Wicca, is a modern pagan religious movement that emerged in the mid-20th century. Despite its association with witchcraft, Wicca is not about casting spells or performing magic in the traditional sense. Instead, it is centered around the worship of nature and the belief in a divine power that manifests in various forms. Wicca draws inspiration from pre-Christian pagan beliefs and practices, such as reverence for the Earth, the inclusion of both male and female deities, and the celebration of seasonal festivals known as Sabbats. Many Wiccans follow a belief system that is based on the worship of a mother goddess and a horned god, representing the feminine and masculine aspects of divinity. Central to Wiccan beliefs is the concept of magic, which is seen as a tool for personal empowerment and spiritual growth.
Soon enough, they had to face the fact that there was no game to be found.
The ground was soft, the mud malleable, so tracks should be clearly visible, but the sheer amount of water that had drenched the earth had washed them all away. The ground was soft, the mud malleable, so tracks should be clearly visible, but the sheer amount of water that had drenched the earth had washed them all away.
Central to Wiccan beliefs is the concept of magic, which is seen as a tool for personal empowerment and spiritual growth. Rather than attempting to control or manipulate others, Wiccans use magic to bring about positive change in their own lives, promote healing, and connect with the divine. Rituals and spells are performed with careful intention and often involve the use of symbols, herbs, and candles to amplify spiritual energy.
Metal magical windkoll
“We wait out the storm.”
“Why?” she asked bluntly.
“Do you really want to go out in this? It would have to be on foot,” he reminded her. “The dragons can’t handle weather like this.”
“Of course I know that,” she snapped, “but I can’t help wondering if we should go to the castle and inform the king and queen about the giant. What if there are more of them out there? If they come across children… or a family… Not everyone is a dragon rider, and not everyone is trained to fight. There are plenty who will be defenseless against one.”
“If we leave, it should be to press on. Something clearly isn’t right,” he insisted.
Nicai sighed. She couldn’t deny that. The dragon deaths, the storm, the return of giants…
“Where did the giant come from?” she murmured.
“I don’t know, and it is concerning, but the storm is already delaying us. I know we could swing by the castle on the way to our destination, but if we stick more to the west, we can avoid the castle and the jungle to the east. It’ll be faster.”
“Not fast enough on foot.” She leaned the back of her head against the wall. “If you’re right, and this storm isn’t natural, who knows how long it’ll last.”
“If it’s magical, maybe we shouldn’t go out in it,” he said.
“And splitting up from our dragons isn’t smart, not after the attack.”
“It’s not worth the risk,” he agreed.
“It’s not as if we could travel fast in that anyhow. So be it. We’ll wait, but the moment the storm breaks—”
“We’re gone,” he confirmed.
Unfortunately, they weren’t gone anytime soon. The storm lasted for an entire week, and although Nicai had brought along food for their quest, they had run out a few days ago. Before they could head out for Smoldering Slopes, they all needed to eat. The dragons were too weak to fly a long distance considering how little food they had consumed in recent days.
Without a word, the dawn of the day the storm finally broke, Koll and Nicai armed themselves and went out to hunt. The ground was soft, the mud malleable, so tracks should be clearly visible, but the sheer amount of water that had drenched the earth had washed them all away.
Nicai found a burrow that should have housed a family of hares, but the animals were gone. Koll focused more on the trees than the grounds, but he never attacked, never even made a move to unsheathe his sword.
Soon enough, they had to face the fact that there was no game to be found.
“What should we do now?” Koll asked.
Nicai climbed onto a boulder and glanced around. They hadn’t made it far from the Scarlet Peaks at all when the storm had assaulted them. As discouraging as that was, it also meant the town of Abingdon was nearby.
“We’ll have to buy food or trade for it somehow,” Nicai said. “Come on.”
“We should’ve asked the king and queen for coins,” Koll grumbled.
“If you’re that worried about your pockets, you can ask them for a reward once we’re done,” Nicai said dryly.
“We should be compensated, don’t you think?” he asked as he moved ahead of her because of his longer stride.
She could walk as fast as anyone, and she easily adjusted her speed to match his gait. “I think I’ll be happy enough to have stopped the dragons from dying. I don’t need anything more than that.”
“Of course you don’t. Nicai the nauseating nonconformist would prefer to do nothing more than fly around all day and pretend her dragon is the fastest who ever soared through the sky.”
“And Koll the knavish kvetch likes to think he deserves anything and everything,” she countered.
“Anyone embarking on a quest—”
“Solely to be rewarded should never have taken that quest up in the first place,” she said firmly.
“I’m a complex person, Nicai. It’s possible to take a quest on for noble and not-so-noble reasons. Do not act as if you are better than I am. You’re just different, living with your dragon, refusing to spend time with other people…”
“I don’t refuse to spend time with other people,” she protested.
“No? When my parents died, I clung to my friends. I turned to them. You turned away from everyone except for Murro.”
Nicai inhaled sharply. “We aren’t going to talk about my parents.”
“And how they died at the place we’re going to?”
She reacted without thinking, grabbing his wrist with her left hand as her right came up to slap him clear across the face. Her palm within her gauntlet stung from the force of the blow, and his cheek was a scarlet red when she lowered her hand.
Without a word, she turned her back to him and marched on toward Abingdon. She had nothing at all to say to the likes of one Koll Hawk.
The town eerily reminded Nicai of the fields they had just crossed to reach here. As the fields were empty of game, Abingdon was empty of people, yet Nicai couldn’t help feeling as if she were being watched as she sloshed down the cobblestone street. Somewhere behind her, Koll remained in his armor, but Nicai hated the idea of exposing hers to so much moisture. Yes, the storm had stopped, but her pants and tunic would never become dry at this point, and the white top was hardly white at all anymore, almost as dark as her pants. If she were to put her armor back on, she feared she would rust it from the inside out.
As Nicai passed a house, lightning flashed close enough that Nicai could see through the glass window. Eyes were fixed on her, and then the curtain shut.
The dragon rider paused before pressing onward. Up ahead was a tavern. She couldn’t make out the name on the hanging wooden sign until she stood right beside it. The Righteous Moon. Interesting name.
Nicai pushed open the door. The tavern looked similar to most of the other ones she had ever entered before, with a small table for the hostess right by the door. Stairs led upstairs to rooms most likely, and to the left were tables and benches as well as a stage for a bard or performer to delight the crowd.
Only there was no crowd. There was hardly a soul in the place.
A bored-looking wench perked up the moment Nicai entered, or maybe because of Koll whose footsteps echoed behind Nicai on the wooden floor.
“We need some food,” Koll said.
“Not just for us,” Nicai started.
“We can get theirs after we eat,” he said smoothly, stepping around her. “Do you think you can handle a pair of starving travelers?”
“I think we can manage,” the wench said. She giggled.
A man with gruff features and a dark frown, his features similar enough to the wench’s that Nicai assumed them to be father and daughter, poked his head out from a back room.
The wench stiffened and straightened. “Sit anywhere you like.”
The man made a point of coughing.
“Oh. Ah, you might have to… You… Go on upstairs. Find a spare room. Most all of them are empty, unfortunately. Get clean… dry… and something hot will be waiting for you.” The wench smiled at Koll, ignoring Nicai entirely.
“Do you have any—”
“You’ll get what we have,” the man said, cutting Nicai off.
She nodded. The lack of game had to be hurting the town too.
Nicai headed for the stairs. Koll lingered with the wench a moment, murmuring to her before following Nicai. She knocked on the first door, paused, heard nothing, and opened the door.
“You should probably just go back downstairs and ask Juniper if you can buy some of her clothes.”
“An off the shoulders top with a corset and a long skirt… Yes, that’s just the kind of attire that a dragon rider should wear.” Nicai shook her head, rolled her eyes, and shut the door in his face.
She leaned against it and closed her eyes. Why was he talking to her, and why was she talking to him? He infuriated her like no other, and she had forgotten that he had lost his parents too. Still, that didn’t mean that she should be forced to be friendly with him, especially since he tried to claim the giant kill as his own.
“What do you want to wager he’s going to tell Juniper all about it?” she muttered to herself.
The basin in the room was filled with cold water, but Nicai splashed her face anyhow. There wasn’t much else in the room beside the small vanity the basin sat on and a bed. No trunk filled with clothes or supplies.
There in the corner was a small firepit. It would have to do. Nicai set the kindling ablaze with a murmured “Incendium.”
She stood by the fire, feeling warmth for the first time since she and Koll had left the cave. Autumn was here. The festival would be starting soon, and a part of Nicai wished they would be finished with their quest after the merriment.
Which made her pause to reflect Koll’s words. Maybe she had become a bit of a recluse, but were there not more terrible things in life than wishing to be with one’s dearest friend and companion?
Once she was as dry as she was going to become, Nicai headed back downstairs. Koll was already there, eating a bread bowl. She would have sat at another bench, but the second bread bowl was next to him. Still, she slid it down the table some before sitting.
Juniper eyed Nicai, and Nicai met her gaze, daring the wench to say anything about her attire. Instead, Juniper said, “I was just telling Koll how brave you must be to be traveling after that storm.” She shuddered and rubbed her arms.
“Brave? Not truly,” Nicai said. She ripped off a chunk of the bread and dipped it into the soup resting inside the bowl. A bit watery but there was a hint of cheese at least. No meat that Nicai could see but a decent amount of vegetables at least.
“Yes,” Juniper said earnestly. She glanced over her shoulder, toward the door her father had appeared earlier. He wasn’t there, so Juniper sat down across from them, leaning forward. “Everyone here is so scared.”
“You’re living in fear?” Nicai asked.
Juniper nodded. “We live far from the castle, and we don’t truly have any protection.”
“Protection from what?” Koll inquired, meeting Nicai’s gaze.
“I don’t leave the tavern much,” Juniper admitted, “so I haven’t seen anything for myself, but so many people have mentioned it that it has to be true.”
“What has to be?” Nicai pressed.
“There are whispers about creatures flying in the sky other than dragons.” Juniper sat back. “I forgot to get you both something to drink. I will return.”
Koll waited until Juniper disappeared in the back before asking, “What do you think they’re seeing?”
“I don’t know, but I wonder when the first creature was spotted.”
“Good point. It might be related to everything else.”
“Not that we can connect anything other than just supposing and speculating.” Nicai shook her head. The soup was lukewarm but tasty enough, and she ate quickly.
Juniper brought them both watered-down spiced wine and hesitated. “I have some clothes—”
“A dragon rider can’t wear a skirt,” Nicai said without looking up from her meal.
“Maybe you should try on a skirt,” Koll said.
Both Nicai and Juniper glowered at him for different reasons.
“I do not need a skirt,” Nicai reiterated.
“I do have a pair of trousers,” Juniper offered.
“Just one pair? I don’t want to take your only set.”
“Please. Let me go and fetch a shirt and the trousers for you," she insisted as she stood. "Koll told me about how you both slew a giant."
Nicai eyed him, shocked he gave her any credit.
Juniper rushed away. She returned in a few moments with dark pants and a darker shirt. Nicai accepted them graciously and rushed back to the room she had used earlier. When she returned to the tavern area, a fresh bread bowl was waiting for her.
Not about to complain, Nicai dug in when the door slammed open. A man stood there, heaving and gasping for breath. He glanced around wildly before settling on Koll and Nicai.
“You, strangers, you brought it here.”
Nicai lifted her eyebrows. “Brought what here, sir?”
“Don’t sir me.” He wagged a finger at her. “The giant.”
“What the blazes,” Koll muttered. He leapt to his feet.
Nicai did likewise. “You two, make sure everyone stays indoors."
She didn’t wait around to hear if they would comply or not. Nicai was too busy chasing after Koll out the door.
Sure enough, standing only a few doors down was another giant. He was even uglier than the first, with a large bump above his right eye. He was also hunched over slightly yet remained taller than the buildings.
“Incendium,” Nicai cried, pointing her staff at him. A funnel of fire streamed out of her staff straight for the giant.
He exhaled, and most of the fire was snuffed out. The light sparks that hit him hardly affected him. The giant threw back his head and laughed, the sound deep and booming, so very loud that Nicai wondered that if they were closer to the mountainside, the noise would cause a small rockslide.
Before Nicai or Koll could react, the giant swatted at Nicai. She jumped backward, avoiding the blow, but when the giant brought his hand back, this time, he smacked Koll’s arm, the one holding his sword.
Koll staggered back and muttered a curse.
“Are you all right?” Nicai cried.
“Don’t worry about me.”
But lightning flashed, revealing this his armor was severely dented. The metal had to be digging and most likely cutting into his skin, but Koll was doing his best to appear unaffected. Somehow, he was still holding his sword yet.
“Use your wind,” Koll suggested. “Unda!”
A stream of water poured out of his staff.
“Ventum,” Nicai added, guiding the water. Some went into the giant’s mouth, but she guided it higher, to his nose.
The giant staggered back, holding up his hands to block the stream of the water, but Koll only shouted, “Unda!” again. The increased water combined with her wind soon had the giant coughing and sputtering. He staggered and started to fall, careening to land onto a building.
“Ventum,” Nicai and Koll both screamed, and their wind was just strong enough to push the giant enough that he didn’t end up collapsing the building after all.
“Is it dead?” a man asked, coming out from a building across the street.
“I think so, but…” Nicai climbed onto the giant’s ankle and walked up his leg. As many more people crowded around them, Nicai raised her sword above her head and then plunged it down. It scrapped against ribs until it slipped between some and punctured his heart. When she pulled her blade out, blood and water both poured out from the wound. “He’s dead.”
“You’re heroes,” a young girl exclaimed as Nicai jumped off the giant’s chest.
“The lass is right.” Juniper’s father crossed over and shook Koll’s hand. “Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
Koll exchanged a glance with Nicai.
Before he could ask for something they didn’t need, Nicai blurted, “We need enough food to feed two dragons who are close to starving. Oh, and help bringing the food to them. They’re a little weak from being famished.”
“And nothing else,” Nicai said, fixing Koll with a hard glare.
He gritted his teeth and then nodded. “And food for our journey,” he then said.
Nicai sighed. Of course he had to find a way to get the last word, but even she couldn’t deny that additional food and even supplies would be a boon.
But she felt awkward accepting their tokens and gifts. She hadn’t done anything more than what she had been trained to do, but how was it that there was an entire town that didn’t have a dragon rider? How could they be so unprotected? What if another giant came along? She and Koll had to continue on. They couldn’t be their defenders, not permanently.
Worse, they weren’t the heroes the people hailed them as.
At least we aren’t yet. Nicai hoped to one day earn that distinction, but considering the storm and the numerous fights so far plus the darkness the prophecy spoke of, Nicai didn’t see their quest ending anytime soon.
As the villagers continued to gather supplies and food for them, Nicai dragged Koll to the town’s blacksmith.
The man, covered in ashes and soot, took one look at Koll and abandoned the anvil and hammer he was using to mold a blade.
“What happened to ye?” he asked, his voice raspy.
“A giant,” Koll said. “I…”
“I know what ye need.” The blacksmith grunted.
He stepped around his workplace to stand beside Koll and twisted his arm this way and that.
“I can try to yank it off,” he said, “but if it’s cut into the skin…”
“It is,” Koll said through gritted teeth.
“I can try to cut the rerebrace, but I don’t want to risk cutting you. I can’t tell how thick this be.”
“Do whatever you have to do,” Koll said.
Nicai said nothing at all, hovering nearby, not liking how pallor his face was. Normally, Koll’s skin was sun-kissed and bronzed, but now his coloring was rivaling that of freshly fallen snow.
The blacksmith removed Koll’s gauntlet and then his vambrace that protected his forearm. Next was the rerebrace, the dented armor piece that covered his upper arm, but Nicai watched in horror as blood already dripped from beneath the chunk of twisted metal.
“Do not move,” the blacksmith warned. “Ye’ll only be makin’ it worse if ye do.”
Koll nodded grimly. “Be quick about it.”
The blacksmith eyed the rerebrace and tugged on the top of it. Koll let out a hiss.
“Can ye handle this?” the blacksmith demanded.
“I can.” Koll nodded, but he looked a little shaky to Nicai.
The blacksmith yanked on the rerebrace from the bottom. Koll gritted his teeth, eyes wide. On the second tug, blood trickled out of the corner of Koll’s mouth. He had bit his tongue so hard he was bleeding.
Nicai found a burrow that should have housed a family of hares, but the animals were gone. Koll focused more on the trees than the grounds, but he never attacked, never even made a move to unsheathe his sword.
Wicca places a strong emphasis on personal responsibility, ethical behavior, and interconnectedness with the natural world. Many Wiccans adhere to the Wiccan Rede, which states, "An it harm none, do what ye will." This essentially means that as long as one's actions do not cause harm to others, they are free to pursue their desires and interests. Witchcraft religion has faced significant misconceptions and stereotypes throughout history, largely due to its association with witchcraft and the occult. However, Wicca is a recognized religion in many countries, and its practitioners are protected by laws that safeguard their right to practice their faith freely. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in Wicca and witchcraft, particularly among younger generations. Many are drawn to its focus on environmentalism, personal empowerment, and its rejection of traditional hierarchical structures. As a result, the Witchcraft religion continues to evolve and adapt to modern times, attracting new followers who seek a spiritual path that aligns with their values and beliefs..
Reviews for "Witchcraft and Astrology: Understanding the Connection between Planetary Influences and Magick."
1. Sarah - 1 star - I found "Witch craft religion" to be nothing more than a confusing and nonsensical read. The author seemed to jump from one idea to another without any clear structure or reasoning. The lack of research and evidence also left much to be desired. Overall, I was extremely disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to others.
2. John - 2 stars - While "Witch craft religion" had an interesting premise, I felt that the execution fell flat. The writing style was overly verbose and repetitive, making it difficult to follow the main points. Additionally, the author's biased and unsubstantiated claims detracted from the validity of the arguments presented. I was hoping for a more objective and well-researched exploration of witchcraft, but unfortunately, this book did not live up to my expectations.
3. Emily - 1 star - "Witch craft religion" was a complete waste of time for me. The author seemed more interested in pushing their own agenda than providing any meaningful insights into witchcraft. The lack of proper citations and references also raised doubts about the credibility of the information presented. I would strongly advise against reading this book if you're looking for a balanced and informative exploration of witchcraft as a religion.