Few words are as loaded with so many negative connotations as "witch," yet there are Oklahomans people who proudly count themselves as one.
Brooms, cauldrons, wands, cats and altars all play a part in witch rituals, yet they aren't the creepy fetish objects as portrayed in movies and myths. Witches maintain their beliefs are no more unusual than the symbolic consumption of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. As for casting spells, it's nothing more out of the ordinary than what other religions do every night before going to bed.
"If you were looking at a Christian, you would call it praying. If you look at a witch, that would be our spell," said Becca, high priestess of the Silver Serpent Coven.
CASTING SPELLS
Becca said practitioners steer clear of interfering with the free will of others. For instance, a love spell won't hypnotize a hapless guy and force him to fall for someone he otherwise would avoid.
There are no flashy payoffs for spells, either:
" no lightning bolts from wands,
" no enemies turning into frogs,
" no flying monkeys.
Like prayers, the results of spells often are evident only to those watching.
"The very simple definition of a witch is a person who manipulates the energies that exist to their will by thought, word and deed," said Cian, high priest of the Silver Serpent Coven. "Much like Christianity, we have to rely on faith. If we have no faith in what we do, it obviously won't produce." "Charles Martin
