Conference hydra::dejavu

Also,

What do you call the ability to pick up 'vibes' from inanimate objects?

What do you call the ability to know exactly where the visually hidden
radar traps are?

What do you call the ability to know when your mate is locked out of
the office when you are across town?

thanks

Alison

Re .0, .1

The idea of character-at-first-glance is a form of intuition.

Magnifying others' feelings is empathy.

Picking up "vibes" is wimpishly called "sensitivity."

If you see radar traps before you know they're there, it might be precog-
nition.

When your mate is in trouble at a distance and you know it, it's usually
a form of telepathic resonance.

"White witch" means someone who professes to be a witch but whose actions
are for good rather than evil.  "Withg harm towards none" is part of the Wiccan
Creed (the Saxon-derived form of witchcraft).  There are several forms of
witch; Bonewits lists about seven different _types_; and while some witches
are supposed to practice magic, practicing magic doesn't necessarily make
one a witch ("sorcerers" do magic a different way, for instance).  Normally,
witches work in a group known as a coven (same root as co[n]ven[tion]);
these collectively focus their energies to attain a goal.  White witches
generally are nonChristian; usually Pagan or Neopagan, worshipping gods
such as the Greaco-Roman or Norse pantheons.

"Black witches" (or "black magic," for that matter) are involved in doing
evil.  The witches who reputedly derive their powers from dealing with
Satan are of this variety, but black witchcraft need not restrict itself
to bad Judeo-Christians.  The tribal witch doctor who kills an enemy
through a curse is also practicing a form of black witchcraft.

The actual derivation of the word "witch" is open to question.  Some say
it comes from an ancient wird meaning "wise one"; others,, from an ancient
word meaniing "bent" or "crooked."  Witches generally accept only the first
derivation.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

N.B. To some, "warlock" is supposed to mean "male witch."  Among most
practicing witches, the term for a male witch is "male witch."

-S

RE .2

QUESTION?  ARE ALL WHITE WITCHES PAGAN OR NON-CHRISTIAN....AND THE REFERENCE
IN THE BIBLE "SUFFER A WITCH NOT TO LIVE" ....OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES
IS THAT MEANT FOR ALL WITCHES BLACK OR WHITE?????  HAVE ALWAYS BEEN CURIOUS.
I KNOW SOME WHITE WITCHES BUT NOT WELL ENOUGH TO APPROACH THEM WITH THAT 
QUESTION.

ADDIE

According to Medieval scholars, "Thou shalt not sd
                                                 ^uffer a witch to live"
did _not_ mean that one should kill witches.  In the spitrit of the time,
it meant that the witch (being a nonbeliuever) could not participate in
the Eucharist; hence, they could never receive the Life (or Life Eternal).

Actually, there is some indication in the Bible that there are Judeo-
Christian white witches (the best example being the Witch of Endor).
The witches we hear most about are the Satanic kind who renounce Christ
in order to gain their powers, so if they're not Christian, they're ex-
Christian.

Certainly a black witch wouldn't actually partake Communion; nor would a
Pagan witch.

I don't know any witches personally, but I suspect that if they're of a
Pagan bent, the question would be irrelevant to them.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

I've always heard that picking up "vibes" from on object is called
psychometry.

Realizing your mate is locked out of somewhere is called "finding his keys
in your purse"  :-).

I have another question.  What do you call it when you get (good) vibes from
reading someone's notes without even knowing where that person is?  I don't
think it's just words.

Tom

I have been studing Wicca for about 1 year now.  It seems that the terms
"white", "gray", and "black" refer to intents to harm others or for greedy
personal gain.  White refers to peaceful and kindly actions with what is thought
to be the highest motives and morals.  Gray refers to pratcioners who live
between the white and black stereotypes.  Black refers to Wiccians who for any
number of reasons take things/problems into their own hands and deal with them
directly.

Since Wicca is a very secreative faith and no real statistics are available I
would guess that most persons start off either white or gray then progress into
whatever area they think serves them best (that should start an argument alone).
This would include staying white or gray also.  In no way do these terms 
provide an indicator of how "christian" an individual is.  This is because 
there is no "Christian God" to speak of and as such there is no "Christian
Devil" either.  All events are viewed as parts of natural cycles.  Gods and 
Goddesses are viewed as the personifing of natural forces.  Conversely, Satanist
can never be considered Witchs because they still cling to the _Jehovah/Lucifer_
dialogue (which I think is pretty strange).

My impression is that you are becoming more aware of the forces around you.
Indeed your adventure continues.  Enjoy.

                              Mikie,  Co. Sp. 

Ps. Please feel free to correct me if needed.

In re. to .4

I believe that the witch of Endor was neither Jew nor Christian.  In the
second case Samuel was the King who met with the "witch" because he couldn't
get the answer he wanted out of the prophets.  This was entirely before Christ.
In the first case she must have been a Pagan of some form living in land 
occupied by the Nation of Israel.  I rather doubt that she was a witch!  Any
nonbeliever who demonstrated power was called a witch by the medeviel church.
The fate of a discovered witch was usually a public stoning to death.
I don't know what the Hebrew word is but I suspect that it was translated as
witch by translators after the time of the fall of the Roman empire.  The terms
white, gray and black had no significiance at that time.  These people were just
nonbelievers of a state religion.  (This should make us think too.)

All witchs are Pagan or Neo-Pagan.  I heartly agree that the question of some
witchs being "christian" is irrelevant.  The churches cannot abide a Nature
Religion because they see nature as evil or at least tainted.  The Wiccians see
the churchs as antagonistic (to put it mildly).  The two are as different as
apples and sunbeams.  Also please don't confuse Witches with Cabballist who may
have existed as sorcers in that time.

To the originater of this note... If you want to talk to the Witches you know
about, just approach them discreatly.  If you get a brush off then go talk to
someone else.  A balanced Wiccian will probably talk to you in a discrete 
mannor.  A few words of caution..  If you are wanting to get in touch with a 
coven you may have some problems.  They want to stay private and out of sight.
Also there are many more people who want into a coven then there are covens to
handle them.  Lastly.. different covens have different perspectives on life and
how the covens are to run.  It is entirely possible to find yourself in a coven
with a bossy priestess.  That could be a mess.  The statement "Let the buyer
beware," is true in this case.

                            Mikie,  Co. Sp.  

			[RE .3]:  I have heard that the Scriptures are more
		accurately translated as, "Thou shalt not suffer a *poisoner*
		to live."
				<_Jym_>

RE .2
         
As someone who was raised in the Wicca faith (although this isn't quite my
current faith) let me take a stab at this one.

I agree with Mike on the subject of wicca.  To answer you question about
whether or not all white witches are Pagan or Non-Christian the answer is
a non equivocal YES.  Wicca is a religion - seperate from the Judeo - Christian
religion.

And yes, it does tend to be a secretive type of thing, but if you know some
white witches go ahead and talk to them about it discreetly.  I'm sure you
one that won't give you the brush off if approached in the right way.

Also if you have any more questions and don't wish to post here go ahead
and send Mail.

Hope this has been helpful.

/Kathleen

Re .6, .7:
>All witchs are Pagan or Neo-Pagan. ...

Sorry to step on some people's beliefs, but the statement just isn't accurate.
_Wiccan_ witches are either Pagan or Neopagan; Satanic witches (which do exist)
are almost exclusively Christian (and evil, for that matter).  Famtrad witches
usually are Christian, though they extend their activities to special forces.

> ... Also, please don't confuse Witches with Caballist who may
>have existed as sorcers in that time.

I certainly know the difference between the two.  The Qabbalist (another correct
spelling) operates in a Tree-of-Life model derived from various aspects of The 
Creator, which a Wiccan would be likely to say doesn't exist because of the pre-
mise that the Judeo-Christian God, which forms the basis of the Tree isn't sup-
posed to exist in their eyes.  Whereas the Wiccan believes she or he is operat-
ing from natural godforces, the Quabbalist feels that he or she is operating
on forces that underlie the universe itself.  Neither may be totally right; nei-
ther may be 100% wrong.  There is a relativity on these things.

Re the point of the Witch of Endor, please note I said the Bible _hinted_ at
the existence of witches.  My observation on the "Thou shalt not suffer a witch
to live" instruction still stands: it was an instruction to the priests of the
time not to administer Holy Communion to witches, not an order to stone them
to death!  Please not also that amonfg tghge various factions of the splintered
Christian church (after Luther, et al.), the various sects managed to persecute
each other as handily as they persecuted Pagan relligions.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

    I've always called knowing where the hidden radar traps are:
    
    ** FORTUNATE **
    
    Dave

    
      As to sensing the radar traps ahead:  do you possibly have a gold
    filling and a silver filling in proximity to one another in your
    mouth?  If so, you may be functioning as a low-level RF receiver
    without consciously realizing it.  At least that theory has been
    put forth in some strange stuff I read a long time ago...
    
    

    re .12
    
    a gold crown (enamel covered though) right between 2 silver fillings...
    however, i could sense the radar traps before i got the gold (it
    was a silver filling first.
    
    ajn
    

    Re: .7, .10
    
    Perhaps someone else can clear this up, but the only thing I've
    read on the subject of Qaballah hints that the main thrust of this
    study began in the 15th or 16th century, A.D., which would make
    its (symbolic) mention in the pre-Christian writings moot.
    My only source for this information is hardly definitive:
    	James Michener's "The Source"

    re .14:
    
    "Main thrust?"  It's a bit more complicated than that.
    
    Qabbalah evolved from an initial Jewish and Gnostic set of traditions,
    with some of the earliest aspects contemperaneous with Jesus, but
    with the two most important texts the _Sepher Yetzirah_, apparently
    written in Babylonia somewhere between the Third and Sixth Centuries,
    and the _Sepher ha-Zohar, the bulk of which was written in Aramaic
    in Spain in the latter part of the 13th Century.  _Yetzirah_ was
    written in Hebrew.                                    
    
    Some aspects of the Qabballah paralleled some alchemical studies,
    and the whole complex was adopted by Christian students of the occult.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
    

RE: .14
    
    To answer slightly more directly than in .15.  The Qaballahism is
    believed to be a very old *oral* mystic tradition, exactly how old
    is in dispute (the Qaballaists claim it goes back to before the
    "Fall").
    
    It is not a static body of knowledge/belief but something which
    is under continual evolution -- at various rates and with various
    amounts of visibility at various times.  True Qaballahists say that
    what is written down, and therefore publicly known, is only a very
    small part of the Qaballah itself.
    
    A Jewish mystic tradition, which later developed into what we now
    call the Qaballah, certainly existed in "pre-Christian" times. 
    It certainly had features in common with "modern" Qaballahsism,
    although as a mostly secret tradition we can only guess at most
    of it.
    
    			Topher