Seshen wrote:

Common Statements: "Witches don't believe in Satan. There are no evil witches. Real witches don't curse or otherwise hurt anyone."

Discuss.

Witch is a broad spectrum word. Religious Witches by and large do not believe in Satan.
They certainly do not follow Satan. That would be Satanist, Different religion all together.

Most WItches do not preform curses Since most believe in the law of return and also Because most Witches do not want to hurt anyone. They wish to be of benifit to the world or at the very least not harmful to it.

But like all the rest of society Witches are still people, Human beings with all the feelings and behaviors. So ocasionally there are people practicing Witchcraft that are not honourable.
But that is the same for all religions. there are good and bad in every walk of life.
Witchcraft is no exception.
That is not to say that a good Witch will not use protection magick, which is not a curse and if done correctly does not hurt anyone. Not even the one it is defending against.

Peace to all

lil_lamb wrote:

hmm. well maybe wiccan witches don't believe in satan and don't hex. but in the carribean, where my family is from, i would say the obeah men made a good trade in curses and talked about the devil all the time.

This is why I said most not all. I myself am not Wiccan never have been. Witches in the traditional Celtic sense are healers, not people that do harm. I fall into the healers catagory. My heritage is Celtic it works.

Of course there are those who work different kinds of magick. However Magickal tradition all over the globe vary tremendously  They are forms of Witchcraft, but I am refering to religious Witches. Particularly Celtic heritage and reconstructionist Religions.

Many traditions and religions have blended with magick the world over and they have very different codes of conduct

And there is plenty of hurt and harm in the world for balance with someone who chooses not to cause harm

Peace to all

Seshen wrote:

Common Statements: "Witches don't believe in Satan. There are no evil witches. Real witches don't curse or otherwise hurt anyone."

Discuss.

First in regards to the Satan statement:
There are different views of Satan we must keep that in mind.  Personally I dont believe in a little devil man running around but I do believe in dark beings - call them what you like.  However if I were to believe in an omnipotent being that fell under the X-tian term of Satan - I wouldnt  him as being a little man with a pitchfork wreaking havoc and sending evil into the world.  I see him as temptation.  He doesnt make you do anything - he offers you the balance in life.  To me its just the balance of the Universe - at each crossroads, decision or even spell you have a choice of which way you go - are either truly negative or positive?  No, they are a mix of both but that is a different topic all together.  So in a sense I think some witches would believe in the idea of Satan but not in Satan in the X-tian sense (just my opinion).

There are no evil witches:
I agree that if there are evil people there can (and are) evil witches.

Real witches don't curse or otherwise hurt anyone:

IMHO that statement would be based upon the Wiccan Rede (An Ye Harm None...) but NOT all witches are wiccan.  IMO there is a very high possibility that you will find a need at some point in your life  to do what could be perceived by some as a negative working/harmful working.  I think that witches should be/are a fine balance of both light/dark, positive/negative.  As its been stated before - if you have the ability to help you also have the ability to harm and to fully develop your 'magical' life (for lack of a better term - on my first cuppa) you need to come to terms with both sides of yourself, and fully discover your full potential in both areas.  Not saying you should go out and do harm to 'test' yourself, but become aware of what you are possible of doing?

Bah...Im confusing myself...hushing now!:o