For hundreds of years, society has viewed witchcraft and occult practices as dark and sinister territory.  Magickal practices and those who use them are considered to be associated with the negative connotations of life.

Those who practice witchcraft are considered to have a large collection of supernatural abilities such as levitation, clairvoyance and telekinesis. or those whose essence comes from dusty and shadowy tomes of written mysteries.  However, it should be noted that witches are also students of nature and claim nature as a teacher and educator.

Nature exists as the essence of everything that is outside human changes and interference.  It's not just the earth below and the blue sky overhead; it is all that is in between and  yet more.  Each being or entity that is part of this network of change is a unique existence of naked power which contains within itself a spiritual connections which binds all things together. The tree is bound to the sea which is bound to a field, which is bound to a river.  Each of these entities and places express the quality which is inherently magical and imbues everything with a natural glow.  Witches use witchcraft to become one with and be empowered by nature.

In essence, witchcraft can be defined as the ability to reach a goal or grasp onto a wish by artful channeling and manipulation of vital energy.   The source of the vital energy can be almost any part of the natural landscape which provides inspiration, such as the moon, the sun, or the oak tree. 

Both witches and those who oppose them have a pattern of connecting witchcraft with various elemental forces of nature.  Many of the ancient tribes and clans recognized encounters with wild animals in their totems.  This is particularly noted in the native American tribes and in the clans of the Celts. 

A witch focuses efforts toward a delicate connection with all natural surroundings and can become attuned to various levels of knowledge which is a part of the natural kingdom. The ancient confidence in multiple spirits and the movement of these spirits between bodies is the basis of Animism which is the ancestor of the spirituality of the shamans which was prevalent in the prehistoric peoples.  This ensuing world view probably forms the basis of the science and art commonly called witchcraft.

Any dedicated gardener will assure you that talking to your plants or singing to them will help them to grow more quickly and with greater strength.  Speaking to plants is based in Animism and the desire to return to that connection with nature.  Witchcraft recognizes that the core of Nature is that all life is connected and each person and creature is a part of the connection.  This is true of each action taken and pattern we fulfill.

The witch is one who recognizes that energy is without ending or beginning.  This belief is fundamental to the practice of witchcraft.  Energy can be channeled but cannot be created or destroyed forever.