The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development

by Christopher Penczak, Andrea Neff (Editor)

Overview

Explore your Inner Temple—your personal sacred space where there are no boundaries and all things are possible. With study, dedication, and practice, the lessons and exercises in this book will empower you to transform the repetitive rigors of the daily grind into a witch's web of magickal experiences.

The Inner Temple of Witchcraft is a thorough course of education, introspection, meditation, and the development of the magickal and psychic abilities that are the birthright of the witch. Four introductory chapters present the history, traditions, and principles of witchcraft, followed by thirteen lessons that start with basic meditation techniques and culminate in a self-initiation ceremony equivalent to the first-degree level of traditional coven-based witchcraft.

As you progress through this year-and-a-day course of study, you will explore a wide range of topics that support and inform the dedicated witch:

• Ancient and modern magickal philosophy
• Modern scientific theories supporting a new definition of reality
• "Instant" magick techniques for protection, healing, and serenity
• Energy work and anatomy, including chakras and auras
• Astral travel, dreams, and spirit guides
• Healing techniques for body, mind, and spirit

This book's non-dogmatic presentation encourages an eclectic, personal approach while providing a strong foundation for the practice of witchcraft and magick. Develop your psychic abilities and practice potent magickal techniques as you explore the source of every witch's power—the temple within.

Winner of the 2003 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Award for Best Magic Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738702766
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Publication date:	11/01/2002
Series:	Penczak Temple Series , #1
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	44,637
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.13(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Christopher Penczak is a Witch, teacher, writer, and healing practitioner. He is the founder of the world-renowned Temple of Witchcraft and the Temple Mystery School, and he is the creator of the bestselling Temple of Witchcraft books and audio CDs. Christopher is an ordained minister, serving the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Pagan and metaphysical communities through public rituals, private counsel, and teaching. He also travels extensively and teaches throughout the United States. Christopher lives in New Hampshire.

Read an Excerpt

What is a witch? What is witchcraft? These two questions don't have easy answers. The word witch is a very emotionally charged word, bringing up conflicting images across the centuries. It is hard to understand which image, if any, is correct.

For most of the Western world, the word witch evokes the villain of many fairy tales. We watch the old hag giving the poisoned apple, brewing harmful potions, eating children, and casting curses. At Halloween, stores sell decorations of witches, old ugly women with green faces and pointed hats riding around on broomsticks. Although these are familiar portraits, they are not the first. Because of humanity's fear of that which is different and mysterious, the witch was resigned to the world of children's stories, to make the folk stories of witchcraft impotent from the realm of make-believe. If only children believed in witches, then the power of the witch would no longer be a reality, but a fantasy. Unfortunately, fictionalizing witchcraft was not the only way humankind dealt with its fear.

If you turn back a few hundred years, you can see the word witch all across the records of one of Europe's greatest holocausts, the witch trials. Men and women were persecuted and killed for being different. Some call it the Burning Times, because many were put to death by fire, burnt at the stake. Typically, history books gloss over this particular bit of history, but it is every bit a part of us, as relevant to our modern cultures as wars of conquest.

At the top of the list of victims were those accused of practicing witchcraft. The ruling powers of the time had their own ideas about witchcraft, spreading stories of black masses, sacrifice, and contracts in blood signing souls over to the Devil. These stories are the roots of the children's fairy tales. The vast majority of the condemned were not practicing "true" witchcraft. Some held the teachings of the wise women and cunning men of the tribes, a knowledge of healing herbs, remedies, midwiving, and simple charms. We call such skills old wives' tales, but they have endured because there is truth to them. We don't know how many of the accused and condemned were actually practicing what is now called the Old Religion, the way of the witch.

If you turn back even further, to cultures whose histories were not often written down, you find a different kind of witch. This witch was not shrouded in the darkness of fear and fairy tales, but in the darkness and light of the Goddess. This witch was revered as a healer, teacher, leader, and wise one. The image of the witch inspired the same reverence that a priest or minister does now in modern culture, for the ancestors of modern witchcraft were the priestesses and priests, the seers and advisors living a spiritual life by tuning into the forces of nature, the tides of the seasons, and the cycles of the Moon. They held a kinship with the plants and animals and, in essence, all life. Their teaching and histories were kept in the oral tradition, holding the myths and magick of the culture.

Modern witches focus on this particular root in the witchcraft tree. Those claiming the name and title of witch are truly reclaiming and building on the image of the witch from these ancient days. If you really want to know what the words witch and witchcraft mean as we move into the next century, look at the growing movement of modern witches.

If you ask a witch what he or she means by the word, you will get as many definitions as there are witches. And yes, witches can be both women and men. I’m a man and identify myself as a witch. Male witches are not called warlocks. The word warlock can be traced from Scottish, Old English, Germanic, and Indo-European roots and is now generally regarded to mean "deceiver" or "oath breaker" to those involved in the craft. Such a title was probably associated with witchcraft by those who wanted to defame the practice.

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Exercises . . . ix

List of Figures . . . xi

Introduction: What Is the Inner Temple? . . . 1

Chapter One: Ask a Witch . . . 7

Chapter Two: Digging for the Roots . . . 17

Chapter Three: Flavors of Witchcraft . . . 41

Chapter Four: The Witch's Path . . . 59

Chapter Five: Lesson One—The Magickal Mind . . . 71

Chapter Six: Lesson Two—Meditation . . . 93

Chapter Seven: Lesson Three—The Magick of Science . . . 119

Chapter Eight: Lesson Four—The Science of Magick . . . 129

Chapter Nine: Lesson Five—The Art of Defense . . . 167

Chapter Ten: Lesson Six—The Power of Light . . . 181

Chapter Eleven: Lesson Seven—Energy Anatomy . . . 193

Chapter Twelve: Lesson Eight—Journey Work . . . 221

Chapter Thirteen: Lesson Nine—Spirit Work . . . 237

Chapter Fourteen: Lesson Ten—The Inner Temple . . . 259

Chapter Fifteen: Lesson Eleven—Healing . . . 273

Chapter Sixteen: Lesson Twelve—Born Again . . . 291

Chapter Seventeen: Lesson Thirteen—Initiation . . . 305

Appendix: Self-Test . . . 323

Bibliography . . . 329

Index . . . 333

Editorial Reviews

Winner of the 2003 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Award for Best Magic Book

"4 stars. Exceptional!"—Today's Books

"...accessibly written, user-friendly, and enthusiastically recommended for Wiccan, New Age, or Magick Studies reference libraries."—Wisconsin Bookwatch

"An active witch and teacher of modern neo-Paganism, Penczak teaches classes on witchcraft and various other New Age practices such as reiki, shamanic jouneying, and past-life regression. His book aims at using Wiccan techniques (generally termed "Magick") to aid in personal growth. Accordingly, after a brief history and some basic theory of Wiccan spirituality comprising four chapters, there follow 13 lesson-chapters on techniques of spiritual growth, each followed by appropriate exercises."—Library Journal

From the Publisher

These two new titles from Llewellyn focus on witchcraft, or Wicca, a cluster of religious rituals and beliefs deriving from ancient European polytheisms or paganisms. The author of seven books on witchcraft, Grimassi is a practicing Italian witch (a strega) who has researched the history and theory of witchcraft back to antiquity, with a view to recovering and preserving teachings and lore. As a result, her book is primarily a historical study of various European witchcraft traditions. Even when considering magickal techniques for the focusing of natural power or discussing methods of psychic development, the author takes pains to cover their historical development. While Grimassi's book will appeal more to scholars of religion, Penczak's book will appeal to believers and interested casual readers. An active witch and teacher of modern neo-Paganism, Penczak teaches classes (mainly in New England) on witchcraft and various other New Age practices such as reiki, shamanic journeying, and past-life regression. His book aims at using Wiccan techniques (generally termed "Magick") to aid in personal growth. Accordingly, after a brief history and some basic theory of Wiccan spirituality comprising four chapters, there follow 13 lesson-chapters on techniques of spiritual growth, each followed by appropriate exercises. A minor criticism: some of the material discussed, while probably hermetic or occult in origin, is not ordinarily considered Wiccan but pertains to other religious traditions. Astral travel, for instance, is more often a feature of Shamanism, while chakras are a part of yoga. Both books provide a useful introduction to modern witchcraft and are recommended for both academic and public libraries, particularly those with substantial religion collections.-James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal