Free The Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Skye Alexander Page A

exist in and around us. The Chinese refer to these two energies as yin (feminine) and yang (masculine). Native Americans respect Mother Earth and Father Sky. These two polarities function in tandem to balance one another and create wholeness.
The Divine Feminine
    When we talk about feminine and masculine, we don’t mean woman and man. Think energies instead. Receptivity, emotion, passivity, and intuition are all expressions of feminine energy. You can see it operating in water, earth, the moon, darkness, night, silence, cool colors, and lots of other things. When you do magick, you use these ingredients in order to bring a specific energy into your spells and rituals. (In later chapters you’ll learn ways to combine certain ingredients to produce the outcome you seek.) The Goddess is merely a depiction of the feminine force—the face we put on the energy to personify it.
    The Earth Mother
    Perhaps the most omnipresent symbol of the Divine Feminine is Mother Earth herself. Concern for the environment and “green” practices show respect for the Goddess, who appears in all of nature. It’s no accident that movements honoring the earth and the Goddess evolved simultaneously. Indeed, many witches believe that unless Goddess energy reawakens within each of us and in the world as a whole, the planet may be destroyed.
The Divine Masculine
    The feminine is not complete without the masculine; together, these energetic polarities form a whole. Go online and look at the yin-yang symbol. The white part represents the masculine force, the black side the feminine. Notice how, when joined, they form a circle, the symbol of wholeness. Masculine energy expresses itself outwardly as action and assertiveness. You can see this principle operating in fire, wind, the sun, light, daytime, noise, warm colors, and many other things—and you’ll use these in specific ways when you do magick. Gods such as Thor, god of thunder and lightning, and the war god Mars symbolize the qualities of the masculine force.
Tripartite Deities
    Sometimes the God and Goddess are shown as tripartite beings. This means that they are represented by three different images that signify the three stages of human life. The Goddess is frequently depicted in three aspects—maiden, mother, and crone—that signify the three phases of womanhood. Likewise, witches often see the God as having three faces, which represent the stages of a human’s life: youth, maturity, and old age.
    Depending on the type of magick you’re doing, you might choose to call upon a certain aspect of the God or Goddess. For instance, if you need extra vitality to win a big ballgame, invite the youthful side of the Divine Masculine to assist you. If you’re trying to get pregnant, ask the mother aspect of the Divine Feminine to lend you her fertility.
SEEING THE DIVINE IN NATURE
    Honoring the earth and being aware of the natural world are part of many modern alternative spiritualities. A person who honors the earth and considers the natural world her primary teacher is sometimes labeled a nature-worshipper or called a Pagan (see Chapter 3 ). In modern use, however, the terms are not generally pejorative. In New Age spiritual practice, the word “Pagan” is being reclaimed by people who resonate to the heartbeat of the earth itself. Green witches, for instance, see the Divine in all of nature. If you ask a green witch, “Is there a God or Goddess?” she’ll probably reply, “Of course.” If you inquire further, “Who is he or she?” the green witch might say, “God is everywhere in nature.”
GODDESSES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
    Whatever she’s called, however her story is told, the characteristics of the Divine Feminine—fertility, creativity, compassion, wisdom, beauty, love, healing—can be seen in the goddesses of all cultures. Here are some of the world’s many goddesses and the attributes usually associated with them.
Name
Culture
Attributes
Amaterasu
Japanese
beauty, leadership,