(inspired by Laurie Cabot and Sybil Leek)
Sybil Leek called it “The Old Religion” — a name for the pre-Christian, land-bound ways that honored the moon, the crops, the stones, the stars. It was not a religion of scriptures, but of seasons. Not a priesthood of power, but a priesthood of tending.
They burned herbs instead of incense.
Made offerings to rivers instead of altars.
And listened to trees instead of preachers.
The Old Religion, as she described it, was not “witchcraft” in the sensational, TV made, sense. It was the root memory of people who lived with land, death, spirit, and mystery — without needing to separate them.
I came to this path after searching and after cultivating my beliefs, deeply. I lived my Catholicism devoutly for 20 + years, learning scripture, the Catechism, reciting prayers the right way and attending Mass at all the right times. But for me it was hollow. Maybe because I wasn’t brought up in a religious tradition, so I wasn’t a “cradle Catholic” or even a “cradle Christian”.
But nature always felt sacred, trees whispered, streams laughed and I could hear them. So I studied and practiced and then went back to the Church and then left again, over and over. But the quiet of the Old Religion never left me and never demanded obedience and never made me feel afraid.
Because this isn’t about reenactment.
It’s not about robes, or labels, or speaking in some borrowed tongue.
It’s about remembering — through the body, through the garden, through the whispering oak.
The Old Religion is not gone, definitely not for me.
It’s in the fire you light at dusk.
In the water you stir with intention.
In the wind that answers when you speak with reverence.
You don’t need a lineage to practice it, but you do need to study. It is not a parlor game or a fad for teenagers.
You need a teacher, respect, listening, and the willingness to be changed by the wild.
The Old Religion isn’t a past. It’s a pulse. And it’s not evil, it’s energy. It’s not superstition, it’s science. I practice everyday with joy and connection to something old, true and sacred.
Witchcraft is not a religion of worshipping the devil. It’s an ancient way of life. It is science, an art, and a religion that honors nature and the elements. ~ Laurie Cabot