I'm going copy the preface from the Spring 1997 to Spring 1998 edition of The Witches' Almanac. It was the first copy of the almanac that I ever saw, and it rang true for me.

I'm not sure who exactly wrote it, but the almanac credits Elizabeth Pepper and John Wilcox for preparation and editing of the almanac.

Here goes:

What is witchcraft? Not hard to tell, for its practice is nothing more than a matter of assuming responsibility for the wondrous gift of life. What is most important isn't what happens to you, but rather how you respond to the challenge.

Consider that one element of life is predetermined by genetic and environmental factors. Another calls upon the power of the will. That remaining is subject to chance or luck. To develop willpower requires time, effort and patience. It can be fostered by setting possible goals and achieving them. Results prove to be cumulative, because each victory makes the next one easier. By magical means we know courage can be summoned in the darkest hour, hope sustained when all seems lost, and good luck caught as if flies across the web of time. The source of magic is within you and your relation to nature itself. The key is an extended awareness of the kinship we share with all living things.

Many of our readers are natural witches. "I know mine and mine know me" might well apply to the craft, for the attraction to its doctrines appears in early childhood. Curiously, this inexplicable interest never fades. Others find the way by various routes: an enlightening event or a chance encounter. To one and all, witchcraft is an ongoing study that encompasses every aspect of the human experience, deepening and enriching the pleasure and glory of the mysterious quest we call life on Earth.


I really wanted to share this; it still gives me shivers when I read it.