- Oh it's about to get real magical.
(drum music)
- I'm Sara.
Oh my god.
- And I'm Curly.
Whoa.
- [Sara] We're fascinated by religion.
- [Curly] Today we're gong to learn about Wicca.
And participate in a Wiccan ritual
that'll hopefully give us more success in our careers.
(drum music)
- Today we're going to start our journey
into the realm of witches.
- You know I'm so excited for this.
I got extra crystal put a little feather in
and I was like, "Yes."
- I don't know anything.
I know about like pointy hats, cauldrons,
I don't think any of that is real.
It could very well be real.
- I treat it as like a connection to the earth,
we're homies, like I look at these trees and I'm like,
I got you and you got me and I know it.
- Before the ritual we wanted to get
some background information on Wicca
so we traveled to The Green Man in North Hollywood
to talk to an expert.
(bell rings)
Scared me.
- I scared everybody.
- Hi.
- Wow hello.
- Sara nice to meet you.
- Hey I'm Laurie.
- Hello I'm Curly.
- Hello Curly.
- Nice to meet you.
- You too.
- Where are we currently?
- Well this magical place is The Green Man store,
it's in North Hollywood, California.
You are on your spiritual paths,
you're sort of witchy curious.
(types)
1950s okay, Gerald Gardner in England had
his Wiccan tradition, so Wicca.
50s and 60s it started to come into the United States.
Paganism is, it's become an umbrella term
and Wicca has also become an umbrella term
and the past few decades you have the Dianics,
you have earth based spirituality,
you have the reclaiming tradition.
- Can I have some water really fast?
- Yeah.
- Before you answer that.
I can just feel like my throat itching.
- So, - do you care if I keep
drinking water while we're doing this?
- No, that's okay.
- Alright.
- [Sarah] Here's some basic Wicca info, hashtag Wicfo.
J K that's stupid, I'm sorry.
Wiccans believe in the existence of magic
and that by practicing magic through rites, spells
and potions they can effect change.
Many Wiccans live by an ethical code called The Wiccan Rede
that states, an it harm none do what ye will.
Many are pan or polytheistic and recognize
the goddess and god among many other deities.
Wiccans with shared beliefs form covens
with whom they practice.
Beliefs, practices and structure can vary drastically
across covens.
(smooth music)
- So every Crystal has a different quality
or essence, you can charge these
sort of like that kind of a neutral,
you can charge these up with your intention
on a full moon.
- How do you charge them?
Again I know zero about what's happening.
- First you need to clean it so you can put it
in a bowl of saltwater under the full moon.
You can clean it by air with incense or sage
and you charge it up using your magic
and your personal juice.
- Your juice.
I got a lot of personal juice.
- You do I can see that.
(laughs)
So pendulums are part of divination,
so you have to sort of tune in, get quiet
and you're basically telling the pendulum
what is a yes and a now.
This is a yes, and then the pendulum this is a no.
So then when you're going to the health food store
and you have to decide what kind of vitamin C
you want to get and which one is better for you
- You take out your pendulum in the store and you're like,
- Every candle has a different color
and you've got two toned candles.
- Yeah what are these?
- You've got cats down here.
- Two toned ones?
- Well this is what you are absorbing, or you're releasing
and then this is what you're bringing in.
- There's also some.
- [Curly] Phallic candles.
- Phallic candles as well, I didn't see those at first.
What would you use a penis candle for,
we're just gonna ask.
- Yeah.
(laughs)
- What do you think we would use a penis candle for?
- Well I don't know cause I could be like,
I would love to kill his boner, if I'm mad at him.
- Think about the driving primal force of masculinity
that is represented in that phallic symbol.
- Wizards are nothing right, that's not real?
- And what are wizards, do wizards come into play?
It's all real too.
(laughs)
We don't science.
How does this work, do you eat it, do you burn it,
do you smoke it?
- Uh you can burn it.
Root, stem, leaf, branch, berry.
- Can I rub this on me?
- Sure.
- Can you.
- The prosperity, there's nothing left.
- Dragon's blood is very powerful to heal cuts.
- How about for hang nails.
- Yeah probably.
- That's a common problem.
It seems like a lot of work and I watch too much television
to have time to do this.
- That's what I feel like to.
I got a crystal and then I also got an incense burner.
- Did you get incense for the burner.
- I got incense, I got coal, and then I got herbs to burn.
- I'm excited tomorrow to like actually see
what happens, 'cause we're gonna be doing some.
- Yes.
- Some work.
- So I'm gonna put my cross away.
(laughs)
- I'll hide my giant Jesus tattoo on my back.
(laughs)
- Perfect.
(fun music)
- Today we are participating in a Wiccan ceremony
or ritual. - Yeah, uh-huh.
- That is hopefully going to lead to some career success.
- I'm just hoping that I have a little bit more money
in my wallet by the end of the day.
- You expect that quick turn around?
- Yes, (laughs)
I believe in miracles.
- I want to be like a savant at you know being a witch.
- I'm nervous that I'm going to get the church giggles
while I'm in there.
- Mm.
- Well hopefully, we don't, that doesn't happen today.
- To prevent making complete fools of ourselves
during the ritual we enlisted a little help.
- I'm Yvonne Conway-Williams,
I have actually been practicing witchcraft since 1982.
I'm an ordained elder high priestess in my coven.
- It sounds very badass.
- [Curly] Yeah, amazing.
- The witchcraft was something that I wanted to do
to take control of my life.
- What are some of the like, most common misconceptions.
- Let's see the biggest one I think, is that we worship
the Devil, there are witches who do
but in Wicca the Christian devil isn't even recognized
as an existing entity per se.
- Now we're gonna get ready for the ceremony.
- Get ready.
- Okay.
Alright.
- It's gonna be amazing.
- Is there anything that we should know?
- Always go clockwise, the energy that we're yeah,
(laughs)
- Are we now after the ceremony, close to being witches?
- You've now had experience but a lot of traditions,
it'll be like a year and a day studying.
- Oh I'm gonna get to work.
(old timey music)
- What I'll have you guys do is as you come in,
I will anoint you with some oil on your forehead
which will be about where your third eye is.
I think we start with grounding
to make sure that you're all centered before we start.
Shake off any tension or stress you may be carrying,
let go of your worries and visual roots growing
from the base of your spine down your legs,
out your feet and onto the earth underground rivers with a,
visualize tree branches.
Let yourself be at one with the earth and the universe.
Will do a cleansing of the space, in creating sacred space.
Earth and water by casting thee, no spell
or unknown hindrance be accept with true accord with me.
And as my will so mote it be.
- [All] So mote it be.
- What's called calling of the quarters
which would be the north, south, east and west
and bringing in those particular energies to kind of
help hold down our circle so to speak.
Hail ye lords of the western quadrant,
I do summon, stir and call you up
that you may bear witness to this rite
and lend your protection in the west.
And then I'll do what's called casting the circle,
and casting the circle is creating an energetic barrier,
we'll raise a cone of power to kind of raise more energy.
Feel the energy rising up through your roots
past the underground rivers rocks and soil
back until it hovers at the bottom of your feet,
feel the energy moving around, passing around,
faster and faster as if it was a blanket, just connect it
from your hands.
Then we'll call in the Lord and the Lady.
Great goddess,
mighty mother,
raise the power of the sacred rite,
refresh us with your kiss and grant us the pleasure
and peace of your company and then we'll start on the work.
Today we're gonna be working on success.
Any color piece of paper, a bullet point words of something
that you want to manifest in your career.
- Are we gonna have to read this out loud?
Okay.
- You're going to first look at these oils,
there's a variety for different purposes.
And you're going to apply one to a candle.
- Which one, this one, oh, beauty.
Oh it smells delicious.
- Element of earth, I ask you for you.
- What was cool was that you can participate
in a way that you might not get to.
- You don't normally get to in other religions.
The element of air I ask for your aid.
Everything as it was happening it made sense to me
even though I had never experienced it before.
- And then we're gonna have cakes and ale,
or actually mini cinnamon buns and Martinellis.
And then we will do everything in reverse.
- [All] Circle is open but unbroken,
may the love of the goddess go in our hearts.
Merry have we met and merry have we been,
so merry let us part, and merry meet again.
It is ended, blessed be.
Huzzah!
- Usually after a ritual we'll do a feast
and the whole point behind the feast is to kind of
pull our energy back down.
- I had a lot of fun doing it, I was up in the sun
I was deep in the earth, I felt like I also was
a little awkward 'cause at one point I walked the wrong way
and I was like, oh wrong, the other way
and I had to walk the other way.
- It's sort of like farting in yoga class.
- I don't fart in yoga class.
- Okay everybody farts (mumbles)
- You sick farter, yoga farter.
- I really like the elements where you're getting,
your power, like your source of energy from the earth.
That part really spoke to me because I think
nature is like the greatest source of power in the world.
People thinking that there's something going on,
whether it be like satanic or evil, it's,
that's like a really common misconception
and I think its definitely just more about your own energy.
- I felt great, it actually felt like a nice.
- [Sarah] Real positive.
- Positive ceremony that we were just sharing with friends.
And you get like a fun snack at the end.
(types)
(smooth music)
- Now whenever Sarah goes to yoga we all know.
- Don't go to yoga that much so,
- [Curly] I don't fart that much.
- Because I was banned for farting.
(laughs)
(whooshes and squeaks)