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Wicca for the outsider
THought I would resurrect this idea...
"First of all, Wicca and witchcraft are not the same thing. This article is about Wicca, but I do have another page with the differences between Wicca and witchcraft.
Fundamentally, Wicca is a modern-day religion based on pre-Christian religious practices. Wicca was founded by Gerald Gardner back in the early '50s. We don't deny that it is a new religion, but the basis for our beliefs goes back thousands of years. Besides, even Christianity was new at one time.
Some Misconceptions:
* Wiccans worship Satan - The figure of Satan is part of the Christian mythos, and those of us who do not follow Christianity, do not accept the existance of this character.
* Wiccans engage in ritual orgies - This misconception may have arisen from the practice of doing ritual in the nude.
Not all Wiccans practice this way, and there is nothing sexual about it.
* Wicca is only for women - Wicca has attracted a great number of women because of the focus on the Goddess. But Wicca is open to everyone, male or female.
* Wicca has no rules - This little untruth is often used by our detractors to show that we must live wild and unrestrained lives. We may not have books of commandments to bind our lives, but most Wiccans do follow one single law: Harm None. Those two words have as much power as an entire book of rules.
* Wiccans cast spells and hexes to control people - If we really did this, Wiccans would all be wealthy and we would not suffer from discrimination. We believe that for every action, there is a re-action, and that includes using magick for negative manner. Wiccans don't believe in a punishing God, but we do think that bad actions will come back and bite us in the butt.
* Wicca is a cult that is trying to recruit people - Wiccans believe that each individual's path of spirituality is valid, and no one path is better than any other. We do not convert or recruit anyone. Proselytizing is not a practice we follow.
Real Facts About Wicca:
* Wiccans celebrate the 8 Sabbats - We don't necessarily worship the Earth, but we do hold it sacred, and celebrate the cycles and the seasons, as well as the traditional harvest days.
* Wicca is polytheistic - Not all Wiccans follow precisely the same path when it comes to Deity, but typically we believe in multiple Gods and Goddesses often taken from different cultures and time periods. Many Wiccans will work with 1 or 2 Deities, rather than worshipping the entire gamut.
* Wiccans do practice magick - Magick and spells are part of our religion. This sometimes seems far-fetched to those who don't understand. Forget every magick spell you've ever seen on TV or in the movies. Magick is nothing more than utilizing the energy that exists around us in nature. It's a delicate art that takes time, study and practice to master. We don't spend our days casting spells willy-nilly.
* Wiccans do gather in covens - The media has made this sound more sinister than it really is. A coven can be any number of people (not just 13), and involves a group of Wiccans who gather regularly for ritual, magick, study and celebration. It's not that mysterious at all. Many Wiccans are not part of any coven, and folks who work alone are called 'solitaries'.
Though Wicca can be a very fluid and personal religion, don't get the wrong impression that 'anything goes'. "
I myself am not Wiccan but I thought this little excerpt was rather interesting on the topic.
"First of all, Wicca and witchcraft are not the same thing. This article is about Wicca, but I do have another page with the differences between Wicca and witchcraft.
Fundamentally, Wicca is a modern-day religion based on pre-Christian religious practices. Wicca was founded by Gerald Gardner back in the early '50s. We don't deny that it is a new religion, but the basis for our beliefs goes back thousands of years. Besides, even Christianity was new at one time.
Some Misconceptions:
* Wiccans worship Satan - The figure of Satan is part of the Christian mythos, and those of us who do not follow Christianity, do not accept the existance of this character.
* Wiccans engage in ritual orgies - This misconception may have arisen from the practice of doing ritual in the nude.
Not all Wiccans practice this way, and there is nothing sexual about it.
* Wicca is only for women - Wicca has attracted a great number of women because of the focus on the Goddess. But Wicca is open to everyone, male or female.
* Wicca has no rules - This little untruth is often used by our detractors to show that we must live wild and unrestrained lives. We may not have books of commandments to bind our lives, but most Wiccans do follow one single law: Harm None. Those two words have as much power as an entire book of rules.
* Wiccans cast spells and hexes to control people - If we really did this, Wiccans would all be wealthy and we would not suffer from discrimination. We believe that for every action, there is a re-action, and that includes using magick for negative manner. Wiccans don't believe in a punishing God, but we do think that bad actions will come back and bite us in the butt.
* Wicca is a cult that is trying to recruit people - Wiccans believe that each individual's path of spirituality is valid, and no one path is better than any other. We do not convert or recruit anyone. Proselytizing is not a practice we follow.
Real Facts About Wicca:
* Wiccans celebrate the 8 Sabbats - We don't necessarily worship the Earth, but we do hold it sacred, and celebrate the cycles and the seasons, as well as the traditional harvest days.
* Wicca is polytheistic - Not all Wiccans follow precisely the same path when it comes to Deity, but typically we believe in multiple Gods and Goddesses often taken from different cultures and time periods. Many Wiccans will work with 1 or 2 Deities, rather than worshipping the entire gamut.
* Wiccans do practice magick - Magick and spells are part of our religion. This sometimes seems far-fetched to those who don't understand. Forget every magick spell you've ever seen on TV or in the movies. Magick is nothing more than utilizing the energy that exists around us in nature. It's a delicate art that takes time, study and practice to master. We don't spend our days casting spells willy-nilly.
* Wiccans do gather in covens - The media has made this sound more sinister than it really is. A coven can be any number of people (not just 13), and involves a group of Wiccans who gather regularly for ritual, magick, study and celebration. It's not that mysterious at all. Many Wiccans are not part of any coven, and folks who work alone are called 'solitaries'.
Though Wicca can be a very fluid and personal religion, don't get the wrong impression that 'anything goes'. "
I myself am not Wiccan but I thought this little excerpt was rather interesting on the topic.
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Comments
Adiana sounds particularly sensible to me, and I'm enjoying this particular learning curve!
I would be glad to expound on my particular practice of Wicca. Please let me know what questions you have and I will be glad to answer. The reason I say this is that there are alot of different ways people practice as well as different traditions some of us follow. There are also Wiccans that practice solitary. This means that they practice Wicca by themselves. Most solitaries choose to practice alone and some choose to run the rites/rituals with a coven if they can find one. If they can't, well, they just run the rites alone. Justin, I have also read the pages that you presented and they are true for the most part. There are some differences but not anything of importance. The reason for this is that every person brings a different view. Wicca is not something that is to be taken as the "Flavor of The Month" as some people seem to want to do and there are some people who do questionable things and try to call themselves Wiccans. We have gotten used to these people and we think that they will eventually have to pay the price for all the havoc they have caused. We believe this because of the Three-fold Law which basically means that if you do good you will get good things in return and if you do bad things you will get bad things in return. I could go on and on but I am doing the laundry so I need to end this. LOL!
Adiana
Fed,
LOL!
Around here, when the laundry room is free, you take advantage of it. That includes even in the middle of the night! I live in an old restored Victorian house on the upper floor with my daughter Jennifer and our two cats, Pooh and Tigger. My landlady, her boyfriend, their son (Colton), my landlady's sister (Jamie), Jamie's three kids, JayLynn, JayLa, and Jace all live downstairs. Needless to say, things can get pretty hectic around here not to mention the TON of laundry that develops---seemingly overnight! I find the best time to do my laundry is at night after everyone else is in bed.
Adiana
Fed,
You are so right! I can remember my parents talking about how they had to help out doing laundry when they were kids---I could not believe some of the things that were done and/or used to wash clothes! Then, they would regale me and my brothers with tales of THEIR grandparents and what they used to use. It sounded positively Middle-Ages Era to us!
Adiana
I have often had this discussion with nears and dears, but 'mankind' has advanced more quickly in the last 250 years than it has in its' entire existence on the planet so far. What we are learning and developping today, was the stuff of science fiction just thirty years ago. Business deals which once took a leisurely month to clinch, are now drawn up at the press of a button - frenetic accelleration is the order of the day.
This is one of the reasons why Mankind is searching now - searching for something to slow the pace, to connect with Nature and with the Source, to calm the Inner while the Outer seems hell-bent on racing on.... This is one of the reasons why Wicca is enjoying a popular 'revival' in the UK, for one, ('revival' is a silly word, because it never really went away... it's always been there, but you know what I mean - !!) and why Buddhism which has its' origins before Christ had even been a twinkle in his Father's eye (!) is now the Way for millions of people to keep hold of their sanity, and live a Human life again....
Adiana, in the Wiccan philosophy, is there thought to an afterlife? Purgatory? Heaven? Enlightenment? Why do people practice this? What is the draw?
I agree and it is so funny to me! Wicca has always been around; it is the "Old Ways" (known as Wicca) that people used to revere before the advent of Christianity. Christianity, per se, was the reason for people "going underground." The people (known as Pagans) who followed the "Old Ways" were severely punished or even killed just for going against the status quo; for choosing to continue to practice what they instinctively knew to be right FOR THEM. Please keep in mind that I am in no way putting down Christianity! Christians may not understand the Wiccan Ways but they don't try to "burn us at the stake" or hang us anymore either! (At least not literally!) In fact, I have friends who are Christian and they accept my practice of Wicca. They may disagree but that is fine---everyone has a right to agree or not agree as he/she sees fit. They are still my friends and shall always continue to be so. To me, that is true acceptance---accepting and not condemning someone because of religious difference of opinion. :bigclap: :bigclap:
Adiana :wow: :usflag: :cheer:
Justin,
Yes there is. "Wicca teaches that reincarnation is the instrument through which our souls are perfected. One lifetime isn't sufficient to attain this goal; hence, the consciousness (soul) is reborn many times, each life emcompassing a different set of lessons, until perfection (whatever your perception of perfection is by the way) is achieved. There are no set number of lives to go through until this state of perfection is reached." I used the above quote from Scott Cunnigham's book Wicca---A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. This is a beginner's book on Wicca and a good one, too. I chose this quote as an example because, well, Scott Cunningham (I thought in my humble opinion) explained it the best. Also, Scott says that reincarnation is one of Wicca's most valuable lessons. "The knowledge that this life is but one of many, that when the physical body dies we do not cease to exist but are reborn in another body" (kinda reminds one of what Christianity teaches does it not?). Wiccans do not fear death, rather we look upon it as the soul moving on and Wiccans also call the act of a person's death as entering the "Summerland." What the Summerland means is that it is the place of eternal happiness. Others call it the land of Eternal Youth and Beauty. It all depends on what your perception of the Summerland is. There are many conceptions of what the Summerland actually is and they are too many to list here. So, I just mentioned my perception of the Summerland. There are other names but Summerland is the most used to describe the the act of dying. This particularly hits home with me right now because my dad recently died; I found out about it yesterday. He had been sick for so long that we prayed for an ease to his suffering, yet when he did die, I was devastated (and I still am) as were all of my brothers and all of our respective children. My mother was completely incompacitated by Dad's death; we had to put her in the hospital. My mother is Christian as was my father. Dad's death hurts but at the same time I am just so glad that he is not in anymore pain. I know that he is always with me. Anyway, that is enough about that for now! Please bear with me, okay? I am still hurting over Dad's death right now so please forgive me; I did not mean to be curt.
Why people practice Wicca and what the draw is is this: Scott Cunningham states in his book "Growing numbers today are dissatisfied with traditional religious structures. Many are searching for a personally-involving religion, one which celebrates both physical and spiritual realities, in which attunement with deity is coupled with the practice of magic." "Wicca is an earth-based religion and it centers around reverence for nature as seen in the Goddess and God (Whatever your perception of a god or goddess is). Its spiritual roots in antiquity, acceptance of magic and mysterious nature have made it particularly appealing." Most Wiccans believe that deity is twin---male and female. Wiccans also believe that the male aspect (or the God) is not elevated over the female aspect (the Goddess). That is another reason why Wicca is enjoying a resurgence especially among women. Also there is the fact that Wicca teaches "And Ye Harm None, Do As Ye Will." This is the Wiccan Rede as I have explained before. Harm none--- now that is a good philosophy to go by in my opinion! Wicca also does not go around soliciting new members because it does not claim to be the one true way to Deity. Wicca teaches you to look within yourself for the answers; that you are responsible for your actions (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) and if you want to effect a change for the better, well, you have to be willing to take it upon yourself to do your part. I think that this synopsis gives you the general idea. I realize my post is very long so please excuse me; I could go on and on about the subject. LOL!
I hope this answers your questions and please realize this is my take on the Wiccan path. I do not claim to have all the answers because I am a student of Wicca. At least, that is what I call myself because I never want to stop learning about Wicca or anything else for that matter! LOL
Adiana
You are most welcome. Please remember to ask me if you ever have any unanswered questions about Wicca and I will do my best to explain.
Adiana