We were reading something interesting at corespirit.com about the Wiccan religion and we thought it was worth discussing.
What most people say about this religion is simply not accurate or even true.
They explain that the first rule of Wicca is “An it harm none, do as thou wilt.” which basically means as long as it harms none (including yourself) then do as you please.
This applies to everything you do – religious and otherwise.
This also applies to magick practiced, which is simply a prayer “acted out.”
Wiccans believe that everything you do comes back to you threefold; this is The Threefold Law.
This law shows that it does not matter what one does, whether it is good or bad.
Most Wiccans try not to do negative actions because of this law.
Wouldn't it nice if all religions felt the way?
Wiccans categorize themselves by the term “tradition”. Many traditions are named by the founder (i.e: Gardnerian – Gerald Gardner), although some Wiccans have been taught by their families.
Wicca is not, we repeat is not Satanism. Wiccans do not even believe in Satan, so forget about that.
Most Wiccans believe in balance, meaning, that there should be a male and female aspect of divinity.
Their names are commonly the Goddess and God, but as Michele Morgan says, (author of Simple Wicca), “The Gods don’t care what you call them, as long as you call them.”
What is also common is belief in the God and Goddess as well as particular deities from a certain pantheon (i.e: Greek, Norse, Celtic, Egyptian, Hindu). This is what separates Wicca from Witchcraft.
Wiccan holidays consist of Sabbats, or solar holidays; and Esbats, lunar holidays.
There are eight in one year, including Yule, Ostara, Midsummer, Mabon, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. Wiccans call this The Wheel of the year.
As we mentioned before, the Wiccan religion have both a God and a Goddess, but some also believe in multiple gods and goddesses. While this may seem confusing, all of these beliefs share something in common.
Wicca is an earth religion, so the God and Goddess are in a way a representation of the Earth itself—where all magic power comes from.
While some may disagree on the number of deities, most agree that the genders need to be kept in balance, as they are representative of the balance of nature.
Since Wicca is an earth religion, its practitioners believe in a cycle of new beginnings, and many Wiccans believe in reincarnation. However, unlike some religions where you might go backward if you don’t live properly, Wiccans simply go to Summerland when they die.
Wiccans can stay in Summerland for as long as they like and return when they are ready to continue their path.
For this reason, Wiccan funerals are referred to as a crossing and are more about celebrating the life of the one who has passed on.
A Wiccan will be sad to lose someone they love, but they also believe that, just like nature, it is all part of a cycle of death and rebirth.
Herbal medicine and the healers who use it goes back a long way in history.
Herbal medicine was very popular during Roman times.
One method of healing was to create a small doll called a poppet, that was then filled with whatever herb was needed to help the afflicted person.
Eventually, Christianity tried to put a stop to all this and persecuted Pagans for their healing methods because it was competition for their attempt at miracles.
However, despite the legal ramifications of performing healing magic, the practice continued, and has survived to this day.
The pentacle is the most recognized symbol in Wicca.
Unfortunately for Wiccans, this has caused many people to decide that Wiccans worship Satan, but this couldn’t be any further from the truth.
You see, the pentacle’s star has five points to represent the five elements of Wicca: air, fire, earth, water, and spirit.
Satanists do use something similar, but they have perverted the Wiccan imagery for their own purposes.
In the 19th century, an occultist named Eliphas Levi declared that an inverted pentagram was symbolic of a horned goat of lust, and it has since been associated with Satan.
Hence when the Church of Satan was founded in the United States, they chose to use an inverted pentacle with a goat head on it as their most important symbol. So unless you see an upside down pentacle with a goat head, you aren’t dealing with a devil worshiper.
Many people are afraid of things they don't understand, hopefully our thumbnail sketch sheds a different light on these positive, hopeful and loving group of believers.
Questions we are asked a lot are "what exactly is a Pagan?"
"What about the differences between Pagans, Wicca and Witchcraft?"
We really like Patti Wigington's explanation sorting all this out. She has nearly thirty years of experience in studying modern Pagan belief systems. She works as an educator in the Pagan community, and in 2008, formed her own group, Clan of the Stone Circle.
Read the following by Patti:
"There is a great deal of debate among the Pagan community about whether or not Wicca is truly the same form of Witchcraft that the ancients practiced. Regardless, many people use the terms Wicca and Witchcraft interchangeably. Paganism is an umbrella term used to apply to a number of different earth-based faiths.
Wicca falls under that heading, although not all Pagans are Wiccan. So, in a nutshell, here's what's going on. All Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccans. All Wiccans are Pagans, but not all Pagans are Wiccans. Finally, some witches are Pagans, but some are not - and some Pagans practice witchcraft, while others choose not to." READ MORE
