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| Wicca
is a belief system based on pre-Christian, native European spirituality,
which sees people as part of nature, not above it. In all areas of the
world, there were indigenous religions before the spread of Christianity.
Wicca is based partly on this spirituality. As with other nature-based
groups, Wiccans seek to work with the natural energies which surround us
to heal, help and to improve their lives and the lives of those around
them.
Wiccans come in all ages and from all walks of life, from students to doctors, lawyers and rocket scientists. While many think of Wicca as a woman's religion there are actually about as many men as women practicing Wicca today. Wiccans live by the Wiccan Rede, “An it Harm None, Do What You Will”. This requires Wiccans to always be looking ahead at the possible consequences of their actions so that no act or word, whether with magickal intent, or in every day life, causes harm to another. Wiccans also believe in the “Law of Threefold Return”. This tells us that whatever we do comes back to us three times over. If we do someone a good turn, we can expect to be treated likewise. If we harm someone, whether deliberately or through negligence we can expect to receive three times the harm ourselves. While Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States it is still the subject of much misunderstanding. Much of the confusion and even fear revolves around the definitions of the words, “Witch” and “Pagan”. These are two labels which many Wiccans happily attach to themselves, but they are also two words which we call, “Red Flag” words, because they are easily misunderstood. When a Wiccan declares, “I am a witch”, what they mean is, “I love nature, I believe in the healing power of herbs, I like to do spells to effective positive change, I recognize deity as both male and female.” What a listener is liable to think is, “Here is a person who worships Satan, is filled with hate and evil, who goes around putting harmful spells on people, and we are clearly told in the Bible not to, 'suffer a witch to live'”. The truth is a “witch” is anyone who works with energy and magick and chooses to call themselves a witch. Magick and energy can be used for good or bad. Witches who use magick to harm have no right to call themselves Wiccan. When a Wiccan (or anyone) declares, “I am a pagan”, what they mean is, “I acknowledge the old gods and goddesses that have been worshiped for thousands of years, and I work in harmony with nature, not against it.” What the listener is liable to think is, “This person is not a Christian, so they must be anti-god and therefore have no morals or ethics.” The truth is, the word “pagan” comes from the Latin, “pagani” and merely means “country dweller”. It was originally the equivalent of “hick”, or someone who was behind the times in that they were still worshiping the old gods of nature, while the city folk were getting into such “new” gods such as “Zeus” and “Jupiter” and eventually, “Jesus”. Pagan religions are “pre-Christian”, not “anti-Christian”.
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