Wicca was founded by Gerald
Gardner in the late
1930's. It is comprised of
Western European folk traditions, Eastern philosophy, and Cabbalistic mysticism.
Although initially Wicca was
based more in magickal pursuits, it has hence forth developed into a more
spiritual religion. Today,
Wicca can be seen as an ecclectic system of beliefs with an underlying
static ritual
and ethics base. Although
some traditions in Wicca may cater to a specific culture, the rituals and
ethics will
still have this commmonality
which identifies it as being Wiccan.
Some Modern Wiccans View Of
Their Craft
Wicca is an Earth, or Nature
based religion. It recognizes the divine in all things. Wiccans
honor the Old Goddesses and Gods, in whatever forms they may be found:
The Goddess
Moon (waxing, waning and full), the Horned God of the Sun, and of the hunt,
or animal life,
Mother Nature, the Life Force, and more. Within Wicca, the aim is to make
oneself more in
tune with Nature, and Her forces, to continue to grow spiritually, and
to acheive a greater
understanding of oneself, and the universe at large, through celebration,
study of our past,
through myth, ritual drama, poetry, music, love, and harmonious living.
Wicca has been very misunderstood and maligned for years. Many myths about
this gentle
religion exist even today, set in motion by men, long since dead, as they
struggled to impose
Christianity. Since Wicca has been primarily an oral, rather than written
tradition, it
disappeared almost completely from view as thousands of men, women and
children were
accused of witchcraft, tortured, and put to death. Passed down secretly
from parent to child,
it changed subtly with each generation, until, with the repealing of the
laws on Witchcraft, it
reemerged in modern times.
A modern Witch believes that each one of us has within ourselves the ablility
to experience
oneness with the Life Force of all things. They believe in participating
in their own individual
spiritual lives, as a means of acheiving this oneness, rather than leaving
spirituality in the hands
of a religious leader. As a result, witches practice their religion in
groups (called covens) small
enough to allow each individual member to contribute, learn and experiment
within the agreed
upon forum.
Most Witches believe that what you do returns to you threefold. As a result,
they are very
careful about the magick they work. Could they curse someone? Probably.
Would it work?
Maybe, though not necessarily they way they intended. Would they ever do
it? No. Witches
generally confine their magickal efforts to healing, improving themselves,
and their lives,
helping others, helping the environment, etc. A witch is not likely to
turn your little brother into
a toad, a frog or anything else. They do not sacrafice babies, throw hexes,
or worship Satan
(in fact, most Witches do not believe in Satan).
For more information on Wicca, it's origins, beliefs, and practices, why
not try out one of the
books or web sites int the suggested reading section.
"We are not evil. We don't harm or seduce people. We are not dangerous.
We are
ordinary people like you. We have families, jobs, hopes and dreams. We
are not a cult.
This religion is not a joke. We are not what you think we are from looking
at t.v. We
are real. We laugh, we cry. We are serious. We have a sence of humor. You
don't have
to be afraid of us. We don't want to convert you. And please don't try
to convert us.
Just give us the same rights we give you--to live in peace. We are much
more similar to
you than you think."
--Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon p. 453
Borrowed in part from Blondie's Wicca Forum
Contemporary Wicca
Wicca (British-Saxon): Old Earth religion based upon the search
for
knowledge and truth. They seek ways to control and direct personal
energies, and they worship a God and Goddess. They teach
resposibility for for their own actions, and they do not personalize
Satan (Christian Demon of lust, hate, death, underworld, evil.
i.e:
"The Devil made me do it").
In 1974 The Council of American Witches held a conference and
at that time created the first "Laws" of Wicca. It included,
"An it
harm none, do what thou will" and "Love is the Law". These
Laws were later revised on May 22, 1988 by the Church of All
Worlds.
*Please read, Drawing Down the Moon: Books One and Two.
(Book two should be in the
bookstores as of Fall 1997.)
Common names well known in the pagan community:
Scott Cunningham
The Farrars
Margaret Adler
Gerina Dunwich
D.J.Conway
StarrHawks
Selena Fox
Silver Ravenwolf
Dr Leo Mortello
Laurie Cabot -- Founder of the Witches League for Public
Awareness.
Most popular forms of Magick and Wicca:
Ceremonial Witchcraft
Hecatine Tradition
Teutonic Tradition
Strega Witches -- (1353 is when they were believed to be started.
They
are an Italian branch far
removed and very remote. Also known
as the Aradia.
Eclectic Witchcraft -- Usually a solitary witch with personal
belief system
not affiliated with any
known group, circle, or coven.
Solitary Witchcraft -- A Witch that either through nessesity,
or personal
desire practices alone.
Kitchen Witchcraft -- A witch that uses everyday items
found in his/her
home to practice.
Usually a herbalist.
What is the Mystery that every pagan searches for? The mystery
that
causes seekers to travel to the end of the Earth to find? The
Mystery
is within each and every one of us. It is that which gives us knowledge.
It is listening to the earth, fire, water, wind and spirit and discovering
that answer for ourselves. The only mystery is how to unravel
the secrets
trapped within ourselves. When we have opened our ears, minds
and
hearts, then we have found mysteries beyond our wildest dreams.
There is no one single mystery, but thousands. They are each waiting
for us to reveal them.
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Wicca/Witchcraft...What's the Difference?
Many ask...all get different answers. It makes no difference whether
you distinguish between the
words "Wicca" and "Witchcraft" but it is important that you understand
the implications and common
definitions that people use. My definitions here are probably the most
common and I have found
them to work for most people. Feel free to call yourself whatever you
wish, just understand that the
words mean different things to different people; even to those who
have been in the Craft for quite
some time.
WITCHCRAFT - I consider Witchcraft to be a way of life; kin to how we
see our early ancestors
living in harmony with nature (at least trying to live in harmony with
nature.) They listened and paid
attention to the sounds around them, the changings of the seasons,
planting crops, tuning in to the
nature which was all about them. Of course this was necessary for survival
purposes, but still they
knew all kinds of cool stuff which we've forgotten about today or even
things that maybe we never
knew about. For example, when a beaver hopped up and down on one leg
it meant that it was going
to rain. If a bird flew backwards, then we were going to get a cold
frost the next morning. Now these
particular things aren't necessarily true, but you get the point.
These people knew about plants and healing. They made salves and medicines
for sickness out of
plants which grew right outside their doors. They knew how to make
all kinds of crafts using things
that were growing that time of year. They decorated and had celebrations
to bring in the changing of
the seasons. Of course they didn't think anything special about it,
it was just a way of life. Today, in
our cement cities, we have all but lost touch with that way of life;
I know it has been hard for me to
reclaim many of these traditions. I'll take an air-conditioned room
anyday. Yet these people of old,
were and still are witches.
Now those witches didn't necessarily think about a God or a Goddess,
in fact many of them were
probably Christian and didn't think twice about their way of life being
special. It was how they
survived. They didn't necessarily have rituals, or "call quarters,"
or perform initiation rites, bless the
cakes and wine, or cast circles. They were the simple folks in tune
with their surroundings, they were
the witches.
WICCA - Now let's take the above. Let's tack on all the rituals, the
God and Goddess names, the
books of shadows, the athames and other tools, circles, pentagrams,
pentacles, strange sounding
words like deosil or widdershins, and a whole set of rules on how to
use them. Put all this stuff in a
blender and add your flavor of culture, whether it be Irish, or Norse,
or Native American or
Gerrmanic or whatever and put on "mix" cycle for about 60 years. Poof,
you have Wicca.
Wicca therefore, by my definition, is a combination of the witchcraft,
which is a way of life, and all
the fixings and trimming of religion mixed with a regional culture.
Now I do use the words Wicca and
Witchcraft interchangeably sometimes depending upon the context of
my conversation. But I do
generally try to keep them separate. Feel free to distinguish the words
if you will or use them
interchangably. Just make sure when you mean one or the other, that
the person you are speaking
with knows what you are talking about.
Wicca...A personal definition
If you were to count every grain of sand at the beach, that number that
you would end up with would
still be less than the number of different definitions of Wicca.
It's not easy to define because it is a
dynamic religion which adapts itself to people of all ethnic backgrounds
and social statuses and which
changes constantly. It's said that Wicca survives because it changes,
and I would tend to agree. Yet,
in its most simple, basic form, Wicca is spiritual- Please allow me
to explain.
To know Wicca is to have truly experienced Wicca and the world around
you. If you have ever
experienced the serenity of a quiet walk on the beach, the warm, dry
winds of a desertscape, the
soothing waters of the ocean or the musty smell of a dew enveloped
forest morning you have indeed
been touched by Wicca. You see, Wicca is not about casting spells,
although we do work "magick"
to improve our lives and the lives of our families and children as
well as the world around us. Wicca
is not about alienating ourselves from society, but instead about learning
how to live and be a part of
it lending our abilities to help wherever we can. It is not about shirking
off the responsibilities of the
world but instead about embracing them and creating the change within
us and eventually creating
change without.
Wicca is about nature. It's about recognizing that you are an intricate
part of all this stuff around you
and it's about learning how to live in harmony with it. Consequently
many Wiccans are activists,
striving to create a better world for themselves as well as for their
neighbors whether they be humans,
plants or animals.
Really, to define Wicca is to look within yourself and remember a time
in your life when you truly felt
that you were a part of the world around you. Perhaps it was your first
trip to a mountain-top where
you looked off into the horizon at the infinate space above and below
you. Maybe it was your first
time to the beach or to see snow. Wicca is about the unexplainable
connection between nature and
ourselves that lies within each of us. Yet as we grow older, we often
lose sight of this connection and
sadly spend our lives in our concrete cities never truly knowing happiness.
When you make that connection with the divine through nature and life
itself, you never see things
quite the same way again. A dead leaf on the ground is no longer something
just to rake, but instead
it is part of a cycle of life that has just finished and which will
begin anew by providing nourishment to
the trees so that other leaves may be born and flourish. Old persons
are not merely liabilities to take
care of but instead are valuable wells of information and experiences
which we can draw upon and
learn from. Water from a fountain is not just cool and satisfying.
It is a fluid of life providing energy to
all parts of our bodies, helping our organs to cleanse themselves,
much as the element of water is
used within our magick circles. Wicca challenges us to look beyond
the surface of our life
experiences to find the real meanings. Everyone experiences life, not
all people live it.
I hope you have felt a bit of the passion I have for this path. Blessed Be.
- Ron Jaffe, The Wiccan Educational Resource Network
http://www.blessedbe.com