"What is the purpose of religion?" Some people would say, "hope." Hope for what? Hope for the afterlife; hope for something better than this. Unfortunately, this answer assumes a view: that there is something wrong with this life we're living. It is evident that Christians have a low opinion of the human condition, and that their belief in the afterlife of heaven and hell reflects this opinion. However, Wicca is a religion that celebrates life and nature. We are a people who believe this earth is our paradise. Therefore, we don't want to escape or move to a "higher plane;" we want to stay here! This concept is one of the reasons we believe in reincarnation.
There are many cycles to be found on earth. The cycle of the seasons, the moon, human bodies, animal mating, daytime and nighttime, etc. The concept of a beginning and an end are actually quite foreign to many natural processes. (See: Evolution vs. Creation!) Therefore, it is hard for me and many other people to believe that a soul enters the world, leaves it, and then never returns. This is another reason that we believe in reincarnation.
The Wiccan concept of the soul provides another reason for us to believe in reincarnation. Our soul is a part of the Goddess and God, entering our body when we are born and returning to the Goddess and God when we die. Our soul is always in existence, though our body has a limited life span. And yet, when our bodies are dead, it is assumed that our souls are dead as well! As a matter of fact, if our souls are always a part of the Goddess and God -- whether in a body or not -- then we never really cease to exist. When I die, my soul will leave my body, but enter some other living or non living part of the earth -- a rock, a tree, the air, or another animal or person. This is a base definition of reincarnation, and another reason that we believe in it.
Reincarnation is a basic Wiccan belief,
but what Wiccans believe about reincarnation varies greatly from person
to person. Many Wiccans draw their beliefs about reincarnation from traditional
eastern religions that espouse reincarnation, such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
Others form their own beliefs about how many times we are incarnated, when
and why we stop, how many years there are between incarnations, what we
can be reincarnated as, etc. Still others, like myself, don't have many
solid beliefs about reincarnation, other than that it exits. After all,
a person can only know so much.
~*~NEVER
AGAIN
THE
BURNING
TIMES~*~
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