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In Wicca there is no all holy book which we all revolve our practices and beliefs around; there is no grand person ruling over us telling us what to do and how to believe (that would be a cult, which Wicca certainly is not). Wicca is a religion which emphasizes personal responsibility and accountability. You are responsible for yourself, your growth, and making your own choices. You are also accountable for the outcome of those actions and should they go wrong or prove to cause harm, you are responsible for trying to make things better. (Of course some things are out of our control and simply the will of Spirit, but that is never an excuse for not trying to help someone or do good, especially if it was you who was wrong in your actions.) How then, without any guidance (or so it seems), do we maintain structure in our religion? Honestly, I�m not quite sure. As of lately, I�ve noticed quite a few who are falling out of the arena of beliefs in Wicca, yet call themselves Wiccan. This bothers me. It�s okay to be another religion and have different beliefs, however, to call those beliefs Wicca when they are not is wrong. Not just for Wicca, but for any religion. I believe in reincarnation and naturally don�t believe in heaven or hell and have never believed in sin, so I couldn�t be a modern Christian (although early Christians did indeed believe in reincarnation). To call myself a Christian then would be wrong, even disrespectful. It�s the same with all religions, including Wicca. Indeed, Wicca is a religion of personal freedom in every way, but you can only go so far in skewing the beliefs of any religion before you�re flying free outside of the religion all together. Evaluate your beliefs and see if Wicca chimes with those, if not, then find a religion or spirituality which does. Aside from all of that though, Wicca is a religion of direct action. We don�t sit and listen to someone tell us about God and the experiences other have had in the past. We stand up and face the gods on our own. We experience it ourselves, first hand. Wicca is a religion which stresses developing a personal, deep relationship with Spirit directly, and not by focusing on that relationship once in a while, but every day, walking side by side with Spirit, making each day and each step magical and special in our growth, as each moment is a blessing and essential. This is how we learn, the gods and others are who we contact for guidance, help, and give thanks to for their blessings. Wicca does have somewhat of a foundation, though, things that define it as Wicca. ~Belief in both a Goddess and a God ~Following the Wiccan Rede ~The Law of Return Belief in both a Goddess and a God Whatever personal relationship a Wiccan may have with the Goddess and God, however they view them each individually, is up their personal view which they have a right to, but Wicca is a polytheistic or duotheistic religion, depending on the individuals view of deity. More on these subjects at the appropriate links on the home page. Following the Wiccan Rede The Wiccan Rede simply states: An it harm none, do as you will. There are different variations in exact wording, and even much longer poem versions, but this is the basic idea. As long as you harm none in your words and deeds (and in some cases of personal belief, even thought), that is good and fine. However, there are consequences for every action, good or bad. That�s the next part. Law of Return The law of return is the basic law of cause and effect. Most religions believe in some sort of reaction to your actions in some way. In Wicca, this is it. It is also known as the Three Fold Law, but that can become confusing and people get too hung upon the fact that it�s �three fold.� They ask, �three fold of what? Triple the harm or good comes back to you? Three times it will come back to you the same?� There�s all sorts of ideas out there. But I find the title Law of Return more suiting because no matter any of that, the fact is, you get what you put out. Personally, however, I do agree that it comes back to you with more force as that energy you put out gains momentum on it�s travel, and by the time it comes back to you, it is stronger. This is simple science really. Words, actions, and most importantly, thoughts, carry and produce energy. Thoughts are most important because both words and actions start as thoughts. |
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