| What a question. Not that is easy to answer, its not. You see the word Wicca is Olde English for Witch. Yes thats right, I'm a Witch. But what does it really mean to be a Witch? Hollywood has showed lots of movies, cartoons, and TV shows that portray us as ugly old hags that wear all black to match a pointed hat, brew up potions to steal childrens lives, and fly on broomsticks through the night. Is any of this true, No (although even I enjoy some of this entertainment). Some religions attack us with words of being pagan, practicing heresy, and worshiping "Satan". Well to begin with, their not entirely wrong, but they are about worshiping "The Devil". You see, Satanism started after Christianity had been around for some time and its religious leaders were still trying to get people to convert to the New Religion because back then, most people were still pagans. A pagan is a person who follows a religion that started before Christianity. Witchcraft has been a religion sense almost the creation of humans through evolution. We aren't too sure on its history as archeologists aren't sure where exactly the garden of Eden was (although they have alot of evidence to support different places.) But we do know that alot of witches back then were respected for using their knowledge to help others. When the Christian leaders developed the concept of having an all evil entity to balence with the all good, alot of people who had converted to the new religion didn't like alot of the strictness of every pleasure being a sin (as that religion was alot stricter on what was taboo at that time, now people are expected to be thankful for whatever goodness comes into their lives, which i don't entirely disagree with.) They weren't satisfied with the new god and thought that if he couldn't help them, they'ed turn to the all evil one, and even if that one didn't help, at least they could be satisfied with defying society. They took the Bible and made a new one known as the Satanic Bible, with Lucifer as their savoir. This was and is NOT witchcraft. But because keeping some old practices like magic (which we Wiccans spell Majick with other variasions to defferentiate it with stage magic) would also defy society by useing it to bring sufferring, all witches were condemed along with satanists by those who choose the new religion. Heresy means act(s) of an unpopular religion. So if witchcraft is not satanic and we don't worship the devil (which I never believed in any way) then whats the difference between us and Christianity. Well, Christianity and Satanism are book based religions. People who follow them take their beliefs from there religious books (as we're talking about a whole group of religions who follow some scripture) and anything not mentioned in the book can not be their beliefs. People will believe whatever they want, so becuase having your own beliefs isn't always looked on highly, people are surpressed by what they feel. Wicca is an Earth based religion. Our beliefs come from our knowledge of the earth, its creatures, the universe and whats all around us. We are free to be creative with our beliefs and to learn from the physical things and to attune with their spiritual selves for fullfillment of spreading positive energy. What ever religion you come from, its a popular belief that we are all part of each other and we came from some greater force then us. In Wicca, we wish to live in harmony with our brothers and sisters because whatever good we do for others, does a little good for ourselves because of the Threefold Law, which is what ever you send out will be returned to you times three, which is the natural balance of life. We believe everything has life and so thats were our dieties come from. We believe that a god rules the sky, a goddess rules the water, a god rules the sun and a goddess rules the Moon. Everything has a masculine side (physical) and feminine side (spiritual). We don't see the gods as being perfect but neither are we. We do respect them for what they do for us. (one God that has horns and is worshipped by Wiccans is the God of the hunt, Cernunos, who wares stag horns and deer skin clothes, and he ruled to bond between humans and animals, he's not evil. This bond was important to people back when they had to hunt for their food.) Yes we do practice spells, but only for good purposes, otherwise we know that it will return alot worse. So long as you don't hurt anyone (even yourself because what you do will have a ripple effect on others) and you don't try to control others, then its fine. We believe in choosing our destiny. Yes, the planets alignment at the time of our birth does make us better at somethings then others, but its our lives. We choose what we do and have to except responsibility for what we've done, whether we like it or not. Wicca is known as a modern witchcraft religion because its a new religion based on the old beliefs. How long is not always sure by every one, but it wasn't as easy to learn about it as it is now back 50 years ago. In Wicca, the goddess and god love each other and were once one being before the big bang. After that, he became the Sun, and stars and she became the Moon and the darkness in the universe. But the goddess after awhile missed not being with the god and so she traveled through the 7 astral planes (which are different states of conciousness and manifestation of the physical and spiritual sides of us, its believed we learn lessons in life and we climb these astral planes in the cosmos while attuning with what surrounds us during different states of conciousness, meditation.) But as she did, the souls of all the spirits that were apart of her fell from her while she fell from grace, in love with the god. Their love brought these souls into the physical world and made all the earth creatures (us). We are fallen star dust, the dream of the goddess to reunite with the god, and so they are within us, all around us. Wicca also believes in reincarnation. One life time is not enough to experience everything life has to offer, good and bad. So, we will return to life after death to continue to learn and experience everything. When we have, we join the god and goddess in summerland ( our heaven, which is also were we rest before we reincarnate) to become spirit guides like them, to help others learn the lessons they need to learn. We always have the choice in the afterlife to stay in summerland or come back to earth. The spellcraft of Wicca is also studied as a science. Salt is very pure to us and everyone knows it heals cuts. Majick is a divine act like praying. When someone is ill and you pray for there well being, your asking deity to help them. Well with majick, its the same thing only you use visuals to help get you in the right state of mind. Wiccans have holidays too, we celebrate the seasonal Solstices and the the dividing Sabbats. We celebrate the changing of the seasons and full moons. Our holidays are Yule (winter Solstice), Dec.21, Candle Lammas, Feb.1, Ostara (spring Equinox), March 21, Beltane, May 1, Middsummer (summer Solstice) , June 21, Lammas, Aug.1, Mabon (autumn Equinox), Sept.21, and Samhain, Nov.1. These are known as the days of power and each has its own energies that are in harmony which we attune with.The 13 full moons are known as Esbats and these periods are when psychic energies are at their peak and is the best times to do constructive majick, but this is all energies, not specific ones. To be a Wiccan is to be a witch, to be a witch is to attune with the life force all around us and within us to live in harmony with others in a positive way. Males (like me) are not known as worlocks (which is Scottish for oath breaker and was used to accuse one of witchcraft during the burning times) but as Wicca, and females are Wicce and we are all Wiccan. Wicca isn't for everyone but if this sounds like your kind of religion then explore these pages and learn more. If it's not but you do find it interesting, then still take a look and enjoy! -Skye RavennWolfe |
