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My View of Wicca
As I discuss Wicca as a religion on this site I describe my view of Wicca with respect to my personal tradition or practice. Different traditions describe things differently and those traditions may hold different concepts, beliefs and codes.
Introduction
Wicca is a religion. It's not the only religion or even the best religion.
It simply is one path to the Divine. There are other paths to the Divine and
by no means do I purport to tell you that my path is the correct one or even
your path is the incorrect one. It is simply one path.
Just as in other faiths there are many denominations or sects there are different traditions of Wicca -- the oldest of which is Gardenarian, followed by Alexandrian. Even with these "traditional traditions" the most common "tradition" one will hear of is eclectic. While my tradition is ecclectic it is far from being the only or right tradition for every Wiccan.
Deity Concepts
Wicca is a religion that reveres the natural world. The natural world (i.e. trees, grass, rocks, mountains, etc.) is seen as a part of the Divine, but, not the entirety of the Divine. Other religions, such as Christianity, believes that the natural world was created by, but is separate from, the Divine.
Wiccans believe in dual deity. The Divine manifests itself as the Goddess and God. For some Wiccans the Goddess and God may manifest themselves in various aspects with various names such as Diana, Pan, etc. Other Wiccans prefer not to name their deity at all. Personally I do not wish to take names and "aspects" from other religions' theologies.
The Goddess who
is represented by the moon has three aspects, tied to the phase of the moon; The
Maiden, when the moon is waxing, the Mother, when the moon is full, and the
Crone when the moon is waning. The dark or new moon is the time when the
Goddess has died and will be reborn when the moon begins waxing once again.
The God, who is represented by the sun, during the waxing half of the year, is called the Oak King, whereas in the waning part of the year he is called the Holly King.
There is much mythology, primarily modern mythology regarding the Goddess and God.
The Goddess and God are inseparable; They are not meant to be considered individually. Such belief detracts from the dual nature of the Divine and the balance thereof. Wiccans believe in dual deity. If one worships only the God or only the Goddess they are not Wiccan.
To be or not to be
Are all Those who follow the path witches? No and most witches are not Wiccan. In real life many faiths practice witchcraft. Regardless of the way TV and Films may portray Wiccans, they are not all practioners of witchcraft.
Some will claim you must be initiated into a coven to be Wiccan, others will insist you must be initiated into a Garderian Coven to be Wiccan. I believe, however that intention, belief, and action are what truly defines a Wiccan.
Fundamentally, these six things define a Wiccan:
- Belief in the Goddess and God.
- Belief in reincarnation.
- Belief in the Wiccan Rede: If it harms none do what you will.1
- Belief in the Law of Return (for crying out loud, Newton figured this out!)
- An understanding of nature and a desire to connect with it.
- A belief in the existence of magic, although they may not practice it.
One cannot simply read a book on Wicca to become Wiccan. One must follow through with action, such as holding rites and ritual. Books are fine, but, be aware that books are not the end-all to religion. Religion is not carried by the mind, it is carried in the heart. If, when holding the rites, either alone or in a group, you truly feel the Divine presence you are well on your way to becoming Wiccan.
Media
Movies like "The Craft" and "Practical Magic" and television shows like "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Charmed" portray witches with supernatural abilities. These shows and movies, entertaining as they might be, are exactly what they are meant to be: Dramatic entertainment. These shows are fiction. I happen to be a big fan of "Charmed" and "Practical Magic" ... I love a good story. Other Wiccans, Witches and Pagans disagree with me and that's ok ... We do not need to agree. My biggest complain of "Charmed" is not about it's "witchyness" but rather it's a show placed in San Francisco which is clearly filmed in Los Angeles (including the exterior shots of the "manor" which is in the Echo Park district of L.A.)
Magic
While Wiccans may practice magic, this magic is nothing supernatural. It is the focusing of real energies in real life.
Balance in the World, Good Versus Evil
A Wiccan believes in balance in the world. There are energies which some consider "negative" and "positive", or "good" and "evil". It is important to understand that these types of energy exist as well as the understanding that good and evil, positive and negative are not absolute; These are labels given by people, and, usually, people agree on the definitions.
There are people who think that every manifestation of the Divine and spirit world are benevolent forces. I don't foster such beliefs and I believe that any "true" Wiccan would agree with me.
In the last year or so several catastrophic events have happened. Events such a Hurricane Katrina which devastated a good portion of the Gulf Coast States in the US or the Indian Ocean Quake which was not only so strong that it literally changed the axis of our planet measurably but created a tsunami of such magnitude that it caused widespread disaster throughout the Indian South Pacific Oceans.
When you consider that, the Goddess and God are in everything, then this means not only they are in the beauty and bounty of the world they are also in storms, disease, and disaster such as the tsunami and hurricane disasters and while these events have had a devasttingly lethal effect on mankind these events are still part of the Goddess and God and indeed are of the Divine.
I have witnessed several catastrophic events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and urban wildfire. I even, once as a teen who lied about his age, fought forest fires.
Earthquakes are part of the natural process by which the planet evolves, geologically. Fires burn away underbrush and cleanse the forest. Volcanoes produce new landscape and make way for new life. It is difficult for most human beings to look at such disasters and find the positive, but, in the end these events are neither positive nor negative. They simply are. We assess our own judgements.
In 1980 I watched the explosive eruption of Mount St. Helens from the relative safety of Portland, OR. This fatal eruption removed the top 1,300 feet of mountain in the largest landslide in recorded history and killed 53 people. The surrounding forest was laid waste and President Carter commented on seeing this that it looked like the surface of the moon.
Recently, however when visiting Mount St. Helens, I saw a very different picture: while there is still evidence of the massive explosion 25 years ago. There is also new life, new landscape features and even a new lake. The crater is home to the newest glacier in North America.
At the time I visted the mountain was considered to be erupting and at a pace which, if continued, would rebuild the mountain's top to near 10,000'. This is, indeed, a place of power and a place of new beginnings and what is more Wiccan than to actually see the cycle of life and death on a massive geolocical and ecological scale?
Just as in the mundane world of everyday life there are good and bad people thus is the same with respect to both energy and the spirit world. I have seen, and fought, in the astral world, malevolent spirits (demons). I know they exist and I know they can have devastating affects on peoples lives.
Origins
In the book "The Witch-Cult of Western Europe" by Margaret A. Murray, the history of Wicca and Paganism is purported to go back 25,000 years. Starhawk has it go back even further. Many years ago this "history" was proven to be false, and perhaps, even, a fabrication. Murray never identified as Wiccan or Pagan so it is unlikely this was a fabrication to "legitimize" Wicca or Neo-Paganism.
Wicca is a religious tradition based very loosely on the ancient religions of the prehistoric Europe, specifically Western Europe and Great Britain. There is a lot of myth and folklore taken from prehistoric times.
The religion known as Wicca began in the UK in the 1950's from the teachings of Gerald Gardner. This earliest form of Wicca, known as Gardnerian Wica, is a system based on individual groups, known as covens, all of which can trace their lineages back to Gardner. Other forms of traditional Wicca that have evolved from the Gardnerian tradition include Alexandrian and Seax traditions. Raymond Buckland is largely considered responsible for bringing Wicca to the US.
WICCA IS NOT AN ANCIENT RELIGION!
Despite claims that "the old religion" goes back thousands of years flies in the face of anthropology.
The last ice-age was 8000-10,000 years ago. Much of what we know of those times has been gained through the examination of fossils. 10,000 years ago the British Isles (where Wicca's supposed roots came from) was covered in ice and glaciers. I sincerly doubt there were covens of skyclad pagans worshipping in these conditions. This is supposition on my part, however, it is more than a curiosity that the term "pagan" was not used in the British Isles before the 17th century2
2 Wikipedia Entry on Paganism
Disclaimer: As I discuss Wicca as a religion on this site I describe the Wiccan religion with respect to my personal viewpoint, or, perhaps my "tradition". Different traditions describe things differently and those traditions may hold different concepts, beliefs and codes.