HISTORY
Wicca is a neo-pagan religion based on the pre-Christian
traditions of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Its origins
can be traced even further back to Paleolithic peoples who
worshipped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess. Cave paintings
found in France (and dated at 30,000 years old) depict a man with
the head of a stag, and a woman with a swollen, pregnant belly.
They stand in a circle with eleven mortals. These archetypes of
the divine are worshipped by Wiccans to this very day. By these
standards, the religion that is now called Wicca, is perhaps the
oldest religion in the world.
In 1951, the laws against Witchcraft were repealed in England. A
man named Gerald Gardner was the first to come into the public
eye with a description of what modern witches were practicing.
His information came from the traditions of a coven called the
New Forest Witches, and from Ceremonial Magick and the Cabballah.
He began what is now called the Gardnerian Tradition of Wicca.
From Gardnerian came Alexandrian Tradition, and a host of other
offshoots that today number in the hundreds.
MISCONCEPTIONS
For two thousand years the image of the Witch has been associated
with evil, heathenism, and blasphemy. These ideas have their
origin in Christian myths created to convert members of the Old
Religion to that of the new. By making the Witch into a
diabolical character of ill intent and action, the Christian
missionaries were able to attach fear to a word that had once
meant HEALER, WISE ONE, and SEER. These fears are present to this
day. When we think of the archetypal image of the Witch, we
remember the evil enchantress of childhood tales. We think of an
old, wrinkled hag with a nasty wart on her nose. We think of
hexes, and devils, and foul incantations chanted around a
bubbling cauldron. While we modern witches have been known to
stir up herbal remedies in a cauldron, we are a far cry indeed
from the horrifying Wicked Witch of the West!
Witches Do Not Worship
Satan.
To believe in Satan, one
must subscribe to the Christian mythos. We do not. Wicca does not
have any belief in, nor do we worship a concept of evil
incarnate. All life is perceived as a constant flow of positive
and negative energies, which intertwine to create the balance of
life. [From my own experience, I must say that the only evil
I have ever observed in the world has come from Man. There are no
ax-murderers, or child-abusers to be found in the animal kingdom,
or in nature as a whole.]
Witches Do Not Cast Evil
Spells.
Modern Witches have a very strict belief in the Law of Return.
Whatever we send out into our world shall return to us, so even
the most ill-tempered Witch would not consider doing magick to
harm another being. The spells that we do involve things like
HEALING, LOVE, WISDOM, CREATIVITY, and JOY. The
"potions" that we stir might be a headache remedy, or a
cold tonic, or an herbal flea bath for the family dog.
BELIEFS
-Immanent
Divinity. Wiccans
believe that the spirit of God/dess exists in every living thing:
in the trees, the rain, the flowers, the sea, and in each other.
This means that we must treat our peers, and all the beings of
the Earth as aspects of the Divine. We attempt to honour and
respect life, in all its many and diverse expressions.
-Nature. Wiccans learn from and worship nature by
celebrating the cycles of the sun, and the cycles of the moon. We
look into ourselves for the cycles within that correspond to
those of the natural world, and try to move in harmony with the
movement of life. Our teachers come in the form of trees, rivers,
lakes, meadows, and mountains, as well as other humans who have
walked the path before us. This belief infers a reverence and
respect for the environment, and all of life upon the Earth We
revere the spirits of the elements that create our world. Air,
Fire, Water, and Earth combine to manifest all creation. From
these four elements we gain wisdom, and understanding of how the
universe unfolds. The rhythms of nature are the rhythms of our
lives. Wiccans attempt to dance in step with the pulse of the
Earth.
-Other Faiths.
Modern Witches believe in
freedom first! We do not choose to look at our path as the
"one true right way," but as one path among many to the
center. We do not convert new members to the Craft, nor do we
advertise or prosteletize. We believe that anyone who is meant
for this path will find it through their own search. Wiccans
practice tolerance and acceptance toward all other religions, as
long as those faiths do not preach or commit harm to others.
-Afterlife. Most Witches believe in reincarnation
of some sort, whether it be the Eastern version known as the
Transmigration of Souls (the spirit incarnating one body after
another in an effort to learn all the life lessons that it can),
or Ancestral Incarnation (where the spirit and life lessons of
the grandfather transmute to the granddaughter, and so on down
the genetic line). The latter is a more traditionally Celtic
approach, but both are accepted.
-Sin. In Wicca, we do not have a specific
concept of sin. There is no heaven or hell that souls will go to
based on their worldly actions. Wrong-doing is governed and
determined by the individual conscience. With the belief in the
Law of Return, one's actions will determine one's future. The
individual is therefore responsible for his or her own fate,
based on what he or she chooses to do internally and externally
in the world.
-Ethics. Wicca has but one law of action and
ethics. It is called the Wiccan Rede or the Wiccan Law, and can
be found under the category of the same name. "And ye harm
none" covers almost everything that the Ten Commandments do:
don't lie, don't steal, don't cheat, etc. It encourages us to
strive not to harm any living thing - including ourselves -
except perhaps to survive. Whether this means that you must
become a vegetarian or a passivist is up to the individual. The
Wiccan Law serves as a guideline to action, not a mandate. The
only law that the Ten Commandments express that is not covered by
the Wiccan Law is that of marriage and adultery. In Wicca, love
itself is sanctified, with or without government authorization.
As long as two individuals share a sincere bond of love that does
not harm either party, it does not matter if they are legally
joined, if they are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or
interracial.
-Leadership vs.
Hierarchy. There is
no Arch Bishop of Wicca. There is no one person or organization
that determines the practices and beliefs of Wicca as a whole.
Instead, Wicca is formed of small nebulas groups and solitaries
who are charged with the leadership of themselves. Wicca is a
religion of clergy, not followers. Each person who seriously
pursues the Craft, whether it be through study in a particular
tradition, or through self-teaching and private learning, has the
choice to become a priest or priestess of Wicca. Most modern
traditions of Wicca offer a three year program of learning that
will bring the student to the level of High Priest or Priestess.
[In our tradition, the word High Priest/ess means servant; one
who serves the God, the Goddess, the community, nature, and Life.
It does not mean that a High Priestess is higher or better than
anyone else. I think of the title as one that I will spend the
entirety of my life striving to live up to.]
-Churches and
Temples. Wiccans do
not usually have churches created specifically for the worship of
the gods. Our temple is found in nature, among the creations of
the divine. We meet in a circle that represents the Circle of
Life, and the equality that we share. There is no head, no top,
no beginning and no end. When necessary, our circles take place
indoors in houses, apartments, or wherever we can find a sacred,
protected space. But ideally, a circle will take place in a grove
beneath the stars, with the silver moon shining down from above.
-Magick. Witches believe in the power of magick
to create change. A prominent Wiccan author named Starhawk
defines magick as "the art of changing consciousness at
will." By being in tune with the rhythms of life, we can
create change for ourselves and for our world. We use herbs,
oils, colours, stones, crystals, and other symbolic materials to
represent the change we wish to create. Wiccans believe that the
individual is responsible for his or her own reality. If there is
something that is not healthy, or conducive to happiness and
growth, we have the power to change it. As aspects of the divine,
we are each Creator and Creatress, filled with the power to
manifest all that we dream of or desire.
-What is Wicca? Wicca is a forest in the light of the
silvery moon...a glade enchanted by the light of the Faery. It is
the dewdrop on the petals of a flower in bloom, the warmth of the
summer sun on the skin, the fall of colourful autumn leaves, and
the softness of winter snow upon the Earth. It is light, and
shadow and all that lies in between. It is the song of the wind,
and the tune of the tides. It is the symphony of life! To be a
Witch is to be a healer, a teacher, a seeker, a giver, and a
protector of all things living and alive. If this path be yours,
may you tread it with honour and with light!
Blessed Be.
I don't know where this came from or who wrote it, so if anyone does, please contact me so I can give credit where due.