Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In my family, we see religion as our own personal decision; different to each individual. All the children in the Meyer family have been encouraged to explore religions and find what fit us best. As a child I was looking for a religion that I could relate to. I wanted to get in touch with nature and myself. I explored many different religions but I found no connection to them. My grandmother, a few cousins, and an aunt practice Wicca, and when I was nine I took immediate interest. I quickly felt like I belonged somewhere and had a purpose. My nana took me under her wing and I studied and practiced under her supervision. My nana is a High Priestess, an equivalent to a Pastor or Priest, and was therefore qualified to instruct me in Wicca. Over the course of my adolescence I have learned a great deal about Wicca, and I devoutly practice Wicca each and every day. There are multitudes of non-believers and some extremists that aim to harm Wiccans, but Wicca is not violent, or evil. Wicca is a beautiful, enthralling religion that is self- and nature-based and focuses on the journey of life through knowledge, wisdom, and exploration.
The history of Wicca is odd because Wicca, unlike many other religions, does not go back thousands of years. Wicca is a New Age denomination that stems from age-old practices of Paganism, Hebrew mysticism, and Greek folklore. The name “Wicca” stems from the Anglo-Saxon word “wicce” which translates to one who practices sorcery or herb craft(Wicca-Butler). Ancient Pagan-European tribes practiced early magick that is very similar to Wiccan practices today. These pagans used rituals to utilize nature’s energy to grant their people whatever they needed or desired includ...
... middle of paper ...
...ess?" PANTHEON. N.p., 17 Jan. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Herne. "What Is Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism?" What Is Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism? N.p., 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
"History of Paganism and Wicca." History of Paganism and Wicca. N.p., 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Mankey, Jason. "Becoming a High Priestess." Raise the Horns. N.p., 7 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Robinson, B. A. "Partly Real; Partly Imaginary." The History of Wicca. N.p., 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Rose, Evylyn. "Site Menu." MIM-Elements in Wicca. N.p., 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Rose, Evylyn. "Site Menu." MIM-Wiccan Rede. N.p., 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Rose, Evylyn. "Site Menu." MIM-Wiccan Sabbats. N.p., 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Strix. "Afterlife in Wicca." Afterlife in Wicca. N.p., 14 May 2000. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
"Wicca." - Butler University. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
In history the pagans have been viewed as godless infidels. Many who practice paganism live in fear related to the judgment of others that hold differing views on religion. Much of the persecution of the Pagan has been related to their practice of magic. What is amazing is that much of the magic once practiced by pagans was similar to that of modern medicine (Some Basic Pagan, n.d.). Despite their apprehension and fear of persecution, it has been reported that Paganism has been described as one of the most rapidly growing religious movements in the world today (Eilers, p.
Yardley, Meg. "Social Work Practice With Pagans, Witches, And Wiccans: Guidelines For Practice With Children And Youths." Social Work 53.4 (2008): 329-336. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
In all of human history, people have written about inhuman beings, many of which include gods, demons, wizards, sorcerers, sorceresses, and witches. Nowadays mystical beings are seen everywhere in media. Most of society stopped believing in these creatures years ago, but for 17th-century Salem, witchcraft became a living nightmare (Fremon, 1999).
One of Magliocco's main arguments is that these Neo-Pagan cults all have roots in both anthropology and folklore in their early development. Magliocco offers a detailed historical analysis and examines influences found all the way back to classical traditions. She concludes this analysis by bringing her reader back to the contemporary and offers us insight into how both the fields of anthropology and folklore have helped shape Neo-Paganism into what it has become today.
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. “Wicca.” The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft & Wicca. 3rd ed. 2012. Print.
Wiccan Religion: The Goddess and Gods of the Wiccan Religion. "Wicca is the most prevalent form of reconstructionist neo-paganism in the United States and is the pre-Christian spirituality of the Celtic peoples who resided in the British Isles and Brittany and on the western coast of France. " Wicca is a religion based upon a deep personal understanding of oneself and the multi-verse in which one resides. They work with the Gods and Goddesses that call to us, and we develop relationships with them that help and support them in their evolution. Wicca is a spiritual path, a way of seeing the world and Divinity, and our relationship to it.
Wicca is a religion and not just a religion with one God but the belief of many Gods. Wicca is an earth-based religion. I believe Wicca’s beliefs are similar to that of the Hindu religion. There are three topics in Wicca that stood out to me the most. The first topic that stood out to me was the Wicca’s belief in how creation came to be, the second topic is the many Gods and deities that the Wiccan religion believes in, and the last topic that was the most interesting to read about is the reincarnation beliefs of a Wiccan.
The Wiccan religion is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States as well one of the most misunderstood due to the controversies surrounding its history and mystery shrouding its beliefs and doctrines. Due to a series of popular TV series that have shown Witchcraft in a positive light, such as Sabrina, the Teen-aged Witch and Charmed, the popularity of Wicca has grown, especially amongst teenagers; but sadly this popularity has not been partnered with a growth in understanding and respect (Kaminer). Although Wicca offers a nature-oriented, egalitarian belief system with a rich collection of customs and rituals, ignorance and historically-rooted misconceptions still dominate public opinion.
Wicca, commonly known as the “Craft” or “Old Ways” is an expression used to describe various traditions of contemporary Paganism, an earth-centered religion that shows a substantial amount of respect for nature; celebrating the changes in the season and lunar cycles (Mankiller, Wicca); As stated by Morrison Wicca celebrates, “the beauty of the moon, the stars, and the sun (5)”; and the worshipping of the deities (Morrison, 2001). Those who follow the path of Wicca are usually referred to as “Witches” or “Wiccans” derived from the Anglo-Saxon term wicce, which can be translated as “Sorceress” or “Wise One” (Morrison, 2001), they are nothing like the witches seen in modern media (Mankiller, Wicca). Throughout History Wicca has been depicted as a Satanist related religion, leading to mass persecution of those who adhere to its principles (as seen in the Salem Witch Trials); few truly fathom the Wiccan faith. The real truth about Wicca is that, it is a religion centered on the theology of the deities in form of the Patron Goddess and God, it is a matriarchal religion, with varying traditions and religious branches, that doesn’t believe in predestination, and has basic tenets that must be followed.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Wicca began to become recognized as a religion in popular culture. Aspects of Wicca were combined into the New Age movement, and a lot of Wiccans began to start using New Age beliefs and practices. Wicca was also began to be added in to movies, books, and shows; in 1996, the American film “The Craft” was released, it was about four witches who are changed by their power. The same year the tv series “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” came out, which was followed by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, and then, the year after that, “Charmed” and the movie “Practical Magic”. While these were criticized alot by a lot of Wiccans, they did encourage many teenagers and young adults to learn more about the religion. Most covens and Neopagan groups did not allow people under eighteen into their coven, and so many teenagers started using books to find out more. Because of this, quite a few books were published to provide for them, including Silver Ravenwolf's Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation and Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. This helped wicca to get more younger people involved in their religion, and it has been thought that the reason why so many young adults are paying attention to the faith can "Be attributed to the fact that it tackles issues that teenagers are interested in — in a way that other religions...
WITCHCRAFT: The word witchcraft comes from the word “Wicca.” Wicca means the wise one. Witchcraft is to be believed as a pagan worship and or religion, a stereotype as a “magical phenomenon. In 1000 A.D., the practice of witchcraft became a threat to the Christians and their beliefs. They believe that wit...
Dupré, Louis, and James A. Wiseman, eds. Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism. New York: Paulist Press, 1988.
Lehmann A. C. & Myers J. E. Magic, Witchcraft and Religion – An anthropological Study of the Supernatural (Fourth Edition) (Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997)
III. Smithson, Jayne. “Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion.” Class lectures. Anthropology 120. Diablo Valley College, San Ramon 2004.
"Myths Encyclopedia - Myths and legends of the world." Hinduism and Mythology. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.