Wicca is a nature worshipping religion based upon beliefs and rites that are believed to rooted in ancient practices. Wicca, like most Neo-Pagan spiritualities worships the sacred as immanent in nature, and draws much of it's inspiration from both pre-Christian and non-Christian religions of Euroupe.
It is not an ancient religion, but in fact Wicca was invented by Gerald Gardener in the 1950's and was based on older religions. It is a gentle nature based religion and Wiccans worship the Goddess, with most choosing to worship the God as her consort which is often known as "The Horned One". A popular misconception about Wicca is that it's evil and some people believe that the images of the horned God are actually who Christians believe to be
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As well as worshipping many different Goddesses and Gods, practitioners also worship the sun and the moon, the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water and Spirit. Some people of this religion also practice witchcraft but not all do. It is a gentle religion and not a weird cult, there are no animal sacrifices as practitioners worship nature and animals, in fact many are vegetarian and vegan because of this. Wiccan groups often meet up in covens and have an initiatory system in which to become part of the coven. Not all do these days but there is a whole argument as to whether you can be classed as Wiccan if you are a solitary, some believe that to be a true Wiccan you have to go through a secret initiation by a High Priestess or Priest. They argue that as a solitary you would already know the ritual and this would negate the effect. Some however thing this makes the religion inclusive and unfair and argue 'who initiated the first witch!' this argument in on going. Today there are actually many different forms of the Wiccan religion such as Hereditary/Family tradition, Celtic, Gardnerian, Shamanic, Faerie, Dianic just to name a few of the many that exist. Wicca doesn't have a governing body or follow a bible that has very
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.
Wilborn, Bruce K.. Witches' craft: a multidenominational Wicca bible. New York: Skyhorse Pub., 2011. Print.
The term “Widdershins” (deriving from the Old High German words widar meaning “back/against” and sinnen, “to travel”) means “counterclockwise”, “anticlockwise”, “left-handed direction” or even “coursing in the opposite direction of the sun, in the Northern Hemisphere”. The earliest use of the word, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, shows up in 1513 in the form of the phrase ‘widdersyns start my hair,’, in other words, ‘my hair stood on end,’. ‘Hair standing on end’ or ‘wild/disorderly hair’, was the meaning of the term until the late 16th century, when its current meaning became particularly popular in the Lowland Scots and Scottish Gaelic.
Many ethical paradigms exist and The Wiccan Rede are often compared to those of The Golden Rule and those presenting set rules, like the Ten Commandments of Christianity. If there is a discussion of ethics it's often the subject of it and while some try to dissect the couplet, others discuss it loosely as a valuable rule and guideline.
Defined by Margot Adler, writer for Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History, “Wicca is the term commonly used to describe several different traditions of contemporary Paganism—an earth-centered religion that reveres nature; celebrates seasonal and lunar cycles; and worships a goddess, or many goddesses, or sometimes a goddess and a god” (637-638). It is a religion that focuses on worshipping an earth god or goddess, using their power and the earth’s elements for good. For a misunderstood religion it has much history behind it and a deep core belief system.
Wicca is a spiritual path, a way of seeing the world and Divinity, and our relationship to it. They believe that Goddess is imminent in the world around us. Goddess permeates every living thing, and most of them define rocks, soil, water, air, fire, and the plant herself as living things. "The God of Wicca is the Horned God, the ancient God of Fertility: the God of the forest, flock, and field and also of the hunt." He is Lord of Life, and the Giver of Life, yet he is also Lord of Death and Resurrection. http://www.interlog.com/~spawn/gods.html
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 controversies that surround Wicca start with its exact origin. There are some who believe that it has its origins in Witchcraft due to the similarities between the two. Witchcraft itself is a Pagan practice [polytheistic and non-Christian, Muslim and Jewish in origin] that began with the Celts around 700 B.C. As the movie The Burning Times depicts, the region during this time period was primarily a rural culture so the Celtic traditions were based completely on Nature. Their months were even named after trees and their festivals revolved around the solstices and equinoxes (Steiger). A polytheistic religion, they worshiped a host of female and male deities and are most notably associated with the concept of Goddess worship, a strong belief in the divinity of the female (Burning Times). These paganistic beliefs and rituals gradually over the centuries combined with other European religious practices, such as magic, potions, and ointments for healing, to form what we call in modern times Witchcraft. Groups who did not hav...
feeling that their own beliefs and ideas did not agree with those of main world religions, Shara H, a Wiccan since her early teenage years stated, “ Christianity in general, started not to feel right” Denice Gold, a 64 year old who was raised in a Baptist household and is currently a coven
...f empowerment; making the religion commonly depicted as a Matriarchal religion. Those of the Wiccan faith, also choose not to believe in predestinations because they see everyone as having control their own lives, and destiny’s, depending upon their actions. The most crucial point to the Wiccan faith is the basic, principles that must be followed; which includes the threefold law that states anything they do whether- good or bad- will come back to you times three; then there is the Wiccan Rede that is the outline of the Wiccan faith; to practice Wicca as you will, but to harm none in the process. Wicca has had a long history of being seen as an evil and unkindly religion; hopefully, it can now be recognized by the public that Wicca is actually a peaceful and natured centered religion that neither contains Devil worshipers nor blasphemes against the Christian faith.
Outdating Christianity and Judaism, Paganism and witchcraft are a few of the oldest religions known to man. Although many people use Paganism as an umbrella term for any other religions other than Christian or Judaic, witchcraft and Paganism are not the same thing (Lokken). Wicca and witchcraft has been practiced by many cultures in many different parts of the world. The people who practice some of the magick that Wicca has to offer may not define themselves as witches, but it has been practiced. Evidence of Africans using witchcraft has been found; however, it is not the witchcraft that follows the Wiccan Rede, or the Three-fold Law (“What). The Wiccan Rede is summed up in just a few words “an it harm none, do what ye will” (Zimmerman 63). Furthermore, the Thrice Fold Law is the law of karma; where whatever someone does, good or bad, it comes back to them thrice fold. Due to this Thrice Fold Law and the Wiccan Rede, most witches do not want to harm anyone because they know it will come back to them
...ey also worship a goddess who changes with the phases of the moon. Another similarity is Christians and wick both have communion in wicca a chalice is passed around their wiccan circle so each witch can take a drink from the chalice. And the words “may you never thirst” are said to the person with the chalice. Even though both religions have communion they are for two completely different reasons. Christianity has communion as a reminder of the last supper which Jesus gave thanks and took bread and told his disciples that the bread is his body and the wine is His blood which is given to us for the forgiveness of sins. So even though both religions have communion this does not mean that they mean the same thing. Lastly both religions have a doctrine only where chriastianity has the bible wicca has the wiccan rede which is much shorter in comparison to the bible.
Witchcraft is said to be the most widespread cultural phenomenon in existence today and throughout history. Even those who shun the ideas of witchcraft cannot discount the similarities in stories from all corners of the globe. Witchcraft and its ideas have spread across racial, religious, and language barriers from Asia to Africa to America. Primitive people from different areas in the world have shockingly similar accounts of witchcraft occurrences. In most cases the strange parallels cannot be explained and one is only left to assume that the tales hold some truth. Anthropologists say that many common elements about witchcraft are shared by different cultures in the world. Among these common elements are the physical characteristics and the activities of supposed witches. I will go on to highlight some of the witch characteristic parallels found in printed accounts from different parts of the world and their comparisons to some famous fairytales.
Pure Witchcraft on the other hand, may focus a little more tightly on using Magick and ritual to work with the elemental and spiritual forces in nature. Regardless, I feel the differences are slight in that Wicca and Witchcraft both work to achieve balance and harmony within nature and self”
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...