THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | RELIGION | NEO PAGANISM | WICCA

What is Wicca?

To: alt.religion.wicca
From: "Julie White" 
Subject: What is Wicca?
Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 01:42:55 GMT

What is Wicca?

WICCA (sometimes called Wicce, The Craft, or The Old Religion by its
practitioners) is an ancient religion of love for life and nature.

In prehistoric times, people respected the great forces of Nature and
celebrated the cycles of the seasons and the moon. They saw divinity in the
sun and moon, in the Earth Herself, and in all life. The creative energies
of the universe were personified: feminine and masculine principles became
Goddesses and Gods. These were not semi-abstract, superhuman figures set
apart from Nature: they were embodied in earth and sky, women and men, and
even plants and animals.

This viewpoint is still central to present-day Wicca. To most Wiccans,
everything in Natures -- and all Goddesses and Gods -- are true aspects of
Deity. The aspects most often celebrated in the Craft, however, are thr
Triple Goddess of the Moon (Who is Maiden, Mother, and Crone) and the Horned
God of the wilds. These have many names in various cultures.

Wicca had its organized beginnings in Paleolithic times, co- existed with
other Pagan ("country") religions in Europe, and had a profound influence on
early Christianity. But in the medieval period, tremendous persecution was
directed against the Nature religions by the Roman Church. Over a span of
300 years, millions of men and women and many children were hanged, drowned
or burned as accused "Witches." The Church indicted them for black magic and
Satan worship, though in fact these were never a part of the Old Religion.

The Wiccan faith went underground, to be practiced in small, secret groups
called "covens." For the most part, it stayed hidden until very recent
times. Now scholars such as Margaret Murray and Gerald Gardner have shed
some light on the origins of the Craft, and new attitudes of religious
freedom have allowed covens in some areas to risk becoming more open.

How do Wiccan folk practice their faith today? There is no central authority
or doctrine, and individual covens vary a great deal. But most meet to
celebrate on nights of the Full Moon, and at eight great festivals or
Sabbats throughout the year.

Though some practice alone or with only their families, many Wiccans are
organized into covens of three to thirteen members. Some are led by a High
Priestess or Priest, many by a Priestess/Priest team; others rotate or share
leadership. Some covens are highly structured and hierarchical, while others
may be informal and egalitarian. Often extensive training is required before
initiation, and coven membership is considered an important committment.

There are many branches or "traditions" of Wicca in the United States and
elsewhere, such as the Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Welsh Traditional, Dianic,
Faery, Seax-Wicca and others. All adhere to a code of ethics. None engage in
the disreputable practices of some modern "cults," such as isolating and
brainwashing impressionable, lonely young people. Genuine Wiccans welcome
sisters and brothers, but not disciples, followers or victims.

Coven meetings include ritual, celebration and magick (the "k" is to
distinguish it from stage illusions). Wiccan magick is not at all like the
instant "special effects" of cartoon shows or fantasy novels, nor medieval
demonology; it operates in harmony with natural laws and is usually less
spectacular -- though effective. Various techniques are used to heal people
and animals, seek guidance, or improve members' lives in specific ways.
Positive goals are sought: cursing and "evil spells" are repugnant to
practitioners of the Old Religion.

Wiccans tend to be strong supporters of environmental protection, equal
rights, global peace and religious freedom, and sometimes magick is used
toward such goals.

Wiccan beliefs do not include such Judeao-Christian concepts as original
sin, vicarious atonement, divine judgement or bodily resurrection. Craft
folk believe in a beneficent universe, the laws of karma and reincarnation,
and divinity inherent in every human being and all of Nature. Yet laughter
and pleasure are part of their spiritual tradition, and they enjoy singing,
dancing, feasting, and love.

Wiccans tend to be individualists, and have no central holy book, prophet,
or church authority. They draw inspiration and insight from science, and
personal experience. Each practitioner keeps a personal book or journal in
which s/he records magickal "recipes," dreams, invocations, songs, poetry
and so on.

To most of the Craft, every religion has its own valuable perspective on the
nature of Deity and humanity's relationship to it: there is no One True
Faith. Rather, religious diversity is necessary in a world of diverse
societies and individuals. Because of this belief, Wiccan groups do not
actively recruit or proseletize: there is an assumption that people who can
benefit from the Wiccan way will "find their way home" when the time is
right.

Despite the lack of evangelist zeal, many covens are quite willing to talk
with interested people, and even make efforts to inform their communities
about the beliefs and practices of Wicca.




--

~~~~~~~~  Julie White  ~~~~~~
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BOS-pagan
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FontWorld
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races