wicca is like worshiping nature right?

Question

sorry Ive only known one wiccan and then not very well.......

Answer 1

Wicca is not quite a nature worshipping religion; they do not worship as such but revere their deities and Wicca are not commonly thought of as being 'Nature based' as this tends to refer to religions such as Gaia-worship or other similar pantheistic belief systems – i.e. religions that believe their deity is present in all of nature. Granted Wicca are pantheist to a degree, but generally they tend to be thought of more as hard-polytheistic.

Wicca is a henotheistic religion, which recognises its own specific gods, while not denying the existence of gods and goddesses from other pantheons. Wicca itself is a 'hard polytheistic' religion, meaning that Wicca see their deities as specific individual beings. The gods of Wicca are known as the Horned God and Great Mother, these are outer court references meant to be used as place holders for the real names of their gods until the Seeker is initiated and taught those names.

Wicca was founded by Gerald Gardner in around the 1930's, although the exact date is open for discussion, also open for discussion is whether Gardner founded Wicca entirely or whether it was an already existing spirituality which he merely re-introduced and re-invented, either way he is considered the founding father of Wicca. Gardner brought together Paganism with influences from many sources including the rituals and teachings of Freemasonry and Golden dawn resulting in a unique orthopraxic religion. Wicca embraces it's early Pagan roots in history, the history of Pagan faiths and the gods whom they followed and worshipped, Wicca also introduces eastern philosophy into it's primarily western path, along with this possibly one of Wicca's best known features, that of religious witchcraft.

Wicca is gaining much attention due to a change in peoples approach to religion and the increase in public awareness of the religion through media attention and with this attention there has come much change to the face of Wicca with many forms:

WICCA;
Wicca is an initiate only mystery tradition, or more precisely a priesthood, where one can trace their lineage back to Gardner. Initiation is the only way into Wicca, and is carried out by a Wicca coven, initiation into a coven requires formal training after which initiation and a system of degrees is followed.

Wicca follows a strong set of doctrines, one who takes on the name 'Wicca' is also taking on these doctrines as well as practices and beliefs of Wicca, the title of 'Wicca' implies more than that you are a member of Wicca, but also that you have worked long and hard to earn that title.
Seekers are those who wish to become Wicca however have yet to find a Wicca coven. Wicca covens can be hard to find let alone become a member of, often those whom are without a coven continue to study Wicca and surrounding subjects while seeking a Wicca coven to join.

Often Wicca is described as 'Traditional Wicca' or 'BTW:British Traditional Wicca'.

NEO-WICCA;
Neo-wicca is a new phenomenon, which is usually wholly eclectic, however like Wicca there are various different traditions. Neo-wicca often learn on their own terms, from books and other sources, but have little or no formal training and no initiation into Wicca. The beliefs of Neo-wicca are generally similar to that of Wicca however the details can often vary greatly as it follows the new age idea of personal belief/spirituality over formal religious doctrine. Neo-Wicca have varied views of the divine, either following soft-polytheism seeing all gods and goddesses as one god/goddess, polytheism working with gods and goddesses from various pantheons or pantheism working with a single divine present in all.

The 'Neo' in Neo-wicca refers to the New Age approach taken by Neo-wicca that puts emphasis on personal spirituality or belief over the organized religion of Wicca. It also refers to a new take on Wicca, this has less to do with the age of the religion but the idea that this is a belief system which may have come naturally from Wicca if it was allowed to evolve in it’s own time, media influences have brought about Neo-wicca, it develops paralleled to Wicca, but is not part of Wicca.

Often Neo-wicca describe themselves as 'Eclectic Wicca' or 'Solitary Wicca', although not actually Wicca.

Within this community members are expected to know and understand these terms, respect should be shown to all Wicca.

Although Wicca is heavily influenced or based upon witchcraft it is not the main belief behind Wicca, the terms 'Wicca' and 'witch' are not interchangeable. The practice of witchcraft fits well with the Wicca way of prayer and ritual, which often involves a highly personal relationship with the divine, the witchcraft of Wicca also works well with how Wicca views the universe as working, however it should be noted that witchcraft can be practiced by many religions as well as by Atheists and Agnostics.

Wicca is not dogmatic, much of the morality and ethics of Wicca are in fact determined by the individuals take on a given situation. Often followers of Wicca will incorporate utilitarianism, which means that an act is carried out for the greater good or elements of their own morality rather then seek to find suitable behavior based on Wicca doctrine.

The rede plays a large part in the morality and ethics of Wicca, there are many takes and much documentation on the rede that can be found in many places, the rede however in itself can be clearly understood by the quote below given by Gardner himself.

"[Witches] are inclined to the morality of the legendary Good King Pausol, "Do what you like so long as you harm no one". But they believe a certain law to be important, "You must not use magic for anything which will cause harm to anyone, and if, to prevent a greater wrong being done, you must discommode someone, you must do it only in a way which will abate the harm." Gerald Gardner, The Meaning of Witchcraft, p 127 in the 1982 and 1999 printings

Another aspect of the Wiccan ethical philosophy is that of the 'law of return' often known as the 'three fold law' which is similar to that of western karmic philosophy, that anything you do either good or bad will come back to you. Law of return is often more closely associated with magic ethics rather than the everyday ethics covered by the rede or other Wiccan ethical beliefs, however is often thought of as cause and effect. This is also often referred to as the 'rule of three' or 'law of three'.

Answer 2

I am a Wiccan. (Gardnerian for the curious)

I would say that Wiccans don't worship nature at all. They may celebrate the seasons, honour the Earth, venerate the deities of the Earth, but worship is a strong word.

Wicca is an earth-centred Goddess and God (pluralistic and dualistic, sometimes henotheistic or polytheistic) spiritual path. Some Wiccans are pantheistic (believing that the sacred is inherent in all) but we don't worship trees! (but we may sometimes give them a hug, even if just to wind up friends who are close minded and scared of what hugging a tree may do to their ego!

Answer 3

yes, mostly nature. there is no "devil" in the craft, contrary to what too many people believe. there are gods and goddesses(mostly goddesses) in it also. but for the most part it is nature. some parts of it are even scientific-for instance, the use of herbs as cures/remedies and things like that. there is nothing "evil" about it whatsoever. those who make it out to be evil have no idea what any of the beliefs are. pure ignorance with no desire to learn new ideas(in this case an old religion making a comeback). wicca was never really dead or dormant, it was simply hidden for historical reasons.this day and age wicca it is not too uncommon, but some of us hide it for various reasons.

by the way, i am very happy that some people from other belief systems(like you) are trying to open their minds to different lifestyles. more people need to open their minds instead of looking down on everyone with different beliefs and opinions.

blessed be.

Answer 4

Wiccans worship a god and a goddess. They are also very intune with nature. The precursor of modern medical science came from the Wiccans. Without them, we wouldn't know, for example, that willow bark soothes pain. Get to know more about Wiccans. There is nothing to fear. The first tenet (in modern language) is: Do what you want as long as you hurt none. That means not go steal something, but if you want to practice skyclad (naked) in the forest or in the dark, do so, who are you hurting? That is just one example. If you know one, chances are very good that you know more. Wiccans don't tend to tell their neighbors or co-workers about their belief systems until they know them very well. Remember all the witch hunts?

Answer 5

No.

Most Wicca have a deep respect for nature and realize that, well, without nature we're gone! We see ourselves as a part of nature...not separate from...not greater than...just a part of.

The Wicca worship two distinct tribal deities from the southern part of Great Britain. We honor many other things...but not worship.

Answer 6

Contrary to what those who choose to persecute or lie about us wish to believe, Wicca is a very peaceful, harmonious and balanced way of thinking and life which promotes oneness with the divine and all which exists.

Wicca is a deep appreciation and awe in watching the sunrise or sunset, the forest in the light of a glowing moon, a meadow enchanted by the first light of day. It is the morning dew on the petals of a beautiful flower, the gentle caress of a warm summer breeze upon your skin, or the warmth of the summer sun on your face. Wicca is the fall of colorful autumn leaves, and the softness of winter snow. It is light, and shadow and all that lies in between. It is the song of the birds and other creatures of the wild. It is being in the presence of Mother Earths nature and being humbled in reverence. When we are in the temple of the Lord and Lady, we are not prone to the arrogance of human technology as they touch our souls. To be a Witch is to be a healer, a teacher, a seeker, a giver, and a protector of all things. If this path is yours, may you walk it with honor, light and integrity.

Wicca is a belief system and way of life based upon the reconstruction of pre-Christian traditions originating in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. While much of the information of how our ancestors lived, worshiped and believed has been lost due to the efforts of the medieval church to wipe our existence from history, we try to reconstruct those beliefs to the best of our ability with the information that is available.

Answer 7

Yes, Wicca is a nature based religion. I know this because i am Wiccan. Why do you ask?

Blessed be!!!!

Answer 8

Wicca is an Earth based religion. Which means that we feel the Earth is our center of being and if we don't respect it the Earth will not respect us.

Blessed Be )O(

Answer 9

Yes it is. I have studied Wicca and other Earth based religions and would tell you what I know and give you some links. e-mail me.

Answer 10

Yes, primarily Celtic. Check out oldways.com

Answer 11

Wicca is another name for witchcraft