Why should I be so secretive? I understand that back in the day they needed to be, but nowadays? It's not like the Gardnerians kept there Traditions secret for very long. Who cares that others think we are satanistic, they are obviously ill informed.
2006-10-12 10:00:30 · 20 answers · asked by Axe 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
judith r, who said I wasn't in a Coven, the Coven Priests and Priestesses are the ones who wish us to be secretive, and 60 years seems to be back in the day.
2006-10-12 10:12:07 · update #1
Levi, didn't you state in a previous answer that you were Jewish, that is funny... the worlds most picked on and despised religion picking on another, as a Wiccan we could care less about what religion you practice... maybe you should take on your own answer.
2006-10-12 10:23:13 · update #2
Epona Willow, Will you please expand your answer?
2006-10-12 10:25:44 · update #3
Saint Toad V, Epona Willow, Black Aliss and Hayden Lyfe, Thank You all for directing me back to the path! Blessed Be
2006-10-12 10:50:19 · update #4
Thank You Kithy, Blessed Be
2006-10-12 20:18:59 · update #5
Jadea, I'm sorry I beleive you missed my point.
2006-10-12 20:23:26 · update #6
There are good points to being secret though. There's really no reason to be secret about you being a Wiccan or what that means to you. There isn't any fear of being dragged off to prison, tortured or burned alive as there once was. I do not believe that is the necessity for secrecy. Instead, it is more about the personal revelation you receive during your studies and beyond. These things are meant only for you, not for others. And that is the reason so many covens hold to secrecy when it comes to their intiation rites, lessons, etc. So, there are good reasons to remain secretive, just not for the reasons most would think.
2006-10-12 11:14:54 · answer #1 · answered by Kithy 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
the only things you NEED to be secretive about are the things that are oathbound within the coven setting. Meaning you dont blab to every tom dick & harry that you are in a coven with so & so. Many people prefer to keep thier religion a secret form prying eyes. Perhaps a fellow covener has decided to run for office, Would it look good to potential voters if you outed them as a witch? It is a matter of personal privacy. If you are not in a coven than you have no need for secrecy, but there are oaths that are sworn upon intiation that you have to abide by if you wish to remain in the coven in good standing.
You might also want to keep your spell work under wraps too... loose lips sink ships! You don't HAVE to, but it facilitates success to keep the power in the spellwork as opposed to letting it leak out everytime you talk about it.
2006-10-12 10:23:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Surely if you are Wicca then your coven would have explained this to you during training and before you took your measures. Gardnerians do keep their traditions secret, like every other Wiccan tradition they are sworn by oaths to keep the inner-court teachings of Wicca secret.
Keeping Wicca 'secret' is not about persecution it is about integrity of their path, you will notice how many people claim to be Wicca without actually following Wicca and the amount of misinformation present, by keeping Wicca oath-bound this keeps the same misinformation from going on about the true practices, doctrines and beliefs that Wicca follow and so in doing this it is keeping this information from being tarnished with outside information that would dilute their tradition, to keep their knowledge alive.
There is no 'back in the day' although Wicca was founded in England when witchcraft was still illegal there was no particular pressure to stay hidden on a personal level, once the law was lifted Wicca came out, that was only a few years after Gardner founded the religion.
There is no need for an individual to hide their beliefs, there may be some prejudice but not nearly as much as people with victim mentality make out, there are laws to protect peoples freedom of religion and even if there was a change of prejudice it is better to be true to oneself then hide, if people never stood up to prejudice it would continue to rule over us.
There are of course reasons to be delicate what is or is not talked about, most Wicca will not even be public about their tradition or lineage because there is a great degree of secrecy, they are however for the most part openly Wicca and so there is no reason for an individual Wicca not to be the same.
Just be careful who you tell what and of course keep to your oaths – this goes without saying, there are very few Wicca who have broken their oaths, those who have still have not gone so far as to reveal all the inner-court teachings within Wicca, but disguise it to explain Wicca.
2006-10-12 11:24:15 · answer #3 · answered by Kasha 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Keeping it secret and being discreet are two different things. I prefer to be discreet and so I don't wear anything that would let anyone know my religious beliefs. I do this because it's personal to me and noone else's business. The truth is you probably don't need to be secretive, but if I were you, I'd try not to pimp it out too hard like Xians do. You know that it's usually the newbies who play 'dress up'.
Solitary witches do tend to be put upon by covens.
2006-10-12 10:05:50 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
There are several reasons it is wise to observe the rule of silence. There is a difference between being secretive and silent.
There are members of my coven that are in professional jobs and if outsiders found out about their spiritual practices it could be their downfall. I have had threats of my house being burned and the mall my store in in being bombed. Trust me when I tell you that others are effected when one wants to "spread the word".
Your H.P ands H.P.'s are wise in requesting secrecy from you. It is fine for you to speak of your own activities as that is your choice, it is wrong to implicate others who have given you the privilege of working with them. At all cost, anonymity should be respected.
2006-10-12 10:22:32 · answer #5 · answered by Epona Willow 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Wiccan suports the earth and nature. That is your religion and others should respect that. If not they are either uninformed or narrow minded.
Move forward with your beliefs and don't care what others pervieve.
Just make sure you are using Wiccan to do Gods work.
2006-10-12 10:04:09 · answer #6 · answered by Nevada Pokerqueen 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the four words of the magi are:
to know
to will
to dare
and to remain silent
words have power and if you use them without caution, not only can you cause a lot of bad things to happen, but you are leaving your energy behind like stray hairs, slowly disempowering yourself. Also this leaves you open to people asking your metaphysical aid in frivolous pursuits--IE everybody's always asking for love spells, tarot readings, etc.--are you a wiccan or a fairy godmother? save your energy for the important things--peace be with you
2006-10-12 10:32:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
I see no need to be secretive. I believe people need to be open and honest in all matters so that we may learn tolerance. It's when we don't talk about things others feel we have something to hide and then they become fearful.
2006-10-12 10:05:35 · answer #8 · answered by hazydaze 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
i am christian-- i get it where you are coming from
now while your friends may think its ok even your family maybe--think about your job professional opinions and stuff like that
people should be judgemental but all too often we are even christians--none of us get it right all the time
if you dont want to hear the gripes just dont tell people
i am sorry thats all i have
2006-10-12 10:03:29 · answer #9 · answered by tiff 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I used to be secretive, but am now longer. I came out of the broom closet.
2006-10-12 10:04:29 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋