Wicca Help???

Question

What makes Wicca diffrent than other pagan religions? I know that there are many diffrent forms of wicca, and that people practice in many diffrent ways. I am just wondering what is it that makes a person wiccan instead of one of the other pagan religion, What is that common element that all wiccans have? I know that it is not the practice of magik becuase many pagan paths use magik.

Now I am not expecting that to many people would like to explain a whole religion so any links our site recamendations would be appriciated

Blessed Be

Answer 1

Paganism encompasses people of Pantheist or Polytheist beliefs;
Pantheist – belief in many divine beings.
Polytheist – belief in a single divine present in all.
Wicca is a very specific religion, and unlike most Pagan religions Wicca has no laity meaning that Wicca is a priesthood so all it's members are clergy.

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.


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'. For the most part these morals and ethics are held more strongly by Neo-wicca, within Wicca these are often only taught to new initiates and Seekers to help them learn responsibility for their actions, for the most part Wicca rely on personal moral and ethical philosophies.


WICCA LINKS:
http://amberandjet.spiralpaths.org - Amber & Jet
http://www.cyprian.org/Articles/gardchron.htm - Gardnerian Chronology and Bibliography
http://www.wargoddess.net/index.php - Enyo`s Workshop
http://wicca.timerift.net/ - Wicca: For the Rest of Us
http://www.homecircle.info - Homecircle
http://www.starkindler.org/ - StarFire Rising
http://www.asiya.org/ - Asiya`s Shadows
http://www.newwiccanchurch.net - New Wiccan Church International
http://members.tripod.com/~Moonpfyr/gardnerian.html - Gardnerian Tradition
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/2416/wildrose.html - Wild Rose Outer Grove
http://members.shaw.ca/stoneandcauldron/ - Coven Of The Stone And Cauldron
http://www.oldeenchantments.com/coven/ - The Hollywood Coven

Answer 2

Wicca is different from other Pagan religions in that according to Wicca all Gods are One God and all Goddesses are One Goddess. More specifically, they worship the divine Androgen, more appropriately called the Lord-and-Lady than the Lord and Lady. However, in their worship they generally call upon the God and/or Goddess that best suits their purposes at the time. The God or Goddess is called upon for the ritual and then dismissed at the end, with a somewhat Goetian attitude, but certainly much less complicated.

As you can probably guess, this is a heresy in the eyes of many other Pagans who have worked hard to develop personal relationships with individual Gods and Goddesses and don't believe them to just be different faces of one Androgenous being and they aren't called down just for favors but instead are worshipped and celebrated. If they give favors out of that, it's just bonus. Most often they are asked for wisdom. Magic performed by these folks is believed to be powered by their own energy rather than that of the Gods.

Another very obvious difference is the nature of Wiccan ritual versus other Pagan rituals. Wiccan rituals bear a much closer resemblance to those used by Kabbalah and High Magic Orders, which have their roots in Abrahamic mysticism which is, by definition, not Pagan. This doesn't mean that Wicca isn't Pagan, just that their rituals are similar to those that aren't Pagan. Some examples of these similar elements are: initiations, use of degrees or levels, scourging and the use of sex to induce altered state of consciousness, the use of circles and specifically perscribed tools such as the blade and chalice and evoking spirits for specific purposes (Angels or demons in the case of the Abrahamic traditions, elemental spirits or Gods in the case of Wicca) and a strictly defined hierarchy within the group.

Most Pagans now use the Wiccan holidays which were adapted from a variety of sources including the Celtic traditional calendar, even those who are not of Celtic tradition or Wiccan simply because it's easier and that's what everyone else is doing- although what they do on those holidays differs greatly. That shows just how pervasive Wicca is in the Pagan community.

Answer 3

The answer is complicated by the fact that there's traditional Wicca (the "old-school" initiatory branch), "neo-Wicca" (far more eclectic, initiation optional), and a whole slew of "Wiccanesque neo-Paganism" (things that look a lot like neo-Wicca, just without the name.)

Many of the specific elements that would signify one of those three aren't always present in all of them - and a number of those elements are present in other religions as well.

You'll *likely* find most Wiccans using the 8-Sabbat calendar, using some derivation of the same ceremonial structure, and having an awareness of (if not observance of) the Wiccan Rede & Threefold Law. There's also a semi-shared vocabulary, but most of that has found use in the general Pagan population as well.

Answer 4

Christian Wicca is a mystery to so many. C.W. is an eclectic form of Christianity. Those who can not consider any other teachings except the Bible are very uncomfortable with this religion. Christian Wicca believes in the trinity of God the Father, God the Mother (Goddess), and the Son God Jesus. We also study and practice the principles of the Bible, Kabbalah, Gnostic Gospels and Wiccan teachings. Possibly the most important concept of C.W. is their inclusion of the Divine Feminine. Basically, there can not be a birth with out a father AND a mother. We worship the Mother Goddess as having equal power in creation. The Mother is present in every aspect of Spiritual teachings, even the Bible. (Although you have to look hard to find it there.) Also, there is a difference between being Christo-pagan and being Christian Wiccan. Before you go on the air with your report, look up the two and take note of the major differences. I won't do it here because it will simply get too lengthy. Just know that they are different. I am often criticized by Christians and Wiccans alike. (More so Christians. Wiccans tend to be more open-minded.) I hope I have answered some of your questions. Good luck with your radio report....Blessings!

Answer 5

Well there's a lot of different Pagan religions; I would say one of the biggest ones is that Wicca is Neo-Pagan whereas some of the others are Reconstructionalist Pagan.

Here's one example of how Wicca differs from another Pagan religion:
http://www.webcom.com/~lstead/wicatru.html

Answer 6

A comparison of Wicca and Druidism:
http://davensjournal.com/index.htm?DaWaC.xhtml&2

An essay about the similarities and differences between Wicca and Asatru:
http://www.webcom.com/~lstead/wicatru.html

Answer 7

The history of it is much shorter...some pagans go back thousands of years, wicca only 150 or so.

Answer 8

Wicca is acreation of the 20th Century. Although Wiccans may borrow from Pagan religions of Western Civilization, it does not really have a direct connection to them.

In the 19th century a romaticizing of things Pagan began. Godfrey Leland forged a spurious book called Aradia:Gospel of the Witches that implied that witches were pagans who worshipped Diana (and Lucifer). He plagarized materials from two previous books he wrote (Etruscan Remains and Gypsy Sorcery). Although the word Wicca isn't mentioned, it was the great-great daddy of the whole thing.
Later on quack anthropolgist Margret Murray hatched her own theory about the witches of the European witch trials actually being survivors of a Pagan cult in her books. These inspired Gardner to create his own witch cult witch he called "wica" (at first spelled in lower case and with only one "c"). Gardner insisted Witch meant "Wise one" claiming the word derives from the Old English word "wicce". "Wicce" actually means "to bend", and this is where the word "wicker" comes from. The word "wicked" also comes from "wicce" (as in a wicked person being "bent").
The word "witch" has a nefarious meaning in every language on earth,including English, but for some reason Wiccans still insist on calling themselves "Witches" (with a capital "W") and their religion "Witchcraft". They feel that the reason people are afraid of them is centuries of "xtian propaganda" meant to defame them. But even if they went to Vietnam ( a predominantly Buddhist country) and said they were a Phuy Tay (Vietnamese for witch), people would still be afraid of them. Of course, a tiny few Wiccans have stopped calling themselves witches, but most probably enjoy the shock value wether they admit it or not.

There were examples of witches who did evil deeds in history (such as the Weirs and LaViosin) but Wiccans don't equate themselves with such people since they were Devil worshippers.

The people killed at Salem were Christians killed by other misguided Christians probably due to food Ergotism due to food poisoning (since they even hung a dog as a witch, I'm convinced they weren't in their right minds). And even though some Wiccans will admit the "witches" killed weren't Wiccans, they still treat them as Wiccan martyrs. There is a large Wiccan population in Salem, with Laurie Cabot as it's "official witch".

Most "Neopagan" religions you read about have no direct connection to the ancient Pagan religions of the past either. usually these groups strongly resemble Wiccan "traditions", which inspired them. Neodruidism is attempt to revive Druidism minus the human sacrifice. Often tiems the groups get ideas from Wicca and Crowley. Odinism involves the worship of Nordic gods/godesses. It attracts Neonazis and KKK types, and is the most dangerous branch of the Neopagan movement.

I love all you Wiccans, but I just have a different opinion than you do. If people only want to hear answers they agree with, they should only talk to themselves.

Answer 9

mayan pagan religion involves extracting their captives heart as a sacrifice to their gods

i think wiccans...ahem..is way more civil than that

Answer 10

We get intiated into the religion, and it involves sex (at least in my tradition). We also practice in the nude, binding with cords, scourging, and other rituals that set us apart.