whats wicca?

Answer 1

WELL I WOULD FIRST SAY THAT WICCA IS A NAME PLASTERED ON OLD BELIEFS BECAUSE HUMANS HAVE TO TAG EVERYTHING WITH SOME SORT OF LABEL.
NOW I WILL GO ON WITH MY OPINION OF THE REAL ANSWER. IT IS A NATURE BASED BELIEF THAT DATES BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF MANKIND. THE ANCIENTS BELIEVED THAT THE WORLD AND UNIVERSE THAT THAY LIVED IN CARRIED ENERGIES THAT GAVE THEM THE POWER TO SUSTAIN LIFE. THEY BELIEVED THAT THESE ENERGIES WERE WHAT MADE ACTIONS HAVE REACTIONS.
ITS BELIEVED THAT THE ENERGIES THAT EXIST IN OUR UNIVERSE WHICH ARE THE SAME ENERGIES WE ARE MADE OF CAN COMMUNICATE AND EMPOWER EACH OTHER.
ITS A BELIEF THAT EVERYTHING IS BALANCED. EVERYTHING HAS ITS EQUAL AND ITS OPPOSITE.
YOU WILL HEAR WICCANS SPEAK OF GODS AND GODDESSES.
HERE IS MY INTERPERTATION. ENERGIES ARE EITHER MASCULINE OR FEMININE. THE DIVINE MOTHER GODDESS IS THE WHOLE OF THE FEMININE ENERGY COMBINED. THE DIVINE FATHER GOD IS THE WHOLE OF THE MASCULINE. BREAKING THESE ENERGIES DOWN INTO SPECIFIC ORIGIN IS WHAT GIVES YOU THE MULTITUDE OF GODS AND GODDESSES. FOR EXAMPLE. THE GREEK GODDESS APHRODITE IS THE GODDESS OF LOVE. ATHENA IS THE GODDESS OF WAR ANDWISDOM. THESE ARE BOTH PARTS OF THE DIVINE FEMININE BUT BROKEN INTO THEIR OWN SECTIONS. LIKE I SAID HUMANS HAVE TO GIVE EVERY LITTLE THING A NAME.
THIS IS HOWEVER A HELP. IF YOU WANT TO FOCUS ON A SPECIFIC ENERGY BE IT MALE OR FEMALE YOU FIND THE CORRESPONDING GOD OR GODDESS AND IT WILL HALP YOU PIN POINT WHAT YOU SEEK INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT THE WHOLE.
WICCAN DO BELIEVE IN THE PRACTICE OF MAGICK ALSO. THIS IS NOT SHOOTING LIGHTEN BOLTS FROM YOUR FINGERS. IT IS LEARNING TO COMMUNICATE AND CONFORM THE ENERGIES AROUND YOU TO SUIT YOUR DESIRE. IT IS ALSO BELIEVED YOU SHOULD BE VERY CAREFUL DOING THIS BECAUSE IT WILL ALWAYS COME BACK TO YOU STRONGER THAN YOU SENT IT OUT, SO ALWAYS HAVE A POSITIVE INTENT.

Answer 2

What is Wicca? Wicca is a contemporary Pagan religion with spiritual roots in the earliest expressions of reverence of nature as a manifestation of the divine. Wicca views Deity as Goddess and God, thus it is polytheistic. It also embraces the practice of ritual and reincarnation. Religious festivals are held in observance of the full moon and other astronomical and agricultural phenomena

In Wicca:

• The Goddess and God are revered as equals, one it neither above nor below the other.

• Human souls enjoy a series of incarnations in human form (reincarnation).

• Power can be sent in non-physical form to affect positive change and the world in positive ways (Christians know this as prayer).

• What is done will be returned to the doer (Karma or as Christians know it: you reap what you sow).

• The earth is our home, our Goddess that gives us life (like a mother gives life to a child). It is not a tool we can abuse or it will not give life back.

• Wiccans are not evangelical. We have no need to "spread the word". We feel if our path is right for someone, they will find us. We don't have to convince anyone to join us.

• A Wiccan accepts EVERY religion as correct to its adherents.

• Wicca accepts members from both sexes, from every race, national origin, and of every sexual preference. There is NO discrimination in Wicca.

• Wicca does not ask for donations or tithing.

• Wicca is a religion, not a political organization. Wicca as a whole does not preach issues or endorse political candidates.

I hope that helps explain it a bit.

Blessed Be

Answer 3

Traditional Wicca:
A modern form of Witchcraft is called "Wicca." Traditional Wicca is based on the teachings of Gerald Gardner, is coven based and each coven can trace its lineage (line of teaching passed on by initiated Traditional priests and priestesses) back to Gardner himself. There are offshoots of Gardnerian Traditional Wicca such as Alexandrian Wicca, Georgian Wicca and many others. Traditional Wiccans are considered a 'mystery' religion, require initiation by the coven and have a "degree system" or different levels of rank based upon coven training and the readiness of the initiate to accept the duties and responsibilities of that degree. They have a core of inner knowledge-often called the "Book of Shadows"-which is known only to initiated Wiccans. Most Traditional Wiccans believe in the balance of male-female divinity. Traditional Wiccans are seldom solitary except for those 'Elders'-usually former priests and priestesses-who may have retired from active coven involvement.

Answer 4

Wicca is a religion created by Gerald Gardner in the 1950s. It involves nature worship, with an emphasis on Celtic mythology and magic/ritual. It is has several offshoots, including Soitary Wicca and the Alexandrian Tradition. There are 8 holy days, evenly spaced through the year, starting with Samhain (sow-een) on Oct 31. There are also esbats, held on the Full Moon each month.

Answer 5

{{Witchcraft, lies, deceit, manipulation, delusions of power.
Source(s):
Former Wiccan High Priestess}}
Laptop Jesus?? a former High Priestess? Something isn't right here. I don't know what happened to you but you sure do have some issues. Wicca is nothing like you describe, you have been brainwashed to think so.

PrairieC..I couldn't have described it better. Good job.

Answer 6

Wicca is a religion.

http://www.angelfire.com/rant/ingwitch/whatis.html

Answer 7

Wicca is a very complex faith which embraces widely varying practices and many different Traditions. The following, however, is what I consider to be "the basics".

Wicca is about 60 years old, with roots in Masonic practices, ceremonial magic, and the Romantic era's ideas of classical religions. Its founder was a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner.

http://www.geraldgardner.com/essays.php

It is in many ways a postmodern faith, embracing religious relativism, and one that resonates powerfully for increasing numbers of people.

The central tenet of the Wiccan religion is the Wiccan Rede: "If you harm none, do what you will." This is a deceptively simple "commandment" which can take a lifetime to contemplate and to master. Many Wiccans also believe in the Law of Threefold Return, sometimes called the Rule of Three: “Whatever you do, for good or ill, will come back upon you three times over.”

Wiccans honor Deity as both male and female, God and Goddess -- or at the very least as Goddess. Many Wiccans believe that the universe is the body of God/dess, and therefore that all things contain Divine energy and that the world itself is sacred. Some Wiccans are polytheists (many God/desses); others are duotheists (God and Goddess, of whom all other Gods and Goddesses are simply aspects); others are monotheists (God and Goddess Themselves are simply aspects of an unknowable Source).

Wiccans generally do not believe that God/dess is separate from the world; therefore, we have no concept of salvation, since God/dess is present to all and always. Many Wiccans believe that God/dess is too big to fit inside one religion -- all religions/spiritual paths are ways of reaching the same goal, and atheism and agnosticism are honorable perspectives on the mystery of life.

Each Wiccan operates as their own priest/ess. We do not have a distinction between clergy and laity. Therefore, each Wiccan is responsible for their own personal development and for forging their own relationship with God/dess. Some Wiccans practice in covens, which are generally initiatory and require a long period of study (traditionally a year and a day) before entering. Others practice in loosely affiliated groups of solitaries, which are Wiccans who practice outside of traditional coven structure. Others simply practice alone.

Wiccans do not usually have churches. We create sacred space as and where needed, by casting "circles" of energy which function as temples. When inside those circles, we invite the spirits of the four Platonic elements (air, fire, water, and earth) to join us, as well as the Goddess and the God (or at minimum the Goddess).

Wiccans have celebrations which are timed to both the solar and lunar calendars. The solar festivals -- held at the solstices, the equinoxes, and four points in between them -- are called sabbats.

http://paganwiccan.about.com/library/basics/blsabbats.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_year

The lunar holy days are called esbats, and are held at the full moon each month, and sometimes at the new moon as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbat

Many Wiccans practice witchcraft, which we see as working with the Divine energy that permeates the world to bring about change. In accordance with the Wiccan Rede, the vast majority of Wiccans will not curse or perform magic to bring harm upon anyone else.

A relatively objective (non-Wiccan) set of articles on what Wiccans do and believe:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm

Another useful article:

http://www.religionfacts.com/neopaganism/paths/wicca.htm

A good site by Wiccans:

http://wicca.timerift.net

And the US Army Chaplains Handbook excerpt on Wicca:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_usbk.htm

If you're looking to do some reading, I'd recommend "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham, and "The Triumph of the Moon" by Ronald Hutton. I advise you to stay away from anything by Silver Ravenwolf, for reasons outlined in the following essay:

http://wicca.timerift.net/ravenwolf.shtml

If you have any further questions, please feel free to email me.

Answer 8

It's religion based on worshipping and respecting "mother earth." It's not witch craft as some people believe

Answer 9

A Neo-Pagan religion

Answer 10

a "life" style that ex-Dungeons & Dragon players claim to live since they became bored with LOTR