Christians.....Please answer...?

Question

Tell me what you know about Wicca......
I am just interested to see how many of you know what we believe in, as we know what you do...
Just Curiosity, I am not aiming to be rude...
Thank you

Answer 1

I am not a christian I'm a Wiccan....
This is for all the ignoramuses above who were rude when a respectful question was asked....Read and learn, then you may not be so ignorant!
icca (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: theywere 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 Nature - and all Goddesses and Gods - are true aspects of Deity. The aspects most often celebrated in the Craft, however, are the Triple Goddess of the Moon (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 folks 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 commitment.

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 Judeao-Christian concepts as original sin, vicarious atonement, divine judgment 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 proselytize; there is an assumption that people who can benefit from the Wiccan way will 'find their way home' when the time is right.
Blessings!
~*Ariel*~

Answer 2

I am also a Wiccan, and have been for over 20 years, and I wanted to tell all the people up there that the prior Wiccan who posted an angry diatribe is wrong.

Wicca is a modern religion, founded in the 20th century.

Just like Christianity has snake handlers and Jerry Falwelleque fundies, so too does Wicca have revisionists and people who don't know fact from fantasy.

A good source on the non-ancientness of Wicca is Ronald Hutton's Triumph of the Moon, from Oxfored University Press.
(As you were)

Answer 3

Wiccans believe in a Triple Goddess with her three aspects, Maiden, Mother and Crone.
The male God of Wicca is known as the Great God, the Great Father or, most commonly, the Horned God.
With regard to the afterlife, most believe in reincarnation.
Another aspect of Wiccan belief is the set of Four or Five Elements of nature.
Some Wiccans join congregations of witches called "covens"

In usual rites the Wiccans assemble inside a magic circle, which is drawn out in a ritual manner followed by a cleansing and then blessing of the space. This preparatory ritual is called "casting the circle." Prayers to the God and Goddess are said, and spells are sometimes worked.

Answer 4

I don't know too much about it, honestly. I knew a Wiccan priestess in college, but I was never able to work out going to one of their services. From what I could gather, it was a religion which took the earth and the natural (feminine) power of creation to be holy and usable by humans. This power is usable through certain (magical?) rituals which may include some kind of emphasis on/practice of human sexuality and fertility. The way she described it, Wicca tries to balance what it sees as the male and female aspects of the universe into a mutually respectful unity. I guess that's not much, but it was enough to make me relieved that it wasn't about sacrificing children while wearing pointy black hats.

Answer 5

I know wicca to be a school of witchcraft or you wanna learn how to use spells and basically be a witch but in a seemingly harmless manner yeah i understand its basically witchcraft coated in sugar spice and nice pple like you

Answer 6

I can tell you that christians, for the most part, know nothing about wicca. What, if any, they have learned, is negative propaganda from the church. I am, or course, speaking of your typical garden variety bible thumping fundamentalist christian. The ones I spent 5 days a week with for 18 years in the bible belt.

Answer 7

it varies. some wiccans are pantheistic, while others worship only the “God” or the “Goddess”. still other wiccans worship nature, and call it gaea, after the greek earth Goddess. some wiccans pick and choose parts of christian doctrine to embrace, while others totally reject christianity.

not all wiccans practice witchcraft, but those that do claim that magick is to them what prayer is to a christian

Answer 8

Wicca is a variety of witchcraft founded on religious and magical concepts, and most of its adherents identify as witches

Answer 9

What do you believe in?

Email me a link where I don't have to read more than one or two pages to get a sense of it!

Answer 10

Wicca is a a relgious practice involving nature worship, a witchcraft. You do not believe on the living God which is in powerful spirit who created every living things on earth, including the earth which you worship. You are worshipping also the Sun, the moon, the staars and all kinds of nature.
jtm