whats a wiccan?

Answer 1

A nature religion?
Thumbs up and stars!

Answer 2

A Wiccan is a person who follows the religion called Wicca.
Now, of course, the next question is, What is Wicca?
Wicca is a modern religion with a very old past. It is based on Western European WitchCraft practices, which can be traced back to 50,000 years ago.
WitchCraft, as a religion, is the observance that the Divine exists in all things, and that it is perceived as a duality - good/evil, dark/light, male/female, all aspects of both sides of the coin can be found in every aspect of life.
The observance of WitchCraft also follows the cycle of the seasons, and Witches celebrate the seasons at eight holidays, called Sabbats.
There are a lot of Witches who believe that the "Old Ways" must be practiced exactly as they always were, and practiced in secret, otherwise they would suffer persecution from the Christian Church.

Wiccans are like an offshoot of Witches. Wiccans are more open about their beliefs, and they don't try to stick to "Old Ways". Wiccans can adapt and incoporate aspects of other belief systems into their worship. Native American totemic symbology, Buddhist philosophies, and other beliefs have been used in Wiccan worship.

So that's what a Wiccan is.

Answer 3

A Wiccan is a member of the Wicca religion. The Wiccan religion is a nature based religion that has a god and goddess. There is no heaven or hell, and no devil. The god and goddess are neither good nor evil. Wiccans revere (BUT NOT WORSHIP) nature in all its aspects and realize that we are a part of it, not above it. There is only two "laws". 1. Harm None (including plants and animals with only two exceptions. a. for food and b. self protection if you or a loved on is in immediate danger) 2. Whatever you do comes back to you.

Wicca is accepting and understanding of all differences and does not tell you "you must do things this way" provided that you live by what I posted above. Even the interpretation of the nature of the gods themselves is up to the Wiccan.

Wicca supports questions, education, knowledge and discovery.

Answer 4

Wicca is a religion found in various countries throughout the world. It was first popularised in 1954 by a retired British civil servant named Gerald Gardner.

Answer 5

A Wiccan follows the religion of Wicca.

Wicca is a conglomeration of various mythological, folklore, and cultural practices and beliefs that stem from different times over the European continent. Such things include the use of Ceremonial or High Magic's ritual of erecting the temple, the doctrine of the four elements by Empedocles, the Charge of the Goddess has borrowed parts of Italian folklore, the Myth of the Descent of the Goddess is also a part of Italian folklore.

The earliest known date for Wicca is in the 1930's and thats speculation, but the commonly known "start date" is the 1950's. Wicca is not a revival or reconstruction of any form of pre-Christian religions at all. Wicca is its own religion that uses pieces of pre-existing religious traditions from various time periods and locations and mesh them all into a single, working cohesive unit. Wicca is not the "Old Religion" because that connotates that it has existed prior to the "New Religion" (being Christianity) and Wicca has not existed prior to the 1900's.

There are numerous claims, and all being highly speculative and extremely scrutinized, that there are existing traditions of Wicca and/or Witchcraft that have survived through generation after generation in so-and-so's family. About 80% of the time, this is all hogwash. However, if your family is anything like us Italians, you undoubtedly have various superstitions and little rituals or 'novenas' that are clearly out of context in Catholicism or whatever Christianity you are/were. But those little practices are not enough to say "I have an existing tradition from ancient times". Yes, you have something, but its pretty hard to base an entire Wiccan religion and practice just around your Nonna being able to cure the malocchio (evil eye).

Wicca is a polytheistic religion, where Gardner stated that "the Lady" and "the Horned Lord" are two fairly pre-eminent deities of the pantheon of Gods that Wicca worships. So, yes there are more than just 2 deities, a common misconception. Wicca, in origin, was not duotheistic with a single Goddess and a single God. Also there was none of this "all gods are one God" stuff that I hear so much about, that is a New Age concept that has weedled its way into the minds of modern Wiccans.

Wicca is based in the idea of living in balance, traditional covens had an equal male to female ratio of membership. The head of the coven is the High Priestess whose authority is given by the High Priest, a sort of check-and-balance if you will. The High Priestess and High Priest are commonly referred to as a "leader amongst equals" to denote that there is no formal hierarchy and that each member is on equal footing with all the rest.

Wiccans will sometimes also take the title of Witch. The words Wiccan and Witch are sometimes used interchangeably, usually by those who participated in Wicca during its initial formation and growth as Wicca was termed as the Religion of Witchcraft. The titles 'Wiccan' and 'Witch' do not denote a gender and are thus used by both men and women.

Do Wiccans practice Withcraft? In origin, yes, a Wiccan and a Witch were the same thing for Gardner and his colleagues. However in these modern times, people have separated the two and not all Wiccans will practice Witchcraft, but many do. And one final note is that not all Witches follow the Wiccan religion.

Wiccan liturgy consists of casting a ritual circle and invoking the four Guardians of the Watchtowers. Doing this opens the gates to the realms of the Gods, what has become popularly known as being "between the worlds". Upon doing so a sacred space, or temple, is thus formed so that the ritual worship may be performed. The deities are invoked to take witness and be present for the rites and prayers to be done. There is a communal meal known as "Cakes and Ale" which honors the Gods for bringing up the wheat and vine so that mankind does not go hungry and starve.

The holidays are separated into two, or three, cycles. The lunar cycle's holidays are known as Esbats and occur on the full moon, however an Esbat can also be held during the new moon. The other cycle is the solar cycle which consists of 8 holidays. (The solar cycle is sometimes divided into 2 cycles, the Solar and Agricultural). The solar holidays include the Solstices and the Equinoxes. The agricultural holidays include October 31, February 2, April 30, and August 2. To get into the meaning of these at this point would be to exhaustive, perhaps food for thought and future questions you can ask us here on Yahoo! :o)

Wicca does make use of sacred ritual tools. Commonly found ones are the Athame, the Wand, the Cauldron, and the Pentacle. The athame is a tool that is charged to invoke and banish energy as well as beings from beyond our earthly realm. The wand is similar to the athame, but it more so calls and gathers energy and places it rather than deals with spiritual entities. The cauldron is a tool of regeneration and healing as well as a tool to gain access and view to other realms. The Pentacle is commonly used as a tool to summon energies and entities into a particular place, and is also used a tool to make such things manifest in the physical world. The tools are somewhat complicated to be picked apart and discussed individually as they are truly all used in a singular whole, thus the tint of overlap of what they 'do'.

Contrary to popular belief, Wicca does have a system of laws, sometimes referred to as "The Ardanes", they consist of about 166 laws. However that numbering is off being that one single law must be taken into context with the lines above and below it to truly gain its understanding. The laws are more so long paragraphs than single one-liners as the 166 presents itself.

The Wiccan Rede has come to be held in high regard, though Wicca in origin with Gardner and Valiente never had such a thing. The Rede consists of rhyming couplets that in poetic verse describe some of the practices and beliefs of Wiccans and sum it all up with these popular words "An ye harm none, do what ye will." There is so much interpretation behind those eight words that it too would require a section of questions all its own.

Another popular Hymn or Prayer is the "Charge of the Goddess". Doreen Valiente is the initial author of it and over time variations have been written by various authors and traditions. Valiente's version does borrow somewhat heavily from Charles Leland's "Gospel of Aradia". And that itself, can open a whoel can of worms as well that would needs its own question.

The afterlife is usually referred to as the "Summerland" a place of paradise where souls rest after their death and prepare for their next life. It is a commonly held view that souls reincarnate until they gain all the spiritual lessons that they need and upon finishing the cycle the last incarnation essentially becomes enlightened and aids others in their paths to reach that stage and after that death the soul rejoins the Gods and becomes apart of Them once more.

One thing that is important to know about Wicca, is that it is an experience to be had. The Mysteries must be felt and experienced by the Wiccan, and the only way it will happen is by participating in the rituals and celebrations. You cannot read about Wicca and be Wiccan, you must practice and live it to be truly Wiccan.

If all life required was to read about something to be it, I know several millions of children would go *poof* with a sparkle and shining light and be turned into a Harry Potter or any other student of Hogwarts.

So you MUST live and practice the religion, not read and preach about it.

I may have missed some things, but this is a pretty good start for you.

Answer 6

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

Answer 7

It's like earth magic. People who practice the arcane arts, but not from a religious point of view. They believe in all the nature spirits and those kind of trolls. Someone told me it was like a fancy name for witchcraft, but without the whole Hollywood bit of riding on broomsticks and turning frogs into gay princes.

Answer 8

Nice job Mike G!!! You are "on it"!!!

Answer 9

a person

Answer 10

me