wiccan Q"s?

Question

1) can anyone tell me bout the Wiccan faith?
2) is a wiccan the same as a pagan?
3) how do they practice their faith
4) how do u say wiccan -which ANN or wick-IN
5) any sites i could check out for more info?
6) is pagan said as PAY gen

please forgive my ignorance. i'm just trying to learn

Answer 1

1.Wicca is an initiatory, oathbound mystery religion which is polytheistic, honoring a variety of gods and goddesses, but also dualistic, seeing individual deities, at least to some extent, as aspects of one God and one Goddess, and pantheistic, viewing divinity as immanent within the natural world. It encompasses the practice of magic, as well as religious devotion. Its ethical basis is expressed in the Wiccan Rede ("An it harm none, do as ye will"), and the Threefold Law ("What ye send returns three times over"). Wicca itself contains a lot of diversity, and not all forms of Wicca include all these elements, but most include most of them to some degree.

2. All Wiccans are pagan, but not all pagans are Wiccan.

3.The Wheel of the Year is our calendar. It is comprised of eight holidays known as Sabbats, starting with Samhain on Nov 1. The wheel imagery is invoked because we view time as cyclical, not linear - the world lives and dies and lives again. There are many, many different views of the Sabbats depending upon Tradition and personal gods. The most common associations concern the life-cycle of the God. At Samhain he dies. At Yule he is born. Fertility returns to the Goddess through the spring just as the young God matures, so that by Beltaine they unite and the Goddess is pregnant once more. The God then proceeds into old age, giving of himself at harvest as we approach Samhain once more.

The Sabbats are divided into two groups: the Major Sabbats, also known as the Cross-Quarter Days, and the Minor Sabbats, which are also known as the Quarter Days and correspond to the equinoxes and solstices:

Sabbats
Samhain (Major) November 1
Yule/Winter Solstice (Minor) December 21
Imbolc (Major) February 1
Eostara/Spring Equinox (Minor) March 21
Beltaine (Major) May 1
Litha/Summer Solstice (Minor) June 21
Lughnassadh/Lammas (Major) August 1
Mabon/Fall Equinox (Minor) September 21

Ritually, our practice involves casting a circle as the basic setting for spiritual and magical work and emphasizes the elements of earth, air, fire and water, plus some form of gender polarity, be that theologically in the image of the God and Goddess.

There are of course different ceremonies for different purposes, and there is substantial difference in practices between various Traditions, covens and individuals. The following outline is a very generic template, intended to give a general concept of overall practices.

First, the participants are purified. This may be as lengthy as a ritual bath (done in private) or as a simple as a sprinkling of water, a smudging of incense, and/or an anointing with oil. Second, there is an affirmation that each person enters the ritual circle "in perfect love and perfect trust". Third, someone walks the perimeter of the circle clockwise a number of times, frequently carrying representatives of the four elements. This denotes the sacred space of the ritual. Fourth, the quarters are called. Each cardinal point - east, south, west, and north - is addressed, and powers associated with each direction are invited to bear witness or guard over the ritual. The details of the main body of the ritual now begins. This can involve singing, dancing, chanting, drumming, magic work, and the reading of poetry or other work dedicated to a god or goddess. Activities are often dictated by the purpose of the ritual. For example, candles are frequently lit during Imbolc festivals to celebrate the returning light of the sun. Afterward, "cakes and ale" are shared. I use quotation marks because the foodstuffs involved are just as likely as not to be neither cake nor ale. Cakes may be cookies or bread, and ale can be anything from ale or wine to apple juice. Finally, the quarters are once more called, releasing the Watchers. The circle is declared open, ending the ritual.

4. WICK-in or WICK-en or WICK-an

5. I highly recommend you check out the 'Wicca for the Rest of Us' website. The site's author is an academic and a practicing Wiccan. She answers all the "basic" questions and more. AFTER checking out that website, I have two other sites I am recommending:
Wicca for the Rest of Us http://wicca.timerift.net/

Wiccan Spirituality http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/index....

The Witch's Voice http://www.witchvox.com/

6. PAY-gen or PAY-gun (both with the hard 'g')

Additional info: Books by Scott Cunningham

Best wishes as you find your path. Blessed be.

Edit to Raven re: Q4 You're right. Don't know what I was typing...I know better. Fixed it. Thanks.

Answer 2

1) can anyone tell me bout the Wiccan faith?

somewhat, i am more of a pagan than a Wiccan, but i know a bit about Wiccan teachings. feel free to e-mail me with specific questions about Wiccan teachings and i will either answer or direct you to a source that can answer for you.

2) is a wiccan the same as a pagan?
yea and no. Pagan is an umbrella term for many religions. it covers most indigenous tribal religions, Roman and Greek religions Norse,Celtic, and Siberian Shamanism. just to name a few. Wicca is just one of the religions that Pagan covers.


3) how do they practice their faith
everyone will tell you differently. but it is mostly a very personnell thing. they have personnell altars and preform their own worship services. sometimes they gather into Covens and preform larger services. but this is not required.


4) how do u say wiccan -which ANN or wick-IN
the second is closer. sometimes it sounds more like Wick-an
but as i said before each person is different.

5) any sites i could check out for more info?
Religious-tolerance.orc
witchvox.com
sacred-texts.com.

6) is pagan said as PAY gen
yeah that is close enough i guess. again everyone's accent will make it a little different. but we will all know what you mean. and most of us are not easily offended.

Answer 3

1) Lots of online sources, witchvox is a good one and if you just want general info, wikipedia is as good a place to start as any.

2) All wiccans are Pagans, but not all Pagans are wiccan. Some even claim to be wiccan pagan christians, but there is no accounting for folk.

3) The practice of wicca is hugely variable. Many pay attention to festivals around the equinoxes and the solstices. Some use rituals. Most revere the God and Goddess. The basic tenets are set out in the Wiccan rede.

4) WiKKan

5) witchvox.com and yahoo groups for starters.

6) Pay Gan (usually) tho for some reason its recently got popular to say Pegan.

Answer 4

1. I will sure try!
2. Many Wiccans are pagan, but not all pagans are follow Wicca.
3. In what way? We are solitary or work with coven. It is a religion and the styles can be very personal on how we do it.
4. Depends on who is speaking. It's like Celtic. Some use an S others use a hard C.
5. There are many sites. Witchschool is one, they teach about a branch called Correllian (I am a first degree priestess) they do charge, but a life membership is rather low now, and that gives you access to all the classes that they teach. The classes are free, but the books do cost a bit. I still think it is worth it! I also have done self study since 1994 when I dedicated myself to the path I chose (Celtic, druid, American Indian combination)
6. That is correct.

Don't need to apologize. You need to start somewhere so questions are welcome if they are sincere. I would gladly guide anyone who is looking for information. No question is ignorant or stupid unless it is used to put others down. Blessed Be!

Rev. Kaldea

PS For those who insist Wicca is new and founded by G. Gardener. Wicca dates back to the Druids and Celts! And THEY predated Christ!

Answer 5

1. No
2. Wicca is a pagan faith, yes.
3. No one tells you this if they're truly a Wiccan...
4. Wiccan is pronounced Wick-In
5. Yahoo.com - use the search feature.
6. Pagan is Pay-Gin...with a short G

Go hit Yahoo, type in Wiccan, thousands of sites for you to use.

I don't like explaining how I practice my faith. So 3 is a NO NO when asking about religion. Big No-No

Good luck on your research.

Answer 6

1) There are many of us on here that can tell you about the Wiccan faith or advise websites where you can go for more information. I recommend http://www.witchvox.com as a reasonable source for basic information

2) A Wiccan is a TYPE of Pagan. Not all Pagans are Wiccans. I am not Wiccan, but as a Hellenic Polytheist I am Pagan.

3) See my answer to question #1

4) I usually pronounce Wiccan as WICK-an

5) witchvox.com and beliefnet.com are reasonable

6) I usually pronounce Pagan as PAY-gun

We all start ignorant -- we just do not all choose to stay that way.

If you have more questions about Hellenic Polytheism, please feel free to contact me for additional resources

Answer 7

1. not in this small space. Try the book Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham
2. No. They are two different forms of a similar religion
3. Roughly, worshiping nature through the Goddess. We have rituals and beliefs we adhere to just like any religion
4. I say it wick-in, but I don't think it matters.
5. try www.witchvox.com
6. I say it pay-gen

Answer 8

1) That would take a few paragraphs, at the least.
2) No. Paganism is a category of religions. Wicca happens to be one of them.
3) Lots of ways... meditation, rituals, covens, witchcraft...
4) wih-cun
5) wicca.timerift.net is hands-down the best site ever for info and practical advice
6) pay-gen, pay-gun... yeah

Answer 9

1) Wicca is a relatively new religion founded in the 1940's by a man named Gerald Gardner, who claimed he'd been initiated by a coven of witches in England (a claim which has never been founded). It's main tenet is "An (if) it harm none, do what thou will". It is an earth based religion which follows what is known as the Wheel of the Year (the changing of the seasons are the holy days along with some others), and belief in a god and goddess (some say they are literally two beings, others believe they are an emanation of the One spirit).
2) wicca falls under the wide umbrella of paganism
3) they have rituals and some use spellwork and divination in practicing their faith.
4) it is pronounced Wick en
5) http://witchvox.com, http://beliefnet.org, http://religioustolerance.org
6) pronounced PAY gen

Answer 10

Most of your answers are good, although I will add this:

I am a Wiccan for over 20 years, and Wicca is a little over 60 years old.

Anyone saying otherwise is really quite confused, sorry.

*MY* teachers were there at the start, and Witchschool was not, TYVM!