Wicca Beliefs?

Question

My girlfriend recently converted to Wicca. Which kind of scared me. Not being prejudice or hate mongering toward Wiccans. But I have no clue about the religion. I just know from studies it has to do with Witch Craft. Now can someone tell me a basic beliefs kind of thing. And then explain if Wiccan's believe in reincarnation.

Answer 1

the wiccans, like many others who try to resurrect old dead ways, say they believe in everything the christians don't. real witches - if any left - don't join groups, so don't worry. she won't turn you into a pig or anything, but she might feel the urge to walk naked sometime - which i guess it's a plus.

Answer 2

Wicca is a contemporary Earth-based 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 magick and reincarnation. Religious festivals are held in observance of the Full Moon and other astronomical and agricultural phenomena.

In Wicca:

The Goddess and the God are revered.

Wiccans believe that 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 postive ways (Christians know this as prayer).

Wiccans believe that what is done will be returned to the doer (otherwise known as Karma).

Wiccans believe that the Earth is our home, our Goddess with gives life (like a mother gives life to a child). Wiccans feel the Earth is not a tool we can abuse or it will not continue to give life.

Wiccans are not evangelical. Wiccans have no need to "go forth and spread the word". Wiccans feel that if their path is right for someone they will find Wicca themselves. Wiccans don't feel a need to convince anyone to join them.

Wicca accepts that EVERY religion is 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 is a religion, not a political organization and therefore does not preach issues or endorse political candidates.

Wicca doesn't ask for donations or tithing.

I hope that helped a bit.

Answer 3

The problem is that Wicca has a quality control issue at this point in time.

If she's part of a decent lot of Wiccans, it won't have a negative effect upon her. If she's thrown in with people playing at Wicca, who knows.

As for reincarnation. Yes. And no.
Depends on the sect and the rites of the person in question.

Edit: As for the Rede itself, it's merely "an it harm none, do as you will," but people untrained in Wicca get some wacky ideas about it, including about what that means, so best leave that out until you know what kind of Wiccan she is.

Also, in my tradition of Wicca over the past 20 years, the divorce rate's been 0. I happen to think it's coincidence more than anything else, but I'm pretty sure everyone in leadership's been married at least 5 years, and a couple around 20.

Answer 4

Not knowing about something can be scary simply because it's unknown.
The basic beliefs vary greatly from Wiccan to Wiccan but the basics of the belief is the God and the Goddess (How this is approached varies as well)
The believe in magic as a form of prayer and directing their energy.
The believe in the law of return, what ever you put out there will come back three (or sometimes more) fold
There is the Harm None rede (that is something like 27 lines long so I will leave a Wiccan to go over that one)
Most believe in reincarnation yes in that you keep coming back until your soul has learned all it's lessons and then takes it's place in the Summer lands (or some sort of equivalent) with the gods.
Over all, most Wiccans I have met are genuinely nice people who just want to worship in peace and with the earth.

Answer 5

Wicca comes from "wise one". In medieval times those would be the people you would go to mid-wifery, medicines, potions, salves, lotions, chants, home cures. They tended to be secretive about the things they learned. There was no need to group together for protection (and sharing knowledge) untiil they became harassed by later religions. No major effort to formalize them into a religion under the word Wicca was done until the 1950s when many groups were doing the same.

Here are some neutral sites. Not necessarily totally agreed to by Wiccans, but not some flamer anti-wiccan site either. Also notice I didnt cut-n-paste some huge anti response which is against the rules on this board.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm
http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/essays/wicca.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca

Answer 6

Well, i'll start with the easy question, wiccans believe in reincarnation...to some extent. they...we, believe that some people are not ready to ascend into summerland...the wiccan view of "heaven". and so, those who arent ready, as judged by their own spirit, their TRUE self, move into the next life on earth. the spirit takes another life so that the conciousness may learn the lesson it needs to, in order to move on.

moving on ourselves...wicca is the ultimate culmination of a variety of earth based beliefs...beliefs like "never harm the earth or those who live upon it, for the harming of these things is returned to you by three" meaning karma is a *****...if you hurt someone, you'll get hurt three times as bad, if you do good then good will be given to you three times as much. another would be, "take this rede of wiccan rhyme, and the goddess' bouty will surely be thine." meaning, obey the law of the goddess and you'll recieve her gifts. if you really want to find out more about wicca, i would suggest a book called "Wicca For Life" you could find it at Barnes&Noble's. Read it and when you finish, it'll make a nice heartfelt gift for your booming flower of a wiccan girlfriend.

hope i helped
hayden.

P.S. dont listen to that fool Dr. Zoom Zoom 3.0, he's an idiot trying to answer questions on subjects he doesnt understand. Wicca, while it may not have had that specific name, has been around since the dawn of free thought. it is the oldest religion on the face of the earth. PERIOD.

Answer 7

The word "witch" comes from the word "Wicca" but that doesn't mean they're the same thing. Being Wiccan is a pretty broad term, so it's hard to give an over-all explanation of the beliefs and as I, myself, am not Wiccan, I'm certainly not the best to explain it. But I will say that there's nothing to fear about this faith. Wiccans are generally peaceful people, so there's no need to worry. Ask your girlfriend to explain her beliefs to you and let her help you learn more about her faith. She'll appreciate your efforts and you might learn something. Either way, it's a win/win situation, right?

Answer 8

Wicca have braches like christanty dose so it can be diffent for other people. the three fold law is belive by (hopful) all wiccans. It a nature religion and also contain magick. You don't have to do the magick part to be a wicca(I belive) but most do or at less a like of it. Use what other people told you and compare them and you get the idea of wicca.

Answer 9

I definately see your component. I agree completely. i don't comprehend which question you're touching on, yet I do trust what you're saying. Wicca is between the quickest transforming into religions immediately and it does qualify as a relaxing faith for many many people. i think of countless people have that approach, "If i don't beleive that then it is not authentic." and that i think of this is faulty. people could be waiting to be a minimum of that open-minded. Or, a minimum of sense adequate appreciate for yet another man or woman to be comfortable with them choosing how they beleive. it is somewhat somewhat unhappy that many people obtainable are not that way yet...

Answer 10

There's this great website called religioustolerance.org and they have a great site on Wicca.

Also you can check out my YT videos. I am a Wiccan and a prominant YTer.

Answer 11

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

Some Wiccans believe in reincarnation, based on the fact that the universe runs in cycles; therefore, it is logical to conclude that the human spirit also goes through cycles of life, death, and rebirth. However, the belief in reincarnation is not universal in the religion.

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