Wiccans: belief in many god(desse)s or all are aspects of one?

Question

I am interested in the personal beliefs of Wiccans regarding their worship of the Diety - not anyones guess or thoughts on it - I'm talking about personal religious systems of Wiccans.

Wicca is so broad, I have a hard time grasping the views. I've seen Wiccans argue for one side of a coin, and then another Wiccan argue the opposite side all at the same time! I've come to the conclusion that Wicca is the new unbrella term for modern worship-as-you-see-fit of ancient dieties.

Answer 1

Traditional Wiccans generally do not believe that all goddess are one goddess. Doreen Valiente (a Wiccan) quoted Dion Fortune (not a Wiccan) in one of her books on Witchcraft saying "all gods are one god and all goddesses one goddess." As Wicca got popular among Eclectics, this idea was seized upon, repeated in many books. It's a common but not universal Eclectic belief, but it is not traditional.

Wicca is broad, but it can (and does) still have definition. Exactly how much definition does vary among us (which is the same discussion you'll find in any religion. You don't have to be on Y!A long before you hear that Catholics, Mormons, JWs, non fundementals, whatever aren't "real Christians." Wicca has the same debate. (Although so far we haven't killed anyone over it ;))

Answer 2

Traditionally in Wicca, all deities are NOT ONE, it's polytheistic.

It's polytheistic in Gardner, for example.

Wicca does mean something,and not all who say they are Wiccan ARE.... some who claim Wicca do so without a shred of study.

I can think of about five living and twice that dead scholars on Wicca, and none of them considered Wicca ANYTHING but polytheistic.

Part of the problem stems from people using rituals referencing, oh, the primal initiatrix, without understanding many names is not all names.

Answer 3

There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end leads to destruction. Paganism, develops its own gods. There is no absolute. Its like philosophy and humanism, there are no absolutes, and as such is forever pushing the boundaries as to what is acceptable.

Many pagans developed their spiritual beliefs based on fear and ignorance. Hence worshiping whatever came into their day.

Talking to people of this religious belief will always be like firing a gun in a fog. I think you are processing your thoughts well, and as I found in my life, I don't want to place my future in something that is forever changing with the weather.

Answer 4

Personally I believe that the many are aspects of the One and yet still exist as 'the many'. What I mean by this is...we can choose an aspect, a specific sort of energy, that we wish to connect to and work with and it is easier to connect to this if you have a specific name for it. (It is human nature to break things down in order to make things easier to understand.)

You can worship The Divine in masculine and feminine forms and still comprehend that the two divisions of forms are just part of The One broken down in order to comprehend and work with those aspects and energies....yin and yang. Together they make the whole.

But it usually gets broken down further still...
the feminine has a Triple Goddess aspect of maid, mother, and crone. These forms are just the feminine aspect being broken down further to work with specific energies within the feminine aspect.
the masculine aspect is broken down as son and lover.
These feminine and masculine forms are a big part of the mythology of the religion.

And then it gets broken down further still, which is a big part of the pantheons of mythology and of religion.

Within the variety of pantheons that are out there being used, or have been used, many of the deities can be cross referenced with the same aspects, energy, tendencies, or the same sort of mythological story. So in essence, there are a variety of names that go along with a specific 'aspect' or energy that we wish to connect to and work with.

Now along with that you have some traditions that specify which pantheon of deities you are 'allowed' to work with. If working solely with one pantheon works for you then it is right for you. However, if you feel compelled to work with another pantheon's deity/deities then mix-and-match as you see fit. It is better to use the name/aspect that you have a stronger connection with than to use one that you do not.

Ultimately it is your connection to The Divine that counts, not the name, aspect, or facet of The Divine within a particular pantheon that you are using.

Answer 5

Based on what I've read, they see all deities as aspects of one ultimate deity.

Answer 6

I think rebekkah pretty much has it right.