I need Wiccan practitioners(or however that's spelt)?

Question

I'm doing this research paper fo my Eng. 102 class, And my topic is the Wicca religion, so I was wondering, if those of you who practice it could tell me what's it about (besides being a witch, and doing witchraft/wisecraft)? And what u do or believe? That kind of stuff. And thx, I would greatly appreciate it.

Answer 1

Hon, it's not about witchcraft. Not all Wiccans are witches and not all witches are Wiccan. Wicca and witchcraft are not the same thing, and while they are easily compatible, and it is common to find a Wiccan witch, they don't necessarily go hand in hand. Witchcraft is a practice which isn't particular to any one religion. Wicca is a religion in and of itself. Wiccans adhere to the Wiccan Rede which goes, "An' it harm none, do what thou wilt". The way each Wiccan interprets this is different though. Some good sites for further research are:
http://www.healingwicca.co.za/index.htm
http://wicca.timerift.net/
http://www.controverscial.com/index.htm
http://www.witchvox.com/

Answer 2

Oh dear... Well it looks like you got good answers from the top two. it is very difficult because there are so many different traditions to it. There are Gardnerian, Alexandrian, etc. and then add to that the Solitaries out there like myself that practice sort of their own form of Wicca. lol. Follow the links from the first two answerers. I will star as well and see if any of my Pagan/Wiccan contacts can help you out a little more =) good luck.

Answer 3

While Prariecrow's answer is very good, websites are not very good resources for research papers, unless they are of an organization and used to discuss said organization.

I recommend, instead, that you go to the library and check out books, using ILL if you need to.

Answer 4

You're better off just searching the web for essays on Wicca. Just scroll up to the very top of this page and search yahoo.com for "Wicca".

http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm
http://www.modernwiccan.com/

Answer 5

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

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

(If any of this makes it into your paper, please credit me as Prairie Crow of Winnipeg.)

Answer 6

Go to www.witchvox.com They have great info there to help you out. Good luck on your paper!