tell me about wicca?

Question

i would like to now more about the wicca belifes. if u become wicca do u have to stop beliving in god and belive in some one else or what. and tell me a little about wicca plz ive always be intersted

Answer 1

The God of Christianity is not the God (or Goddess) of Wicca. We have our own forms of Deity that we follow, and Wiccans do not all follow the same God and Goddess.

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.

Answer 2

First of all its Wiccan, when used in the tense you use in your question. Secondly, there are as many way to practice Wicca as there are Wiccans. There are Witches who are mostly wise women who are part of what is called an Earth Religion and much study is involved to join their ranks and fulfill their light. there are Wizards and all kinds or wannabes and fools who never bother to crack a book or do some research either on the net or in the libraries of our great cities.
I trust from your question you may need some guidence. May I suggest you look to your own community and see if there are some Wiccans who could suggest some direction and focus. Be careful though its a wild world. Only trust those who have earned it. Do nothing stupid, and use caution in everything you do.
Try using the internet for more information about Wicca,study it,Then decide which path to take to the future.
Hedge

Answer 3

Are you specifically curious about Wicca, or paganistic beliefs in general? I had that confusion myself once. It seems you're getting specifically Wicca responses here, as a result, I won't give you what you already have, and I'll spread it out more generally.

Wicca is a polytheistic pagan belief religion. It is not Quite an organized religion, but it bears many similarities. There are rituals, spells, potions, specifically detailed gatherings, essentially mandatory beliefs in certain things. They're too tolerant for actually mandatory, but if you're wiccan you're expected to believe in their rituals, the astrological events, the herbs, etc etc. Energy work is the heart and soul of it, though.

Not for me, I'm not one to be bound by any rules not of my own making. If you're interested in energy work itself, the stuff of magick (which wiccans practice), there's a variety of things to look at. Just be a pagan + energy user, implication being you believe what you want, how you what, who you want, and do as you please with your spirit. Lots of chance for getting yourself in trouble, so Wicca is safer, but more limiting. Or there's a practice called Reiki, which is the use of spiritual energy specifically for healing.

Basically, Wicca is a set religion with set beliefs that you have some freedom in picking and choosing from. Or, you can kinda just pick up aspects of all the different arts as you please: tarot, astrology, reiki, self-practiced-magicks, enchantment, and a number I don't recall the names to. Personally, I just self practice and do as I please, so though I have skills comparable to most wicca/other groups, I don't know their "official" titles since I figured 'em out myself.

Oh, and generally wiccans will look down on you if you're Christian, they get a lot of hell from that group. Just a "liberal Christian dabbing in the energetic arts" will make people wary, but they'll accept you as a friend or whatnot. But into the coven, they can be kinda picky. Heck, some of my friends were refused entry into a coven because they're Otherkin, and that's a paganistic belief.

Answer 4

Wiccans don't become Wiccan by believing in something. They're Wiccan because of how they act, how they relate to divinity, how they manifest their ethics in their lives.

The Wiccan religion honors the Triple-Moon Goddess and her consort, the Horned God. There's no requirement to not believe in other gods--most Wiccans are polytheistic. But it'd be hard to keep to the requirements of a god that doesn't allow worship of other deities and be Wiccan.

Answer 5

The Wicca Religion has beliefs that are centered around the spirituality of the earth.Because I am not totally familiiar with their religion,I invite you to explore their website for a more thorough answer. Good Luck

Answer 6

prairiecrow can do this basic "what is wicca" response one hell of a lot better than I can, but here's my attempt:

Wiccans can believe in whatever gods or pantheons they want to believe in. It's not restricted because we don't have specific deities- it's up to the individual to decide exactly who and what to believe in as far as deities. (that is to say, Wiccans choose which deities to focus on- I'm not the fluffy bunny who's saying "wicca is whatever you want it to be!")

go to wicca.timerift.net for the most basic and easy to understand information. You might have to navigate around a little bit, but there is a Wicca 101 section, plus it has history, and practical advice.

Answer 7

Wicca is a pagan religion, based on ancient European mythology and traditions.

Answer 8

Wicca is a RELIGION. It's a POLYTHEIST religion. You want to believe in God be Jewish, Muslim, or christian.
It is not the Charmed ones, it's not about magic, it's not evil blah blah blah. *sigh

Answer 9

They believe in God, They choose to Pray to the World-God

Answer 10

Wicca is a deceptive philosophy that will encourage you to worship the creation instead of the creator. It is your choice, but wouldn;t you rather worship someone that is real,alive,adopts you as family,protects you, and loves you?