Wiccans....I need some help?

Question

I was asked to put together a project for my church to put together hymns, prayers, and wisdom sayings from different religions for the winter season to honor the religions of the world. I am familiar with about 16 different religions, but current Wiccan texts and traditions are not among them. The themes are "Light shining among the darkness", "Peace and goodwill towards all", and "Joy to the world". Antiquity is a plus---I'm already using some ancient Egyptian and Greek hymns.

Nero......That's so funny I laughed out loud! "The smoke of Satan". If religious tolorance, peace and goodwill to mankind is "The smoke of Satan", than this Satan guy that you speak of must be pretty kind and loving by your definition. Too bad I don't believe in Satan.

Answer 1

http://www.geocities.com/thymegypsy/songs.html
http://www.bornpagan.com/upca/song_cycle/mp3.htm
http://members.aol.com/cernowain9/cern/pagansongs.html

above are a few links you may want to check out

Answer 2

Many Wiccan celebrations and rituals I've attended this time of year are about the hopefulness that the return of the sun brings. Remember, Wicca is an attempt to get back to the "roots" of Pagan practice, with some eastern philosophy and ceremonial magic thrown in for good measure. (It is a good combination. I'm not hate'n.) This would have been a lean time of year for people. The very young, very old, and the infirm might not have made it through a bad winter. But, by the Solstice, the return of the sun marked the half way point. If you'd made it that far, you'd probably make t until spring. Also, it was safe now to feast. It is as much a festival of light as any other at this time of year. It focuses on generosity and charity too. There is usually an exchange of power from one archetypal figure to another, like Jenny Wren and Robin Redbreast, the Oak and Holly kings, or the Crone and the Sun King. The characters change, but the message is always that in the darkest of the year, a promise of fertility is being fulfilled.

Answer 3

Regardless of what SOME people (moiraes) may say, what you are doing, which is trying to connect with like-minded people, is not wrong. It's human nature to reach out to those that have similar interests and for someone to tell you you're wrong is just rude. We live in a day and age (and if you're in the U.S., the country to a lesser extent) where we celebrate religious tolerance. Non-Pagans experiencing some slight anxiety, questions or concerns over your religion is normal but "freaking out" is unacceptable. Regardless of what their religion teaches them, people disowning you because of your religion choice is pure bigotry. You certainly shouldn't feel reprimanded by anyone, much less fellow Pagans by trying to find people outside your family. Isn't that why discussion boards, chat rooms, etc... are created for? Definitely try what the others have suggested and go through witchvox to find folks in your area. I'm sure there are other Pagans on this board who are a bit more warm and receptive and wouldn't mind hearing from you either. Love and light Blessed Be )0(

Answer 4

Wicca's a fairly new religion, founded in the early 20th century and based upon Eastern philosophy and ancient Paganism. So "antiquity is a plus" doesn't really apply unless you go back into its Pagan roots.

You might do a Google search for the Wiccan Rede, which states that Wiccans should "harm none" and is a pretty piece of poetry and the creed that most Wiccans live by. It's similar to the Christian "Do unto others" rule.

A great site to find out about various belief systems is http://www.religioustolerance.org/

Good luck!

EDIT: And kudos to your church for being so openminded as to include other religions:) Are you a Unitarian?

Answer 5

The problem is that we don't really have texts. Of course, you could try taking things from Yule rituals that Wiccans have written.

Here are exerpts from a rather useful book called "A Witches Bible" written by Janet and Stewart Farrar- they wrote these particular lines for the Maiden (a sort of assistant of the High Priestess) to say during a Yule ritual:

"... It is the Great Mother who giveth birth to Him;
It is the Lord of Life who is born again;
Darkness and tears are set aside when the Sun shall come up early!"

"Golden Sun of hill and mountain,
Illumine the land, illumine the world,
Illumine the seas, illumine the rivers,
Sorrows be laid, joy to the world!
Blessed be the Great Goddess,
Without beginning, without ending..."

Answer 6

Wicca does not have texts. There are books to study from but none of them are "gospel" so to speak. Because wicca is such a young religion, most of the traditions, ideals and practices are taken from much older pagan faiths, you might try looking those up. You might find more to go on. The Norse are very interesting in this aspect.

Answer 7

A common Wiccan saying is that if one does something bad, it will come back in triple force ("Peace and goodwill towards all").

Answer 8

"It is the season of the Crone, the time of the winter goddess.
We celebrate the festival of the winter solstice,
the rebirth of the Sun, and the return of light to the Earth.
As the Wheel of the Year turns once more,
we honor the eternal cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth."


I hope that helps

Answer 9

You aren't trying very hard. Just google Wicca or Paganism, you will find plenty of sayings, prayers, and chants

Answer 10

What kind of church is this that allows different religions saying into a place of worship. "the smoke of satan has entered the church!"

Answer 11

Um...I can't really help you on this, but I would like to say it sounds like you have an pretty cool church :-)

Good luck!