A little bit about Me.. &.. Wiccan..
Blog Posted:11/8/2012 12:21:00 AM
So after a rather nasty personal message about hold my Tarot Card Contest.. I have decided to share a little bit of my beliefs and what I believe in..
What is Wicca?
Is it the same as Witchcraft? NO
Wicca is a modern revival (not direct continuation) of an ancient nature-based 'Old Religion' that is thought to have existed in pre-Christian Europe - we don't know a great deal about this ancient system, as it was basically wiped out with the Christianisation of Europe. Wicca itself, as we know it today, doesn't date back to these ancient times, but a lot of the basic principles do. There are two of these basic principles that 99.99% of Wiccans agree on - belief in an immanent deity and the interconnection of every thing on Earth.
So, is Wicca the same as Witchcraft? The short answer is no, Wicca and Witchcraft are not the same. Witchcraft is practical in its essence (it's literally a craft) - healing with herbs and plants, doing magick, divination and all those practical things. Wicca is a different system - there is magick and knowledge of the properties of herbs and those things, but with a strong emphasis on the spiritual, religious aspects. Witchcraft is not recognised as a religion - it's more of a 'trade', if you like; its practitioners are physically doing practical things. Wicca is, however, a recognised religion - the God and Goddess are central to it, and any magick done is a secondary pursuit.
'Wiccan' and 'Witch' can be used; but as for the practitioners of Witchcraft, they can really only use 'Witch'. Not all Witches are Wiccan, and not all Wiccans consider themselves Witches. I prefer not to be called a Witch -but while I don't mind in the least being called a Witch, some magickal people take exception to it.
Wicca (to a certain extent) is what you want to make it - you may or may not want to do magick, you may or may not want to join a coven, and so on and so forth. This doesn't mean that you can pick and choose what you want from the basics - there are some things that are integral to Wicca, but so much of the Old Religion has been lost that we have to add some touches of our own.
I stick to the basics and honour the God and Goddess and the Earth and live within nature knowing we come from the Mother Earth we go back to the Mother Earth..
NO being Wiccan does not make me a satanist..or evil..
As far as Witches are concerned, there is no Satan to worship - there is no Devil in Wicca. Witches believe that to give evil a name is to give it power - besides which, THE DEVIL IS A CHRISTIAN FIGURE!! Witchcraft first became associated with Satan through the medieval Inquisition - the Church got the idea that Witches were in league with the Devil and perpetuated this incredible lie (and continues to do so today), with no evidence of any sort. The image of the Devil (horns, goat's hooves, etc.) comes from the Greek God of Forests, Pan - a God worshipped by the pagans the Church was converting early in their history. They figured that the best way to discourage pagans from worshipping their God was to make him the evil of Christianity - and so Satan was born. Christians and Muslims are almost the only ones who believe in the Devil - Witches absolutely DO NOT.
Wicca, like every other religion on Earth, has its own take on the Supreme Being. Ours is Spirit - an entity made of a female half (the Goddess) and a male half (the God). The God and Goddess are completely equal - neither is more powerful or important than the other, and together they are two halves of the whole Spirit. Unlike the Christian archetype of the old man with the beard (who, incidentally, bears a startling resemblance to the pagan king-Gods such as Zeus), sitting in Heaven and looking down on the Universe, the God and Goddess are immanent: they are present in every thing on Earth.
There is a central set of beliefs in Wicca, but these have not been written down in a single Bible-type book in the way the Bible was written (i.e. with the inclusion of each section being decided on by committee, and the controversial bits being voted out). Wiccans instead have a Book of Shadows that contains their knowledge of Wiccan lore, correspondences, rituals - basically, all the procedures involved in practising Wicca. Each Wiccan has their own Book of Shadows - either a compilation of what they have taught themselves or been taught. There are some principles and practices common throughout Wicca, and some tradition- or individual-specific practices.
NO I do not belong to a coven..
A coven is a group of Witches that get together to celebrate esbats and sabbats and to do ritual and magick. A coven can be a group of three or more, although there are usually around 10-13 or so because that's a practical number of people to organise in a group activity. Contrary to the myth, covens do not have to have 13 members.
SO your a white Witch...NO
There are no 'black' or 'white' Witches - Wicca as a whole can be thought of as 'grey'. There are no stark good-and-bad contrasts in the world - nobody is absolutely good and nobody is absolutely bad, so we can't use the terms 'black' and 'white' magick. Everything in life is shades of grey, including Witches.
So in short, I am a Non Practising Wiccan.. I respect your religion and religious beliefs.. All im asking is for a little understanding of mine..
Tracie xox