Archive for the ‘Wicca Basics’ Category

While not strictly Wiccan, the Nordic Rede was written by another branch of Pagans, the Norse, who believed in a very similar structure as todays Pagan, Wiccan, and Druid. Their Rede is interesting, as well as beautiful.

The Nordic Rede.

In all that you do, consider what befall your own, your children and your people.
All that which you do will return to you, sooner or later, for good or for ill.
Thus strive always to do good , or at least strive always to be just.
Be honest with yourself, and with others.
Humankind has the spark of divinity within it.
Protect and nurture that spark.
Give your word sparingly, and adhere to it like iron.
In the world, your first trust and responsibility should be to your own people.
Yet, be kind and proper to others whenever possible
. What you have, hold firmly.
Speak to others only those words which you have personally verified.
Be honest with others, and expect honesty in return, always.
The fury of the moment plays havoc with the truth;
to keep one’s head is difficult, yet virtuous.
Know which battles should be fought, and which battles should be avoided.
Know when to break off or avoid a conflict.
There are times when the minions of chaos are simply too strong or fate unavoidable.
When you gain power, use it wisely and use it well.
Courage and honor endure forever.
Their echoes remain when the mountains have crumbled to dust.
Pledge friendship and your services to those who are worthy.
Strengthen others of your people and they will strengthen you.
Love and care for your family always,
and have the fierceness of a wolf in their protection.
Honor yourself, have pride in yourself, do your best and forgive yourself when you must.
Try always, without losing your sense of self,
to be above reproach in the eyes of the world.
Those of our people should always attempt to settle any differences
among themselves quietly and peaceably
The laws of the land should be obeyed whenever possible and within reason,
for in the main they have been chosen with wisdom.
Have pride in yourself, your family and your folk.
They are your promise for tomorrow.
Do not neglect your mate and children
Every one of our people should work according to the best that they can do,
no matter how small or how great. We are all in this world together, thus we must always help each other along.
We advance individually and collectively only by living in harmony with the natural order of the world.
The seeking of wisdom is a high virtue.
Love of truth, honor, courage and loyalty are the hallmarks of the noble soul.
Be prepared for whatever the future brings.
Life with all its joys, struggles and ambiguities is to be embraced

 

 

Nordic Rede – The Norse Pagans – Similar To Pagan – Wiccan – Druid

Looking for a brief introduction to Wicca, then look no further. Wicca is a spiritual system that encourages free thought and free will of the individual. Wicca also encourages you to learn and fosters and understanding of nature and Earth and our inner connectedness that we have with Earth and nature. All living things are considered sacred.

Wicca also teaches the practitioner responsibility. The foundation of all that is done in Wicca is based on intent. We live by the rule of karma and The Law of Three. What ever it is that you put out into this world you will get back times three. What ever it is that we get, we know that it is because of something that we have done. Blaming others is not a practice of any Wiccan. Wiccans face the consequences of their actions.

That is why the sanctity of life is dear to Wiccans.

An introduction to Wicca must also include the fact that what is celebrated in Wicca is are the cycles. These cycles include the cycles of nature, solar phases and lunar phases. These celebrations are a harmonious act done to encourage living in balance with all things. There are 8 Sabbats and 13 Esbats. The Sabbats are celebrations of the solar cycle and the Esbats are celebrations of the 13 full moons in a year.

Just as important to learning Wicca as knowing what the Sabbats are, is why they are celebrated. These celebrations are used for each and every person to find within ourselves, the cycles that correspond to the natural cycles. While there is no holy one to lead the all Wiccans, there are trees and rivers and mountains and animals that teach as well as others that have treaded this path before.

The spirits of the elements are also worshipped by Wiccans. The elements water, fire, Earth and air offer us insight into the rhythms of the nature. These four elements also create life.

Wrapped up in the mystery of Wicca is the witchcraft spells, are they real, do Wiccans really perform spells. The answer is yes, to all questions. The spells are usual for protection, healing, wisdom, harmony and creativity. While it is true that anyone can cast a spell, there are certain things that you must know in order to cast a spell effectively. Such as being very clear on the intent behind your spell.

To be Wiccan means that you take responsibility for your actions, you do all that you can to live in harmony with the world around you. You are clear on the intent behind every action that you take. When you do decided to cast a spell you are doing so to help, constantly aware of the Law of Three.

This is but a brief introduction to Wiccan. Blessed Be.

 

Introduction to Wicca – Witchcraft Spells – Wiccan Worship

In an effort to give a clearer history of Wicca we need to look all the way back to cave paintings that were done by Paleolithic man. For it is there that we see the first images of the Wiccan Gods. It is there that the history of Wicca should begin. With paintings of a horned God, the God of Hunt, and a pregnant female with swollen breasts that were laden with milk…

As man moved to the new stone age area or the Neolithic area, the hunt was not as important as farming. Being a nomad was not as important as being a farmer. As the settlements were created it, people began to notice the moon and seasons. The people began to focus more on Earth and agriculture. They have found carved antlers that display the phases of the moon dated back to 7500 B.C. E in Europe. The menstrual cycle of woman had an apparent correlation with the moon. This became associated with the Earth Mother or the Goddess.

If you notice the moon has three phases, waxing, full and waning. The Goddess is also depicted in three phases the Virgin, the Mother and the Crone. Each and every living thing can be associated with these three phases, birth, life and death. As time passed so did the idea of the Gods. As people began to migrate and mix with other cultures, societies beliefs were merged and shared. Gods were married to Goddesses who then had offspring and they were Gods.

Wicca’s influence comes from the Celts. In about 450 B.C.E. the Celts were the dominant race in Europe. While much of what is known of the Celtic culture and religion is written by the Romans, there is a great debate over the how accurate that depiction really is. What we do know for sure is that the Celtic Priesthood used an alphabet, however much of the Celtic traditions were passed down through the generations orally. We also know that four Major Wiccan celebrations are from the Celts. These celebration are Samhain, Imbolic, Beltane and Lughnasadh.

While Wiccan and Pagan religions flourished for many centuries, history tells us that less tolerant religions would do there best to rid people of these beliefs, claiming that they were Satan worshippers. I would like to interject here that anyone who knows anything about Wicca knows that it is as far from Satanism as you can get. The vast majority of people that claim Paganism and Wicca are forms of Satanism say that out of ignorance.

Now we can go through how Christianity tried to convert people, what those that did convert publicly did in the privacy of their own home was another story. It is also said that the Virgin Mary was an attempt to show those that were converting that Christianity also had a female deity.

Jumping to the 13th century witchcraft was officially declared heresy as were all Pagan and any other alternate Christian practice. In 1484 Pope Innocent II issued a Papal that denounced Witchcraft, which was anything none Catholic, as heresy. This led to the persecution of “witches,” the “Witch Finders Bible” that lead to a wave of terror that flooded Europe and then crossed the ocean to America. With Church sanctioned slaughtering of many accused of witch craft, it is believed that this process was encouraged due to the fact that those that were convicted lost all of their belongings, and those belongings were then distributed between the persecutor and the accuser.

Wicca began to re-emerge again in the 15th century and it continued to grow through the Illuminati, Freemansons and Rosicrucians. Theses societies were known as the “Secret Societies.” Then in 1899 the “Ariada” or more commonly known as the “Gospel of Witches” was published by Charles Leland. It was said that this book contained the traditions of Italian witches.

Now modern Wicca was greatly influenced by an antrolpology entitled, “Witch Cult in Western Europe,” written by Margaret Murray. With the claims of both books, it was not until the 1950’s that any public display of the Old Religion was still in practice within certain circles in England.

That then brings us to Gerald Gardner, who in 1939 was initiated in to the craft by Dorothy Clutterbuck. Mr. Gardner’s view were different then those of current wiccans. Wiccans overall still feel tht secrecy is important to the practice, where as Gardner was more for public displays so that the Witchcraft Laws could be repealed. He later wrote “Witchcraft Today” in 1954 and then “The Meaning of Witchcraft” in 1959. Those that follow Gerald Gardner are known as Gardnerian Witches and they are one of the major branches of the Wiccan tree. The other big branch is the Alexandrian Witches, and the members of that group were initiated by Maxine and Alex Sanders.

 

 

History Of Wicca – Wiccan Beliefs – Wiccan Schools

As a Wicca beginner, you might find yourself a bit confused about the craft. What exactly is Wicca? What do Wiccans believe in? Do they cast spells? And you are bound to have even more questions than that! This is a Wicca website for beginners, where you can learn all about Wicca.

What is Wicca?

Wicca is a type of Paganism, which has its own rituals, seasonal observances such as lunar phases and cycles of nature, and magical, religious and ethical precepts. Wicca is also known as “The Craft of the Wise” or just “The Craft” and is a nature-based religion. A lot of Wiccans call themselves Pagans but not all of them, since Paganism encompasses many faiths and not all Pagans believe in the Wiccan God and Goddess deities.

There is no central Wiccan organization, so individual followers might vary considerably in their beliefs and practices. The main religious beliefs, ethics and core rituals tend not to vary.

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.

Wicca Beliefs

The central concept of Wicca is the Wiccan Rede:

“If you harm none, do what you will.”

This might sound simple but can take a long time to master and fully understand. Wiccans also believe in the Rule of Three, also called the Three-fold Law:

“Whatever you do, for good or ill, will come back upon you three times over.”

Wiccans usually go through a dedication ritual at the beginning of their training where they announce their intent to study the craft. Wiccans engage in rituals either alone or with other Wiccans. Their goal is to attain personal spiritual growth.

Wiccans do not have religious buildings like churches. They create their own sacred spaces, preferably outdoors, by casting “circles of energy”. Once inside the circles, they invite the God and Goddess, or at least the Goddess, and the elements of fire, water, earth and air. They will then perform their rituals.

Wiccans have celebrations according to both the lunar and solar calendars. The lunar festivals are held at the full moon and sometimes the new moon. The solar festivals are held at the equinoxes, the solstices and there are another four celebratory events in between them.

Repression and discrimination are not practiced in Wicca. As long as you follow the rule “harm none,” you can live your life as you see fit. Homosexuality and bisexuality are accepted. No race or gender is discriminated against. Instead, everyone who wants to follow the path of Wicca is accepted into it.

What Wicca is Not

* Wicca is not Satanism. Wiccans do not acknowledge the existence of the devil.
* Wiccans do not cast spells or hexes on people. The central rule of Wicca is “harm none” so they do not interfere with other people’s free will. Actually, not all Wiccans practice witchcraft.
* Wiccans do not sacrifice animals or humans because that would go against their law of “harm none”.
* Wicca is not a cult. There is no forced conversion or recruitment. People come to Wicca if they feel ready and if they decide to do so.

Wiccan Deities

A lot of Wiccans believe in an unknowable deity, sometimes called “The One” or “The All”. They consider the deity to have both male and female aspects and might commune with “The God” or “The Goddess”. They might link with Pagan deities, such as Athena, Diana, Isis, Venus or Brigit instead of “The Goddess” or Apollo, Thor, Zeus, Adonis or Dionysus instead of “The God”.

 

 

Wicca for the Beginner – Wiccan Deities – Wicca Beliefs

There are as many explanations of Paganism as there are Pagans but one good description I’ve found is from the Ohio Chapter Pagan Unity Campaign.  They say that “Paganism may be loosely defined as any of a group of positive, life-affirming, earth-honoring faiths usually based in ancient beliefs.” Read the rest of this entry »

A Sampling of Pagan Festivals and Rites of Ceremony

THE FESTIVALS

There are many festivals of the different pagan religions. Some are holdovers of what people believe were the originals. While its’ not possible to know for certain, we can learn some small things from those rituals that were steeped in antiquity and involving great beauty.
This is merely a sampler, not meant by any means to be seen as complete. Read the rest of this entry »

Even from a scientific standpoint, no one would be foolish enough to say the moon does not affect us.  It is generally accepted that the gravitational pull of the Moon affects the waters of the Earth, with the highest tides occurring at the new and full Moon; the tides are at their least dramatic at the quarter Moon. 

Despite the fact that man has landed on the moon’s surface, the moon continues to hold us fascinated.  Its mysteries and magic are deeply imbedded in myth, folklore and the rituals and beliefs of Pagans. Read the rest of this entry »

Rituals are performed in each of the phases of the moon – the full moon, the dark or new moon, the waning and waxing moon.

The Full Moon – The moon is full when it forms a perfectly round sphere and its light shines brightly in the night sky.  The full moon actually spans a period of roughly three days before and three days after.  Some say, this is the perfect time for transformation and fertility spells, for purging spells that will release those things that may be inhibiting spiritual growth.  The full moon represents the Goddess as Mother. Read the rest of this entry »