My Religion

What is Wicca?

Wicca is a faith, a religion, just like any other. We believe in the existence of the divine, we believe that a greater power than ourselves is responsible for creating the universe, and we believe that this power is present in all things. In us, in the trees, in the wind, in the plants, water, seas, rivers. In the animals, in thunder and lightning, in the stars the sun and the moon. In short, in all. When a Wiccan says a prayer to the moon, or celebrates life by casting a circle and sharing cakes & ale with friends. What we are really doing is worshiping our "gods", by praying, worshiping, and celebrating the existence of creation. When we do our work in aid of the planet, its "Gods" planet that we endeavour to look after.

The only major difference with Wicca and ohh lets just say for example Christianity :) is that we worship the divine (God in other words) manifest as primarily two deities. One male & one female, the God & Goddess or the Lord & Lady. This represents the perfect balance of the divine, the harmonious and equal . For if God resides in all, how can God be purely male? How can God be one thing and not the other?

Many wiccians choose to worship the Lord and Lady by picking a familiar diety set from history. Most wiccians I know choose dieties from the Celtic histories where I myself have chosen to worsip dietys from the Hindu histories (Lord Ganesha and Lakshmi). I feel that it isn't importat which dieties you choose, it's the divine force behind the name that is important.


So what's this Satan thing all about?

Ahhhh the ole' 'You worship Satan' thingy! Well no we don't. When you think about it, saying a Pagan worships Satan is like telling a Jewish person that he worships Kali. Satan is a part of Christianity. A Christian story a Christian myth. Okay now this myth may have been the churches ruse to demonize our horned God, then again it may not be. Either way it is a part of the Christian faith. I am not a Christian, therefore I hold no Christian values. I hold no belief in Christian mythology, and basically I just don't believe in the existence of the Christian Devil.

Well what about all this nakedness then?

Well now, you may have heard about this or some other wild stuff. Heh, the drunken orgies, the naked people everywhere. The swapping of partners etc. and so on. Well really do ya know any religion that practices these sorts of things as a matter of course? Well I don't, nor do I swap partners or attend orgies (I don't know many wiccians that do, but that is their choice). To make one point clear: yes, some Pagans, do perform their rites and ceremonies without cloths on, this is called going skyclad.

The following was taken from the Pagan web (to access that site, click here).

WICCA



The terms Wicca and Witchcraft can be used interchangeably, but there is a subtle distinction. Wicca is a contemporary Neo-Pagan religion and Witchcraft is the practice of natural magic. Not all Wiccans are witches, and not all witches are Wiccan. I am both and the information I will share will come from that perspective. I invite you to explore the world of magic. Through this portal you will discover unknown worlds.

What Wicca Is



Wicca is a Neo-Pagan religion with many traditions that date to pre-Christian (and prehistoric) Earth religions. It is based on a deep respect for nature and the certain knowledge that we do not have the right to exploit it for our own gain. Wiccans are deeply concerned with conservation and ecology, and as in all Neo-Pagan religions, Wiccans believe that both animate and inanimate objects possess a spirit which forms part of the Whole. Note that we do not use the term "spirit" in the Judeo-Christian sense of a "ghost," but rather that essence which every object possesses that links it to nature and makes it an inalienable part of the universe.

Wicca is a celebration of the life-forces of nature as personified by the Goddess and her consort, the God.

Wicca may includes the practice of magic which is defined as the process of causing change through the focusing of our natural powers. It is important to note that magic is natural. There is nothing supernatural about it. We use certain tools such as spells, visualization, chants, candles, amulets and meditation to help us focus our power, but the power comes from within -- it is not in the tools. Our ancestors knew how to use it effectively, but it is a largely forgotten art in modern times.

What Wicca is Not



Wicca is not a cult. A cult presupposes blind faith in a central figure whose every word is regarded as ultimate truth, and the utter conviction that no other way or philosophy will lead to this truth. You would be very hard pressed to find a Wiccan anywhere who would blindly follow anyone else. Wiccans are historically very independent people who seek truth from within through rituals, meditation, magic, study and communion with nature. Wiccans respect the right of everyone to worship in their own way. We do not feel that Wicca is the only way -- only that it is our way.

Wicca is not synonymous with Satan worship. The very concept of a supreme evil spirit is alien to Wicca. In fact, most Wiccans do not even believe in Satan. The devil is a Judeo-Christian construct and as such, it has nothing to do with Wicca. The notion that witches worship Satan was propounded by the Roman Catholic Church as it made its way across Europe, in an effort to suppress the native earth-based religions prevalent at the time. They succeeded to the extent that they drove the practitioners of these religions underground where much of their knowledge and traditions were lost. Through the work of the Golden Dawn, as well as anthropological and archeological research, many of these traditions have been rediscovered and incorporated into Neo-Paganism, an umbrella term for most modern earth-based and shamanistic religions.

Wicca does not include flying on brooms. Mostly, witches drive cars or ride bikes, although I have often wished for a flying broom when I'm caught in rush-hour traffic. My own little 15-year-old witch gets around on skates quite well, and although she sometimes seems to fly, she seldom gets more than an inch or two off the ground. There are many rituals which include brooms, however, and these may be the source of the flying-broomstick stories. In parts of Europe, some people run across their fields astride a broom to coax the grain to grow. They may also jump over a broom handle asking the grain to grow as high as their highest leap. It is also common for a ceremonial broom to be used to sweep away negative forces from any area one wishes to cleanse.

But Wait, there's more!

What else? Well although you may think that we all have separate ideas about our faith, and in some little ways we do all differ. The root concepts of our faith, and the ideas that our people have seemed to arrive at off of their own backs, remain the same. Those are:


Just one more thing....
Please before you condemn us, get to know us. We are nothing special, or frightening, or evil. We are your Brothers, Sisters, Mums & Dads. Your neighbours, work colleagues, bosses. We can be found dishing up your food, fighting for your country, policing your streets. Dancing on tables, looking after your children, teaching you kids. giving you driving lessons, saving your life, rescuing your kitten from a tree. We are normal people, like you. We feel like you, we feel for you. Some of us love, some of us hate.

Blessed Be!
Stephenie (A.K.A. Dewshine)

The following was taken from the Pagan Pride site (to access that site click here).

What is remembered, lives.



I remember Tempest Smith.
I remember that it's never right to make fun of someone's beliefs.
I remember that sticks and stones can break my bones, but names are words of power that can wound the soul.
I remember that many mocked - and one died.

I remember Tempest Smith.
I remember that it takes all types to make a world.
I remember that nature likes biodiversity. This is true of beliefs and ideas as well.
I remember that I make a better witness to my own beliefs by simply living them, not belittling others.

I remember Tempest Smith.
And I remember that another person’s belief (or non-belief) is just as sincerely held as my own.
I remember to have the courage to say, "Hey, that's not right," when I see someone being ridiculed.
And the next time I am tempted to go along with the crowd and tease someone who is "different," I will remember Tempest Smith, and I will remember my pledge.

Because what is remembered, lives.

On February 20, 2001, a young girl named Tempest Smith killed herself in Lincoln Park, Michigan, USA. Her suicide was directly caused by the taunting of other students who mocked her because she was "different" and because she was Wiccan. This is a dramatic and extreme example of hundreds of everyday cases of prejudice based on religion. Even those who would never make a racial or gender-based slur may still discriminate based on religion, because many faiths teach that their religion is the only true religion.

We know that change is made one person at a time. So in memory of Tempest Smith and millions of victims of religious discrimination worldwide, we at the Pagan Pride Project ask you to pledge these three things:

I pledge my word and my honor to accept that another's belief, or non-belief, is just as sincerely held as my own.

I pledge that when I see prejudice based on religion, be it taunting on a playground or whispered in a board meeting, I will stand and say, "No. This is wrong."

I pledge that to the best of my ability, I will respect practitioners of other spiritual paths and treat them with kindness and courtesy.

Blessed Be!!