| Wicca |
| Although, I have been a practicing Wiccan for some time...sometimes you just can't find the words to explain something you feel so strongly about. So, with the permission of my dear friend Cheri, I have taken a piece of her explanation of Wicca from her website. After reading this short piece, click on her name to visit her site and read her full explanation. Enjoy - if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I enjoy speaking about my beliefs! Humble Blessings, Katy |
| Wicca As written by: Cheri Morris Wicca is an Earth-based; nature centered religion drawing on the ancient practice of Witchcraft, and the pagan religions of our forefathers. The term witchcraft literally means the craft of the wise. In its original usage, those persons, generally female practiced witchcraft, who had knowledge of herbal lore, the law, psychology and physiology. The term didn't have much to do with the religion until the Inquisition linked Paganism with Witchcraft --and ever since, the two have been inseparable. The term Wicca is a modern version of the term Witchcraft, and is a modern revival of the old, Pagan religions, using magick, nature and a female Deity along with Her Consort, the Horned Lord, as its central core. (It is important to note however, that not all Wiccans consider themselves witches, and not all witches are Wiccans.) Wicca is centered around the use of positive thought, positive action and love of nature to create an atmosphere of positive energies which are then used for our own benefits. Wicca teaches that there is certainly a higher power, namely the Goddess and God, often referred to solely as the Goddess, but that the Goddess is always attainable, for She is everywhere: in the tree, in the leaf, in the ant, within ourselves. In this sense, Wicca is a pantheistic religion. (Pantheism is the belief that God can be found in all things: "pan" meaning "everything", "theism": having to do with Deity) Wicca teaches that there is much more in our universe than we can see or understand. The central law of Wicca is "An It Harm None, Do What Ye Will" which means exactly what it says: as long as you don't do anything that will hurt anyone (including yourself) it is allowed. Many people use this rule as it applies strictly to magick, but I believe that the rule applies to every aspect of the Craft and to every aspect of life. This would include doing until others, as you would want done unto you, learning not to hate and learning tolerance. A second major aspect of Wicca reinforces this rule: Everything you do out comes back to you Three fold. This means that every good deed you do, every terrible thing you do, every good spell you cast, and every harmful spell you cast will come back to you thrice what you put out. Therefore, the punishment for breaking the law of Harm None is a threefold return of whatever you did. |