Wicca is a nature worshipping religion based upon beliefs and rites that are believed to rooted in ancient practices. Wicca, like most Neo-Pagan spiritualities worships the sacred as immanent in nature, and draws much of it's inspiration from both pre-Christian and non-Christian religions of Euroupe.
It is not an ancient religion, but in fact Wicca was invented by Gerald Gardener in the 1950's and was based on older religions. It is a gentle nature based religion and Wiccans worship the Goddess, with most choosing to worship the God as her consort which is often known as "The Horned One". A popular misconception about Wicca is that it's evil and some people believe that the images of the horned God are actually who Christians believe to be
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As well as worshipping many different Goddesses and Gods, practitioners also worship the sun and the moon, the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water and Spirit. Some people of this religion also practice witchcraft but not all do. It is a gentle religion and not a weird cult, there are no animal sacrifices as practitioners worship nature and animals, in fact many are vegetarian and vegan because of this. Wiccan groups often meet up in covens and have an initiatory system in which to become part of the coven. Not all do these days but there is a whole argument as to whether you can be classed as Wiccan if you are a solitary, some believe that to be a true Wiccan you have to go through a secret initiation by a High Priestess or Priest. They argue that as a solitary you would already know the ritual and this would negate the effect. Some however thing this makes the religion inclusive and unfair and argue 'who initiated the first witch!' this argument in on going. Today there are actually many different forms of the Wiccan religion such as Hereditary/Family tradition, Celtic, Gardnerian, Shamanic, Faerie, Dianic just to name a few of the many that exist. Wicca doesn't have a governing body or follow a bible that has very
Wilborn, Bruce K.. Witches' craft: a multidenominational Wicca bible. New York: Skyhorse Pub., 2011. Print.
Wicca is an old religion, having begun “more than thirty-five thousand years ago” as stated by Starhawk, a Wiccan (qtd in Allen 18). Even though it had started long before him and many events involving witchcraft had happened, research has shown that a man named Gerald Gardner was the one who brought the religion of Wicca to the public eye in the 1950s (Allen 19). Gardner said it was thought to be the pre-Christian religion of Europe called the “old religion” (Adler 637). ...
"Wicca is the most prevalent form of reconstructionist neo-paganism in the United States and is the pre-Christian spirituality of the Celtic peoples who resided in the British Isles and Brittany and on the western coast of France." Wicca is a religion based upon deep personal understanding of oneself and the multi-verse in which one resides.
Many ethical paradigms exist and The Wiccan Rede are often compared to those of The Golden Rule and those presenting set rules, like the Ten Commandments of Christianity. If there is a discussion of ethics it's often the subject of it and while some try to dissect the couplet, others discuss it loosely as a valuable rule and guideline.
Wicca, commonly known as the “Craft” or “Old Ways” is an expression used to describe various traditions of contemporary Paganism, an earth-centered religion that shows a substantial amount of respect for nature; celebrating the changes in the season and lunar cycles (Mankiller, Wicca); As stated by Morrison Wicca celebrates, “the beauty of the moon, the stars, and the sun (5)”; and the worshipping of the deities (Morrison, 2001). Those who follow the path of Wicca are usually referred to as “Witches” or “Wiccans” derived from the Anglo-Saxon term wicce, which can be translated as “Sorceress” or “Wise One” (Morrison, 2001), they are nothing like the witches seen in modern media (Mankiller, Wicca). Throughout History Wicca has been depicted as a Satanist related religion, leading to mass persecution of those who adhere to its principles (as seen in the Salem Witch Trials); few truly fathom the Wiccan faith. The real truth about Wicca is that, it is a religion centered on the theology of the deities in form of the Patron Goddess and God, it is a matriarchal religion, with varying traditions and religious branches, that doesn’t believe in predestination, and has basic tenets that must be followed.
Wicca is a religion and not just a religion with one God but the belief of many Gods. Wicca is an earth-based religion. I believe Wicca’s beliefs are similar to that of the Hindu religion. There are three topics in Wicca that stood out to me the most. The first topic that stood out to me was the Wicca’s belief in how creation came to be, the second topic is the many Gods and deities that the Wiccan religion believes in, and the last topic that was the most interesting to read about is the reincarnation beliefs of a Wiccan.
The controversies that surround Wicca start with its exact origin. There are some who believe that it has its origins in Witchcraft due to the similarities between the two. Witchcraft itself is a Pagan practice [polytheistic and non-Christian, Muslim and Jewish in origin] that began with the Celts around 700 B.C. As the movie The Burning Times depicts, the region during this time period was primarily a rural culture so the Celtic traditions were based completely on Nature. Their months were even named after trees and their festivals revolved around the solstices and equinoxes (Steiger). A polytheistic religion, they worshiped a host of female and male deities and are most notably associated with the concept of Goddess worship, a strong belief in the divinity of the female (Burning Times). These paganistic beliefs and rituals gradually over the centuries combined with other European religious practices, such as magic, potions, and ointments for healing, to form what we call in modern times Witchcraft. Groups who did not hav...
One first hand account is that of someone that could be said to have been born into Paganism, Daphne B, a 49 year old, who feels she is not Wiccan nor technically a Witch, but more Episcopagan,considering herself as a nature based but starry eyed mystical type stated, “ I come from a long line of traditional wise woman healers and herbalists from Appalachia.My ancestry are mixed from the British Isles, France, Germany, Shawnee and Cherokee, my personal motto pretty much sums up my attitude,,hold all sacred”
Witchcraft is said to be the most widespread cultural phenomenon in existence today and throughout history. Even those who shun the ideas of witchcraft cannot discount the similarities in stories from all corners of the globe. Witchcraft and its ideas have spread across racial, religious, and language barriers from Asia to Africa to America. Primitive people from different areas in the world have shockingly similar accounts of witchcraft occurrences. In most cases the strange parallels cannot be explained and one is only left to assume that the tales hold some truth. Anthropologists say that many common elements about witchcraft are shared by different cultures in the world. Among these common elements are the physical characteristics and the activities of supposed witches. I will go on to highlight some of the witch characteristic parallels found in printed accounts from different parts of the world and their comparisons to some famous fairytales.
For hundreds of years, Wicca and witchcraft has been considered the practice of the Devil. In result, many witches throughout those hundreds of years have been tortured, burned, hanged, and killed outright. Although the “witches” from the infamous Salem Witch Trials were not actual witches, it is the thought that counts. The assumption that witchcraft involves summoning the devil and sacrificing animals is extremely inaccurate, as well as a little insulting. Wicca and witchcraft has been misunderstood throughout the time it has existed, and it is actually a very beautiful practice.
...ey also worship a goddess who changes with the phases of the moon. Another similarity is Christians and wick both have communion in wicca a chalice is passed around their wiccan circle so each witch can take a drink from the chalice. And the words “may you never thirst” are said to the person with the chalice. Even though both religions have communion they are for two completely different reasons. Christianity has communion as a reminder of the last supper which Jesus gave thanks and took bread and told his disciples that the bread is his body and the wine is His blood which is given to us for the forgiveness of sins. So even though both religions have communion this does not mean that they mean the same thing. Lastly both religions have a doctrine only where chriastianity has the bible wicca has the wiccan rede which is much shorter in comparison to the bible.
What images come to mind when you think of witches? Many people immediately imagine a black pointy hat, bubbling cauldron, green warty skin, and Halloween. Usually the image that comes to mind is something scary and evil. Real witches do exist. Most modern witches go by the label Wiccan now. Wiccans practice Wicca, which is a nature-based religion with many different branches or denominations. The basic tenant of all Wicca is called the Three Fold Law. The Three Fold Law states that whatever you do will come back to you times three, good or bad, so do not cause harm or, in other words, “harm none”. It is kind of like the concept of karma in one lifetime. There is debate over how old the religion actually is with some saying that it is an ancient religion that pre-dates Christianity and some saying it is more modern, starting in the 1950’s with Gerald Gardener. Regardless of how old the religion is, Hollywood’s portrayal of witches often does have some kernel of truth, albeit sometimes it is hard to find.
WITCHCRAFT: The word witchcraft comes from the word “Wicca.” Wicca means the wise one. Witchcraft is to be believed as a pagan worship and or religion, a stereotype as a “magical phenomenon. In 1000 A.D., the practice of witchcraft became a threat to the Christians and their beliefs. They believe that wit...
The term “Widdershins” (deriving from the Old High German words widar meaning “back/against” and sinnen, “to travel”) means “counterclockwise”, “anticlockwise”, “left-handed direction” or even “coursing in the opposite direction of the sun, in the Northern Hemisphere”. The earliest use of the word, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, shows up in 1513 in the form of the phrase ‘widdersyns start my hair,’, in other words, ‘my hair stood on end,’. ‘Hair standing on end’ or ‘wild/disorderly hair’, was the meaning of the term until the late 16th century, when its current meaning became particularly popular in the Lowland Scots and Scottish Gaelic.
The witches that are pagan are the ones who do witchcraft for a religious reason. The difference between witchcraft and Wicca is that Wiccans all have different belief systems and focus more on that than the actual act of doing magic. Witchcraft, on the other hand, focuses much more specifically on magic and ritual work. A real wiccan compared and contrasted the two by saying “…consider the main differences. In general, Wiccans feel free to review different belief systems, such as Celtic, Norse, Essene, Gnosis, or Shamanism, and then blend together any points that "feel" right into their own personal path.