Wiccan?

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » 14 Aug 2005 16:31

How do you feel about wiccans

bigdirtyfoot · Post by **bigdirtyfoot** » 14 Aug 2005 17:09

Great. Less hypocrisy than many major religioins around today. I have many wiccan friends and they're GREAT people; very generous, and they never try to force their religion on me.

Guest_2 · Post by **Guest_2** » 14 Aug 2005 18:23

I feel pretty good about 'em

How do you feel about Bhuddists?

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » 14 Aug 2005 18:28

I like the budhist lifestyle ((the reason I was asking about being wiccan is because its somethign i am strongly considering))

FlexThis · Post by **FlexThis** » 15 Aug 2005 07:04

I have wiccan friends as well. They are received very well at the college level, but in the work place and among other religious types they are not received as well.

They are people too regardless and deserve to have their religion respected as well.

Personally I wouldn't walk that way. Too many negative stereotypes, but thats true of most if not all religions.

~peace
Damon

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 15 Aug 2005 07:11

I know I could research this but I'd like a more personal opinion - can somebody explain what a Wiccan is? What's your perception of them and their beliefs?

pips · Post by **pips** » 15 Aug 2005 07:14

One of my ex-boyfriends messed with that. He tried to get me into Wicca and said that he knew how to meet me in my dreams from studying Wicca. I waited for him to do that, but he never did. He was just a drug addict idiot who thought it would be fun for a while. I doubt he still does any of it.

Commodore · Post by **Commodore** » 15 Aug 2005 08:07

I don't completely understand what's wicca.

FlexThis · Post by **FlexThis** » 15 Aug 2005 08:18

]begin ignorant response about Wiccan]

Excuse any ignorance or inncorrect assumptions. But I will try to explain from what I understand about Wiccan.

Wiccan is the religion followed by Witches. More specifically Black Magic and the like. It is not a devil worshipping religion. More like the movie "The Craft". It can be traced in the USA back to the time of the Salem Witch Trials of Massachusetts.

Not sure what the underlying beliefs are, this is where my knowledge ends.

[/end ignorance response about Wiccan]

~peace
Damon

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 15 Aug 2005 08:24

FlexThis wrote:]begin ignorant response about Wiccan]

Excuse any ignorance or inncorrect assumptions. But I will try to explain from what I understand about Wiccan.

Wiccan is the religion followed by Witches. More specifically Black Magic and the like. It is not a devil worshipping religion. More like the movie "The Craft". It can be traced in the USA back to the time of the Salem Witch Trials of Massachusetts.

Not sure what the underlying beliefs are, this is where my knowledge ends.

[/end ignorance response about Wiccan]
~peace
Damon

Googled some info. much of what damon said was found under misconceptions

Misconceptions
For two thousand years the image of the Witch has been associated with evil, heathenism, and blasphemy. These ideas have their origin in Christian myths created to convert members of the Old Religion to that of the new. By making the Witch into a diabolical character of ill intent and action, the Christian missionaries were able to attach fear to a word that had once meant Healer, Wise One, and Seer. These fears are present to this day. When we think of the archetypal image of the Witch, we remember the evil enchantress of childhood tales. We think of an old, wrinkled hag with a nasty wart on her nose. We think of hexes, and devils, and foul incantations chanted around a bubbling cauldron. While we modern witches have been known to stir up herbal remedies in a cauldron, we are a far cry indeed from the horrifying Wicked Witch of the West!

Witches Do Not Worship Satan. To believe in Satan, one must subscribe to the Christian mythos. We do not. Wicca does not have any belief in, nor do we worship a concept of evil incarnate. All life is perceived as a constant flow of positive and negative energies, which intertwine to create the balance of life. [From my own experience, I must say that the only evil I have ever observed in the world has come from Man. There are no ax-murderers, or child-abusers to be found in the animal kingdom, or in nature as a whole.]

Witches Do Not Cast Evil Spells. Modern Witches have a very strict belief in the Law of Return. Whatever we send out into our world shall return to us, so even the most ill-tempered Witch would not consider doing magick to harm another being. The spells that we do involve things like Healing, Love, Wisdom, Creativity, and Joy. The "potions" that we stir might be a headache remedy, or a cold tonic, or an herbal flea bath for the family dog.

Beliefs
Immanent Divinity. Wiccans believe that the spirit of God/dess exists in every living thing: in the trees, the rain, the flowers, the sea, and in each other. This means that we must treat our peers, and all the beings of the Earth as aspects of the Divine. We attempt to honour and respect life, in all its many and diverse expressions.

Nature. Wiccans learn from and worship nature by celebrating the cycles of the sun, and the cycles of the moon. We look into ourselves for the cycles within that correspond to those of the natural world, and try to move in harmony with the movement of life. Our teachers come in the form of trees, rivers, lakes, meadows, and mountains, as well as other humans who have walked the path before us. This belief infers a reverence and respect for the environment, and all of life upon the Earth We revere the spirits of the elements that create our world. Air, Fire, Water, and Earth combine to manifest all creation. From these four elements we gain wisdom, and understanding of how the universe unfolds. The rhythms of nature are the rhythms of our lives. Wiccans attempt to dance in step with the pulse of the Earth.

Other Faiths.Modern Witches believe in freedom first! We do not choose to look at our path as the "one true right way," but as one path among many to the center. We do not convert new members to the Craft, nor do we advertise or prosteletize. We believe that anyone who is meant for this path will find it through their own search. Wiccans practice tolerance and acceptance toward all other religions, as long as those faiths do not preach or commit harm to others.

Afterlife. Most Witches believe in reincarnation of some sort, whether it be the Eastern version known as the Transmigration of Souls (the spirit incarnating one body after another in an effort to learn all the life lessons that it can), or Ancestral Incarnation (where the spirit and life lessons of the grandfather transmute to the granddaughter, and so on down the genetic line). The latter is a more traditionally Celtic approach, but both are accepted.

Sin.In Wicca, we do not have a specific concept of sin. There is no heaven or hell that souls will go to based on their worldly actions. Wrong-doing is governed and determined by the individual conscience. With the belief in the Law of Return, one's actions will determine one's future. The individual is therefore responsible for his or her own fate, based on what he or she chooses to do internally and externally in the world.

Ethics.Wicca has but one law of action and ethics. It is called the Wiccan Rede or the Wiccan Law, and can be found under the Reading Room category of the same name. "And ye harm none" covers almost everything that the Ten Commandments do: don't lie, don't steal, don't cheat, etc. It encourages us to strive not to harm any living thing - including ourselves - except perhaps to survive. Whether this means that you must become a vegetarian or a passivist is up to the individual. The Wiccan Law serves as a guideline to action, not a mandate. The only law that the Ten Commandments express that is not covered by the Wiccan Law is that of marriage and adultery. In Wicca, love itself is sanctified, with or without government authorization. As long as two individuals share a sincere bond of love that does not harm either party, it does not matter if they are legally joined, if they are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or interracial.

Leadership vs. Hierarchy. There is no Arch Bishop of Wicca. There is no one person or organization that determines the practices and beliefs of Wicca as a whole. Instead, Wicca is formed of small nebulas groups and solitaries who are charged with the leadership of themselves. Wicca is a religion of clergy, not followers. Each person who seriously pursues the Craft, whether it be through study in a particular tradition, or through self-teaching and private learning, has the choice to become a priest or priestess of Wicca. Most modern traditions of Wicca offer a three year program of learning that will bring the student to the level of High Priest or Priestess.

Churches and Temples. Wiccans do not usually have churches created specifically for the worship of the gods. Our temple is found in nature, among the creations of the divine. We meet in a circle that represents the Circle of Life, and the equality that we share. There is no head, no top, no beginning and no end. When necessary, our circles take place indoors in houses, apartments, or wherever we can find a sacred, protected space. But ideally, a circle will take place in a grove beneath the stars, with the silver moon shining down from above.

Magick. Witches believe in the power of magick to create change. A prominent Wiccan author named Starhawk defines magick as "the art of changing consciousness at will." By being in tune with the rhythms of life, we can create change for ourselves and for our world. We use herbs, oils, colours, stones, crystals, and other symbolic materials to represent the change we wish to create. Wiccans believe that the individual is responsible for his or her own reality. If there is something that is not healthy, or conducive to happiness and growth, we have the power to change it. As aspects of the divine, we are each Creator and Creatress, filled with the power to manifest all that we dream of or desire.

What is Wicca?Wicca is a forest in the light of the silvery moon...a glade enchanted by the light of the Faery. It is the dewdrop on the petals of a flower in bloom, the warmth of the summer sun on the skin, the fall of colourful autumn leaves, and the softness of winter snow upon the Earth. It is light, and shadow and all that lies in between. It is the song of the wind, and the tune of the tides. It is the symphony of life! To be a Witch is to be a healer, a teacher, a seeker, a giver, and a protector of all things living and alive. If this path be yours, may you tread it with honour and with light!

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 15 Aug 2005 08:26

sorry for the double post, but it won't let me edit:

The 13 Wiccan Principles
The following set of thirteen principles was
adopted by the Council of American Witches, in April, 1974.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1: We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarters.

2: We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.

3: We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called supernatural, but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.

4: We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity ~as masculine and feminine~ and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive to each other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.

5: We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological, worlds sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, Inner Planes, etc. ~and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.

6: We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.

7: We see religion, magick, and wisdom in living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it ~a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft~ The Wiccan Way.

8: Calling oneself "Witch" does not make a Witch, but neither does heredity itself, not the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature.

9: We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness giving meaning to the Universe we know and our personal role within it.

10: Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the only way", and have sought to deny freedom to others and to surpress other ways of religious practice and belief.

11: As American {Or World-Wide!} Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.

12: We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as Satan or the Devil, as defined by the Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the sufferings of others, nor accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.

13: We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being.

FlexThis · Post by **FlexThis** » 15 Aug 2005 08:35

So I was RIGHT - They don't worship Satan. 1 out of a few ain't too terribly bad

.

vanderwax · Post by **vanderwax** » 15 Aug 2005 09:28

Beliefs
Immanent Divinity. Wiccans believe that the spirit of God/dess exists in every living thing: in the trees, the rain, the flowers, the sea, and in each other. This means that we must treat our peers, and all the beings of the Earth as aspects of the Divine. We attempt to honour and respect life, in all its many and diverse expressions
____________________________________

I really liked this paragraph. This is how I believe god to exist as well. Not as some supreme being watching us and judging us rather a spirit of some sort that is part of the earth and every being.

To quote a brilliant mans thoughts about about "God". 'True love can exist only among equals' - Mikael Bakunin. This is a beautiful statement that can be altered and perceived different to approach any aspect of love.

As for reincarnation, I think the movie 'Waking Life' said my beliefs best. "Reincarnation is just a poetic expression". It makes us feel safe about dying rather than rotting the ground. I think if there is life after death it probably stems from the brain. Some sort of eternal dream state that we live in forever in the 6-12 minutes our brain continues to function after we die.

As for Wicca, it seems like a good religion to follow if that is your thing. I personally am and anarchist and an atheist. This religion does sound less propogating than the three mainstream religions, four if you count buddhism. Just dont compromise your values and beliefs dude, stand for what you believe in, not what you are told. Follow the wiccan lifestyle if it connects with you on a mental level. Dont do it cause you saw it on tv and want to follow the trend!

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » 15 Aug 2005 15:36

Thank you for saying that and yes that was pretty much comletely right your statement

NotHisRealName · Post by **NotHisRealName** » 16 Aug 2005 04:45

The few Wiccans I've met are very gentle people. Like Christianity and Buddhism, they believe that you get back what you put out - only three fold. That's why most Wiccans won't do 'hexes' and 'curses', because they'll cop worse back.
They are very nature orientated and are generally nice people.

james · Post by **james** » 16 Aug 2005 07:50

Like I feel about most other useless things...nothing. Waste of bloody time.

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 16 Aug 2005 11:20

if you feel that the infinite blend of respect for life is a "bloody" waste

Guest_2 · Post by **Guest_2** » 16 Aug 2005 21:12

Nightmare wrote:I like the budhist lifestyle ((the reason I was asking about being wiccan is because its somethign i am strongly considering))

I don't think you should let anyone else's opinion interfere with your beliefs, and you should do what you feel you should do.

Seath · Post by **Seath** » 17 Aug 2005 06:49

I think its fascinating how the early church totally distorted the pagans beliefs and re-casted them in a bad light. And i think it's still fascinating that those early misconceptions are still around today, hence the huge misconception that pagans/wiccans/witches/"nature worshippers" are satanists. The pentagram, the pitchfork of satan, satans common image itself, the focus on patriarch rather than matriarch, all pagan images changed by early christian authorities into negative evil images. Its all early christian propaganda intended to force people into that belief system. Religion is a powerful thing in the hands of evil men.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 17 Aug 2005 07:16

True, but don't forget that it's also a powerful thing in the hands of good people.