Why not begin with addressing the black clad Goth elephant in the room, shall we? When you hear the word Wicca, you may think of television masterpieces like Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or perhaps, that one eccentric friend of yours who is always offering strange smelling, homemade herbal remedies or attempting to give you a tarot reading.\u00a0 As you can imagine, there is so much more to this rich, ancient, rooted religion than these Hollywood depictions and stereotypes.<\/p>\n
What is Paganism?<\/strong><\/p>\n Paganism is the \u201cOld Religion\u201d of ancient Europe, one practiced long before Christianity was even a glint in Constantine\u2019s eye, a winding multi-layered tradition that embodies ancient myths, rich symbols and a variety of ancient deities.\u00a0 Pagans, by definition, were the \u201ccountry dwellers,\u201d the farmers and rural agriculturalists that followed their own tribal folk religions based upon the cycles of nature (ex: spring planting, summer harvest, etc.).<\/p>\n These farm-loving folks\u2019 nature-based lifestyle stood humbly against the growing urban medieval Catholicism that was becoming the dominant religion across much of Europe.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to remember that the word \u201cPagan\u201d in and of itself is not a negative term, but medieval Catholics sure thought so. Soon enough anything associated with Pagans became associated with the devil.<\/p>\n This leads us to the most important misunderstanding of all: Pagans (as well as Wiccans) are NOT Satanists (they actually don\u2019t even believe in Satan).\u00a0 However, this simple misunderstanding is much of the reason why even today the mere mention of the word Pagan stirs up unwarranted negativity and false associations with a kind of dark power that Pagans don\u2019t even acknowledge.<\/p>\n Aside from their name, their religious symbol of the pentacle is also very misunderstood. Also known as the pentagram, the pagan five-pointed star inside a circle is a pre-Christian symbol of nature.\u00a0 It represents all of the ancient elements of nature \u2013 earth, air, fire, water and spirit.\u00a0 Each of the five points of the star represent an element and also symbolize the human form (remarkably similar to Da Vinci\u2019s Vitruvian Man).\u00a0 The circle around the star symbolizes protection, interconnectedness and the oneness of everything.<\/p>\n What about Wiccans?<\/strong><\/p>\n Wicca is one particular branch of Paganism (there are hundreds) codified in the 20th century in England.\u00a0 It is one of the fastest growing spirituality movements in America, especially among women.\u00a0 While all Wiccans are Pagans, not all Pagans are Wiccans.\u00a0 Just like all Baptists are Christians, but not all Christians are Baptists.<\/p>\n The term \u201cWitch\u201d comes from the Anglo Saxon term \u201cWise\u201d and therefore \u201cWitchcraft\u201d simply means \u201cCraft of the Wise.\u201d Often, Celtic Pagan women were the wise herbal healers, the midwives and the shamans of the villages.\u00a0 However, over time these herbal healers, as well as many other innocent women, were dismissed as hysterical \u201cwitches\u201d in cohorts with Satan. They were often accused of heinous acts, such as poisoning and curses (the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 is a particularly disturbing example of this, not to mention the preceding burnings of Europe, often called the \u201cWomen\u2019s Holocaust\u201d which claimed millions of victims.)<\/p>\n Do Wiccans practice magic?\u00a0 Yes, however, Wiccans call it magick (to distinguish it from the Criss Angel\/David Copperfield kind of fare) and includes any kind of visualization work, blessing, divination (like Tarot), cleansing, healing, prayer, meditation, shamanic work, drumming, singing, chanting, dancing, etc. Spells and magick are basically fancy words for focused prayer or \u201cprayer with props.\u201d<\/p>\n Do Wiccans believe in God?\u00a0 Yes, very much so.\u00a0 But, Wiccans believe there are a variety of perceptions (and styles of worship) of the Divine. Some are polytheistic while others perceive the Divine as creative force without any specific, personal attributes. They feel you can worship whatever Gods you want because ultimately, they are all aspects of Deity.\u00a0 On a Wiccan altar, you may find statues of Gods from different pantheons \u2013 Greek, Roman, Hindu, Norse, Christian, etc.<\/p>\n Wiccans also feel the Divine is not something separate from us or abstract, but something whose presence can manifest in nature and in our daily lives to guide and instruct us, something we can connect to through ritual, both sacred and mundane.<\/p>\n While Wiccans acknowledge both a male and female balance to God, many emphasize the feminine aspect, practicing Goddess oriented spirituality.<\/p>\n Further emphasizing the authority of women, Wiccan circles (also called covens) will usually have both a priest and a priestess, who have much knowledge and experience in Wicca and years of training, often an equivalent of a Ph.D. Wicca is sometimes seen as both old and new because while its roots are ancient, it is inherently fluid, adaptive and creative to modern times.<\/p>\n Following the rules <\/strong><\/p>\n Wiccans believe there is no absolute one way to experience the Divine and no set doctrine or dogma that everyone must follow.\u00a0 Instead, a Wiccan\u2019s spiritual path is based upon their personal experience and individual needs.\u00a0 However, this is not simply a free pass to do whatever you want without consequence.<\/p>\n Everything Wiccans do, think or believe is guided by one main tenet or Rede, \u201cAn\u2019 it harm none, do what ye will.\u201d<\/p>\n In every thought and action, Wiccans have to think of how it can affect others negatively. This takes great responsibility and mindfulness. Wiccans feel as long as the Rede is followed, one can believe and practice however one sees fit.\u00a0 So, unlike other religions that may interpret texts against different races, sexual orientations or women\u2019s roles, Wiccans believe that as long as you\u2019re not causing harm to yourself or others, you can literally \u201cdo what you will,\u201d making it a religion based upon tolerance and acceptance.<\/p>\n Underlying the Rede is the three-fold law, or simply put, Karma.\u00a0 An eastern principle found in Hinduism and Buddhism, in the Wiccan context, it means that no matter what you do, good or bad, it comes back to you three fold.\u00a0\u00a0 This law, along with the Wiccan Rede, is why any authentic Wiccan will never cast a spell of harm or use \u201cblack magic\u201d so to speak.\u00a0 Any ritual is ideally, always positive, creative and constructive.<\/p>\n Practicing the faith<\/strong><\/p>\n Though many Wiccans are solitary practitioners and don\u2019t feel that you have to worship or do ritual in community, there is still a place for community based ritual and festivals, especially in regards to rites of passage. Wiccans celebrate several of these rites including: Naming (Saining), Puberty, Initiation, Marriage (Handfasting), Eldering (Croning), and Crossing Over (Death).\u00a0 Their major holidays are the Solstices and Equinoxes, which happen four times a year and the cross-equinoxes (including the Witches\u2019 New Year or as we know it, Halloween) that correspond with the cycles of the agricultural year.\u00a0 The moon phases (which represent the phases of the Goddess) can also be celebrated ceremonially.<\/p>\n After attending several Wiccan rites of passages and holidays myself, I can say what they all had in common was a reverence for nature, a respect for earth, and a welcoming energy.\u00a0 Usually held outside, with bare feet in the grass and in a sacred circle, the multi-sensory ceremonies included song, prayer, drumming, burning of sage, incense, etc.<\/p>\n In conclusion, Wiccans are not like the characters in The Craft.\u00a0 They do not turn wrought iron fences into snakes or change their hair color (except maybe by the \u201cmagic\u201d of L\u2019Oreal products).\u00a0 But, they do pray for peace, do rituals for healing, pay their bills, hope the best for their children, worry about war and government, honor the seasons, and feel an affinity for the feminine aspect of Deity. They are people who live, love and have hopes and dreams\u2026just like you and me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why not begin with addressing the black clad Goth elephant in the room, shall we? When you hear the word Wicca, you may think of television masterpieces like Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or perhaps, that one eccentric friend of yours who is always offering strange smelling, homemade herbal remedies or attempting to give […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tartan-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5s3vR-1xQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5943,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5942\/revisions\/5943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}