Q&A: What kind of subjects do people of the wicca faith study?

Peace Walker Pakistani

July 6th, 2011 at 12:20

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Learning spells, rituals and the “do whatever you want but don’t hurt anyone else” rule. That’s about it.

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Peanut

July 6th, 2011 at 12:29

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Neo-Pagans are a community of faiths bringing ancient Pagan and magickal traditions to the modern age–including mostly Wicca but also Druidism, Asatru, Shamanism, neo-Native American, and more. Neo-Pagan is an umbrella term for various and diverse beliefs with many elements in common. Some Neo-Pagans find no incongruence practicing Neo-Paganism along with adherence to another faith, such as Christianity or Judaism.

• Belief in Deity
Some believe in a Supreme Being. Many believe in God and Goddess–a duality. Many believe there are countless spirit beings, gods and goddesses, in the cosmos and within all of nature–God is all and within all; all are one God. The Great Mother Earth, or Mother Nature, is highly worshipped. Divinity is immanent and may become manifest within anyone at any time through various methods.

• Incarnations
No human incarnations are worshipped in particular, as all of nature and the universe are considered embodiments of God and Goddess, or of gods and goddesses, worthy of respect, reverence, or worship.

• Origin of Universe and Life
Generally, there is no conflict between observations revealed through science and Neo-Pagan beliefs on origins of the physical universe and of man. Many believe in a supreme intelligence that created a duality of God/Goddess who then created a spirit world of gods and goddesses as well as all of the universe and nature.

• After Death
Many believe in reincarnation after some rest and recovery in the “Otherworld.” There is generally no concept of hell as a place of punishment, but some believe wrongdoing can trap the soul in state of suffering after death. Some (Wicca) believe the soul joins their dead ancestors who watch over and protect their family. Some believe that life energy continues in some, if unknown, form. Some believe in various spiritual resting places. Many say we don’t or can’t know what happens after death.

• Why Evil?
“Evil” is imbalance. Most believe there is no evil but rather that people sometimes make mistakes. Wrongdoing results when we forget we are one with the universal spirit.

• Salvation
The concept of “salvation” is essentially irrelevant; rather the belief that people can attain spiritual balance and harmony with each other and nature. The path includes group ceremonies, dances, songs/chants, prayers, meditation, trance, altered states of consciousness, the metaphysical, magic, invoking or evoking deities or spirits, Tantric practices. Intercessors are commonly used: psychics, seers, shamans, tarot, Oui-Ja board. Ethical choices are influenced by a belief that one is rewarded or punished within this or after this lifetime for one’s choices and an ethical code to do no harm.

• Undeserved Suffering
Most do not believe in Satan or any spirit being as the cause of suffering. Some believe in a karma-like principle, that choosing to live a life of wrongdoing and pain will naturally result in suffering in this or later lifetimes. Many view suffering as a result of spiritual imbalance in one’s life or on the planet or in the universe. The focus is generally on healing suffering rather than answering definitively why it exists.

• Contemporary Issues
Abortion is not condemned, as there is no official doctrine; beliefs about abortion range the full spectrum. Views on divorce, homosexuality, and gender equality are generally very supportive of human differences, equality, and personal choice. Many believe that involvement in community action, especially regarding environmental concerns, is integral to the belief in human interdependence and worship of the Earth Mother.

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LabGrrl

July 6th, 2011 at 13:13

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Just as there are Christians whose Christian faith represents an immature, bookstore oriented faith about getting stuff (Christian music, Christian coffee cups, etc.) and breaking the entire faith down into a few trite phrases that say nothing (WWJD? Let go and Let God) but look okay on a bumper sticker, there are Wiccans who practice a New Age Store Wicca which is similarly about what stuff looks like, what they bought at a bookstore and what they can fit on a bumpersticker.

Neither of these niche religious groups represent the full spectrum of their religion, both are nonsense compared to those who have studied and live their religion, people for who religion isn’t about bumperstickers and saying “look at me!” but is, instead, about ethics, morals and a relationship with the divine.

Already in this thread we’ve got an alleged Christian who feels it necessary to just up and lie about Wicca, even getting the date the religion came to be wrong by decades. I sincerely hope that anyone reading that understands that not only is that cut and pasted essay error ridden, it’s biased and just wrong. Let’s not bear false witness, here, guys, you Christians are supposed to be better than that.

Here are some essays about Wicca, and what it is, FROM WICCANS. Not only do these essays not lie about Wicca, neither of them discuss Christianity, except for mentioning that Wicca is NOT Christianity. Neither of these essays have to lie about another religion to promote their own, in fact, both these essays answer questions, and don’t *promote* Wicca at all.

That’s because, at its core, Wicca is about living our ethics, not putting them on a coffee cup and trying to get someone to buy it:

http://www.cuew.org/whatiswicca.html
http://wicca.cnbeyer.com/wicca101/

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Nightwind: Mwa ha ha!

July 6th, 2011 at 13:35

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Wicca is a modern, polytheistic religion with ritual generally centered upon a patron god and goddess. It stresses polarity and balance, as well as responsibility for one’s own actions. Wiccans see the physical and spiritual worlds as being intimately connected. Wicca is an esoteric religion, with the real truths of it being learned through experience, rather than through instruction. The various practices of Wicca are to help people find those experiences and lessons. Wicca has no prophet and no holy books.

Wicca is not witchcraft.

Wiccans, when studying religiously, study the same things studied by people of other faiths: the nature of the gods, how they interact with the world, how our faith impacts our lives, how we should interact with others, etc.

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Monty S

July 6th, 2011 at 14:02

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wicca is a known religion (small as it may be ) and they study the earth as a living breathing entity .

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LJR

July 6th, 2011 at 14:54

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Wiccans study many things depending on their “tradition”. If they belong to a coven, they usually follow a pre-set course of study which teaches them everything they need to know to understand and implement coven teachings. In general this would include among other things the nature of the gods, the nature of the human/deity relationship, tradition myths, and information about how to create and perform tradition ritual. If the wiccan does not belong to a coven, then they are free to follow any course of study they choose and may “borrow” spiritual epiphanies from many sources. For instance they may adopt reincarnation beliefs from Buddhism, adapt ritual from Shamanism, and choose Hindu deities as primary god/desses.

Wicca itself doesn’t mandate the use of magical practices although some traditions and some individuals do. If that is the case then there would be an additional course of study in magical practices.

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Q&A: What kind of subjects do people of the wicca faith study?

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