Wicca is an earth and nature-honoring religion that celebrates the cycle of the year and the duality of divinity. It stresses living in harmony with all creatures and the earth. It honors a supreme power which is personified into male and female aspects as the Goddess and God. This is the Goddess and God that is contained in all nature and in ourselves.
Considered a mystery religion, Wicca, in general, is based on the pre-Christian spiritual traditions of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Its origins can be traced even further back to Paleolithic times when people worshiped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess. Still it is considered a modern religion and not the Old Religion of those ancient times. Another way to put this is that Wicca is not THE religion but a religion sitting under the umbrella of Paganism much like Catholics, Methodists, etc., sit under the umbrella of Christianity.
Wicca is practiced in a group (coven or grove) or solitary (by oneself). The goal of a Wiccan is to achieve balance and harmony within nature and oneself. This makes Wicca a highly individualistic religion. The large number of different sects within the Craft give the impression that no two groups practice the same way.
Thus 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. Note that the word wicca is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “wise.” Each Wiccan is struggling to be wise within oneself and to have an direct connection with the divine power.
Their personal faith is influenced by the religious experiences they have. Often the experiences instill knowledge or religious truths in ways that are not fully understood by the individual. At Wicca’s core, there are things that can only be experienced and not explained.
Wicca’s main basis for ethical behavior rely on two basic premises… The Wiccan Rede, or rule: An it harm none, do as ye will ” or slightly updated: “If it harm none, do what you will.” Which means that as long as you don’t do anything that will hurt anyone (including yourself) it is allowed. The other major premise is the Three-fold Law – whatever you send out into the universe, be it good or bad, you can expect to return to you threefold.
Wicca is entirely compatible with the scientific method, and it is believed that all the Gods and forces that are worked with are quite natural, not supernatural at all. Wicca encompasses a beautiful, satisfyingly natural way of life. It is about worshiping life and the love of nature and its power in all living things. Wicca believes in divinity in everything living and natural, as well as karmic laws, and reincarnation.
Wicca is an official, legal religion in the U.S., and a fast-growing one at that. Judges have ruled that witches must be allowed to lead prayers at local government meetings, and that Wiccan convicts must be provided with requested “sacred objects” so they can perform spells in their cells. Wiccan covens have been recognized as nonprofit religious organizations by the Internal Revenue Service.
So Wicca is a religion which involves communion with the Earth, communion with a God/Goddess (or several of them if you’re a polytheist), living in peace with yourself and others, and giving to those that gave to you. Witchcraft, by the way, is what Wiccans practice. 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… To be a member of Wicca, one must seek rather than be sought after.
Wiccans do not worship Satan. Satan is part of the Christian religion, a separate religious path.
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