While there are so many different takes on this religion, they are all based on the same fundamentals, to keep the peace, and stay as one with the earth. This religion is one that does not contain a central authority. This means that there are not really any churches that you have to attend, and every partaker is responsible for their own soul.
You have to find yourself in the religion, rather than go to an establishment of worship and listen to someone drone on and on about the boring particulars, you have to follow them yourself. This also makes the Wiccan religion a lot easier to stick with, because it is always more interesting to discover things for yourself. A lot of people consider the Wiccan religion to be the founding of paganism, however, it is quite the opposite.
Paganism is the founding of the Wiccan religion. Wicca is based on ancient paganism ideals and contemporary spiritualism. There is a common theme among the Wiccan practices that is a little newer, and that is to becoming one with the earth.
A lot of ancient paganism dealt with using the earth, rather than working with it. The Wiccan religion is one that is filled with magic and wonder, however, it is often abused, and that is why it gets a bad reputation.
If you are planning on following your spirit in the Wiccan ways, then be sure that you are 7. Otherwise, you should go about pretending that this religion doesn't exist. Now, what exactly is Wicca? Up to this point, I have been beating around the bush just a tad. The truth is that it is hard to define Wicca, as there is so much that goes into it, and it is not the same for everyone.
Everyone experiences Wicca a little differently, and that is what makes it so appealing. If you had to define this religion, the best way to do so would be to describe it as a religion in where your main goal is to unlock the magic in your soul. Each person has a goal in this religion.
And that goal boils down to wanting to find magic in life. While you may not get a whole Harry Potter level magic going on, you may find yourself being able to do some beginner Eragon magic. And even if you don't find the physical magic, you may find the spiritual magic that every person has locked away inside of them.
You do not have to worry if you dont achieve physical magic. Very few do, and there have not been many, if any, accounts of drastic magic being done. That is not to say that it is not possible. The accounts may be locked inside the mind of someone who is locked away for being considered crazy. You have to remember that neo-Christianity is not very accepting of other peoples religions. This trend started back when Roman Catholicism took hold of the minds of many and swept through many countries.
All other religions, including paganism religions, were deemed as heresy, and they were considered punishable by law. Thus, small accounts have stuck throughout the years. Since then, as Roman Catholicism has spread, and broken off into branches and Christianity. The Known and Well Documented History The history of this religion is actually not as old as people believe it to be.
While it takes some old beliefs and adds it into the religion, it is actually a more contemporary form of paganism that is being celebrated along with 8. Some older paganists call Wicca picking and choosing however, this is quite incorrect. Wicca is taking parts of all different religions, the parts that seem to coincide with each other and building from there.
In the early s, the Wiccan culture began to emerge from the ashes of paganism. By this time, most of the world had turned to Christianity and had denounced any type of religion that was not a form of Catholicism or Christianity. Recall, that at this time, in many countries it was illegal to practice any religion that was not the main religion of your country, so that really made it hard for other religions to be documented.
The Wiccan religion started on the basis that the early witch hunts of England were in fact, based on the wrong ideas, and that the witches were followers of Satanism.
This is known as a witch-cult theory, and it is a very popular theory that surrounds the witch trials of early England and Salem. First expressed by a German professor, Karl Ernst Jarcke, the idea quickly flared throughout the world as a very plausible thought, and people soon decided to build a religion that would show the world that true witches have nothing to do with Satanism.
Gerald Gardner became known as the father of Wicca around He decided that the Wiccan beliefs should become a true religion rather than just a bunch of people who share a similar belief. He also decided that there should be a few basic rules to the religion, rather than everyone making up their own, but all in all the rules were not that bad.
Gardner founded a coven after purchasing a country club in his area and made it their headquarters. The coven ran almost entirely on money brought in by its members. However, despite being the founding father of Wicca, his craft was more 9. He also never referred to the craft as Wicca, however, he did once mention the group as being The Wicca, which is where the term Wicca originated from.
Gardenerism was the prominent form of Wicca in the British Isles and England. The British tabloids started to give Wicca a bad image, however, that seemed to just fuel the interest further back then, no one believed the mainstream media.
They knew since the tabloids were trying to bring it down, they felt threatened. That must have meant that there had to be something good associated with the religion. So people started getting more into it, and it spread throughout the country. Around this time in history, a man named Alexander Sanders started to mold the Wicca religion, and add in more focus on ceremonial magic. This form of Wicca was known as Alexandrian Wicca.
It is the most popular form of Wicca practiced today. This lays its focus on magic that is generally only used for good. Gardenerism is focused on the belief that there are three levels of witches, a white witch only does good , a gray witch does bad things for good reasons , and a black witch dark magic users, banned from most Wiccan cults. Gardenerism tried to show the difference between the three witches and publicly rebuked those who dabbled in dark magic.
Alexandrian Wicca rebukes all witches who use magic for anything other than pure good. That is why Wicca today is a nice balance between Alexandrian Wicca and Gardenerism, however, the balance is skewed more towards Alexandrian Wicca in the west.
By the s, Wicca had become somewhat of a trend. This disgusted true Wiccans, because they were in it for life and didnt see it as a trend. It was their religion, not just something that they did for fun, but a lot of the younger generation seemed to only want to get into it for fun. This caused a lot of true Wiccans to start going back to the old ways in order to separate themselves from the trend following sheeple. Unlike most religions, since this one is fairly new, it does not have a rich, well known history that spans thousands of years.
It actually has a very brief well known history. However, there is also Wiccan history that is not as well known. However, because it is not documented, most of the unknown history is considered speculation. Unknown History of Wicca The first theory is that Wicca is directly tied to the Salem witch trials in the s. The belief is that other pagan worshipers were so outraged that they decided they were going to show the world that witches were not to be toyed with.
The thought was that they were going to wreak havoc on the world by invoking their powers in the name of themselves, and show the world that they had nothing to do with Satan, and the power came from them alone. However, a few people talked some sense into their covens and convinced them that violence would only make things worse. This is where Gardenerism comes from, with the White, Gray, and Black witches. It is rumored that if a coven discovered a black witch, they would bind them, and cure them of the darkness.
This cure could kill the witch if they were too tied to the darkness. This is, of course, not well known, because the Wiccan culture tried its best to look like a clean cut society to keep the witch burnings at bay. Alexandrian Wicca decided that any magic that was not used purely was bad, and most accounts of even gray magic were wiped out.
Another theory is that voodoo queens in Louisiana, and the bayou area are Gray witch Wiccans who were banned from a coven. They were banned from their covens for using hexes, and thus they decided to become their own governesses and start their own culture of sorts. If you live near the French Quarter, or pretty much anywhere in Louisiana, you have probably heard of voodoo queens, and maybe you even know one.
The sources say that in , an unnamed Louisiana slave who practiced the Wiccan religion and was part of a coven decided to hex her slave owner for taking her baby and selling him. The slave owner died of unknown causes, but the coven found traces of dark magic around the slave and pieced together the puzzle.
The woman was set free, but she was no longer allowed to be a part of the coven. She found herself a little shack in the bayou, and so enthralled with the feeling that the dark curse gave her, she decided she would open up shop. She wanted to clear her conscience by helping people do bad things to people that hurt them.
A few of her friends in the coven decided to join her, and thus began the tradition of Voodoo queens. There is a theory out there that not only should Wiccans cast a circle with the four known elements, but there is a fifth element that is overlooked. This element is known as spirit. It is about vampires, however, these vampires are very close to the Wiccan religion. In fact, it is a mix of Wiccan religion and Native traditions with vampires thrown in.
While the book series is entirely fictional, there are some great things in it that can help you learn more about the Wiccan traditions. Alexander Sanders was rumored to adapt the Wiccan traditions to the Native American rituals. That is why the two are so strikingly similar. In fact, smudging and a lot of spells are extremely similar, or even interchangeable. It is said that Sanders and some of his friends came across a Native American chief who taught them about the rituals.
However, it is That is really all that is out there in the unknown history that is even slightly validated. There are a lot of other claims that are extremely outrageous, and though they might be true, this book is for instruction, not fiction.
Section 2 Wiccan Beliefs Unlike Christianity, which celebrates monotheism, meaning they only worship one god, Wicca is dualistic.
Meaning, Wiccans worship not one but two gods. This is based on the gender separation of gods and goddesses, and the belief that we are created from a torrid love affair from these deities. This is also common with Hinduism and Taoism. If you do not know what Taoism is, think Yin and Yang. It is the religion that believes that the Yin and Yang represent the sun god and the moon goddess.
These deities are seen as two lovers who have the responsibility of making sure that their followers keep themselves in line, and do good for the world. They are actually not that invasive in their subjects lives, however, they are often the ones that are called upon to help you complete your spells. However, not all Wiccans are dualistic. Some are polytheistic. This means that they believe that there are a lot of deities out there that make it possible for them to access all of the spells that they do.
These Wiccans operate under the belief that it is too much responsibility for even one god to control everything in an area, so there are many lesser deities that handle the more minor responsibilities and the minor spells.
This is a very valid belief, and if you feel that it suits you, then feel free to believe that way. This book will include all of the major deities in the religion. Dualism is the belief that there are two deities in a religion. This belief is portrayed in many religions and is based on the belief that having two opposite deities keeps a balance of good and evil, and that we are created from this balance, which is why there are always good and bad people.
Everyone has a bit of good and evil within them, it just depends on which they choose to follow. The Goddess Also known as Mother Goddess, she is the one you call on for love and healing spells. Spells to do with nature are also under her calling.
She is known as a Triple Goddess, as she is seen as the Virgin. The Mother, and the Crone. She is in control of moon rotations, and the growth of the earth. It is said that she graced Mother Theresa, and created the tide in the oceans. She is the Goddess of fertility and love as well. The Mother Goddess is generally called upon by women, as she influences her gender the most.
However, it is not uncommon for a male to call upon her as well, as love is a powerful thing, and even men want it too.
There is not much that is known about the Goddess, because as stated previously, the deities pretty much keep to themselves. There are no ten commandments that you have to follow. You don't have to pray every day. There is no set book of rules and regulations that you have to follow. There is no threat of dying and spending your eternity in a fiery pit of torture if you do not believe. We worship a horned god. However, he is the sun god and has nothing to do with Satan.
The horns are because he is in control of animals and the animalistic side of nature, He is the caretaker of males and the overseer of protection.
Protection spells are mainly done through him. Light spells are as well. The Horned God is also linked to the Greek God Pan, the animal god that disappeared without a trace and has since been obscured by history. It is said that he still exists in a different realm, and has since decided to govern the Wiccans. He is the symbol of virility in males and is often portrayed with multiple interpretations.
Again, there is not a lot on the Horned God, without crossing into different religions. He is pretty hands off as well. This is why a lot of Wiccans believe that there are more deities in this religion, because the more deities there are, the less they mingle with humans to avoid confusing them.
Polytheism Polytheism is the belief that there are many deities that control the earth in the religion. This is based on the belief that the more deities there are, the fewer hands on the deities become so that they do not relay the wrong information. They control certain spells and do not cross into other territories. This is the only way that they interact with humans, and since this seems to be the case with the Wicca religion, many people follow the polytheism belief rather than the dualistic ideals.
On top of the Horned God and the Triple Goddess, there are a few other deities. Not many, and some of them are small group deities, so, unfortunately, there is not enough information about them to include them. Let's, however, discuss the main two. These two are very different from each other as well. She is very vengeful against the human race because Mother Goddess decided that she should have no human contact with them.
She tried to sleep with the humans, which Mother Goddess considered would produce volatile offspring. And that is the why wishes are often not granted. She does, however, have a few weak spots and will grant a wish to someone who has won her heart. Many Wiccans have gained her heart by worshiping her as a real deity. This softens her up, and she will help with spells that are farfetched from working.
Such as finding someone you bumped into three years ago on a subway and can't stop thinking about, despite the fact that you never got a name. The One Also known as the All, this deity is considered to be the controlling deity, and above all other gods and goddesses of the religion. He is considered to be all-powerful, and omniscient, and sometimes referred to as he or she, as there is no defining gender to this deity.
Think of this deity similar to that of the Christian faith. Little is known about the One, but what we do know is that he controls what the other gods do and ensures that they are doing it correctly. He has little to no contact with humans and mainly deals with the Horned God and Mother Goddess. Everyone Else Those are the main deities in the Wiccan religion, however, if you decide to join a coven, then there may be a few more deities that you will learn about. These are the fundamental ones that any coven that is polytheistic knows.
Plus, since some deities are only believed involved in single covens, there is not enough information out there to really include them at all. Ritual Beliefs There are many other parts of the Wiccan beliefs that do not include the gods and goddesses.
These beliefs pertain to celebrations and other rituals that are said to be important. These should all be taken into account and acted upon, because they are the core of the Wiccan traditions. The Wheel of the Year This is one of the biggest Wiccan rituals out there. The Wheel of the year is not one single celebration.
It is a collection of eight celebrations throughout the year. Each celebration is cause for excitement and magic because during these celebrations it is believed that the gates between the magic and mortal worlds are open more so than they are throughout the rest of the year. Some covens only celebrate four to six of the eight celebrations. We call them party poopers. Just kidding, they believe that the other two are weaker veiled celebrations that invite in the dark magic rather than the good, white magic, so they stay away from them.
The wheel of the year follows the solstices as well. The solstices are important because its when the magic is most charged through the air, and this is when the witches get the most power from the world. If you miss out on the solstices celebrations, you will miss out on a big chance to do some great magic.
This is problematic because you want to do the best that you can if youre serious about Wicca, and if you miss out on the best time to. However, we are getting a little off track. The celebrations in the Wheel of the Year are called Sabbats. Sabbats Sabbats are the celebrations throughout the year that Wiccans celebrate. These are important celebrations that are considered sacred and should be treated as such. This means that you should treat them with the utmost respect, rather than make it a commercialized event as some religions have done with their holidays.
The eight Sabbats are all due to the solstices and equinoxes but one is not. They will start at the beginning of the year, and continue on to the end of the year, as per when they are celebrated in the northern Hemisphere. Candlemas: This is the celebration of the first true signs of spring.
It is generally celebrated on the first or the second of February in the northern hemisphere and on the first of August in the southern hemisphere. This celebration is to praise the Mother Goddess and ask her to bring forth the spring to rid them of the cold, and bring forth the flowers and bees to start the pollination process of the garden cycle.
Ostara: This is the celebration of the spring, or vernal, equinox. This is generally celebrated on the twenty-second of March in the northern hemisphere, and the twenty-second of September in the southern hemisphere. This celebration is to ask the Mother Goddess to restore fertility to the animals, and to the women. This celebration is for the celebration of life, and bringing forth what was dead, and bringing it back to life. Beltane: Celebrated on the first of May in the northern It is during this time, that the Wiccans prepare to lay out their gardens, and are wishing for prosperity from the Mother Goddess.
This is the time where it is most important to please the Goddess, as you want to be bountiful, and if you have offended her, she may avenge her honor on your harvest. Litha: In the northern hemisphere this is celebrated on the twentyfirst of June, and on the twenty-first of December in the southern. This is the summer solstice, and it is the celebration of hard work. During this celebration, you ask the horned god to give you the strength to do your duties throughout the summer, and males ask him for virility throughout the year.
Lammas: No this has nothing to do with a furry, spitting, horselike animal. It has to do with the first fruits of the year. Celebrated on the first of August up north, and the first of February down south, it is when you thank the Mother Goddess for giving you a successful crop that year, and if you have properly thanked her, she may give you an even better harvest.
Modron: Celebrated on the twenty-first of September in the north, and the twenty-first of March in the south, this is the celebration of the autumnal equinox. This is when you harvest your crops and thank the Mother Goddess, and the Horned God for their help in your prosperity.
Try 15 days for Free. Sign up to join the Infinite Roots Coven and get access to all exclusive content while keeping Spells8 ad-free! Real Love Spells for Modern Witches! What is a Book of Shadows? Triple Goddess and Horned God Wiccans and many other Pagans worship Nature and the cycles of constant change, personified as the most ancient and primal deities: the Triple Goddess and the Horned God.
Keep track of the Moon phases as they change! The Sacred Circle In Wicca, the circle is a high energy space that allows Magic to flow freely between this world and the world beyond the veil. Wheel of the Year In Wicca, the beginning of each season is celebrated with holidays called Lesser Sabbats. The Wiccan Altar The most important rules of your Wiccan Altar: Make it your own, know its meaning and experiment with it.
Invite her protective energy. Spellcasting journal page. Spellcasting Journal Use this page as part of your Book of Mirrors , tracking your Magic spells and rituals.
Basil Properties. Cinnamon Properties. Mugwort printable page. Palo Santo printable page. Sage printable page. Bay Leaf Properties. Lavender Properties. Rosemary printable page. Fuente: Open Science Framework. Fuente: Universidad de La Rioja. Fuente: Godula Kosack. Fuente: Universidade da Beira Interior. If you found this list useful, do not forget to share it on your social networks.
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