Paganism

The word pagan can be loosely defined as one who practices a polytheistic religion.  A polytheistic religion is any religion that has more than one God.  Christianity, for example, is monotheistic, because it supports belief in one God.  Sometimes the word Pagan is used to mean anyone who is not Christian, though this use is quickly becoming outdated.

Paganism, (or Neo-Paganism, as it’s often called now) can be used as a broad term to refer to many religions, including the popular Wicca.  Other Pagan religions are Asatru, Druidism, Ceremonial Magic, Hermeticism, Animism, Shamanism, Voodoo or Voudun and Santeria.  Satanism, which believes in one deity, is not Paganism.  Paganism is more an umbrella term than a specific religion.

What Wicca Is Not

Wicca is not Satanism or devil worship.  Wicca is not inherently evil, though many people define evil differently.  Wicca does not involve human or animal sacrifice or any bestial activities.  Wicca is not a sex religion or a way to control other people.  Wicca is not a brainwashing cult.

What Wicca Is

I’m going to write in broad definitions here, because Wicca is a multi-faceted religion.  And it is a religion, protected by the Constitution of the United States of America.

Wicca is a nature-based religion and honors the sanctity of all life. There are many sects of Wicca, just as there are many kinds of Christians.  There are Dianic, or feminist, Wiccans, Celtic Wiccans, Norse Wiccans, Stregherians, or Italian Witches.  Some sects define themselves as Wiccans, and some call themselves Witches. 

A Wiccan or a Witch can be male or female, and the term Warlock is not used.  Wiccans who practice more folk magic and customs than structured religion often prefer the term Witch to Wiccan.  Some call themselves Kitchen Witches, Green or Hedge Witches.  Some don’t call themselves Wiccans or Witches at all.

Wicca was formally founded in the 1950s in England by Gerald Gardner, who gave his name to the Gardnerian Tradition, which has become synonymous with British Wicca.

What Wiccans Believe

Wiccan beliefs can vary widely according to a particular tradition (often just called a trad, i.e. Dianic Trad for Dianic Tradition of Wicca.) but most have the basics in common.

In 1974, at a meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a group called the Council of American Witches developed a statement to outline their beliefs for the general public.  It is meant, and used by most Wiccans, as a guideline.

Some of the more important points include denial of the existence of absolute evil or a concept of the Devil, acknowledgement of a higher power that is accessible to all, and seeking to live in harmony with nature.

The Wiccan Rede

There is also a creed called The Wiccan Rede, which reads in part: “Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, and it harm none, do what ye will.” 

This statement is meant to go hand in hand with what Wiccans call the Threefold Law of Return, a karmic reference which states that whatever a person sends into the world, they will receive back three times.  This is a deterrent to negative behavior and an incentive to create good in the world.

Wiccans believe that one must be held accountable for their actions, rather than seeking forgiveness from a deity.

Wiccans also believe in magic, sometimes spelled as magick to differentiate it from street or stage magic shows.  Wiccan magic can be performed through the use of spells and with the aid of Gods and Goddesses.

Gods and Goddesses

Wiccans believe in a God and a Goddess, based on pre-Christian religious systems.  Many believe in a whole slew of them, called a Pantheon.  Pantheons are usually based on classical mythology, such as Roman, Greek, Egyptian or Norse traditions.

A Greek Pantheon would include the Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus; the traditional Zeus and Hera, Apollo and Aphrodite, Athena and Poseidon.

An Egyptian Pantheon would include as deities the mythological figures Osiris and Isis, Horus, Anubis, Nut and Ra.

Some Wiccans don’t believe in specific Pantheonic Gods and Goddesses, but a broader belief in one universal God and one Goddess, who together encompass all aspects of the various Pantheons.

The Coven

Wiccans and Witches meet as a coven, their version of a church meeting.  Often meetings are held on Sabbats, or Wiccan holidays, or when a coven member is in need of assistance from the group.

In addition to the Sabbats, there are also Esbats, which occur once a month, timed with the cycles of the moon.  These are not as widely celebrated as Sabbats.

A coven need not be made of thirteen members.  Most are much smaller than this.  Many Wiccans consider the number thirteen powerful and sacred, and some covens do limit their numbers to no more than thirteen.

If a coven wishes to remain at thirteen, but has grown to a larger number, a new coven with a new head, called a High Priestess, is split, or hived, off from the original.

A coven is led by a High Priestess, who is sometimes aided by a High Priest, though this is not a requirement.  If one expression of gender is seen as dominant, it is the feminine.

A High Priestess or Priest is not seen as an ultimate authority, but rather as a leader, or an experienced guide.

Sabbats or Holidays

Wiccans celebrate eight Sabbats, holidays based on solar cycles and ancient Pagan celebrations.  Some of these holidays coincide with Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter.

Yule is celebrated with the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year.  It usually occurs near the 21st day of December.

Imbolic, or Candlemas, marks the beginning of February and celebrates the end of winter.

Ostara is marked on the Spring Equinox, when the days and nights are balancing out in length.  It is a fertility festival.

Beltane, or May Day, is the first day of May, and is the last of the spring holidays.  It celebrates the coming of the warm summer season.

Summer Solstice, or Midsummer Night’s Day, is celebrated on the longest day of the year.  This is a celebration of the sun and its bounty.

Lammas, or Lughnassadh, is celebrated in the beginning of August, and is a harvest festival. 

Autumn Equinox, or Mabon, is also a harvest festival, celebrating the bounty of summer and the beginning of autumn. 

Halloween, or Samhain, is celebrated on October 31st, and marks the Wiccan New Year.  It is the final harvest festival.

Esbats

Esbats honor the lunar cycle, and are set aside for coven meetings, to conduct ritual and perform magic.  There are thirteen Esbats, one for each moon of the year.  Sometimes the moons are given names:

• January: Cold Moon
• February: Storm Moon
• March: Chaste or Barren Moon
• April: Seed Moon
• May: Hare or Fertile Moon
• June: Dyad Moon
• July: Mead Moon
• August: Green Moon
• September: Barley Moon
• October: Blood Moon
• November: Snow Moon
• December: Oak or Holly Moon
• Extra Moon: Blue Moon

Each Esbat celebrates the qualities of the moon in association with the planting/reaping cycle common in nature religions.  Esbats are celebrations of the cycle of life.

Magic

Magic is seen sort of like a prayer, but with a kick.  It is believed by Wiccans to be a force harnessed from the natural world and available to all, and is a focused concentration of will for a specific goal.

The power necessary for magic to happen can come from energy raised through chanting or dancing as a coven or an individual.  Herbs and objects are often used in spells to aid the magic, or to draw on the specific energies of those objects included.

Contrary to popular television shows, magic does not happen with the flick of a hand or the wink of an eye.  It is not a force that resides within a specific person, but a natural force that can be accessed by all.

Magic is not good or bad, white or black.  Magic only is, and the intent of the magic user determines the quality or color connotation of the magic.

Spells

Spells are a way of focusing magic.  Spells can rhyme or not, be said aloud, chanted or sung.  Spells often involve some physical object to aid the magic force.

The use of objects in spells is considered sympathetic magic, as the magic draws in sympathy with the qualities or energies of the object used.

Common spells include those for protection, love, and prosperity.  Some spells involve the use of bottles to hold the ingredients, or small dolls called poppets to represent the target of the spell.

A Love Spell

For a spell to draw love to a Wiccan, the Wiccan might make a small poppet to represent herself.  She could use red fabric to represent passion, white thread to represent purity or honesty, stuff it with rose petals sacred to a love Goddess, and perhaps strands of her own hair to connect the poppet to her own energies. 

To activate the spell, the Wiccan might dedicate the poppet to a love Goddess, and chant words she wrote describing what she wants in a lover.  It is considered bad form to focus a love spell on a specific person, or to try to make a specific person fall in love with a Wiccan.

A Protection Spell

If a Wiccan feels in need of protection from someone specific, she might create a protection spell meant to bind another person’s power to cause harm.  This can be done by wrapping an object associated with the person to be magically bound in a cord or rope.

A Wiccan might also make a more general protection bottle, into which she would put herbs and elixirs that have qualities of protection.  She might then bury the bottle on her property.

A spell, like magic in general, can be good or bad, positive or negative.  Wiccans are guided by their Rede and the Law of Threefold Return, and so try to use magic for positive purposes.

Reincarnation

Many Wiccans believe in reincarnation, which is the concept that a soul, or human spirit, lives on after death to inhabit another human body.  This occurs in cycles in order for life lessons to be learned, and so that a soul can progress toward completion.

Divination

A common practice by Wiccans is divination.  Divination simply means a way to see into the future, or foretell future events. 

It stands to reason that if one believes in the ability to see into the future, one may also see into the past.

Some common methods of divination are crystal balls, runes, Tarot Cards, throwing dice, reading palms and tea leaves and even reading regular playing cards.  These methods are not used strictly by Wiccans, but are common within the religion.

Who Are Wiccans?

Wiccans don’t look any different than anyone else in most cases.  Many simply want to live quiet lives enriched by their religion.

Some Wiccans crusade for the public acceptance of their religion, and have made great strides.

Wiccans and Witches are mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends and lovers, just like anyone else.  They don’t have special powers, though the believe they, and anyone else, can tap into the power of the magical universe.  They are often gentle and peace loving souls, who respect the world and its inhabitants, human and animal alike.

In short, Wiccans are not inherently evil, nor are they magical beings.  They’re just like everyone else, searching for a meaningful way to live their lives. 

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