What is "Wicca"? Part I

Wicca is an Earth-based religion focused on bettering our planet, each other, and ourselves.

Wicca is a religion without any central organization, literature, or structure. It does not claim to be the only right religion.

(and that's just the basics...)

Some think that Wicca itself predates Christ. I personally feel that while parts of it were in place, such as polythiestic Goddess and God worship, long, long before Him, the religion itself didn't take the form it's in today until the past 200 years or so. Artifacts found of goddess statues that date around 20,000 B.C. (in the upper-paleolithic times) prove that women and goddesses alike were worshipped much the same way Wiccan's practice today. (This is really a much more watered down version of history, and I'm not even trying to write a novel right now.)

In essence, Wicca is a faith that celebrates both physical and spiritual realities. It is a religion so self-involved that your interpretation of it is entirely up to you based on what you read, who you listen to, and even your own past experiences in life. It is based on nature and it’s reverence for the God and Goddess aspects of an infinite, creative life force we call Spirit.

By believing in the powers of nature and the elements we discover that there are four basic parts we cannot ignore and could not live without, and we also find a fifth element, being love or Spirit. The four basic elements are earth, air, fire, and water. Without these life on this planet would cease or never would have began, and so we view them as building blocks in our lives.

Wiccans in general see that life is Spirit and that we are all connected to each other and God. As a foundation in our faith we do not see a separation between ourselves and Spirit. (You'll see me switch between calling it Goddess, God, and Spirit.) In our history we do not place a "fall" or "divide" between us and God. To believe that nature is God and we are a part of nature, then, to complete the circle, we are God and Goddesses ourselves! We have the ability inside us to manifest anything we want. We are, in our true forms, divine.

I always hear, "So, what is Wicca?" As you can tell, it's so hard to explain, so complex. So I say things like, "People call it witchcraft,""It's paganism," or, "They call us witches." But, it's not like that, those words all bring to mind images of pointy hats, black cats, and a downward-pointing pentagram. These are all images of propaganda used by other religions to corner the market on richeousness. Even Hollywood has bought into this idea and used it for movies and such. They simply aren't true.

We would never kill animals for sacrifice or ritual, drink blood, or even use blood for that matter. Spells are just another form of praying. For instance, if Billy prays for mommy to get better, why would that be any different than Billy lighting a candle for mommy to get better?

Some movies depict an upside-down cross being used by a nasty old witch. Satan himself was invented by the Christian religion. I don't mean this in a degrading way, I just mean that Satan is part of Christian dogma, and we don't subscribe to that dogma. Before Christianity there was no such thing as an all good side and an all bad side, and Gods were looked upon as being more human, with good and bad sides. So Satan doesn't make us do anything because we don't believe Satan exists, and even if he did, I doubt he would make me pray for world peace, love, and personal harmony. What do you think?

This is an excerpt from a book Merrick and I started a while back:
"Our technology now outpaces our wisdom to use it and vast unrest looms over the globe. The threat of war now spreads over five billion people everyday. The Earth is changing, and it continues to change. Wicca is bound to her and so it is changing as well. The Ancients of our religion, every God and Goddess in the Halls of the Immortals, now cast their eyes to a new generation. They are looking at us, and now perhaps even you as well. There has never been a time in history when things could end so quickly as we know it. We as keepers of this knowledge have never had more to offer. To quote the famous author Scott Cunningham, "Wicca is a joyous religion springing from our kinship with nature. It is a merging with the Goddesses and Gods, the universal energies which created all existence. It is a personal, positive celebration of life and love.""

So, anyway, this is what Wicca is, and this is what I feel Wicca is, nothing else. I might have rambled quite a bit, but I'll go back through later and tidy things up. Thanks for reading with an open mind and an open heart.

~Blessed Be and Live Free~

[Politics: Direct Exit Stage Left]

ETERNAL LOVE

Remember me
When the wind blows through the trees
The leaves fall to the ground
Flowers wilt and echoes fade
Acorns are cracked and eaten
The snow falls then melts away
Rain washes away the tears
And the sun dries the puddles up
Fires blazing in the sky
Even they someday must die
Spirits rise while bodies fall
Love is what shall save it all
Though seasons change
And days seem dreary
Night falls and eyes are weary
I watched you from within
It may seem life passes too fast
Remember me
And our love shall last

by Joseph D. Greenwood

Endangered Species

Things don't always work out the way you want them to...

I told everyone days before the election that if he wins I will be moving. I really don't think that would be called for... My country has, apparently, left me.

I can't be the only person who doesn't accept a religious path that, as a fundamental rule, is the ONLY right one. I can't be the only one who doesn't read the bible or accept a religion requiring forgiveness from God because of my "imperfection".

Could it be that Democrats are a dying race!? You would swear that this president won by the biggest landslide in HISTORY. But in fact, he also got the most votes AGAINST him in the history of this nation, not just FOR him.

Now, none of this really concerns me... Let me be honest. Fear, for me, is not an option. I am not afraid of "terror attacks". Frankly, I don't care about marriage either, keep it. The thing that concerns me deeply, honestly, is that there are so many who are afraid, and there are so many people who feel there are still people who don't deserve equal rights as humans.

Like I said, I don't care about marriage, but if I am in a committed relationship with someone then I think I deserve the same rights as any other in a committed relationship.

This all boils down to what.. I'm not quite sure. Why am I so uneasy now. Maybe it's because I had so much more faith in us as a people. I thought we were on the road to understanding, and on the road to peace between us and the world. Peace and love between me, you, our nation, and every human on this planet.

Our next president, I feel, has not done much but promote this fear, and hate. I can feel it sometimes.

Democrats, as a group whose thought process I sometimes think is inspiring, could be a dying race. This political party is now made up of just minorities. There are not enough of us to make a single majority. Now, everyone says we need to do soul-searching and deal with being out of the spotlight for a while.

I was so excited to see people accept growth, and change. Now I have to accept growth and change of my own.

And so, things do NOT always work out the way you want them to. This is going to be alright. We are all Gods children. Each and every one of us is connected to the divine spirit and so I must believe we will all grow. I will pray for love.

The Sun will still rise. The Moon will still revolve around this planet, and Life will still be great. What else can you ask for!?