The Wiccan Religion

The Wiccan religion is seen by some as an old tradition steeped in taboo and suspicion of devil worship, but the people who practice the Wiccan religion today are intelligent, community conscious, earth attuned people who view their religion as a step forward as opposed as a step backwards into the past. The Wiccan religion is far more relevant to the times of today than the majority of established traditions with recognition of personal and social responsibility and an acknowledgement of a holistic approach to the universe. The basis of witchcraft is equal rights, feminism, ecology, attunement, respect among the sexes and planetary care.

Depending on which view is taken, Wicca is either one of the oldest religions, or one of the many newly created religions. Wicca was recently created as a Neo Pagan religion whose many branches can be traced back to Gardnerian Witchcraft which was founded by Gerald Gardener in the UK during the late 1940s. Gardner and many other practitioners of this religion draw from ancient religions, customs and ceremonies from such sources as Celtic traditions, goddess worship, and some argue freemasonry influences as well.

The religion is practiced in a personal and individual way by each member but there are standards and guidelines to be observed. Followers of the Wiccan religion worship the male and female aspects of divinity, and they are worshipped together in a balanced way just as they believe the universe is designed and operates in this same balanced way. The main tenet of witchcraft is, "And it harm none, do what thou will" which means do what thou will in worship of the deities and spell work as long as it does not harm anyone. This was adopted in more modern times as a way of ensuring people that Wicca and witchcraft were not negative nor do the practitioners of it produce harm to others.

Seekers of information and members of the Wiccan religion can be hard to find as they are usually wary of perspective interest in their groups or coven and tend to be secretive. If an open mind and positive attitude can be maintained, Wiccans will happily provide a brief explanation and straighten out misconceptions but an invitation for intimate study with the covens are limited as has always been a precautionary measure as to protect the identities and safety of the coven members.

Through a close personal acquaintance I was able to observe the full moon rite and circle of a coven which was held on private property and follow-up with an interview of a coven member. The ritual was held at the home of the coven High priestess or leader with the areas used first cleared and consecrated and the circle cast then the full moon ritual praising and worshiping the goddess was performed and prayers offered. The circle was followed by the sharing of refreshments and the interview of the High Priestess regarding the practice of Wicca and witchcraft.

The High Priestess, a dark haired woman with a warm smile, sits after the circle looking serene and lovely. She explains the eight Sabbats celebrated throughout the year that celebrates the goddess on phases of the moon and the honor the god on certain phases of the sun. There four major Sabbat celebrations during the year including Imbolic a spring celebration, Lughnasadh which is observed in the summer, Samhain in the fall and the winter celebration of Beltane. Celebrations also occur on the minor Sabbats on the spring equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.

Rites are also performed on the full and new moons each moth to honor the goddess and weekly or monthly Esbat rites allow the coven to meet and perform spell work and worship. A beautifully decorated altar is set according to season and rituals to be performed and candles in matching colors to the season light the circle. The Sabbats and Esbat rituals mark the passing of seasons and celebrate the cycles of the nature as well as give an opportunity for socializing and mentorship within the coven.

Living life according to the rhythms of nature and being attuned to the world are the ways that the Wiccan religion has changed the High priestesses life over the 20 years of being a Wiccan. The challenges of being a practicing witch or Wiccan stems from the unfair stigma or negative reputation it has for being associated with Satanism and harming others. This has kept many members of the Wiccan religion to remain secretive and tight lipped about their customs and practices as well as the identities of coven members.

According to the High Priestess, observance of religious practices are not widely done in public because of the history of negative attitudes and persecution that has been faced by people practicing the pagan traditions. This means that rituals and celebrations are done privately and there are no public places of worship for the Wiccan religion but rather the use of member homes or outside venues are used for conducting worship. This contributes to the difficulty there can be in communicating with other Wiccans and the isolation of those who cannot find covens and chose to worship in as a solitary Wiccan.

When asked about performing spell work the High Priestess was less forthcoming as this is a sensitive subject and discussion about spell work is seen as counter productive after it is completed. There was no access to the coven performing spell work and questions about it were answered briefly, but spell work is done by the coven for attracting heath, protection and prosperity to the coven members and occasional other people as well. The use of spell work for monetary gain was not something used by the coven with the exchange of favor being preferred instead.

The High Priestess proudly explained the role of the Wiccan religion in the lives of her children as a tradition that has been passed down from her mother, and that she then passed onto her children. Now adults her children continue to incorporate the basic ideas of unity and balance in the universe into their lives despite having somewhat different views than their mother. The strong bond between family members and the coven were important aspects of raising her children.

The Wiccan religion is very different from many of the mainstream religions like that of Christianity. These two religions differ on almost every level, the differences beginning with the Duotheistic figures of the god and goddess of the Wiccan religion compared to the patriarchal and paternalistic god worshipped in Christianity. The Christian religion believes in a dualistic divinity that exists separately from the everyday world while the Wiccan religion believes that divinity is intertwined and inseparable from the everyday world. Followers of the Wiccan religion believe in reincarnation after death contrastingly Christianity believes in the resurrection after death.

Christianity and Wicca also differ from one another in the fact that Wicca does not teach that there is a heaven, hell or original sin as is commonly the belief of Christians. The beliefs of Wiccans are that there is a karmic law or threefold law that evil in any form is returned to the perpetrator three fold where as the Christian view is one of redemption of wrong doings through confession and atonement. The structure of the two religions also differs with Christianity having a hierarchy within the church and authoritarian attitude and Wicca having usually having no hierarchy in the religion and an autonomist approach. Christianity believes in the scriptures of the bible and the Wiccan religion has no official scriptures, but rather a personal handwritten text of rituals and spells called a book of shadows.

The holidays and traditions of the two religions vary as well with the Christian religion basing their holidays on biblical and historical events while the Wiccan religion base their holidays or Sabbats on seasonal and lunar events. Christianity believes in saints, prophets and messiahs while there are no such beliefs in Wicca. Worships in the Christian religion is done in churches where Wiccans gather in private and worship in circles in usually in groups. Psychic phenomena and divination are discouraged by the Christian church with the exception of miracles while the Wiccans use divination and psychic abilities within their religion.

The Wiccan religion is a newer Neo Pagan religion that is based on a variety of ancient traditions with intelligent, earth attuned and community conscious members. The beliefs of the Wiccan religion are based on ecology; planetary care; attunement; feminism; equal rights and respect among the sexes. There are some that view the Wiccan religion as associated with Satanism or evil there is a taboo associated with it in mainstream society. With the attunement to the universe and natural rhythms of the earth the Wiccan religion is more relevant then a number of popular religions today.