Wiccans believe that there is an energy within every person; an energy that might be traditionally called a "soul." This energy resides within every human being, every animal, every plant, and all that is nonliving as well. This energy connects us to one another and is a fundamental part of our relationships, as well as our own well being. We often call this collection of energy Akasha. To connect with this energy is to share a fellowship witht he world; to love it is to loe the world.
Many religions, even Christianity, have developed this idea of an all-encompassing, nurturing energy. The idea itself is called pantheism. However, Christianity and other pantheistic religions do not worhsip the energy as a faceless shapeless glob of energy, but as God. Wiccans also connect with the energy as deity; as the Goddess and the God.
There are several reasons that we choose to visualize Akasha as a Goddess and a God. As human beings, we learn that love is something that is expressed toward other human beings. Specifically, we are supposed to learn that nurturing comes from parents. This is why we choose to see the deity as a Goddess and a God-two human beings-because this is how we understand love. However, not everyone sees the Goddess and God as people. Some people see the God as a stag or an eagle; some people see the Goddess as a dolphin or as an elven person. Some people choose not to visualize them at all, and revere them only as the energy they are. Still others have many different representations of the Goddess and God, choosing to see Akasha in different ways when they have different needs. However, all of these are representations of the same thing; visualizations held by each person because it is what suits their spirituality the best.
Many Western religions see God as a male being, but to Wiccans, this is lopsides. Akasha is the energy that flows through all living things, so it makes sense for us to visualize its masculine and its feminine aspects. When we choose to worship only have of it, we are out of balance. This is not to say that we have to accept all of Akasha into ourselves, since it has many aspects that may not be desirable to us as practitioners. However, Wiccans seek balance, and we find there is more balance in celebrating both sexes.
This all comes together with the idea of Polarity and Balance. There is balance in all things. The idea that the two extremes (male and female) can come together (as Akasha) in the center to balance and compliment each other. Without balance, you have a society that tips one way or the other, where one gender is more powerful than the other, where one gender has less respect than the other. This leads to an atmosphere where one gender or the other can be held as objects, not persons.
Goddess
The Goddess is the universal mother. She is the source of all creation. She is viewed in three aspects. These are:
Maiden: The young woman, not yet come into her full womanhood.
Some symbols honoring the Goddess are the cauldron, cup, five-petaled flowers, pentacle, the mirror, necklace, seashells, pearls, silver, emerald, moons. Some of her most favored animals are the rabbit, bear, owl, cat, dolphin, lion, horse, scorpion, spider, bee and turtle.
God
The God is the universal father. He is viewed in two aspects.
Horned God of the Hunt: The hunter, the protector.
Some symbols honoring the God are the sword, horns, spear, candle, gold, brass, diamond, arrow, magical wand, and knife. His favored creatures include the bull, dog, snake, fish, stag, dragon, wolf, boar, eagle, falcon, shark and lizard.