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Hello there. My name is Sharon Lattery and I run this site. If you would like to see anything that interests you added to this site please contact me at my e-mail address. My aol s/n is Bimansonchik420 and my yahoo s/n is tormentedrose. I really want some feedback, it would really help me build this site better.

This is for the ones who believe in the Wiccan religion or even find it interesting. The sources that I use are from books and I will eventually have a works cited page.

Wicca

Wicca is a religion founded in the mid-20th century by Gerald Gardner. It was strongly influenced by Ceremonial Magic, which Gardner was familiar with both through the OTO and the Co-Masons. It also adopted many aspects of Witchcraft, and Wiccans who choose to work magic almost always call themselves Witches instead of Magicians. Witchcraft exists comfortably, but is in no way required, within Wicca.

Ceremonial Magic

Ceremonial Magic is what most people think about when they think of "Occult." Ceremonial Magicians practice high magic, involving lengthy, complex rituals, numerology, astrology, and the study of such texts as the Qabala. It may involve the evoking of angels, demons, or other entities. The most famous organization of Ceremonial Magicians is the Order of the Golden Dawn, which spawned the Ordo Templi Orientis - an order of Thelema. Freemasons, often simply referred to as Masons also involve Ceremonial Magic. Like Witchcraft, Ceremonial Magic is neither good nor evil. Unlike Witchcraft, Ceremonial magic is mostly not religious. The majority of its practitioners have always been Christian. Thelema is the exception here, for some consider it both a religion and a magical system, dictated by angels through Aleister Crowley. Ceremonial Magic is primarily concerned with shaping reality according to one's Will.

Witchcraft

The term "Witchcraft" has a wide variety of definitions - ReligiousTolerance.org lists no less than seventeen. It is extremely important to understand that these various meanings - ranging from the practices of Wiccans, to the accusations of the witch-hunts to the fictional characters in Harry Potter - are all separate entities that have unfortunately fallen under the same word. Even among practicing Pagan Witches beliefs vary considerably, and the descriptions here must be understood to be mere generalities. Witchcraft is the practice of low or folk magic. Energy is generally considered to originate in a deity, the earth, objects, or self. Many forms of witchcraft are religious in nature, with the existence of deity firmly intertwined with magical practice. Witchcraft is neither good nor evil, but a tool to be employed by the individual wielder. Most Witches have some form of moral code, at the very least a sense of responsibility for all undertaken actions.Wicca 101 - Wiccans, Witches, Ceremonial Magicians and Pagans

Paganism

Dictionaries generally define paganism as any polytheistic religion or any non-Judeo-Christian religion. However, both of these definitions include such people as Hindus and Amerindians, neither of which associate their religious practices to what we call Paganism. Our Paganism is an umbrella term for several religions based in part upon pre-Christian traditions, such as those of the Celts, Romans, and Greeks. Paganism generally includes: Wicca - Discussed above Witchcraft - Discussed above. Its branches include: Feri Reclaiming - A feminist movement that could also be listed under Goddess Spirituality (below) Strega - Italian Witchcraft Traditional Reconstructionist - Traditional folk-practices and customs with religious elements of a specific culture. Reconstructionists can be further broken down into branches including: Asatru - Also known as Odinism, Heathenism, and Aesir. Based upon Norse culture. Hellenismos - Based upon Greek culture Religio Romana - Based upon Roman culture Celtic Reconstructionism Slavic Reconstructionism Kemetic Religion - Based upon Egyptian culture Druidry Goddess Spirituality Discordianism - Also known as Erisian, dedicated to Eris, the goddess of chaos. Tameran - Modern religion influenced by older Egyptian ideas. Some prefer the term Earth Religion instead of Paganism, although this terms has its own problems as well. I have not included Satanism here because, while some of its followers consider themselves Witches, they generally do not consider themselves Pagan.