What is Wicca?
Wicca is an Earth-based, nature centered religion drawing on the ancient practice of Witchcraft.The term witchcraft literally means the craft of the wise. In its original usage, witchcraft was
practiced by those persons, generally female, who had knowledge of herbal lore, the law,
psychology and physiology. The term didn't have much to do with religion until the Inqusition
linked Paganism with Witchcraft. At that time they confused the issue with many untruths that
survive to be believed even today.
Wiccan Deities: Most Wiccans believe that a creative force exists
in the universe, which is sometimes called "The One" or "
The All". Little can be known of this force. They regard the Goddess
and the God as representing the female and
male aspects of the All. Most
regard various pagan Gods and Goddesses (Pan, Athena, Diana, Brigit, Zeus,
Odin, etc) as representing various aspects of the God and Goddess.
Respect for Nature: Wicca is a natural religion, grounded in the
earth. All living things (including stars, planets, humans, animals, plants,
rocks) are regarded as having spirit.
Gender Equality: Wiccans celebrate the sexual polarity of nature:
the fertilizing rain is one manifestation of the male principle; the nurturing
earth symbolizes the female. Females are respected as equal (and sometimes
at a slightly higher rank) to males. They aim for a female-male balance
in most of their covens (groups), although men are typically in the minority.
Sexuality is valued, and regarded as a gift of the Goddess and God, to
be engaged in with joy and responsibility.
All good that a person does returns three fold in this life; harm
is also returned three fold.
The Wiccan Rede: This is the main rule of behavior:
An' it harm none, do what thou wilt
This means that a person should feel free to do what ever they want
to, as long as it does not harm themselves or anyone else. This and the
three-fold law obviously prevent a Witch/Wiccan from doing harm to themselves
or to others, or attempting to manipulate others.
If you still have questions about what Wicca is and what it is not, I invite you to have a
look at these other sites for more information:
Getting Started with Wicca