Welcome to Wicca101. Here, I'd like to just talk a moment about my faith. I'm a wiccan, and have recognized myself as one for nearly 3 years. I've been wiccan all my life, I just never knew what it was called before.
What is wicca, you ask. Well, it's the reconstruction of many ancient Pagan ways into a new modern religion. Wicca, in it's modern form, has only been around for about 100 years or so. Many of the traditions it's based on,
however, go back for thousands of years- maybe to the start of human history.
Wicca is a sub-class of a larger religious movement, called the Modern Pagan or Neo-pagan revival. This includes wicca, shamanism, druidism, and many other revived earth and nature based faiths. I know very little about the
other branches of paganism, so I won't go on too long about them. But I do want you to understand that this is a larger thing than just wicca.
Wiccans believe that God is actually two deities- the God and Goddess. This reflects our belief in the idea of balance in all things. We believe that the earth and all of it's creatures are sacred. No thing is more important than any thing else. The ant has just as much right to exist as the human, etc.
Wiccans believe in two simple laws- The rule of 3, and the Rede. The rule of three states that whatever you send out comes back to you 3 times. This can be something as simple as a kind word or deed, or the cruelest act you can think of. This rule governs our sense of morality- not only do we believe it's right to do good, but we are creating our own reward when we do. The Rede also governs our morality "And it harm none, and do as thou wilt." Meaning that as long as we don't harm ourselves or another, we are free to experience everything. We also believe that respecting others opinions, ways, and beliefs is very important. Contrary to what many think, we are not anti-Christian at all. We believe all religions are the right path to God. We must choose the path we feel is best for ourselves.
We don't believe in ultimate evil or the devil. All things that we see as "evil", have a place in the world but we are too short-sighted to see the larger picture. And human evils occur because we give into greed, hate, and intolerance.
Those evils are our own creation, not the devils work. It's our duty to behave in ways that negate those things. We don't have to deny ourselves of anything, but simply not deny our fellow mankind.
As deep as this all may seem, wiccans tend to be a rather light bunch. We believe it's important to enjoy life as best we can.
Also, many of us identify the different aspects of the God/dess with classic mythological figures- Athena, Cernunnos, Kuan Yin, etc. We call the Lord and Lady by these many names to fit our own styles of worship. I'm partial to the Celtic and Greco-Roman
traditions myself.
Most Wiccans identify the Goddess as having a triple aspect- Maiden, Mother, and Crone. These reflect different sides of Her, as well as different aspects of the lives of mortal women.
Wow. That’s a lot. I'll end this Basic tour here. If I've forgotten anything, let me know. Theses are just the basic ideas of Wicca, and I'll be glad to add more to this if any of you have questions and such.
Things to remember about wiccans
Some of my own Wiccan info
