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Name: Aurora
Age: 15
Location: Arkansas
Fav Color: Black and lime green
Music: metal death metal relaxing meditaion ect.
And the reason is you... |
this is copied none is my own writing.
This page has been created souly to hldp other begginers of wicca.
Wicca is a religion that is described as a kind of "Make it up as you go" religion.
There are several different bracnches of wicca here are a few of them :
Gardnerian-A brach of Wicca deriving its name from Gerald B. Gardner who was initiated into a coven of witches in the New Forest in Britian who helped greatly in the advance ment of the trusth about Wicca by his love for it in rituals as practiced in Southern England. Ritual nudity is required at all times.
Traditional-Many branches of the Craft which claim to be pre-Gardnerian. THis covers a lot of territory, again depending upon the area of orgin(wales, scotland, ireland ect.) Ritual nudity is sometimes required. Some groups are strictly robed.
Alexandrian-A branch in Wicca deriving its name from Alexander Sanders. This is a form of Gardnerian Wicca(rather, a form which "Borrowed" much of GArdnerianism.) It is very cermonial, encompassing much of Quabalistic magick,ect. Ritual nudity plays a part but it is not required, the choice being left to the individual witch.
Continental-This can be put under the heading "Traditional,"agian depeding upon the orgin.
Stregeria-This can be put under the heading of "Continental." It is witchcraft as practiced in Italy and Sicily, each are of Italy and Sicily practicing according to their own folk-tradition. These are extremely secrative, but much can be learned about them by reading Leland's ARADIA:THE GOSPEL OF WITCHES and Leo Martello's WITCHCRAFT:THE OLD RELIGION.
Hereditary-Pockets of Hereditary Witches do exist in Europe and America, carrying on their family traditions. They are usually the most secretive, preferring to thir work alone or only within their families. Their form of witchcraft is almost enitirely different than what we know as wicca.
Dianic-This branch of Wicca lays a greater stess on the Goddess, sometimes entirely ignoring Her Horned Consort. I do now know much about them, but they seem to be similar to Gardnerian (or vice versa). Perhapsthis was the original tradition that Gerald Gardnerian was initiated into.
The New Reformed Order Of The Golden Dawn-A neo-Gardnerian or quasi-Gardnerian group founded by a Californian named Aiden Kelly. They are a beautiful and idealistic form of wicca, constantly reasearching into our ancieant heritage.
American-Celtic-Perhaps the largest and fastest growing form of wicca in America originating form the Twin City area (Minneapolis-st.paul). Their form is akin to Gardnerian, though ritual nudity is not required by all of their covens.
These are the main different branches of Wicca although their are others such as SEAX-WICCA and then the WELSH TRADITIONAL and MINOAN BROTHERHOOD AND SISTERHOOD.
What You Wanted to Know about Witches *
* (but were afraid to ask)
Q. Do you worship the Devil (Satan)?
A. No, for three reasons.
First, we don't venerate evil in any form: our chosen religion is
a celebration and affirmation of life and living things, as opposed
to their destruction or harm. As we believe that good or evil done
will return upon the doer, this does not encourage doing evil.
Second, Satan is a figure in Judeo-Christian beliefs -- originally
not even an opponent of Yahweh, but more like his prosecuting
attorney (as in the Book of Job). Those who do worship Satan
actually accept the later Christian theology, with Satan as
Yahweh's opponent, but choose to support Satan's side of the
battle. We are not Christians or Satanists, and do not accept
their theology or worldview, so we would no more worship Satan
than, for instance, Christians would worship the Aztec God
Quetzalcoatl; he simply has no place in our beliefs. (We prefer
the figure of Pan, who does have horns but is a much nicer fellow.)
Third, we think history shows that, if you invest belief and
emotion in any idea or thought-form, you give it strength and power
in your own life -- it becomes more real TO YOU. We have no wish
to invite hostile entities into our lives and give them such power
over us, which is why we don't venerate any form we consider evil.
That's also why we're shocked to see how much energy some
Christians invest in Satan.
Q. Then why do I hear those things about you?
A. "Devil-worship", baby-killing, cannibalism and all that? These
are typical accusations made by one religion against another.
The Syrians accused the Jews of ritual murders long before Christ;
then the Romans accused the Christians (who at least claimed to be
eating someone's body and blood every week); then the Christians
accused the Jews and Muslims and every other religion; today
different Christian denominations even accuse each other. Making
wild accusations not only sells newspapers, and books, and movies;
it helps drum up support for the Religion Of Your Choice. This is
a cynical use of hate, fear, and ignorance, but as long as it works,
it will be used. (And there will always be psychotics willing to
live up to the image -- then claim "the Devil made me do it.")
Q. If not Christian theology, what do you believe in?
A. Life. We see the entire Universe, all matter and energy, as
bursting with life, loving its own living parts -- including us --
and gathered in one eternal dance. We try to catch the tune and
dance to the beat.
Sometimes we call the leading dancers Light and Dark, or Sun and
Moon, or the Lord and the Lady, Cernunnos and Ceridwen, Pan and
Diana, or by other names. These represent the duality in all
things -- male and female, yang and yin -- neither side of which
can be denied or ignored, even within ourselves.
(We hope this helps us avoid the error that some worshippers of a
single deity have made, such as thinking that "since God is all
good and God is male, therefore anything female or feminine is
evil.")
Our feeling about the Gods is that they are teachers, family
members, and fellow dancers: not some untouchable abstraction
infinitely distant, but an intimate part of our own lives. Our
feeling about other religions is that they, too, are part of the
universal dance: not enemies, but fellow strugglers seeking as we
do, to live and learn to keep time with the music.
Q. What is this ceremony you're doing?
A. It depends on the moment. You may be watching a circle dance, or a
Maypole dance, or a feast of "cakes and ale", or just a group hug.
(We like to have fun.) Possibly, since you were handed this,
you're watching us "cast a circle". That's one of our basic
religious ceremonies.
When we "cast a circle", we mark off a space as dedicated and
protected for our use, rather like Christians consecrating a church.
(The difference is, we don't need a building, and we let the space go
back to normal after we've used it.) Within this circle, we ask for
the protection of guardians -- call them the four elements of Air,
Earth, Fire, and Water, or the four archangels Gabriel, Michael,
Raphael, and Uriel -- again, the names may vary. Then we invite the
Lord and the Lady to be with us for a time. We have a nice visit, a
little snack of cookies and wine (or fruit juice), and then everyone
goes home. It's very friendly.
Along the way, sometimes we ask for help with our problems, such
as healing an injury or illness; if you believe in the power of
prayer, it's the same sort of thing -- but we try to put our own
energies into the task, rather than asking someone else to do all
the work.
Q. How will what you are doing affect me?
A. If you're not participating, then probably no more than any other
religious service you watch from outside. If you're shocked by
other religions, you might choose to be shocked by ours. (Ours is
just out where you can see it, instead of hidden by walls.) Or you
might choose to accept our part of the universal dance as valid if
different from your own. You might even choose to participate --
and people of good will are generally welcome among us.
Even if you do participate, there's no reason to take any effect
from our services that you don't choose to accept. Since -- for
our own sakes -- we ask for nice things to happen, the biggest
possible results involve no danger. If we ask for more harmony in
the world, and your life becomes more harmonious, then you benefit
from the same general effect as if a church's prayer for world peace
had worked. (After that, if you don't like harmony, you could always
work to make your own life more discordant; whatever suits you.)
Q. Do all Witches practice the same way you do?
A. There are about as many "denominations" of Witches as there are of
Christians, and since no-one is forced to keep One True Orthodox
Way, even a single group may do things differently from time to
time. The two mottoes that apply here are "If it works, use it" --
and "AN IT HARM NONE, do as you will."
Q. How can I find out more about you?
A. Ask one of us. We're easy to talk with. Or read some books.
Good books include Vivianne Crowley's WICCA: the Old Religion in
the New Age, Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon, Starhawk's The
Spiral Dance, and Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft.
There's also a lot of shocking nonsense and pulp fiction out there
-- notably in movies, paperback thrillers, and the sort of
newspapers sold at supermarket cash registers; we can only ask you
to take anything you find there with a skeptical pinch of salt.
(This was written in May 1991 as a general information handout for
the use of the CUUPS group of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Please feel free to copy and adapt this for use by your own group.)
"General Advice":
Marion Weinstein, POSITIVE MAGIC
Dione Fortune, PSYCHIC SELF DEFENSE
Robert Anton Wilson, PROMETHEUS RISING
Becoming familiar with those -- especially with what Weinstein calls
the "Inner Bell" in her "Ten Foot Pole" chapter -- should help keep
you from many of the worse mistakes. This does NOT mean that I agree
with everything in those books, and in fact one thing you should learn
quickly is NOT to believe too much of what you read anywhere, but these
at least are on the side of a sane and healthy approach to occultism.
Other books you might then want to study:
Margot Adler, DRAWING DOWN THE MOON
Adam Smith, POWERS OF MIND
Robert Anton Wilson, COSMIC TRIGGER
Hans Holzer, THE NEW PAGANS
P.E.I. Bonewits, REAL MAGIC (see the Cult Danger frame in back)
Pauwels and Bergier, THE MORNING OF THE MAGICIANS
Colin Wilson, THE OCCULT
Charles G. Leland, ARADIA: GOSPEL OF THE WITCHES
Robert Graves, THE WHITE GODDESS
Margaret Murray, THE WITCH-CULT IN WESTERN EUROPE
Lucius Apuleius, THE GOLDEN ASS
Sir James Frazer, THE NEW GOLDEN BOUGH (ed. Theodor H. Gaster)
Munro S. Edmonson, LORE: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF FOLKLORE...
Robert Eisler, MAN INTO WOLF
Joseph Campbell (ed), THE MYSTERIES
Israel Regardie, RITUALS OF THE GOLDEN DAWN
Eliphas Levi, TRANSCENDENTAL MAGIC
A.E. Waite, THE BOOK OF BLACK MAGIC AND CEREMONIAL MAGIC
Gerald B. Gardner, WITCHCRAFT TODAY
Vivianne Crowley, WICCA: THE OLD RELIGION IN THE NEW AGE
Stewart Farrar, WHAT WITCHES DO
Starhawk, THE SPIRAL DANCE
Z Budapest, THE GRANDMOTHER OF TIME
Michael Harner, THE WAY OF THE SHAMAN
Eden Gray, MASTERING THE TAROT
R.G.H. Siu, THE PORTABLE DRAGON (I Ching for Westerners)
Paul Huson, MASTERING WITCHCRAFT <
>
Aleister Crowley, MAGICK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE <>
FICTION:
Marion Zimmer Bradley,THE INHERITOR
Dione Fortune, SEA PRIESTESS
Robert Anton Wilson, MASKS OF THE ILLUMINATI
Peter Valentine Timlett, The SEEDBEARERS Trilogy
James Gunn, THE MAGICIANS
Robert A. Heinlein, MAGIC INCORPORATED
Lyndon Hardy, MASTER OF THE FIVE MAGICS
James Blish, JACK OF EAGLES
Somebody here asked for something to send Christians when they send their
"be damned" stuff here. I think sending them an FAQ is a good response.
Engaging in flames is useless. This is one that I picked up from Sweden -
it was written by a Christian, I believe, and overall, it's pretty good.
INFORMATION ON WICCA FOR CHRISTIANS
1...What is Wicca?
2...What is its view of christianity
3...How organized is it?
4...Is it in our communities?
5...How is it related to Christianity (is it?)
6...What about satanic rituals (Do they engage in them?)
7...Sex Magick (Does anybody really believe in it?)
8...How do I witness to a 'wiccan'.
9...What sacrificial tools (if any) do they use?
10...Is it okay to experiment with Wicca?
What is Wicca?
Wicca is a pagan religion that predates judaism by centuries.
It primarily focuses on nature and the forces that run nature. There
is a primary belief that Magick is just the force which makes everything
hang where its supposed to and that manipulating it is natural (indeed they
believe that to not manipulate it is unnatural). Wicca sometimes employs
the use of a God AND Godess because it shows the balance of nature and
not just the male angle of it ('though in christianity it's widly recognized
that God has both 'male' and 'female' characteristics(warrior,nurturer etc))
The belief in these Gods in more just symbolic than actually believing that
they exist as real persons. Imagery is usually everything in this religion
and so most rituals in this religion are made bizarre by the exxageration
of imagery.
What is its view of christianity?
Wiccan people are as much into 'their' history as we are to ours.
They are not quick to forget the slaughter of hundreds even thousands of
pagans and suspected pagans by supposed christians. Although most respect
Christ as a man of great teachings (but just a man) few really respect the
church of Christ . They see all to clearly the bickering and backstabbing
that goes on in supposedly christian sects and to put it mildly think we
are idiots at times.
It is important to note that it is from such things as sexual assaults
by church members, extreme and harsh judgement by christian radicals, and
a general misunderstanding of Christ's character arises Wiccans even
Satanists (although I strongly hesitate to compare the two).
How organized is it?
Wicca has always been a 'make it up as you go' religion. Although some
covens do actually have time honored values and rituals, Wicca has never been
a completely organized religion with a central belief like a bible etc.
Wicca organization is further hindered by the fact that most of their
peoples were wiped out in the height of their organization . Much in the
way of history and rituals was lost (which may make christians happy but
is far more harmful to Christ's cause than to theirs).
Wiccan covens are on a rise but there isn't a great amount of organization
just yet although wiccans are pressing very much towards this end.
Is it in our communities?
In a word YES. I have absolutely no doubt that it is in every neighborhood
in america. Dont worry, wiccans are not out to 'take over the world' and
most could care less what religion you are ,let alone waste their time with
trying to change your mind. The only thing that makes this dangerous is that
it is widespread and when someone strays from the church it is an easily found
outlet for the frustrations that sometimes builds up in the church. As we all
know spiritual death is the real danger on earth.
How related is it to Christianity?
Much of christian ritual (Christmas, Halloween etc) is taken from pagan
roots and made to be christian so that we could attract Wiccans to our church.
Mary was taken from a symbol of obedience to our lord and made to be the
Christian "Godess". This is not to take any credit away from mary (surely the
mother of Jesus would need to be an exceptional servant to fufill Gods will).
Christmas for all of its glory to God was taken from a pagan ritual to
the Sun (Dec was when the sun was the furthest from the earth and it was
believed that a ritual made it come back). Wicca has many other similarities
in the worldly sense . Do unto others is equivalent to the threefold law
which says "whatever you do unto another will return to you threefold".
This might also reflect the sentiment "what you sow you shall reap".
Wiccans marvel at the wonder of creation and the value of it in the same
way any true christian would. A true wiccan would tend to act in much the sam
way as a true christian, with love compassion understanding and respect for al
the creations brought forth. The main difference (and for christians this must
not be minimized) is that wiccans do not believe in sin (as such) and do
not believe they need forgiveness other than to the person they wronged.
Without this realization even a belief in God will not bring them to the
saving grace Jesus has provided for them. This does not make us better than
them, indeed we need to die to all pride and act in love, acceptance and praye
BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING.
What about Satanic rituals (do they enagage in them?)
Wiccans mostly believe that Satan is something a guilty christian
thought up as a scapegoat after he had sinned. If Satan does exist he is
,to a wiccan, most probably bad karma returned to them for something they did
to someone else.
So performing rituals to Satan would be as laughable to them as
setting a trap for the tooth fairy would be to us.
Wiccans have a lot of rituals that are similar to 'Satanic' rituals
because when early satanists began to form actual covens they borrowed
rituals from the pagans (who better to borrow rituals from than the very
people the christians were trying to fight?). But in respect to sacrifices
very few wiccans do these, as it is contrary to their respect for nature to
do so.
Sex magick (do they really believe in it?)
There is a 'fertility' festival called beltain which is annually
celebrated. In the days of old, this was basically a massive orgy. Todays
witch does not engage in this much at all because of the shaping of their
religion by christian ideals and the N
This makes it sound as if we spend our lives deciding whether to
curse or hex someone, when that's not true. Most of the time, our
spells and magical workings are for such things as healing the planet,
getting a job (or otherwise bringing prosperity into our lives),
healing (both ourselves and others), and spiritual empowerment.
Spells are really quite similar to prayer -- they just have more
Hollywood hoopla attached to them.
Besides, anything you do for yourself will work much better than a
spell or working done by someone else.
27. Is it okay if I...? Will I still be a pagan if I...?
superior) stance when it comes to other pagans' religious practices.
Ideally, we try to remember the relativity of our values.
by you, and that is what makes it so empowering (making you feel your
own power). Nobody can tell you that you aren't a true neopagan,
because *you* decide what's right for *you*. There are no dogmas
(truth defined by an expert) in neopaganism, simply because there
couldn't possibly be any expert who knows better than you what feels
right for you. Many pagans also appreciate the Discordian catma
(related to dog-ma :) "Any Discordian is expressedly forbidden to
believe what she reads." We also like the paradox in this cuddly
catma.
but a statement along with a request for comments will probably give
you more informative replies than asking your fellow netters for
permission to do what is right for you. A "Am I still okay if I..."
question will probably leave you with dozens of responses containing
the most frequently given piece of advice on alt.pagan: Do what feels
right for you. If what you really want is to hear that you are okay,
please turn to alt.support.
28) I am a pagan and I think I am being discriminated against because
of my religion. What should I do?
against, or are things happening to you that would happen no matter
what your religious beliefs were? Not to belittle religious
discrimination because of course it happens, but you want to be sure
that's what is going on before you take measures based on that
assumption.
you are being treated the way you are *specifically because of your
religion*, then there are groups you can contact who specialize in
giving assistance in just this very thing. One is Circle Network,
whose address is given above. Another is AMER (Alliance of Magical
and Earth Religions), and they can be reached through Chris Carlisle
at C24884@wuvmd.wustl.edu, or from addresses on several hobbyist
networks including FIDONET as well.
28) What one thing would most pagans probably want the world to know
about them?
_Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other
Pagans in America Today_ (the revised edition). If after reading this
FAQ, you want to learn even more about modern paganism, we highly
recommend this book. It is available in most bookstores and in many
libraries.
dangerous. We are ordinary people like you. We have families, jobs,
hopes, and dreams. We are not a cult. This religion is not a joke.
We are not what you think we are from looking at T.V. We are real.
We laugh, we cry. We are serious. We have a sense of humor. You
don't have to be afraid of us. We don't want to convert you. And
please don't try to convert us. Just give us the same right we give
you -- to live in peace. We are much more similar to you than you
think."
-- Margot Adler, _Drawing Down the Moon_, p.453.
AFTERWORD
The creators of this FAQ want to thank the readers of alt.pagan for
their input in compiling the questions. We will be more than happy to
revise it to include the points of view from other readers.
Thank you and Blessed Be!
