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FAQ

This Q & A session is taken from an IM conversation I had with a friend once. I felt he had some really insightful questions about many aspects of Wicca and Paganism that can often be confusing.

Q: Is it true that a handfasting is your version of a wedding, and what happens with it exactly?

A: Yes, handfasting is the term we use for wedding. It comes from the tradition that during the ceremony the bride and groom get their hands tied together with a cord to symbolize their bond to each other. What happens really depends on the bride and groom and what they want to happen, like any other wedding. Also, there are some traditional ceremonies within different faiths and traditions, but often times those ceremonies are oathbound and are only open to members of that faith.

Q: What is "Drawing Down the Moon" and "opening the Chakras?"

A: Chakras are an Indian thing, and I haven't had any experience with it myself, as it is a specific areaof interest and not a general practice of Wicca. Drawing Down the Moon, or DDM, is a ritual that is done in which the Priestess calls the Goddess into her and the Goddess speaks and acts through her for a time. There is a counterpart called Drawing Down the Sun (DDS) in which the same thing happens, except it is the Priest and the God who are important this time. DDM is done in Full Moos rituals, and DDS is done at the Sabbats

Q: How do you "Draw Down the Moon and the Sun?" Have you ever seen changes take place in others after performing those rituals?

A: There are specific rituals for both, that involve repetition of key phrases, kind of half way between a trance and guided meditation... Do you mean notice changes after or during the ritual? (I've drawn down the Goddess three times actually, and my boyfriend has done a DDS once).

Q: Both after and during. Are they basically invoking the Goddess and the God then?

A: Yes, that's exactly what's happening. During the ritual sometimes people's voices or faces change, and afterwards the reactions vary. Sometimes they're happy, or sad, or energized, or drained. It all depends on the person, the aspect of the God/dess that comes down, what happened/what was said during the Drawing Down, and what the person experienced.

Q: So you have noticed actual changes then. What happened with you and in your boyfriend when you guys did this?

A: The first time for me, it was kinda hard to breathe, and I felt like I was shaking. I couldn't see anything, but everyone who was there insists that my eyes were open and jet black to boot. The second time I still couldn't see, but I could breathe and wasn't shaking. The third time I could see and breathe and didn't shake, and I actually walked around and things went so much better. My fiancé says the best he can do is say that there were two people in his body and that he himself was in an altered state. These are just our experiences though, it's different for everyone.

Q: What is the Wiccan belief on death etc.?

A: A lot of Wiccans believe in reincarnation, and I believe that, but also I believe that before you get reincarnated you go to a paradise called SummerLand where you can talk with ancestors and other lost loved ones and the God and Goddess.

Q: Is SummerLand similar to heaven?

A: Kind of, only we have no concept of "good" or "evil," so everyone goes there. If they were what some might call "evil," then that gets reflected in what they are reincarnated as and what happens in their next life. In other words, I guess you could say each person makes their own hell.

Q: So in your belief hell is what people make of it then?

A: Basically yes. It's like the Hindu idea of Karma - what you do in this life affects your next life and where you end up in that life.

Q: Do you guys believe in chi? Or a spiritual energy force?

A: Yes, although we don't use the word "chi." For example we believe we can heal using energy. It's not for use in every situation, but for like muscle pain or head aches it's good. There are no rules against medicine or anything, but it's useful, effective, and often works better than medicine. It's also good practice for more advanced energy work.

Q: Like acupuncture sort of?

A: Kinda, but without the needles. It's just the use of energy from the Earth to heal Her children.

Q: How about the wine cup and the athame?

A: The wine cup (or goblet) is used in the ritual for the libation, the athame is used to salute the Quarters and in the libation.

Q: Can you explain the Quarters? And what is libation again?

A: Libation is where we "sacrifice" food and drink to the Gods; the Gods get a portion of everything before we do. The Priest and Priestess say a blessing over the wine/juice and cookies/small cakes with their athame blades on the rim of the goblet. Then the Priest says a blessing to each of the four Quarters with the goblet, filled wine/juice, He then pours some into a designated bowl, takes a cookie/small cake and puts that into the bowl, then the blessed food and drink get passed around for everyone to have. It is then the Priestess' job to libate any other food and drink that people have brought to the ritual. The Quarters are the four Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water.

Q: What about the significance of crystals and their psychic powers... and stones and runes?

A: Some crystals have certain properties and are good for different things. I myself don't do crystal healing, as that, like the Chakras, is more of a specific interest than a practice of Wicca. Same things with stones. Runes come from Norse mythology and cultures (Scandinavia), and they're generally used like Tarot cards by those who do use them nowadays. They're also a sacred alphabet in Norse religion (Asatru). According to Norse mythology, runes were created when the king of the Gods (Odin) sacrificed himself to himself by hanging himself on the sacred world tree (Yggdrasil), and the sticks that fell from the tree while he was hanging formed the characters in the runic alphabet.

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