wiccan q's

[Krisdt]

As I mentioned on another thread I am a wiccan and Ithink I am not alone on this forum!? however acnother comment on another thread made me think if any one has any questions about it then ask away and one of us will answer as best we can :)

[Michelle]

Hey Vicki, I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to wiccan stuff, so if you could explain basically what it is you do/practice that would be great! It sounds really interesting :D

[Krisdt]

right in a nutshell (and there are many variations on bits so its a bit vague)
firstly I dont believe in on egod, I believe in several who all have a different 'bit' to look after. I also beleive in the circle of life, and how all nature must interact to sustain itself (including the food chain etc)
its not nose wigglign poof kinda magic but attracting the karma to help you achieve the goals you are aiming for.
There are only 2 'rules'

as long as you dont hurt anyone/thing then do what you want.

the 3 fold law, if you do something totally selflesly then you will eventually get 3 times the good back, but the same goes for doing anything negative.
As there are many branches of christianity there are for wiccan. I personally follow the celtic path but there are many others that I dont know that much about such as druidism and dianic tradition amongst several others.

[jools]

Hmmmm....I find this really quite interesting. i know very liitle about the subjects. Would be really helpful of you could share some specifics on what you do / don't do in your daily life.

Wouldn't mind doing some further reading too....got any decent links?

Ta

[Krisdt]

Hiya jools,
daily life is pretty much the same as everyone else tbh especially people like yourselves, I have alot of respect for nature and animals etc I am extremely careful with food etc (always try to get organic stuff etc) I guess the biggest difference is the 'religious' festivals. we have several throught the year and they are always to celebrate something never to mourn iyswim. As for reading google celtic wicca and you will find thousands of sites but often they will have conflicting ideas, there is a lot of self interpretation in wicca as its not like most 'structured' religions where there are strict rules and ways to celbrate.

[jools]

Hiya jools,
daily life is pretty much the same as everyone else tbh especially people like yourselves, I have alot of respect for nature and animals etc I am extremely careful with food etc (always try to get organic stuff etc) I guess the biggest difference is the 'religious' festivals. we have several throught the year and they are always to celebrate something never to mourn iyswim. As for reading google celtic wicca and you will find thousands of sites but often they will have conflicting ideas, there is a lot of self interpretation in wicca as its not like most 'structured' religions where there are strict rules and ways to celbrate.


I'm away to have a look. BTW, saw your tattoos on photobucket.....very nice....like the wings

[Bon Jovi]

Bear in mind that Wicca is more or less a modern interpretation of paganism, you might want to check out wikipedia, its loaded with info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca

:03:

[Krisdt]

sorry trumper but wikipedia is on eof the worst explanations of it I have ever read. The whole Gardnerian concept wasnt even thought about until around the 70's when it became 'popular' so therefore to start an explanation on it is a bit of an insult :( not from yourself obviously as you didnt write it (or did you ;) )

[Angela]

Actually the wikipedia explanation is very informative . It's not saying that he invented it, merely brought it out into the public eye in the early 50's . It states clearly that 'wicca' had been practiced in secret almost for hundreds of years , this is in fact true . It was Gardner who 'initiated' 'wicca' meaning that he more or less made it ok for people to actually admit they practiced it . He started his research into paganism in the early 20's so this guy must have been pretty knowledgable . He did however as it says adapt some of the 'wicca' ways to his own way of thinking but as it's such a 'versatile' religion most of his less agreable views have been stamped out .

From what I know of Wicca it's a very liberating way of life with much gratification and well being . It's also now a recognised religion as I found out a while ago while filling in a form on the internet . It started off as a joke for me as I like to think of myself as a bit of a non-conformist and had heard heaps of people say they had registered as a Jedi ! also a recognised religion ;) . I've looked into it a bit since then and consider myself a non-active wicca with an interest into the macabre :D

( I would just like to say my post isn't intended to contradict anything that krisdt has said, it is perhaps an example of how 'vesatile' the ways of wicca are in that everyone has their own ways of interpretation on the subject as with all religions :) )

[stumpy]

To each there own as long it doesn't mess with my wife, my family or my dogs ;)

[Bon Jovi]

sorry trumper but wikipedia is on eof the worst explanations of it I have ever read. The whole Gardnerian concept wasnt even thought about until around the 70's when it became 'popular' so therefore to start an explanation on it is a bit of an insult :( not from yourself obviously as you didnt write it (or did you ;) )

i wouldn't call it insulting.. my understanding (wrong though it may be) is that modern witchcraft in general owes a lot to Gardner for "popularising" it.

I'm no expert though, just a passing interest :)

[Krisdt]

interesting deabte on this trumper :)
tbh from alot of te research I have done (over the past 10 years) I and many other wiccans I know have all agreed that Gardner was infact a bit of a fraud and actually didnt follow things as he should (he did alot of stuff for very wrong reasons and basicaly did it for the money and scandal :roll: ) There are many others who 'came out' before or around the same time as Gardner who had much better motives and were much better teachers and guides for future generations.
I love having these kinds of debates, I once had a 4 hour discussion with a christian missionary she was under the impression all wiccans/pagans etc were all goat sacrificing, devil worshippers but she was much more open to new ideas when we parted :lol:

[Bon Jovi]

i'm not really informed to debate this, i have read about gardner and the "birth of modern wicca" in several books in the past but i cant remember most of it!
It is interesting stuff though :)

[Simon]

Is this a circular belief system, not too dissimilar to any religion? I don't really understand all that stuff. Ok, so here's the real question then. What do you 'get' from subscribing to wiccan stuff? I mean - what does it do for you as an individual?

[Aearoniel]

I think Wicca is most unlike any other religion I have been a part of (I was Christened into the Church of England and it never really sat right with me), for a start it is free in that you can practice in any way you want to no going to a set place on a set day to worship your god. Every day is sacred and every day in the little things you do you are paying your respects to the whole, to earth and nature.

As to the Gardner debate I agree with Krisdt on that topic; everything I have read about him suggests that he may have been a fraud and liar, but there is certainly more to Wicca than the Gardinarian belief system.

Lainy

[Simon]

Yeah, but what do you GET from it? I understand roughly what it is, but what do you get from it?

[Krisdt]

Wicca makes more sense to me than any other religion (I was brought up c of e) and it gives a much clearer sense of wellbeing amongst other things (its a bit too long winded to type out) Its kinda hard to explain what exactly I get out of it but its like most other people with a strong faith in anything you dont get anything particularly tangeable as such just in yourself you feel better :?

[Aearoniel]

Getting something out of it in what way? Material or Spiritual? Spiritually I get alot as I see my plants grow and my animals etc. Materially less as I haven't actually asked for anything much... there was once when I was 16 I got the frost giants (part of the Norse traditions, also know as the Jotuns) to "sit" on my ex-boyfriend who wouldn't leave me alone... but that was when I was young and had only been looking into Wicca for around 3 years it was all new and seemed exciting to do that side of it, these days I don't wish for anything and any rites are on the moons, sabbats (festivals) or healing for friends.

[Simon]

See, I think I hit a stumbling block on such things. To me, being able to focus on things is how life stays on the straight and narrow. Not because we're being protected by someone above, but because we're capable of focusing on looking forward.

If god appeared to me today and showed me there was something to believe in, i'd dedicate my life to religion. But without tangeable proof of existence, it becomes a circular belief system where we're told to believe because if we don't, we'll go to hell. No reasons attached, just that we'll go to hell!

Sorry, off topic. So what (as a follower of wiccan ways) do people do? I mean, is there any sort of ritual or consistency thats followed. I know nothing about it at all. I've plenty of friends who believe in crystal healing and reiki, but still know nothing about it.

[Aearoniel]

In Wicca there is no hell and no "satan" (to give a name to evil is to give it power so we don't name anything that may be construed as evil). If you don't celebrate one of the 8 sabbats in the year nothing bad is going to happen everything is a positive unless you do something negative (3fold law). I believe in the Summerland (like heaven) but everyone goes there no matter what, and from there you are reincarnated to live life through again so your soul grows with each visit. Wicca is mostly nature based everything in it is based on the seasons each Sabbat has a link to an event in the year (Green = Earth Red = Deity):

Imbolc: Earth begins to come back to life after the winter.Recovery of the Goddess after she gives birth to the Sun God
Ostara: The light is growing and the darkness receeding plants flourishSun God grows as does his light and power
Beltane: Fertility at peak plants spreading seed. Union of Goddess and God to create Life(Think the Maypole a phalic symbol and the ribbons as the womb)
Litha:Longest day of the yearSun God at his prime, though it is the changing point of the year.
Lammas:The time for harvest, light is fading day by daySun God is now losing strength and dying, the Goddess watchs both sad as he is dying but happy as he will be re-born and is alive in her.
Mabon:Completion of the harvest.The God prepares to leave his body to go into the unknown and be reborn.
Samhain:The beginning of winter, traditionally food was stored to last through the dark and cold.The Sun God is dead and has passed into the unknown. The Goddess reflects on the year and the passing of the Sun God.
Yule:Longest night of the year, turning point as the light will come back.The God is re-born of the Goddess, and she is celebrated.

Alot of the festivals have been taken on by different religions but with a different take.
But after writing all that I can still say that there will be lots of different Wiccan traditions who don't for example celebrate Imbolc. Or celebrate in a different way.