Wiccan Beliefs and Practices
Witchcraft has gotten a bad wrap during the rise of Christianity. Witches were hunted from about the time of the Inquisition (1478AD) up until the Salem Witch trials (1692). The irony being that many of those who were persecuted, tortured and killed were not even witches. The witches of that time learned to meet in secret and kept their craft well hidden.
Because of this, there is a lot of stigma and false information about witches. We do not try to fly brooms, we do not make pacts with the devil and we do not run around cursing people for no reason. We are real people (some a little more eccentric then others) who go about our daily lives. We just believe that we are deliberately more aware of the unseen and educate ourselves to use the resources around us to tap into the energy of the universe to change our lives for the better.
There are many traditions of magick but the most common themes are the worship of a Goddess and God (with a few exceptions such as Dianic Wicca). Often atheists simply revere the Goddess and God rather than worship any deity.
We believe in the power of the moon (usually represented by the Goddess), it's phases lending power to corresponding spells and rituals.
Wiccans usually form covens (groups of 3 or more) though there has become a widespread solidary movement where witches study and learn on their own.
One of the defining characteristics of a Witch is their love of learning. Some people dabble with magick, but someone who truly follows the way of the Craft is either learning new things or practicing their craft so it becomes second nature. Magick isn't something you do, it's expressing who you are. It's communing with the universe on a psychical level that because spiritual in nature.
In the early 1970's the Council of American Witches convened and after much debate they came up with a definition compiled by Carl Llewellyn Weschcke to define Wicca. I couldn't think of a better way to sum up the beliefs and practices of a witch.
- We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarters.
- We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with nature in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.
- We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called 'supernatural' but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.
- We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity (as masculine and feminine) and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and the feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energy used in magickal practice and religious worship.
- We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological worlds sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconsciousness, the Inner Planes etc. and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions of the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.
- We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership
- We see religion, magick and wisdom in living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it, a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft - the Wiccan Way
- Calling oneself 'Witch' does not make a Witch, but neither does heredity itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and without harm to others and in harmony with nature.
- We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness giving meaning to the Universe we know and our personal role within it.
- Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion or philosophy of life is to the extentthat it's institutions have claimed to be 'the only way' and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief.
- As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with out present and our future.
- We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as 'Satan or 'the Devil' as defined by christian tradition. 'we do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.
- We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well being.