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Wicca: Difference between revisions
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{{Useful Notes}}
[[File:GODDESS_triple_goddess2_9252.jpg|frame| [[The Hecate Sisters|The Triple Goddess. From left to right: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.]]]]
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'''The Wiccan Rede.''' }}
Wicca is a fertility-based religion founded in the 1950s by Gerald Gardner, supposedly based as much as possible on pre-Christian British traditions and ceremonial magic societies/orders. Exactly what defines a Wiccan depends on who you ask, but at least one rule is consistent: "Wiccan" is ''not'' a fancy word for "witch," and "Wicca" is not a catch-all term for any neo-pagan religion. Neither is it term for someone who practices "whatever feels right," even if they take some of their practices and beliefs from Wicca. (That's called eclectic paganism - not that there's anything wrong with it; it's just not Wicca.) Note that the number of people who term themselves Wiccan but do not meet this definition (often because they do not belong to an initiatory tradition or do not follow all these beliefs) is much greater than those who do.
In general, there are two main types of Wicca. The first type is coven-based, where adherents gather together to pratise their religion. The oldest form of Wicca, established by Gardner himself (hence known as Gardnerian Wicca) is coven-based and is an orthopraxic mystery religion. Orthopraxic means that correct practice is more important than correct belief (orthodoxy). Like all coven-based forms, its core practices are oath-bound and are not taught to cowans, or outsiders. This means that you can't actually practice Gardnerian Wicca as you'll have no way of actually knowing what a good chunk of the vital practices and rituals actually are. While there are many books ''about'' Gardenarian Wicca, there are no books that actually contain these core practices or Mysteries; at best, the books contain "outer court" information comprising of some history and generic neo-pagan beliefs and practices([[Your Mileage May Vary]] on this claim, however, since the original "Gardnerian" Book of Shadows has been printed multiple times, including what were (formerly) the secret names of the Goddess and God. Most Gardnerian and Alexandrian covens have since augmented the original material with additional, actually still secret stuff). Also, it should be noted that because some of the rituals are sexual in nature (although a far cry from orgies), no-one under the age of 18 is allowed to be initiated for legal and moral reasons.
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Whilst Gardnerian Wicca was for some time the first and only form of Wicca, many other varieties have risen up around it. One of the first of these, founded by first-degree ''Gardnerian'' initiate Alex Sanders, is Alexandrian Wicca, loosely based on its predecessor. Together with a hadnful of other coven-based forms tracing their heritage back to New Forest region where Gardnerian Wicca sprang from, these sects comprise what is today known as "British Traditional Wicca", or BTW. However, many other "denominations" of coven-based Wicca have arisen since the evolution of BTW.
The other type is solitary, which is almost the exact opposite of coven-based forms. Firstly, practitioners are given more leniency in their beliefs and practice. Whilst the core tenets of Wicca are there (e.g. belief in the God and Goddess, the Wheel of the Year, the 3-fold law & Rede, etc.), solitaries may also hold different opinions regarding various topics, such as with adherence to different theories of magic. Solitaries also differ from coven-based wiccans in that they freely share religious information, their primary sources being: the wide variety of books published regarding Wicca and similar metaphysical subjects, such as Buckland's complete guide to witchcraft; ideas inspired by their own personal meditations, known as Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG). Because of the accessibility of materials and and greater number of outlets for solitaries, it is this face of Wicca is the most familiar to non-Wiccans.
Exactly who has the right to call themselves a Wiccan has been debated. [http://livingpagan.blogspot.com/2009/08/keep-wicca-traditional-keep-wicca-coven.html Some argue] that Wicca without the Mysteries isn't truly Wicca, the same as Catholicism without baptism and communion wouldn't be Catholicism. This isn't to say that the path isn't valid and that the person doesn't have the right to practice and believe what they feel is right, but simply that calling their practice and beliefs "Wicca" would be superficial and meaningless. Others argue that the term can be applied to any path derived from Gardnerian Wicca, Mysteries or no. However, most Wiccans and Pagans (Druids and such) separate Gardenarian\Alexandrian Wicca from other types, and consider them all valid.
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Whilst magic is a central theme of Wicca it is nothing like what you see in Hollywood or in role-playing games, but works in a manner more analogous to prayer (in fact, in Wicca, magic is most simply defined as "focused prayer"). Wiccans do not try to cast fireballs, nor do they fly on brooms, nor otherwise attempt impossible magical feats like you see in Harry Potter. Also, Wiccans do not sacrifice humans or animals (much less eat babies), nor do they proselytize. They are not on a mission to destroy or undermine Christianity (let alone lure Christians into a front group for Satanic worship). They are typically content to let Christians be as long as Christians let them be.
Wiccans worship the "God and Goddess of the [British] Isles," also referred to as the Lord and the Lady. Different covens have their own names for the Lord and Lady, but these are not revealed to cowans (solitaries also sometimes choose their own names to recognise the Lord and Lady by). They use the pentagram/pentacle to symbolize the five elements - air, earth, fire, water, and spirit. Others, even within traditions, may worship a personal patron (sometimes more than one), which may be chosen from the Norse, Greek or other pantheons, in addition to the Celtic, and may incorporate other practices (such as Shamanism and Reiki) which are of non-Celtic origin.
Males who practice magic are simply called witches. The term "warlock" is said to refer to those who break the sacred oaths taken during initiation and divulge the Mysteries to non-Wiccans, though the etymology of the term 'warlock' leads in a different direction. It is also quite offensive to call one such. The terms "wizard" and sorcerer/sorceress (and similar) are almost never used.
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=== Tropes ===
* [[Above Good and Evil]]: Related below, the God and Goddess embody ''all'' of nature which includes disease, pain, and sorrow. Acknowledging their "dark" aspects is crucial in understanding the Divine.
* [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]]: A school of thought on the nature of the Divine says that the forms humanity has given it, such as the various deities (including the Triple Goddess), are merely attempts to understand a being [[You Cannot Grasp the True Form|ultimately beyond human comprehension]] if viewed in its entirety.
* [[Anthropomorphic Personification]]: The God and Goddess represent various aspects of nature and life.
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* [[Broken Base]]: Over the issue of whether or not those who aren't in lineaged covens (and therefore, do not know the Mysteries) have the right to [[Call a Smeerp a Rabbit|apply the name]] "Wiccan" to what they practice.
** Notice how schizo this very page is; part of insists Wicca is a mystery religion that only those initiated can truely follow, while other sections mention the information is available to anyone willing to look for it.
*** Both of those statements are largely true, on one hand most of the important information (even the mysteries) is pretty easy to find if you know where to look, on the other, Wicca, like all mystical religions really, is highly experiential, and you probably won't experience the mysteries as intended without being in a proper coven.
* [[Can't Get Away with Nuthin']]: The three-fold law states that whatever you do will come back to you three-fold. So if you do evil...
* [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe]]: Magic works this way, though not to the extent that you can summon fireballs or teleport yourself. Also, most agree that magical tools are just props to help you get into the right frame of mind to work magic.
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* [[The Hecate Sisters]]: The goddess is said to have three aspects: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone.
* [[Hermetic Magic]]: Wicca involves ceremonial magic, which is a form of this.
* [[Magic Wand]]: Used as a ritual tool, not as a fireball-shooter.
* [[Mama Bear]]: Don't let the matronly visage fool you. The Mother is considered the greatest aspect of the Triple Goddess in terms of raw power for this reason. Luckily, we are all Her children.
* [[Mundane Solution]]: It's often considered preferable to go this route before attempting the magical solution. Casting a spell of protection is fine and all, but you should still make sure your house has good physical locks if you want to keep your home from getting broken into.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Wicca]]
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