Featured Wicca Resources
Mystic-cards
Crystal Wands,
Tarot Cards
and Crystal Balls.
|
Wicca - Being one with nature and the nature of oneself
Wicca is an earth and nature-honoring religion that
celebrates the cycle of the year and the duality of divinity. It stresses
living in harmony with all creatures and the earth. It honors
a supreme power which is personified into
male and female aspects as the Goddess and God. This is the Goddess and God that is contained in all nature and in
ourselves.
Wiccans celebrate eight holidays; two solstices, two
equinoxes and four other holidays roughly equally spaced throughout the year.
Considered a mystery religion, Wicca, in general, is based
on the pre-Christian spiritual traditions of England, Ireland, Scotland and
Wales. Its origins can be traced even further back to Paleolithic times when
people worshipped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess. Still it is considered a
modern religion and not the Old Religion of those ancient
times. Another way to put this is that Wicca is not THE religion but a
religion sitting under the umbrella of Paganism much like Catholics, Methodists,
etc., sit under the umbrella of Christianity.
Wicca is practiced in a group (coven or grove)
or solitary (by oneself). The goal of a Wiccan is to achieve
balance and harmony within nature and oneself - to be one with nature. This makes Wicca a highly
individualistic religion. The large number of different sects
within the Craft give the impression that no two groups practice the same way.
Thus Wicca is a religion of clergy, not followers. Each
person who seriously pursues the Craft, whether it be through study in a
particular tradition, or through self-teaching and private learning, has the
choice to become a priest or priestess of Wicca. Note that the word wicca
is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "wise." Each Wiccan is struggling to be wise
within oneself and to have an direct connection with the divine
power.
Their personal faith is influenced by the religious
experiences they have. Often the experiences instill knowledge
or religious truths in ways that are not fully understood by the
individual. At Wicca's core, there are things that can only be experienced
and not explained.
Wicca's main basis for ethical
behavior rely on two basic premises... The Wiccan
Rede, or rule: An it harm none, do as ye will " or slightly
updated: "If it harm none, do what you will." Which means that as long as you don't do anything that will
hurt anyone (including yourself) it is allowed. The other
major premise is the Three-fold Law - whatever you send
out into the universe, be it good or bad, you can expect to return to you
threefold.
Wicca is entirely compatible with the
scientific method, and it is believed that all the Gods and
forces that are worked with are quite natural, not
supernatural at all. Wicca encompasses a beautiful, satisfyingly natural way of
life. It is about worshiping life and the love of nature and its power in
all living things. Wicca believes in divinity in everything living and natural,
as well as karmic laws, and reincarnation.
A Wiccan takes total responsibility
for his/her actions, his/herself, and his/her future. Wiccans believe that
death is not an ending of existence, but a step in the on-going process of
life.
|
Wicca is an official, legal religion
in the U.S., and a fast-growing one at that. Judges have ruled that witches must
be allowed to lead prayers at local government meetings, and that Wiccan
convicts must be provided with requested "sacred objects" so they can perform
spells in their cells. Wiccan covens have been recognized as nonprofit religious
organizations by the Internal Revenue Service.
So Wicca is a religion which involves
communion with the Earth, communion with a God/Goddess (or several of them if
you're a polytheist), living in peace with yourself and others, and giving to
those that gave to you. Witchcraft, by the way, is what Wiccans
practice. Wicca is centered around
the use of positive thought, positive action and love of nature to create an
atmosphere of positive energies which are then used for our own
benefits.
Wicca teaches that there is certainly a higher power, namely the
Goddess and God, often referred to solely as the Goddess, but that the Goddess
is always attainable, for She is everywhere: in the tree, in the leaf, in the
ant, within ourselves... To be a member of Wicca, one must seek rather than
be sought after.
Wiccans do not worship Satan. Satan is part
of the Christian religion, a separate religious path.
About the author: C. Tori writes for the following websites: Diet Cures, Breast Enlargement Advice, About Telescopes, Meditation - The Inner Journey, and In The Garden.
Latest News about Being One with Nature
One of Three Charged With Vehicle Thefts Sentenced to Two Years in Jail 17 May 2012 at 7:37am
LITCHFIELD ? A homeless man with ties to two previously convicted felons was sentenced Tuesday to two years in jail for his hand in a string of recent auto break-ins, stretching from Southbury and Middlebury, to Washington and Litchfield.
Five Easy, Inexpensive Ways to Connect Your Kids With Nature 14 May 2012 at 1:50pm
CARMEL, Ind. -- While many adults recall childhood summers of sunburned faces, grass-stained jeans and dirty fingernails, kids today have become so immersed in electronic media that a fishing pole is now ...
A walk in the park gives mental boost to people with depression 14 May 2012 at 7:29pm
In one of the first studies to examine the effect of nature walks on cognition and mood in people with major depression, researchers in Canada and the US have found promising evidence that a walk in the park may provide some cognitive benefits.
Press Box: Avalanche sign wing Hejduk 18 May 2012 at 3:50pm
Right-winger Milan Hejduk has signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche, the team announced Friday.
Research team devises a means for measuring quantum tunneling time 18 May 2012 at 4:18am
(Phys.org) -- In a bit of inspired research, a diverse team of researchers has devised a means for measuring the time it takes for an electron to tunnel through a barrier. Led by Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science, Dror Shafir, the team as they describe in their paper published in the journal Nature used one laser to lower a barrier allowing an electron to escape via tunneling from its ...
Nature walks can give mental boost to people with depression 15 May 2012 at 10:20am
Washington, May 15 : A walk in the park may provide psychological benefits for people suffering from depression.
?Father's Day?: One man strives to connect with his son 15 May 2012 at 6:02am
In "Father's Day," Pulitzer Prize-winning author Buzz Bissinger shares the emotional experience of traveling across the country with his son Zach, a twenty-four year old challenged by serious intellectual deficits. Read an excerpt.
This Week in Nature 17 May 2012 at 8:33am
In a paper published online in advance in Nature this week, members of the Heliconius Genome Consortium report having sequenced the genome of the neotropical butterfly H. melpomene , which they compared "with other taxa to investigate chromosomal evolution in Lepidoptera and gene flow among multiple Heliconius species and races."
Talk of closing one of Kingston's two hospitals began in November, HealthAlli... 17 May 2012 at 1:43am
KINGSTON, N.Y. ? The possibility of closing one of Kingston?s two hospitals, announced early this month, first was discussed among HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley officials last November, company officials said on Wednesday.
Firing Mickey Hatcher was a desperate move the slumping Los Angeles Angels ha... 16 May 2012 at 10:25pm
A new hitting coach may or may not wake up Albert Pujols, but L.A. had to try something with a season slipping away.