November 28, 2006

The purpose of this presentation is to give an overview of the Wiccan religion, therefore , although, it covers many aspects of the Wiccan religion, such as its origin, long history, and practices and beliefs, it does not cover all aspects of the Wiccan religion nor could such a small presentation adequately do so.

Wiccas origin lies in an ancient indigenous religion of life and nature from Paleolithic times that predates Christianity by around 28,000 years Wicca has been influenced heavily by other religions of its time, Buddhism, Hinduism, and a widespread witch-cult of early modern Europe Surprisingly Wicca has had much more influence on Christianity then Christianity on Wicca Due to severe persecution, known as the Burning Times, by Christians of Medieval Europe, the early Wiccans were forced to move underground where they continued to practice their faith in secrecy During the Burning Times it is estimated that millions of men, women and children were hanged, drowned, and burned as accused witches, so it is not surprising that neither them nor their faith would reappear until 1954

Gerald Gardner is credited for re-introducing the world to the Wiccan religion. A British civil servant, Mr. Gardner, got permission from his High Priestess, Doreen Valiente, to write several books on witchcraft High Magics Aid a fictional novel revealing some of the old religions beliefs in 1949, Witchcraft Today which describes additional details about the faith, such as rituals, symbols, and magick in 1954, and The Meaning of Witchcraft which details the history of Wicca in Northern Europe in 1960 Although credited for re-introducing the world to Wicca, Mr. Gardner cannot take full credit, because his High Priestess, Doreen Valiente, helped to re-introduce it, and his works were derived from earlier works by Charles Leland(1824-1903), a prolific author and folklorist who founded the Gypsy Lore Society, and Margaret Murray(1863-1963).

Modern Wicca was brought to America by one of Gerald Gardners students, a former Gardnerian Wicca, Raymond Buckland (a.k.a Uncle Bucky) in 1960 With the help of America, through Raymond Buckland and several other authors including Scott Cunningham, the printed word, and word of mouth the interest in Wicca soon outpaced the mostly British-based covens ability to train and initiate new Wicca This in turn led to the branching off of the Wiccan religion into multiple branches or traditions from the late 1960s to the 1980s One of the more important traditions that was established during the Wiccas 1960s through 1980s boom was the Dianic (feminist) Wicca, for unlike other traditions of Wicca the Dianic tradtion allowed same gender initiation into a coven, self initiation into a coven, and it also allowed Wiccans to practice as solitary Wicca

By the early 1980s the Wiccan were once again persecuted by the general public as they were falsely associated with Satanist and the worship of Satan by several Fundamentalist Christian Organizations In recent years there has been reports of shootings, threats, craft-friendly homes and stores being vandalized, one public mass stoning, and one lynching, plus many child protection agents have erroneously removed children from the home of known wiccan Today many countries around the world recognize the Wiccan religion as a legally recognized religion. In 1985, as a result of Dettmer v. Landon, 617 F. Supp. 592, the District Court of Virginia found the Wiccan religion to be a legally recognized religion, and this was afffirmed in 1986 by Judge. J. Butzner of the Federal Appeals Court forth circuit (799 F 2d 929, 1986) A group of conservative Christian legislators, Rep. Robert S. Walker (R-PA), Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), Rep. Richard T. Schulze (R-PA), and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), introduced legislation that would strip Wiccan of their legal rights in 1985, but all of these efforts fizzled with the close of the 99th Session of Congress in 1986

Since the mid 1990s outlook for the wiccan have improved, so more and more Wicca are revealing their faith Wicca is the fastest growing religion in the world; It doubles in size every 18 months There is currently, in America alone, over 19 traditions (branches) of the Wiccan religion, and including the members of those traditions there is estimated to be over 750,000 practicing Wiccan in the US If the Wiccan religion continues its current growth it will be the 3rd largest religion in the US by 2012

First and foremost! Wiccans do not worship Satan, nor do they believe in other Judeo-Christian concepts such as original sin, vicarious atonement, divine judgment, bodily resurrection, and heaven and hell The Wiccan religion is a naturalistic earth-centric religion that teaches one to love, respect, and honor all life, and to strive for peace, harmony, and equality for all Wiccans respect the great forces of nature, celebarte the cycles of the seasons and the moon, and are strong supporters of the environment, equal rights, global peace and religious freedom Wiccans have no central religious doctrine or authority, nor do they actively recruit or try to convert followers to their religion Wiccans have two core ethical beliefs, the Wiccan Rede or rule that states An it harm none, do what thou wilt, and the Law of Threefold Return that states Three times what thou givest returns to thee Wiccans believe in an intensified karma, which helps to keep individual Wicca inline with their teachings, and reincarnation

Although most Wiccans worship the Triple Goddess of the Moon (the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone) and the Horned God of the Wilds (the Holly King and the Oak King) they truly believe in only one unknowable God, the One, for the Triple Goddess of the Moon and the Horned God of the Wilds are one in the same; they are merely parts of the One Wiccans believe that through the presence of the divine in all - the moon, the sun, the earth, the sky, men, women, plants, and animals that they have some magickal control over their environment Annually Wiccans meet on nights of the full moon, new moon, or both, known as Esbats, and they also meet for eight great festivals or holidays, known as Sabbats Structurally the Wiccan religion is made up of various traditions (branches/denominations) that worship in covens of 13 or less Wicca. If the ideal size of a coven, 13, is exceeded the coven will hive off into separate but connected covens and continue to worship together as a grove

Individual Wicca have at least 5 handmade ceremonial tools , one to represent each of the elements (fire, earth, air, water) and a Book of Shadows Wiccan ceremonial tools are handmade, because by hand making them the individual Wicca empowers it with their own energy Which ceremonial tools an Individual Wicca uses is dictated by his or her coven

Unlike many believe a Wiccan Pentacle does not represent Satan; it is instead their most sacred symbol, a symbol of protection, and it represents the four elements of nature, fire, earth, air, and water, as well as spirituality

Wiccan Sabbats are made up of 4 greater sabbats, which are agricultural festivals, that take place when the seasons are at their peak and 4 lesser sabbats, which are solar festivals (equinoxes and solstices), that take place when one season is changing to the next Wiccan Sabbats can be traced back to ancient times and are normally represented by a 8 spoke wheel known as the Wheel of the Year All Wiccan Sabbats are celebrated at night, with the exception of Beltane, and are just that celebrations, so no magick will be performed during Sabbats unless emergency healing is desperately needed As with all Wiccan worship Sabbats are celebrated outside under the sun, which is a representation of the Horned God of the Wilds, and the moon, which is a representation of Triple Goddess of the Moon. Ritual attire runs from skyclad to jeans and a t-shirt and is delegated by the Wiccas coven While worshipping Wiccans will assemble in a circle and face one another for within all is the divine After worship Wiccans will gather for food and drinks

Esbats are the normal meetings that Wiccans attend with their covens, and they are used to not only worship the One, through the Triple Goddess of the Moon (Moon) and the Horned God of the Wilds (Sun), but also to perform magick, divination, healing, and the empowering or charging of objects, such as amulets, sachets, poppets (dolls), herbs, etc. Although ritual magick, divination, healing, and the empowering or charging of objects can be done at anytime it is most effective to complete these tasks during Esbats Esbat rituals are performed outside in the same way Sabbats are In addition to Sabbats and Esbats Wiccans also attend/perform Handfastings (Marriages), Handpartings (Divorces), Wiccanings (baptisms), Crossing the Bridge ceremonies (wakes) The first legally recognized Handfasting took place in Great Britain in 2004

Unlike the instant magic effects portrayed in cartoons, works of fantasy, and medieval demonology Wiccan magick is slow to work and operates in harmony with the natural laws Wiccan magick is used in various ways, such as for healing through meditation, poppets, and the casting of spells, when seeking guidance through meditation, scrying, and the casting of spells, when trying to predict the future through channeling, tarot cards, scrying, palmistry, tea-leaf reading, numerology, and astrology, and when trying to improve ones health, personal life, or financial status through the casting of spells Wiccans never use magick to force someone to do something or to harm someone; magick is only used in positive ways, and it is also only performed on willing recipients During the casting of spells Wicca use their various Wiccan tools, candles of various colors, empowered herbs, potions, and brews. In many cases, especially when creating amulets and sachets, magickal symbols and runes are also used

Wiccan Symbolism of Colors

Some Wiccan Magickal Herbs

Some Wiccan Magickal Herbs

In closing I would like to quote Ricky Franklin from his article The Wicca Religion: Worship of the Goddess, as what he says, not only reflects what I have read on many occasions while researching the Wiccan Religion, but it also reflects the purpose of my own presentation on the Wiccan religion:

They (the Wiccans he interviewed for his article) did not force their religion (the Wiccan religion) on the author (Mr. Franklin), but instead tried to bring understandingIf others (such as Mr. Franklin) were willing to take an interest in a religion (any religion) other then their own, not to change religion, only to understand them, tolerance among different religions would be greatly increased.

In other words: Just as you would never judge a person by what youve heard; dont judge a religion by what youve heard; instead judge it by your understanding of it.