The Wicca Religion

This article is about witchcraft and its different varieties of practices in different cultures. This article explains how witchcraft exists and plays an essential part in structural and functional aspects of a society. It also sheds the light on the journey of witchcraft from being profane and wicked to acceptable part of a culture.

First, Wicca, the formal organization of witchcraft, is a mystery religion. Each practitioner is considered a witch, and practitioner of The Craft, which contains several different beliefs concerning theology and divinity depending on an individual because of their freedom to study what they seek. Members may choose to be solitary, or part of a coven, which is a group of Wiccans that share beliefs and conduct rituals together. Though different groups of Wicca may

When comparing Wicca to Christianity there can be found a few similarities and many differences. To give a better understanding into the comparison of Wicca and Christianity this paper will focus on how the practitioners of each religion create order and meaning within their belief systems; their central beliefs and deities; their ritual practices and ethical views; and other differences and/or similarities between the two.

Blessed Be has become a casual greeting between many, used in the same way as Merry Meet and Merry Part which Neo-pagans say in greeting each other, A form of Hello and Goodbye. This is unfortunate, Blessed Be is a sacred term, to be blessed. It’s roots go deep and well into many religions, it can even be found in the Christian Bible:, “"I will bless you, I will make your name great." : in Judaism "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe..." this is a Jewish blessing for moments of joy.

How do Wiccans practice their faith today? There is no central authority or doctrine. And most individual covens vary a great deal. But most meet to celebrate on nights of the Full Moon, and at the eight great festivals or Sabbats throughout the year.

Paganism branches off into : Wicca, Druidry, Astru, Kabbalah, Shamanism and Discordianism. Wicca now has the most followers of the branches of Paganism, it is a polytheistic practice and is prevalent most commonly in the United Kingdom. Druidry is closely aligned with the ancient practices of Wicca, it is based on ancient Celtic Druidism. Astru is rapidly growing but is still the smallest, it is most prevalent in Iceland, Germany, and Scandinavia. Even though Wicca, Druidism, and Astru are very closely related, they all developed independently. Kabbalah is a practice where the mystical and magical aspects came in, it was created by the Jewish during the middle ages. Shamanism is one more common among Native American cultures, they use drumming to send for the shaman to the

     Wicca and Pagan are two religions, which have many similarities as well as many differences within each area. Wicca is a sect of Pagan in which each has their own variations on the religion. A good way to put it; all Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan. Witch is a term used for any practitioner of Wicca. The Webster's II Dictionary defines witch as 1. A woman who practices sorcery or is believed to have dealings with the devil, 2. An ugly, vicious old woman; hag. Wicca is described by the American Heritage Dictionary as the cult of witchcraft. Pagan is the religion under which many different religions are practiced. Webster's II Dictionary defines pagan as one who does not

The assigned readings present multiple occult beliefs, and describe potential causes and reinforcers. Alcock (1995) held the view that the brain and nervous system worked together to create beliefs targeting survival, while Singer and Benassi (1981) believed social, environmental, and cognitive factors acted in separate ways to reinforce occult beliefs. Parallels exist between contributing factors desccrive by Singer and Benassi (1981) and the seven units listed by Alcock (1995); however, Alcock (1995) described them as causes of the belief engine, while Singer and Benassi (1981) described them as factors contributing to the support and growth of occult beliefs.

The first Americans Also believed in Wakon,da a powerful god to them, whom they believed in, they believed that he created all things, made the land they also believed in life after death and immorality that made earthly life secure and pleasant; they expressed their feelings for nature as in peace and confidence. Different native religions evolved to match their needs and lifestyle Religious traditions of aboriginal people around the world tend to be heavily influenced by their methods of acquiring food, with great hunting skills or by agriculture. Native American spirituality is no exception. Traditional Wakon’da, spirituality is a form of religious belief that each thing, plant and animal has a spirit. The Native American spirituality has an inseparable connection between the spirituality and the culture. One cannot exist without the other. Before Europeans took over the land the Native Americans had their own laws, as they do know, but one of the most important laws was to respect and keep peace with others around them. The folk art

When people hear about the Wiccan religion they think of potions, magic spells, and pointy hats. Wiccans have suffered through many tortures of non-pagan religions for thousands of years. Yet they never gave up on their rituals and beliefs. Wiccans are often depicted as atrocious beings who only wish to harm people. It is important for people with such prejudice beliefs to know about all of the common misconceptions, the origin, and the beliefs of Wiccans.

Voodoo religion is originally a West African religion which was brought to Haiti by slaves. Slaves where working for White plantation owners together suffering hardships and tribulations. Most of these Slaves where taken from tribes who had similar beliefs of Deities, morals and methods of worship (Dancing, drumming and rituals). They would use their religion as a way of mentally resisting against their white owners. The plantation owners did not like the rituals and dancing, forbid it and sealed the deal by having their slaves baptised and superimposed with catholic beliefs. Slaves began to adopt these beliefs and intertwined them with their own and worshipping their religion as well in a secretive way. This formed the true Voodoo religion that we see today that combines catholicism and african tribal worship. Voodoo comes from the word ‘Vodu’ witch came from the fon language of dahomey which was made from what we now know as Togo, Benin and Nigeria. It meant ‘Spirit’ which is definitely correlated with Voodoo as spirits are the core of the practice. The Voodoo practitioners allow Catholicism to expand their religion executing many of their Saints, Relics and Prayers in tribal rituals.

Morvihschilu also says “ Many religions, such as Christianity and Catholicism, believe that we are guests of nature and that when we die, our true journey begins. Us Pagans believe this to be untrue. We are not guests of nature- we are nature. We interact with nature and respect and appreciate it as we do humans”. Morvihschilu is explaining that those of the Pagan sect treat nature as they would treat people and that this life, right now, is the only one we have. Morvihschilu then proceeds to explain that, like every other religion, each Pagan sect has ethics and rules. “ We follow our own virtues, for example, my religion is Asatru and we follow nine important values: Courage, Truth, Honour, Hospitality, Discipline, Fidelity, Self Reliance, Industriousness, and Perseverance. We honour the true turning of the seasons and the nature of the divine within us. We do not need ‘salvation’, all we we need is freedom to live our lives with courage and honour. Today, our minority has been able to stop hiding and to just let others believe what they want because we know who and what we truly are. Us Pagans, us Wiccans, Asatru, and Druids are family and, like everyone else, humans who worship life and death”. Decianna Morvihschilu proves that Pagans live in harmony with the Earth and raise their children and kin to honor the ways of Nature.

The following paper will talk about Wicca and Paganism as a religion within the United States. Wicca is a diverse community as a religion, but is not yet considered by any Supreme court case but some aspects such as traditions are recognized by the federal and state courts. This will be further touched upon further later on.

The Wiccan religion is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States as well one of the most misunderstood due to the controversies surrounding its history and mystery shrouding its beliefs and doctrines. Due to a series of popular TV series that have shown Witchcraft in a positive light, such as Sabrina, the Teen-aged Witch and Charmed, the popularity of Wicca has grown, especially amongst teenagers; but sadly this popularity has not been partnered with a growth in understanding and respect (Kaminer). Although Wicca offers a nature-oriented, egalitarian belief system with a rich collection of customs and rituals, ignorance and historically-rooted misconceptions still dominate public opinion.

There are many different branches, called "traditions", of The Craft, most of which are based on the religious practices of one or more ancient cultures. There are Celtic Wiccans, Egyptian Wiccans, and Greek Wiccans. One of the newest traditions is a hybrid of Celtic Shamanism and the tribal religions of Ancient America. There is, however, a basic outline for conducting worship services that is followed by all covens and solitaries. A standard Wiccan worship service, or ritual, which takes place on one of the eight yearly sabbats (the solstices, equinoxes, and four Ancient Celtic agricultural festivals) or at an esbat (full moon), consists of the creation of sacred space(called "casting the circle;" this is done through visualization), prayers, and offerings (these are usually material possessions, plants, or handmade items; Wiccans never sacrifice animals or people), and a sharing of a simple meal with fellow witches (if a member of a coven) and the Deities. Worship services have many important purposes, but the main reason Wiccans perform rituals is to gain understanding of the energies of the divine and, ultimately, the energies contained in the witch himself/herself. The harnessing