Essay on Wicca

In Native American witchcraft, amulets and charms play the central role. Practitioners of one region dress similarly as well as use same kind of totems to have a sense of unity with each other. For them land is considered as deity that provides them with objects necessary for witchcraft and magic. These objects come in many shapes and forms. These may include herbs, stones, feathers, bones etc (world of Wicca, 2014).

They follow the Wiccan Rede, “a rule that instructs Wiccans to do what they will, as long as it harms none,” (Pike, 2016, Online). It is this rule that shapes the foundation for the Wiccan ethical systems, healing practices, and rituals. Wiccans revere deities both in the male and female aspect, however, the female aspect tends to hold the most power. Their goddess is depicted in three female forms that represent the three stages of a woman’s life: the maiden, the mother, and the old woman. Their god is portrayed with horns and is believed to be the deity that represents nature. This deity’s portrayal with horns leads to the common misconception that he represents the Christian devil. Another basic principle describes how this misconception could not be further from the truth while at the same time bringing up another difference between the Wiccan religion and Christianity, “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 traditions,” (Zimmermann & Gleason, 2000, p. 11). In the Christian religion, they believe there is only one God. Unlike Wicca, they do not hold the elements sacred. The Christian form of sacred is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Their deities are both believed to have three manifestations; Christians have the Father, the Son, and

Hundred of years before the Wiccan traditions appeared the term Blessed Be had been used in Ceremonial Magic and also Thelema and Hermeticism; both religions of spiritual philosophy. Aleister Crowley, author, magician and member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was instrumental in developing Thelema philosophy into what it is today. He wrote the “Book Of Law” in which it is stated; "The word of the law is Thelema": Thelema comes from the Greek word meaning “will” or “intention”. It further states "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" which is very similar to the Wiccan Rede.

Witchcraft is a religion. Wicca is one type of Witchcraft, but the term "Wicca" is occasionally applied to Witchcraft in overall. In the United States, most people who practice this religion call themselves Witches or Wiccans. It is an earth-based religion and in some ways is similar to Native American spirituality. Wicca (sometimes called Wicce, The Craft, or The Old Religion) is based on an ancient religion of love for life and nature. The religion of Witchcraft or Wicca is recognized by most state governments, the federal government, and the United States Armed Forces. The courts have recognized the right of even prisoners to practice this religion on an equal basis with other religions. In ancient times, people appreciated the great forces of Nature and celebrated the seasons’ cycles and the moon. They saw spirituality in the sun and moon and in the Earth Herself. Basically, in all life.

There are countless different assumptions about witches. The majority of individuals in the sixteenth and seventeenth century presumed that God and Satan were real (Lambert 1). They also assumed that “witches” were in allegiance with Satan and made a vow to bow down and serve him (Lambert 1). Furthermore, another common belief was

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

Witch comes from ‘wic’ which means to bend of shape consciousness/events of life through meditations & chants.

     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

Religious, I am a very religious person, I go to church as much as possible and know a lot about the bible, I believe at one time when jesus walked the earth there was miracles or some may call magic taken place. He performed these miracles to show everyone who he was and the power he had through his father God. He raised people from the dead, fed thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish, gave blind people sight. However once he went back to heaven he said “It is written” which means he was done performing miracles, I think at that point the power to do things like that were over. Non religiously, well witchcraft is considered to be spiritual as its self, so there is no ways to describe it but other than explain it as close to a religion which is the belief in yourself as being the one with the god like powers and performing these magic miracles. However I personally do not believe in these or that they couldn't even be

As with altars having comparable traits to a shrine, there are other comparisons of the Wiccan religion to the more traditional religions of the United States and the rest of the world. For instance, praying is comparable to meditation in Wiccan society. Even with this comparison of prayer and meditation, Wiccans pray to their God and Goddess. This will be elaborate later on. Another comparison is initiation. Most, if not all Wiccan, go through initiations which is a ceremony that initiates them fully into the dedication of Wicca. One can do this alone, but it is recommended to be initiated with a Wiccan group, instead of solidarity.

The development of Wicca in the modern times is associated with a gentleman named Gerald Gardner (1884-1964). He was a British civil servant and amateur archaeologist, who spent most of his working years in Southern Asia. Upon his return to England, he authored the book Witchcraft Today, which outlined many of the rituals and doctrines of the religion that is now called Wicca. Although Gardner claimed his book was inspired from Celtic traditions, it is actually a combination of Western faith, Asian magic, god and goddess worship, and Masonic rituals (Melton). The religion Gardner outlined in his book is a nature-oriented faith where a low emphasis on magic predominates. While there is a tendency to see Wicca and Witchcraft as one and the same and some Wiccans may identify themselves as witches, it is a personal choice and many modern Wiccans do not see themselves as witches. Witchcraft describes a magically-oriented practice but lacks the spiritual foundation that Wicca as a religion embodies. Today=s modern Wiccan religion is not the religion that Christians tried to

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

In my interview I was fortunate to talk with a student from Pfeiffer, her name was Taylor. During this interview, I learned many new things about the Pagan Religion, also known as Wiccan. At the start of the conversation I was completely in the dark about the beliefs and acts of a Pagan.. I had never paid any attention, much less try to learn about other religions until starting this class. It definitely challenged me to empathize with the beliefs of others. The Pagan Beliefs are completely different from my religion, Christianity. Christianity places more of an importance on a figure, Jesus Christ. Unorthodoxly, Pagan’s place more emphasis in nature than in any one Godly figure.

Shamanism is a mix of magic, folklore, medicine and spirituality that evolved in tribal and gathering communities thousands of years ago. Shamanic faith presumes that everyone and everything has a spirit which is a part of a greater whole, and that spirits affect all events, including illness and disease. In the tradition of Shamanism it is believed that certain people named shamans exhibit particular magical specialties at birth; the most common specialization is that of a healer. A Shaman is believed to have the ability to communicate with the ethereal

Shorter defines witchcraft as the “inborn power to harm others secretly and unjustifiably.” This mean, there is no reason, it shows that witches harm randomly because they are driven to do so. According to Magesa, they operate psychically and project from the mind their powers on the victim. There is no rite preformed or spell uttered. Magesa draw a dichotomy between a sorcerer and a witch thereby states, “The use