Wicca and Basic Paganism Information- By Pandora

The Origin of Wicca and Modern Paganism:

Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Wicca, lived in England during the 1950's. It was during that time that the last anti-witchcraft laws of England were repealed. He claims that he had been a member of an ancient coven of witches in England who had existed throughout the persecution in Europe. Though no firm evidence exists to prove this coven or others like it existed, many Wiccans accept on faith that the modern religion was based on the ancient religion of pre-christian Europe. It may or may not have still existed in Gardner's England as he claimed. His creation, modern Wicca, has changed a great deal since it's first rebirth. It started as primarily a Celtic fertility religion and has grown into an ecletic combination of all ancient pantheons and different magickal beliefs. Whether Wicca existed all through the Burning Times (what witches call the period during which "witches" were killed by the Catholic and Protestant churches) or was destroyed completely and existed only in the non-religious traditions of country dwellers, we may never know. However, it is clear to most Pagans that their was a Shamantic religion in ancient Europe which quite likely provoked the dark age persecutions of "witches" when it's practitioners failed to convert to the New Religion. There are some who say that we lack proof and thus call Wicca a purely modern religion, however the history of any religion is primarily based in faith not fact. Wicca, Gardner's creation, is the largest Pagan religion in the United States and Europe, but there are other tradtions attempting to regain the ancient traditions of our ancestors. Included in this are the Druids, and many groups and people who call themselves either Pagans or Heathens. These people share in common a respect for our ancestors and nature though they may worship the divine by different names.

The Growth of the Pagan Movement:

The Pagan movement in England and the United States has grown very rapidly. Our religion was practically non-existant before 1950, however current estimates on the number of pagans in the US range from 100,000 to 5 million. The reason the numbers vary so greatly is that there is no organized structure in Wicca or many of the other pagan groups. The large majority of pagans and pagan groups exist independently and thus there is no one organization to ask for a membership number. Many pagan groups are attempting to provide membership to the diverse groups and individuals so that we can support each other in our time of need and stand united againist persecution. One group is the Alternative Religions Education Network and, another the Covenant of the Goddess. However, whether the number is 100,000 or 5 million (I personally would estimate around 3 million) the growth of the movement is considerable over only 40 years. The largest growth has occured in the last 10 years. The majority of modern pagans are under 30 and have been practicing less than 10 years. For a detailed analysis of the pagan community I recommend the Witches' Voice survey. The growth among teenagers and those in their early twenties is incredible. The military pagan community is also growing very quickly, and while the Pentagon estimates our numbers at less than 100, the true numbers are somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000. Our community has grown on the world wide web, and currently is the largest internet religious community. The Witches' Voice has reached 10 million pages viewed this past October. In all the growth of our community is both amazing and pleasing for those of us who wish to see respect and tolerance for our diverse religious paths. In numbers lurks safety, as it is more difficult to persecute a large an unified community than a small fragmented one.

The Morality of the Craft:

The concept of morality in the Craft, or Witchcraft if you prefer may be inconceivable to many people. However, there is a great moral responsibility in our beliefs. We see our actions as completely our fault, be they good or bad. Unlike many other belief systems which place responsibility for our actions on an outside force, we admit that we create our own reality and that our actions are completely our own responsibility. By far the most important concept in Wicca is the one of personal responsibility. Our Rede is "An it Harm None, do what Ye Will". This means that as long as it harms no one we must use our will to make our reality better. Magick is the act of willing changes in our environment, and to do so creates a responsibility unparalleled by any other action. It is my personal belief that all actions we do come back to us equally, however those actions we do through Magick come back to us three times. My reasoning for this belief is that magick involves the use of the energy of the universe, and when human will bends the neutral energies of the universe towards evil that change effects the nature of the universe. When we change the universe towards evil that results in the multiplication of our acts, and thus the multiplication of the karma which punishes us for our bad deeds. The reverse is also true however as when we change the neutral energy of the universe towards good then the karma which rewards us for our good deeds is multipled as well. That is the key to acts of Magick and the reason why Wiccans do only good with it. The Creator: Divinity and the Universe

Many people may be surprised that Wicca, or Witchcraft is a religion which worships the Divine creator. However, we may differ in our definition or picture of that Creator. In contrast to the stark Patriarchal divinity of many more "traditional" religions, most Wiccans worship the Creator as both male and female. Each person differs in how they see the creator and Wicca as no strict definitions of how we must define him/her. Because of this I can only present how I view the Divine presence in the universe, not how he/she IS. One of the keys to Paganism in general and Wicca in particular is an acceptance of all paths to the Divine as equally valid. Hense we do not claim to know the nature of the creator only to explain how we see that Holy Being. Our reasoning for this is that the Creator is infiinite and thus is all that we can attribute to him/her and more. If I call the Creator, by one name I have only touched upon a piece of the whole, and all the pieces of infinity are equally important. Therefore claims that we hate other religions, or that we have abandoned the true creator are simply people trying to limit our definition of what is divine to their personal opinion. In some cases these accusations are also in the form of projection, or the placing of ones feelings onto the object of that feeling. These people may hate us and wish us ill, but because their religion prohibits these feelings they place them on us and claim we are the ones who hate them and wish them ill. This is a defense mechanism to deal with the stress of a mental contradiction, though not a particularly healthy one. I do not think ill of those that dislike me for my beliefs, as I try to understand that from there prespective they do have the one and only true definition of the Divine. In my personal view the Divine creator, is everything. Put simply there is nothing seperate from the Creator all is an embodiment of him/her. I seperate this infinite Being into two huge pieces, the Goddess or immanent Divinity and the God or transcedent Divinity. The God as I define him is very similar to a Judeo-Christian view of God, seperate from the world and different from that which surrounds us. The Goddess however is that which surrounds us everyday, she exists in the rocks, the trees, and each of us. Many people would disagree with me one this definition, even other Wiccans, and that is perfectly fine. The point is that this definition does not explain the universe to everyone, but it does very nicely for me. Each person must find the view of divinity that compliments their character if they wish to serve the greater good, for if you cannot accept the definition you have then you will never connect with the Universal Consciousness. In addition to the Goddess and the God, I worship many different ancient Gods and Goddesses from many different religious traditions. I see these as facets of the greater God or Goddess, that allow us to focus on specific goals, ideas, and needs. These facets help us clarify in our own hearts what the infinite Being that is the Universe is for us at that specific time. For example, if I wanted to embrace the wisdom of the Goddess, I may create the image of Athena in my mind. She is the embodiment of that one facet of the Goddess, and by focusing on her I can better concetrate on it. The same is true of any thing which I need to focus on, as everything is a part of the Divine. We do not have a Devil or adversary for our Creator as most Wiccans view the Creator as both good and evil. He/she is as the universe is, both destructive and creative, both kind and cruel. Each facet explains a different piece, but they are all one Being, never truely seperate.