Wiccan Beliefs
Deities
The Goddess
The Goddess is the universal mother. She is the source of endless wisdom and fertility. As Wiccans know her she is often of three aspects: The Maiden, the Mother, And Crone, also symbolizing the waning,waxing,and full moon. She gives birth to abundance, but as her gift of life she also promises death. This is not darkness and oblivion, but rest from the toils of physical existence. It is human existence between incarnations. Since the Goddess is nature and all of nature she is both the Temptress and the Crone: the tornado and the fresh spring rain: the cradle and the grave. Though she posses both natures Wiccans view Her as a giver of fertility, and love and abundance although we acknowledge her darker side as well. We see Her in the face of the moon, The ever moving sea, and in the green growth of spring. Many symbols are used to honor Her, such as the chalice,cauldron,five-petalled flowers,mirrors,necklaces,silver,seashell,and many others. As She has dominion over the Earth, Sea and Moon, Her creatures are varied and numerous. Some include the Spider,bee,goose,bat,dog,cat,lion,scorpion,and horse.The Goddess
has been envisioned as a huntress running with her hounds;a celestial deity striding across the sky with stardust falling from her feet;the eternal Mother heavy with child;the weaver of lives and deaths;a Crone walking by the
waning moonlight seeking out the weak and forlorn;and envisioned as many other beings. But no matter how we envision Her, She is omnipresent,changeless,and eternal.
The God
The God has been revered for the oeons.He is neither the stem, all powerful deity of Christianity and Judaism, nor is He simply the consort of the Goddess, They are equal,one.We see the God in the sun, brilliantly shining overhead during the days, rising and setting in the endless cycle of which governs our lives. Without the sun we wouldn't exist; therefore it has been revered as the source of all life, the warmth that bursts the dormant seed into life and hastens the greening of the Earth after the cold winter months. The God is also tender of the wild animals. As the Horned God He is sometimes seen wearing horns on his head, symbolizing His connection with these beasts. In earlier times hunting was one of the activities thought to be ruled by the Horned One, while the domestication of animals was seen to be Goddess oriented. The Gods domain include the forests, untouched by human hands, burning deserts, and towering montains.The stars although but distant suns are sometimes thought to be under his domain. The yearly cycle of greening, maturation and harvest has long been associated with the Sun, hence the solar festivals of Europe which are still observed in Wicca.The God is the fully ripened harvest, intoxicating wine pressed from grapes, whole grain blowing in fields, shimmering apples hanging from verdant boughs on an October afternoon. With the Goddess He also celebrates and rules sex.Wiccans don't avoid sex or speak of in hushed words. It's a part of nature and is accepted as such. Since it brings pleasure, shifts our awareness away from the everyday world and perpetuates our species, it is thought of as sacred. The God lustily imbues us with the urge that ensures our species' biological future. Some symbols used to represent the God are: the sword,horns,spear,gold,candle,brass,diamond,the arrow,magickal wand, knife and others. Creatures sacred to Him include: the bull,dog,snake,stag,fish,dragon,wolf,boar,falcon,eagle,shark,lizard and many others.
