Merry Meet & Welcome to the Spiral Stair
Wicca, as you will find, is not for everyone. It requires earnest dedication, sacrifice, study and practice. We're dedicated to helping those just discovering Wicca to find their way along the path of the wise.
Some people, mainly teenagers, are drawn to Wicca (or Witchcraft, as it is more commonly known though slightly incorrect)from sensationalized medias such as 'The Craft' or 'Charmed', and even 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. However, this is not a clear representation of Wicca, Witches, and Witchcraft, or even a good one. We don't freeze time, or ride on brooms. If we fly at all, we do it like everyone else, by plane.
However, both 'Charmed' and 'Buffy' make a valiant attempt to disparage the "green faced, wart nosed" persona that has been so popularized by children's books, and Hollywood. Those programs listed above are fine, in and of themselves... just don't take it too seriously. I've been blessed to meet many Witches and Wiccans in my study, and they are all, male and female alike, beautiful. Both inside as well as out.
Some people, when they find the actual study work involved with Wicca, suddenly become disenchanted with it. It can be quite intimidating to someone who presumed it to be all about magick, all about spells, and easy. It's far from that. While Wicca deals with magick and spell work, that's not all of what it's about. It's about connecting with the Earth, her creatures, as well as yourself. Putting aside what the mainstream would lead you to believe as fact and actually finding it out for yourself.
You may even find that Wicca is not your chosen path. Wicca isn't for everyone, just as Christianity, or Buddhism, or any other religion/philosophy was not for us. That doesn't mean that you will never find the path that fits you, because you should take the time to study all religions before making any decisions about whether to persue it any further. All are beautiful and equally worth looking into.
No one has the authority to tell you what path you MUST choose. That is your decision and yours alone, being that you are of legal age (before that, it is up to your parents). It is morally wrong to use scare tactics to 'convert' someone. But there are those out there who make it a crusade to discredit religions that don't meet eye to eye with theirs. And I feel that some of them are genuinely afraid for your soul. But this is only a continuation of scare tactics that have been in use by the corrupted leaders of the Christian church, for hundreds of years, to keep their followers from turning against them. Notice that I said 'corrupted leaders' and didn't blast the church as a whole. That's because it's unfair to hold an entire religion responsible for the actions of a few misguided flock. A TRUE Christian would never dream of discounting your beliefs, unless you made a personal attack on theirs. And sometimes even that. That includes, but is not limited to, cute little messages that begin with "Let no witch, sorcerer or conjurer be found among you..." or whatever. It's not funny to threaten someone else, and no one is laughing. And it doesn't matter what book you are quoting, it's still a threat. Parroting the statements of someone who's been dead for thousands of years doesn't make you any more the wiser. It just shows that you are incapable of thinking for yourself. And as anyone who didn't sleep through PUBLIC highschool will tell you, Christianity is NOT the oldest religion in the world. Hinduism is the oldest to date, and there is tons of scientific evidence to prove that there are religious practices older than that! And older is NOT always better. If that were true, then we'd all be eating moldy food without complaint. The way we practice our religion doesn't negate the way Christians (or anyone else for that matter) practice theirs, or get in the way.
All we ask is for tolerance. We're not asking you to understand it (of course, that would be lovely), we're not even asking you to like it. We only ask that you kindly keep your comments to yourself and stop trying to convert us. As George Carlin puts it, "Keep thy religion to thyself." Quoting scripture to a Wiccan or Pagan will not convince them to change their faith. That has the same ratio of luck as a Rabi quoting the Kaballah to a Catholic priest. However, not all Christians are vendictive, bible-thumping, snakes in the grass. Those are what I colourfly call "pseud-Christians". You know, the people that are in love with the Bible but don't live their life like Jesus in ANY WAY. Just as they have individuals who make their religion look bad, so do we. It is up to you to discover the difference, and it doesn't take a keen eye! ;)
"On the highway of life there are but many on-ramps. But they all lead to the same destination." This is where Wiccans take issue with certain, radical, followers of Christianity. As many 'fundies', as I've heard them termed, claim that Christianity is the ONLY, one true way to deity. This is simply not so. All Gods are one God, so it matters not by what name they are called by. Be it Allah, Zeus, or Shiva... They are all one and the same. They are G-d. For example, Santa Claus is known by many, many names across the world. But no matter the name, the identity is the same. If he had no other name, he'd be known throughout the world as the kind, elderly man who gives gifts to children. "A rose, by any other name would smell as sweet".
The Goddess, who has many names, represents the feminine aspects of the God (or if you like the term of Judaism, G-d, because they have no neutral term). What does this mean? That they, God and Goddess, are merely two parts of one which is called The All, for there is no other name. The All is the force that connects everything. The All is energy, and the All is spirit. The All is around us as well as within. The All can neither be removed nor destroyed. The All just a facet of basic energy, which also can neither be removed nor destroyed. Energy, like the All, is in constant motion, and ever changing, ever resonating. The All just IS.
We see deity in a similar way as this example. A diamond is a beautiful, mutli-faceted stone. And yet, all of those facets make up one single stone. Deity is seen just the same. Nearly ever religion has a pantheon (facets), and all deity within that pantheon are all different aspects (facets) of a singular entity or force.
And the basic principle in all this is that you must not believe this to be true, you must KNOW it to be. To believe in anything means that you have left room for doubt. Do you believe in air? Or do you KNOW it to be real? I'm using this example because you can't see air, neither can you see the All. But you feel it all around you. You feel it in your lungs when you breath, and you feel it on your skin when the temperature changes. You can see the creations of the All, but you can't see the All with your own eyes.
I remember reading somewhere that Christains had a big problem with Pagans/Wiccans acknowledging the creation and not the creator.. meaning they worshipped the earth and not God. Who would you praise more? The farmer or the corn? This is their argument. The argument of the "oops, I didn't think about it that way". Pagans, having many deity to praise for different reasons, the force that which creates the plants, animals, water, etc. However, why would anyone choose to ignore the Earth? After all. If it weren't for the Earth there would be nowhere for the plant, or animal, or water to exist upon. Earth is a living, breathing organism. After all, she feeds us, clothes us, and gives us a roof over our heads. Why is it some of us will praise the father and not the mother? It's exactly like giving birth, for Earth does it every day. If you knew someone had just had a baby, would you value the man more, and ignore the woman who just went through labor?? Well, if you answered yes. You're a pig. Sorry. Like it or not, that's a sorry thing for anyone to do to someone else. Fathers get off easy.. unless you happen to be a seahorse.
And no, I don't believe in Jesus. I don't believe in rocks either. I KNOW he lived, and I'm not going to sit and argue with people who said he didn't. He was a very gifted, spiritual healer who did a great many things in his life and is surely missed. He was indeed a son of G-d as well as a devoted follower of Vishnu, but he's not the only one. And certainly not the "moshiach". But that will be discussed another time.
All of us are daughters and sons of the Lord and Lady, whether our religions meet eye to eye or not, regardless of our spiritual traditions. And we are all gods and goddesses in our own right. We have the power to create life, the power to heal as well as to hurt, and the power to destroy. But we have a long journey ahead of us. We must learn how to love one another and accept each other for our differences instead of forcing our beliefs and policies on others. We must learn how to attune ourselves with Nature, take ourselves back to that place that we shunned so long ago and reclaim our heritage. We must learn that how we've wronged others will affect us not only in this life, but in the next as well.
Everyone is searching for the meaning of life. I feel that the meaning of life is learning. Learning to love others as well as ourselves. It's up to you to find out what you have to learn and then put that into action.
This website was not created to discredit other religions or join in on the religious mudslinging contest that's plaguing our world. It is intended as a source of study to those just starting out, researching, or even curious about Wicca. It is also for the continuing study of the webmistress. If there is a dispute above anything mentioned either on this site or any pages involved please contact us (place your mouse over the name) and explain, intelligently (meaning: no internet language).
Thank you and brightest blessings!
Webmistress
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