The Metaphysical Site

Witchcraft - A Primer for New Wiccans

The most important piece of information that a beginner into Witchcraft needs to know is that they are simply PERFECT as they are. They do not have to change anything about themselves or their relationships. The Wiccan Goddess or God does not need anything from them; they are not sinners in the eyes of the Creator.

From the first day onwards, all newcomers to Wicca need to understand that we have the power to connect to the One who created this world as we know it. We do not have to bow to anyone, beg (pray) for anyone's blessings, or fear anyone's wrath. We do not have to fear hell or the Satan because they do not exist.

We live lives of honesty, integrity and compassion not because we are afraid of an entity who will judge us one day; we do so because we live by the Wiccan Rede ("An it harm none, do what you will.") and respect the laws of Karma. If we falter and hurt others, we get the results back in this life. We do not have to wait for an invisible entity to dole out punishment or purgatory.

People who join Wicca experience an exhilarating sense of freedom. The freedom to live their life as they choose, the freedom to stop giving away money as tithing tax to an organized monolithic entity they have never understood, the freedom to celebrate the joys of life such as loving another human being without being judged for it and enjoying everything in life so long as our behavior doesn't hurt another living being. By the way, we also believe that animals have souls! WOW, what a wonderful concept!

This newfound freedom hopefully comes with a new awareness with regards to our environment. Most Wiccans are nature loving and environmentally aware so that they are consciously working to make this world a better for humans, animals and plants!

For new Wiccans who join covens, there are rules and celebrations that may be customized to a particular branch of Wicca. For solitary practitioners, help is available in the form of hundreds of books on Witchcraft from many sources including the local bookstores, libraries and the internet stores.

These books largely cover the tools and supplies that witches need to carry out the rituals and spells that they need. However, witchcraft relies solely on our inner powers and the methods to make our minds stronger.

About the Author

Rose Ariadne has been practicing ancient forms of Witchcraft for over 25 years. Get more info about witchcraft here: http://www.askroseariadne.com/editorials/witchcraft-primer-for-new-wiccans.html

tell me about wicca?

i would like to now more about the wicca belifes. if u become wicca do u have to stop beliving in god and belive in some one else or what. and tell me a little about wicca plz ive always be intersted

The God of Christianity is not the God (or Goddess) of Wicca. We have our own forms of Deity that we follow, and Wiccans do not all follow the same God and Goddess.

Wicca is a very complex faith which embraces widely varying practices and many different Traditions. The following, however, is what I consider to be "the basics".

Wicca is about 60 years old, with roots in Masonic practices, ceremonial magic, and the Romantic era's ideas of classical religions. Its founder was a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner.

http://www.geraldgardner.com/essays.php

It is in many ways a postmodern faith, embracing religious relativism, and one that resonates powerfully for increasing numbers of people.

The central tenet of the Wiccan religion is the Wiccan Rede: "If you harm none, do what you will." This is a deceptively simple "commandment" which can take a lifetime to contemplate and to master. Many Wiccans also believe in the Law of Threefold Return, sometimes called the Rule of Three: “Whatever you do, for good or ill, will come back upon you three times over.”

Wiccans honor Deity as both male and female, God and Goddess -- or at the very least as Goddess. Many Wiccans believe that the universe is the body of God/dess, and therefore that all things contain Divine energy and that the world itself is sacred. Some Wiccans are polytheists (many God/desses); others are duotheists (God and Goddess, of whom all other Gods and Goddesses are simply aspects); others are monotheists (God and Goddess Themselves are simply aspects of an unknowable Source).

Wiccans generally do not believe that God/dess is separate from the world; therefore, we have no concept of salvation, since God/dess is present to all and always. Many Wiccans believe that God/dess is too big to fit inside one religion -- all religions/spiritual paths are ways of reaching the same goal, and atheism and agnosticism are honorable perspectives on the mystery of life.

Each Wiccan operates as their own priest/ess. We do not have a distinction between clergy and laity. Therefore, each Wiccan is responsible for their own personal development and for forging their own relationship with God/dess. Some Wiccans practice in covens, which are generally initiatory and require a long period of study (traditionally a year and a day) before entering. Others practice in loosely affiliated groups of solitaries, which are Wiccans who practice outside of traditional coven structure. Others simply practice alone.

Wiccans do not usually have churches. We create sacred space as and where needed, by casting "circles" of energy which function as temples. When inside those circles, we invite the spirits of the four Platonic elements (air, fire, water, and earth) to join us, as well as the Goddess and the God (or at minimum the Goddess).

Wiccans have celebrations which are timed to both the solar and lunar calendars. The solar festivals -- held at the solstices, the equinoxes, and four points in between them -- are called sabbats.

http://paganwiccan.about.com/library/basics/blsabbats.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_year

The lunar holy days are called esbats, and are held at the full moon each month, and sometimes at the new moon as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbat

Many Wiccans practice witchcraft, which we see as working with the Divine energy that permeates the world to bring about change. In accordance with the Wiccan Rede, the vast majority of Wiccans will not curse or perform magic to bring harm upon anyone else.

A relatively objective (non-Wiccan) set of articles on what Wiccans do and believe:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm

Another useful article:

http://www.religionfacts.com/neopaganism/paths/wicca.htm

A good site by Wiccans:

http://wicca.timerift.net

And the US Army Chaplains Handbook excerpt on Wicca:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_usbk.htm

If you're looking to do some reading, I'd recommend "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham, and "The Triumph of the Moon" by Ronald Hutton. I advise you to stay away from anything by Silver Ravenwolf, for reasons outlined in the following essay:

http://wicca.timerift.net/ravenwolf.shtml

If you have any further questions, please feel free to email me.

Pagan for Chaplain at Syracuse U.
Mary Hudson is the second pagan chaplain to be appointed at a U.S. college.

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