Wiccan Belief

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Wiccan Belief Practices

• Modern Witchcraft
• Laura A. Wildman-Hanlon, HPs

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• Wiccan Beliefs

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Wicca

• Wicca is a contemporary Earth-based religion that
  acknowledges the sacred found within Nature
• It honors the Divine in the forms of both a God
  and Goddess.
• It has no standard creed, official system of
  doctrines or dogma. No authoritative text or holy
  book.

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Paganism

• The word Pagan comes from the Latin word
  paganus. It means country dweller or one who does
  not live in the cities. Later the word came to be
  associated with those who did not practice
  Christian beliefs.
• Neo-PaganToday many people use the prefix Neo
  to recognize the difference in practices between
  the Pagan rites of our ancient ancestors and
  those of contemporary Paganism.

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Witches and Wiccans

• Not all Witches consider themselves members of
  the Wiccan religion, although the vast majority
  of Wiccans do call themselves Witches.
• Wicca is one form of Neo-Paganism and modern
  Witchcraft. All Wiccans are Pagan, but not all
  Pagans are Witches.

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• Although Diverse, there are general trends
• Belief in plurality and tolerance of diversity of
  opinion on the forms of, and how to relate to,
  the Divine
• Polytheist
• Divinity as immanent
• Reincarnation
• Wiccan Rede / Magical Ethics
• Belief in Magic
• Beliefs/practices center around natural cycles as
  seen within agriculture and life

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IMMANENCE vs TRANSCENDENT

• Immanence the concept that the Divine is found
  within everything Nature, the buildings,
  ourselves and each other are not separate from
  the Divine.
• Transcendent Divinity is thought to reside
  outside or beyond the physical universe, so that
  God is a supernatural entity, transcendent from
  his/her creation.

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Pantheism and Animism

• Pantheism Belief that everything is God or part
  of God, or the belief that God or divinity is
  immanent in the world, sometimes in conjunction
  with the belief that the world is the body of the
  Goddess or God.
• Animism is the belief that not only are the Gods
  within everything, there is also a spiritual
  consciousness within everything. An animal has a
  soul, just like a tree also has a sense of
  existence.

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• POLYTHEISM recognizes the existence of multiple
  gods and goddesses, multiple divinities or
  deities
• HENOTHEISM is the concept that although you may
  focus your worship one deity, the others don't
  disappear or not exist. The worshiping of one
  doesn't nullify the existence of the others.

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Viewing the Gods

• Some Witches are monotheistic
  gods and goddesses are all parts of one
  great Deity.
• Some Wiccans are dualistic. All gods are one God
  and all goddesses are one Goddess.
• Still others view each Gods Goddesses as being
  an individual entity and very real.
• While some Witches do not believe in the Gods at
  all but see them as Archetypes

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Pagan Deism
Red orthodox deist position the gods are real,
personal, named, individual entities Blue Deity
exists. It is the Ultimate Sacred / Great Mystery
It is so great, we cannot hope to comprehend more
than a tiny fraction of it. So we have give 'the
gods' humanlike metaphors so that through them
we can perceive and relate to a little of It.
Yellow The gods exist only as constructs within
the human mind and imagination.
Orthodox
Great Mystery
Archetypes
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End of Life

• What Witches believe happens after death varies
• Reincarnation
• the Summer Land
• The Halls of Vahalla
• Joining the life Force
• Nothing

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GAIA HYPOTHESIS

• The earth and all things can be understood as
  being interconnected like a gigantic web. Touch
  one strand and it sends out ripples that effect
  the other threads.

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Magic

• Belief in magic is based on the idea that the
  future is composed of probabilities, not
  predetermined outcomes natural laws are not so
  much laws as they are possibilities.
• It is an understanding that everything is
  connected and that there is more to the world
  than humans can comprehend. Magic is not
  separated from the everyday because Witches see
  everyday life as magical, significant, and
  sacred.

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Ethics

• Wiccan Rede
• Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, an it harm
  none, do what ye will.
• The exact origin is uncertain. It has been
  thought to have been adapted from Aleister
  Crowleys Law of Thelema.

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• The Threefold Law of Return is based on the
  concept of cause and effect. Simply put -
  whatever energy you send out, whether for good or
  for ill, will return to you three times.
• Not all Witches believe in the Threefold Law, but
  most do.
• A version of the golden rule, it is considered
  a major deterrent for working manipulative magic

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• Wiccan Ritual
• Practices

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• Witches practice
• Solitaries alone
• With a Group A covena committed group
• Festivals Community events. Can be a day,
  weekend or week long events

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Wheel of the Year Sabbat Celebrations
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Basic Ritual Structure

• Creation/Acknowledgment of Sacred space
• Inviting / invoking the Elements of Nature
  Earth, Air, Fire, Water
• Inviting / invoking the Deities God Goddess
• Raising and directing energy / celebration
• Grounding the working
• Thanking and dismissing divinities
• Returning the space and participants to ordinary
  life

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The Circle

• To cast or conjure a circle is to intentionally
  set-up an energy barrier that will contain the
  magic made within it and keep negative energies
  out.
• The circle is visualized in three dimensions, to
  make a sphere around the ritual space. It holds
  the energy raised until it is ready to be
  released.

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The Elements General Associations

• Air East. Breath of Life. Spring.
  Dawn. New beginnings. Joy. Learning. Youth.
  
• Fire South. The Passion of Life. Summer.
  Noon. Strength. Will. Lust. Adolescence.
• Water West. The Love of Life. Autumn.
  Evening. Intuition. Love. Emotions. Healing.
  Adulthood / Maturity.
• Earth North. The Wisdom of Life.
  Winter. Night. Physical. Growth
  Abundance. Elder / Sage.

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Inviting / invoking the Deities

• Inviting the deities desired in the rite.
• This could be personal God/Goddess
• Deities that are traditionally associated with
  the Sabbat being celebrated
• Deities who represent energies or can aid in the
  magical intent of the rite

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Raising and directing energy / celebration

• The Purpose for the ritual.
• Esbat (Full Moons)
• Sabbat
• Magical working
• Healing
• To gain or lose something
• Creation of a magical talisman or other item
• Energy raised by
• Dancing, singing, drumming, meditation, chanting,
  etc.

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Grounding the working

• Energy is raised and directed (released) for the
  work / celebration
• Sharing of food and drink.
• Any left over energy is grounded into the Earth
  often includes offerings of libations to the
  deities invoked
• Helps to return the participant to ordinary
  consciousness

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Tools of the Trade

• Altar the microcosm reflecting the macrocosm
• Candles, incense, athame, oils, drum, broom,
  cauldron Clothes
• Book of Shadows
• Divination tools (Tarot cards, Runes, etc)
• But the greatest tool is the mind

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The Pentacle
Spirit

Water
Air
Fire
Earth
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Energy Magic

• The movement of energy is magic, but when Witch
  casts a spell she/he is manipulating the magical
  forces within themselves and in Nature and
  focusing it towards a specific goal.
• It is the art of changing consciousness and
  physical realities in accordance with will.
• Magic works through hidden connections,
  correspondences, and sympathy. Ritual are used
  to create metaphors for accomplishing goals with
  something tangible to remind them of their
  commitment to a particular goal.

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• Psychic Talents everybody has some level of
  psychic ability. Just like a muscle, it needs to
  be stretched and developed in order for it to
  work efficiently
• A competent Witch has taken the time to learn how
  to strengthen and direct these natural abilities
  to work magic.
• While most Wiccans do practice magic, not all do.

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Being a Witch

• Is a commitment It takes a lot of time, effort
  and self-discipline.
• Take responsibility for their own actions. There
  is no deity who removes the blemish of
  wrongdoing. You own what you do and only you can
  make amends for your transgressions. Those who
  choose to walk this difficult path do so out of a
  true spiritual calling.
• It is a religion, a way of life