Wicca FAQ Ivan Richmond Sunday, May 14, 2006 Modified slightly by Valerie Voigt, January 2007 What do Wiccans believe? Wicca is defined in terms of practice, rather than belief. It is up to each Wiccan to figure out for himself or herself what he or she believes about Divinity. Some of the most common beliefs in Wicca are duotheism (belief in a Goddess and a God), monotheism (usually belief in a Goddess), and polytheism (belief in multiple Deities). The duotheistic and monotheistic belief systems often also entail some aspect of Monism--the belief that there is one Divine, but that this supreme being has many faces or aspects. Many duotheists believe that all Gods are one God and all Goddesses are one Goddess. Many monotheists believe that all Deities are one Goddess. It should be noted, however, that many Wiccans don't see Divinity so literally. Some see it as metaphor or in terms of archetypes. Some distinguish between objective reality and subjective experience: they ask, if they experience some Deity making a suggestion to them about their lives and that suggestion helps, does it matter whether or not that Deity actually exists in objective, physical reality? What do Wiccans Practice? As stated above, Wicca is defined in terms of practice; and commonalities in spiritual practice are what unite different traditions (branches or lineages) of Wicca. Most Wiccans celebrate eight seasonal holidays at the two solstices, the two equinoxes, and the four crossquarters (the halfway points between the solstices and equinoxes). Most Wiccans also honor the phases of the moon. Depending on the tradition, rituals will be held at various portions of the lunar cycle, either at the full moon, while the moon is waxing, while the moon is waning or during the dark moon. Most Wiccan traditions also emphasize various mystical practices, such as meditations, visualizations, or work with spiritual symbols. For example, a common symbology is to associate each of the four elements with an aspect of the human psyche. Usually Air is associated with the intellect, Fire with passion and will, Water with emotions and intuition, and Earth with mundane matters such as bodily health and material wealth. A common mystical practice is to work to bring about balance of all of these things within the practitioner. Another defining characteristic of Wicca is a common ritual structure, which may vary slightly from group to group. Formal ritual space in Wicca is always a Circle. The structure is as follows: cast the Circle (create sacred space); purify and bless the space and the congregants; call the quarters (honor each of the four elements, four directions, four quarters of the day, four phases of the moon, four seasons and the like); ask Divinity to come into the sacred space; perform the main activity of the ritual (such as a seasonal celebration or a magical operation or "working"); partake in a ritual feast (this is often just "cakes and wine", but might also be a full feast); thank Divinity; dismiss the quarters (say farewell to the four quarters;) and open Circle (make the sacred space mundane again). Wiccan rituals can therefore be performed anywhere, and all places are considered sacred. Do Wiccans Practice Magic? It depends on one's definition of "magic". Most people in mainstream culture define magic as something supernatural, but many Wiccans define it in very different terms. One definition of magic is the language of communication with the subconscious. Magic can be looked at as symbolism and metaphor, as tuning into patterns, or as honoring natural forces. Above, the concept of subjective experience versus objective reality was discussed in regard to Divinity. This notion is also applied by many Wiccans to magic. If using magic works, why does it matter how it works? Other Wiccans would look at magic as having a powerful psychological affect. Let's say you need a new job and you use magic with the intention of getting one. Maybe you'll do better in your job interview, because you'll be more confident. Maybe you'll also better tune in to the patterns of job hunting, such that you'll write a better resume and say the right things in the interview. If all of this lands you the job, maybe the magic wasn't supernatural at all, but merely a natural technique for helping you get the job. Wiccans often also define mystical practices, such as practices that get the practitioner in touch with different aspects of his or her soul, as magic. Many-probably most-Wiccans also do the sort of thing, such as working magic to get a job, that outsiders see as magic. Formost, perhaps, it's more powerful to make yourself a well-rounded person than to work magic to get things. What are Wiccan Ethics? Different traditions of Wicca have different statements of ethics, but the most common statement is known as the Wiccan Rede. The Wiccan Rede is, "An it harm none, do as ye will", which means, "if it harms no one, do what you Will". It's important to understand, here, the difference between "will" and desire. Will, in many forms of Wicca, is defined as that which is truly fulfilling and meaningful in your life. It's that which causes an artist to make art. It's that which drives one. Desire is simply that which one wants or thinks that one wants, regardless of whether or not it would truly be fulfilling. A less common formulation of ethics is, "Do as thou Wilt is the whole of the Law. Love is the Law, Love under Will." There is an objection to the Wiccan Rede, which is that it's not always possible to avoid harm to others. What about self defense? What about getting a job? Aren't you harming every other candidate for the job by taking the job instead of them? The notion that Love is the greatest ethic avoids this problem. You can still want the people you competed with on a job hunt to find other jobs. You can still have compassion for someone who assaults you even while defending yourself. You can still realize that the miscreant is a human being with dreams and ambitions who, for whatever reason, has been misguided. Is Wicca Pagan? Yes. A dictionary definition of Paganism is any religion outside of Judeo-Christianity (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), but that would include Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Taoists and others who might not have ever thought of themselves as "Pagan". Certainly, Wicca is a separate religion from Judaism, Christianity and Islam, though I'll note that many Wiccans include Jesus as one of their Deities. Some view the Judeo-Christian God as one and the same as the Wiccan Divinity, or at least an aspect thereof. A different definition of "Paganism" is any attempt to get back to pre-Judeo-Christian religiosity. Wicca usually works with conceptions of Divinity from such peoples as the ancient Celts, Norse, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians or Mesopotamians. By both counts, Wicca would be Pagan and just about all Wiccans would define Wicca as a Pagan religion in both senses. However, it should be mentioned that not all Paganism is Wiccan. There are modern Pagan religions that do not consider themselves to be Wiccan at all, that are trying to revive the worship of one or more ancient pantheon. I've studied ancient Pagan religions and many of them have highly unethical practices. Does Wicca include such practices? No! Wiccan practices are peaceable and ethical. That being said, it's important to debunk some misconceptions about ancient Pagan practices. Most ancient animal sacrifices were nothing more than ritual slaughtering of animals to be cooked and eaten for ritual feasts. Remember that until very recently, people couldn't just go to the grocery store for meat. They could only have meat if they slaughtered an animal. Since modern people have no need of slaughtering animals, Wiccan feasts that include meat dishes have no need of animal sacrifices. Gathering together and eating food has been a sacred act since prehistoric times. Also, most ancient human sacrifices were either the public execution of criminals in a ritualized way or the killing of slaves, which ancient people, unfortunately, thought of as mere property. Obviously, in modern times, we as a civilization do not condone slavery and most of us are opposed to public executions. Our civilization is, of course, opposed to murder. Wiccans are no exception to this modern sensibility. Is Wicca a Cult? No. It's totally the opposite. Cults are organizations, religious or otherwise, that typically have central, charismatic leadership, ask their followers to give up all earthly belongings (usually by giving their possessions to the organization), practice brainwashing, encourage separation from family and from mainstream society, pressure members to conform to the group in every belief and practice, and feature rigid, top-down organization. Wicca encourages its members to be their own, self-actualized individuals who think for themselves. One goal of Wicca is to train its congregants to priest to themselves. It has almost no hierarchy outside of individual small groups. It generally invites its members to speak their opinions, even if those opinions conflict with those of Wiccan leaders. It encourages each member to find his or her own understanding of Divinity. It promotes self-empowerment. Wiccan leaders and organizations usually require little or nothing in terms of money from congregants. When money is asked for, a common phrase in Wiccan groups is, "A sliding scale donation is requested, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds." So, Wicca, in general, has exactly the opposite qualities from those of cults. It should be noted that some modern "mega-churches" do have the qualities of cults. See the Appendix for more information about cults and other groups. Is Wicca for women only? Although some Wiccan groups allow only women to join, most welcome sincere persons regardless of sex. There are also Wiccan groups that allow only men, or only gay persons, and so on, in order to focus on issues specifically affecting these groups; but all of these special-focus groups, even taken together, are far fewer than inclusive groups. Where can I find more information? Websites: http://www.witchvox.org http://www.cog.org http://www.sacred-texts.com/ http://neopagan.net Books: Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler On Witchcraft specifically: Natural Magic and ABC of Witchcraft by Doreen Valiente (also any other books written by this author) The Witches' Way by Janet and Stewart Farrar (also any other books written by these authors) The Spiral Dance by Starhawk. This book has a decidedly feminist slant, and is very good in many ways (particularly the exercises), but is somewhat simplistic and neglects male perspective altogether. The historical information is also mostly nonsense. The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries by Z. Budapest. Woman-separatist Witchcraft. Night Battles by Carlo Ginsburg. This is a scholarly historical work. Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath by Carlo Ginsburg. This is a scholarly historical work. Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton. (also any other books written by this author) Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America by Sabina Magliocco Bonewits's Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca by Isaac Bonewits (also any other books written by this author). This book assumes you have read lots of other books first. All of this author's books are very good, and can be purchased in many places, including the author's web site: http://neopagan.net/ SilverRaven Wolf is another popular writer about the craft. Her most recent works are the best, and look decent, though we've only given them a glance-not a thorough reading. Patricia Monaghan a good writer about women's history and spirituality, and she's also a fine scholar. All of her books are good, especially The Book of Goddesses and Heroines. Books Valerie does NOT recommend: The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara Walker. A hopeless hodgepodge of facts, mistakes, and outright lies by an author who doesn't know what she's talking about. The White Goddess by Robert Graves. It's a personal theological manifesto, and valid as such, but the information in it (history, tree alphabet, etc.) is totally bogus. A very influential book, though. Books by Merlin Stone, Robert Briffault, Elizabeth Gould Davis. All of these contain a lot of nonsense masquerading as history. Merlin Stone has the virtue of being an artist, however, and has some nice visual materials. The Advanced Bonewits' Cult Danger Evaluation Frame (version 2.6) Note: the formatting of this section did not translate to .txt file form well at all. The idea is simply to rate each factor from 1 to 10, and then see what the score is. The higher the score, the more "cultish"-and more dangerous-a group is. A score of 180 is 100% "cultish"-I hope I never meet any group like that! ---VV Factors: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Low High 1 Internal Control: Amount of internal political and social power exercised by leader(s) over members; lack of clearly defined organizational rights for members. 1 _________________________ 2 External Control: Amount of external political and social influence desired or obtained; emphasis on directing members' external political and social behavior. 2 _________________________ 3 Wisdom/Knowledge Claimed by leader(s); amount of infallibility declared or implied about decisions or doctrinal/scriptural interpretations; number and degree of unverified and/or unverifiable credentials claimed. 3 _________________________ 4 Wisdom/Knowledge Credited to leader(s) by members; amount of trust in decisions or doctrinal/scriptural interpretations made by leader(s); amount of hostility by members towards internal or external critics and/or towards verification efforts. 4 _________________________ 5 Dogma: Rigidity of reality concepts taught; amount of doctrinal inflexibility or "fundamentalism;" hostility towards relativism and situationalism. 5 _________________________ 6 Recruiting: Emphasis put on attracting new members; amount of proselytizing; requirement for all members to bring in new ones. 6 _________________________ 7 Front Groups: Number of subsidiary groups using different names from that of main group, especially when connections are hidden. 7 _________________________ 8 Wealth: Amount of money and/or property desired or obtained by group; emphasis on members' donations; economic lifestyle of leader(s) compared to ordinary members. 8 _________________________ 9 Sexual Manipulation of members by leader(s) of non-tantric groups; amount of control exercised over sexuality of members in terms of sexual orientation, behavior, and/or choice of partners. 9 _________________________ 10 Sexual Favoritism: Advancement or preferential treatment dependent upon sexual activity with the leader(s) of non-tantric groups. 10 _________________________ 11 Censorship: Amount of control over members' access to outside opinions on group, its doctrines or leader(s). 11 _________________________ 12 Isolation: Amount of effort to keep members from communicating with non-members, including family, friends and lovers. 12 _________________________ 13 Dropout Control: Intensity of efforts directed at preventing or returning dropouts. 13 _________________________ 14 Violence: Amount of approval when used by or for the group, its doctrines or leader(s). 14 _________________________ 15 Paranoia: Amount of fear concerning real or imagined enemies; exaggeration of perceived power of opponents; prevalence of conspiracy theories. 15 _________________________ 16 Grimness: Amount of disapproval concerning jokes about the group, its doctrines or its leader(s). 16 _________________________ 17 Surrender of Will: Amount of emphasis on members not having to be responsible for personal decisions; degree of individual disempowerment created by the group, its doctrines or its leader(s). 17 _________________________ 18 Hypocrisy: amount of approval for actions which the group officially considers immoral or unethical, when done by or for the group, its doctrines or leader(s); willingness to violate the group's declared principles for political, psychological, social, economic, military, or other gain. 18 _________________________ A German translation of the 2.0 version of this is available at: Isaac Bonewits' Sektengefahr Checkliste. A French translation of the 2.6 version is available at: Grille avancée de Bonewits pour l'évaluation du danger potentiel d'une secte. An Italian translation of the 2.6 version is available at: Documento Avanzato di Isaac Bonewits per la Valutazione del Pericolo del Culto. A Polish translation of the 2.6 version is available at: Zaawansowany Kwestionariusz Bonewitsa Oceniajacy Niebezpieczenstwo Sekty A Portuguese translation of the 2.6 version is available at: A Ferramenta Avançada de Bonewits para Avaliação de Seitas. Other translations will be posted as they are done. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Low High Copyright (c) 1979, 2001 c.e., Isaac Bonewits. This text file may be freely distributed on the Net, provided that no editing is done, the version number is retained, and everything in this notice box is included. 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