The Basics Of Wicca

First, let me give you my Basics of Wicca write-up, which is my own take on Wicca based on 13 years of practice. It will suggest a couple of truly informative books for you to read. 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.

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 Wicca religion is the Wicca 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 Wicca's 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."

Wicca"s honor Deity as both male and female, god and goddess or at the very least as goddess. Many Wicca's believe that the universe is the body of god/goddess, and therefore that all things contain divine energy and that the world itself is sacred. Some Wicca's are polytheists, many god /goddesses, others are duo theists, 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.

Wicca's generally do not believe that god/goddess is separate from the world; therefore, we have no concept of salvation, since god/goddess is present to all and always. Many Wicca's believe that god/goddess 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 Wicca operates as their own priest/priestess. We do not have a distinction between clergy and laity. Therefore, each Wicca is responsible for their own personal development and for forging their own relationship with god/goddess. Some Wicca's 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 Wicca's who practice outside of traditional coven structure. Others simply practice alone.

Wicca's 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.

Wicca's have celebrations that 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. The lunar holy days are called esbats, and are held at the full moon each month, and sometimes at the new moon as well.

Many people practice witchcraft, which we see as working with the Divine energy that permeates the world to bring about change. In accordance with the Wicca Rede, the vast majority of Wicca's will not curse or perform magic to bring harm upon anyone else. A relatively objective, non-Wicca set of articles on what Wicca's do and believe:

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. The best advice I can give you is to pick up the Cunningham book I mentioned and start living the rites of worship and the sabbats as he outlines them.

His book contains pretty much everything you need to get started. Wicca is not something you do one or two days a week, it is a way of life that keeps you in touch with the Lord and the Lady with every breath you take and every beat of your heart. I truly hope that it turns out to be a wonderful and fulfilling path for you. Many Wicca's have significant problems with them and their teachings.

Be sure that when you do your Wicca you do it for all the right reasons. There are a lot of people out there that don't understand and if they think they understand they take that to the wrong place and then you won't hear from them or anything like that. I am not saying that you need to hide it I am just saying that you should keep things like magic of witchcraft to yourself of to the people that are in your coven.