Wicca: A Companion for the Beginner

What is Wicca?

"A wizard is never late, nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to."
― Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

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When the word, 'Wicca' enters your mind, what do you envision? Perhaps, high school girls dressed in only black clothes wearing huge silver pentacles, or even your best friend. It could be that you are considering or are a Wiccan. I don't know about you, but when I think of the word 'Wicca,' I think of homecoming, ethical, and responsible people. I am Wiccan; it is who I am, my lifestyle, and my spirituality. For about four years, this has been my path.

In general, Wicca:

☆Is polytheistic, acknowledging the existence of multiple deities.

☆Focuses upon dedication to a pair of patron deities, a god and a goddess.

☆Is a modern religion developed in the 1940s by Gerald Gardner and which became public in the 1950s.

☆Was influenced by a variety of sources including pre-Christian religious beliefs, 19th century Romantic ideals, and various aspects of ceremonial magic.

☆Views the spiritual and material worlds as overlapping: the gods are not distant beings but entities whose presence we can experience.

☆Stresses personal experience with divinity and developing greater harmony with the larger world.

☆Involves understanding the natural cycles of the planet, particularly the yearly solar cycle and, to a lesser extent, the monthly lunar cycle.

☆Views the universe as the product of complementary opposites in a system roughly akin to the Chinese concept of yin and yang.

☆These opposites are often considered male and female forces, a practice which can be found in numerous other schools of thought, including for many centuries in Christian Europe.

☆Emphasizes balance over extremism.Commonly incorporates the platonic elements of Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Spirit into its rituals and worldview.

☆Teaches that we all are ultimately responsible for our own actions. Encourages us to consider the repercussions of available options before taking action.

This is a very general and broad description of what Wicca is. Once you permeate the surface of Wicca, you'll find a lot of differences between individuals and groups in philosophy and practice. The religion is growing exponentially, and when there's a change: there's growth and the increase of its complexity, making it more confusing for newcomers who just found this "web."

There are some vital lore and practices that are widely utilized in the Wiccan community: The Wiccan Rede, Karma, Reincarnation, Witchcraft and Magic, and the lore of the gods--to name a few.

The Wiccan Rede

"An it harm none, do what ye will."

This saying is the Wiccan Rede. Rede means advice, not law and is generally seen as a moral compass or guideline to live by. In essence, these words are like the Golden Rule. The main purpose of the Wiccan Rede is give counsel. Treat someone how you want to be treated. Not only should you be considerate of others, you should also treat yourself with some respect.

Magic

Pretty much all Wiccans are Witches too. Witchcraft is not a religion but a tool that anyone could use if they knew how to. Wicca is a religion that emphasizes the reverence of nature, contact with divinity through a personal connection, the ability to grow, and the ability to stay balanced. Witchcraft is a method of prayer for the Wiccan. It is the expression of the self that allows contact to any spirits or entities, including deity or deities. It is the tool that is interlinked with nature, and with Witchcraft, one strives for growth and balance in life by learning and daring to make changes for the better.

Karma

There is a concept or explanation of what happens when you do a certain action. This especially applies to magic. Wiccan Karma is based on cause and effect. If you do a certain action, then there is a consequence. Even by doing nothing, there's going to be an end result. For example, if you don't show up on time for your job every morning, then you'll be fired. Or, if you do a protection spell, you'll give someone your energies for protection. And, If you watch TV all day long, then you're going to lose muscle from previous workouts. So on, so on et cetera.

This concept shouldn't be confused with Karma from Hinduism or Sin from Christianity. While Karma in Hinduism and Wicca have some similarities, there are also some differences: such as how this effects you after death. Sin and Karma are both based on actions, but they have different purposes and are obviously, from two different religious systems that are incompatible.

Rule of Three

Also known as the Three-fold Law or Law of Return.

Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.

Mind the Three-fold Laws you should three times bad and three times good.

In the "Rede of the Wiccae" by Lady Gwen Thompson, the poem describes the Rule of Three in two different stanzas, spelled out above.

The Rule of Three is meant to be a lesson for second-initiates in British Traditional Wicca. It simply is to describe the exchange of actions or ideas and how their effects can multiply. For example, Person A gives Person B the gift of knowledge. Then, Person B would give their time and devotion to absorb this knowledge. In this process, both Person A and B develop a strong friendship and both learn from the trials and tribulations of the process as student and teacher. Person A gives Person B something and by returning back with an exchange, the actual effects of this trade multiplies into something so much more, and in this case, the blossoming of a friendship, the actual process of the student learning the information, and the teacher learning from the student.

Unlike the popular misconceptions out there, this is not connected with Karma directly. By doing good, you're not going to get thrice good or by doing bad, you're not going to get thrice bad. All Karma does is explain the process of cause and effect. The Wiccan Rede probably fits more with the Law of Three, which is about how to treat others and yourself: with respect. If the other person fails to take part of this exchange with purpose on hurting you, then the effect multiplies into something that festers, and in this case: any relationship with that person and your respect for that person. It's about balance within a relationship.

The number three has a symbolic meaning in the craft. Three can represent stability and completeness in a short cycle. In the case of the Law of Three, there is more than to look at thrice as a literal number, but more of a symbol.

Belief

It is important to note that Wicca is less about the objective and more about the subjective. Belief is subjective and personal. What makes someone a Wiccan is about action and how he or she applies his or her knowledge. It is important to understand this distinction in comparison to other faiths which are about the objective, and that what someone part of Wicca is based off of is: the structure of a ritual, the use of magic, and how the lore is used, for example. There are general guidelines that all Wiccans follow, like understanding that attuning with the cycles of the moon and seasons is sacred, or that balance is very important in life. However, the concept of who exactly is deity, for example, is up to the individual. Some Wiccans are polytheist. Some are pantheist.

This also applies to death. Some Wiccans believe in reincarnation, some believe in some kind of afterlife, and some believe in nothing after death.

Conclusion

Ask a Wiccan one question, you'll get 100 different responses. Wicca is a witchcraft religion steeped within neopaganism. If you think Wicca is your path, then explore it and find out. Don't worry if it's not, for it is one path out of many. This is how you can feel divinity, not how you should feel divinity.

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