This book is written using information I have gathered over the years and is intended for anyone who is interested in Wicca. Hopefully one day the Pagan and witchcraft practitioner community on wattpad will be much stronger until then other practiti...
Just like other religions, Wicca is based on the worship of a deity. In the specific case of Wicca however, it is a set of twin deities known as the God and the Goddess. This is because throughout the many pagan religions of old all members of the separate pantheon have the ability to fit into one of these archetypes. Pagan religions have a tendency to separate most (certainly not all as there are gender-neutral and non-binary aspects) aspects of natures into masculine and feminine energies. Wicca acknowledges this and worships these deities due to their connection with nature. Ritual worship (which will be discussed in future chapters) for Wiccans was inspired by ancient rituals in honor of the God and Goddess. They are nature bound to acknowledge our deities' naturalistic existence. In more recent times even watching the moon rise or seeing a flower blossom could feel like a spiritual ritual to the right Wiccan. To honor or God and Goddess we honor the earth as that is not only where the come from it is them and they are it. Ancient pagans saw the forces of nature around them and personified it into deities. Wiccans took these personifications and recognized that behind each of them was the blinding light of the God or Goddess. They have existed for as long as the earth has and have been worshipped since the earliest religions. Many Wiccans choose to envision the God and Goddess as the ancient gods, Zeus, Hera, Brighid, Oden, Artemis, Apollo, Saturn, Bastet, Ra, Maui, Pan, Isis - the list could last a lifetime. Attaching names to our nameless deities provides comfort to some Wiccans but for others, their namelessness provides an openness that's comforting in its own way. The God and Goddess are an equal, complementary and balanced pair, one is not greater than the other and they could not exist without the juxtaposition that the other creates. Without further ado let's get into the specifics.
The Goddess
The Goddess is the universal mother. She represents fertility, wisdom, and love. She is often regarded as the triple goddess. Three aspects within the same diety. These aspects are the maiden, the mother and the crone which are represented not only by the changing phases of the moon but by the movement of the seasons as well. Between her male pairing and the different aspects of herself, there is a balance. She is both a giver of life and death, spring and winter, sexuality and virginity. She can be worshipped as any of the ancient goddesses or as herself in all her complexities. Whether you choose to acknowledge her as Hera, Artemis, Branwen, Agrona, Mut, Hathor or as The Goddess is completely your own decision. You may only desire to worship aspects of her or her entirety. You can do this by using her name or assigning as many of the ancient goddesses to the position as you wish.
The God
The God is the sun. He represents the sky pairing perfectly with The Goddess as earth. He is sex, maturity, wine, the beginning of life, untouched forests, parties, and war. Just like his female counterpart he is a balance. He may also be worshipped in the same way, whether it be Zeus, Ra, Odin, Dagda, Apollo, Himself or any other variation, combination, etc. He is also known as the Horned God. This has no connection to the Christian idea of Satan but rather to his connection to nature, animalistic behavior and sacred animals such as the bull. There are many aspects of nature that the God and Goddess rule over together, very few are limited to only one or the other but the distinction is important to encompass all aspects of nature and the degree to which feminine or masculine energies are incorporated.
Altars
There are many ways to establish a connection with your deities and to worship them (which if desired I'll totally talk about in another chapter) but the idea of altars is commonly mentioned and many baby Wicca have questions regarding. An altar can operate as a workspace, a spiritual safety zone, and most commonly a place to connect with and worship your deities. Just like how, who, or when you worship it is something that is completely personal to you. That being said I understand that without knowing where to start the whole idea can seem rather intimidating and raise a lot of questions. I'm going to describe to you a basic altar set up and common things that are included. The set-up I will be describing will be similar to that of Scott Cunninghams (who if you don't know already is my favorite witchy author). In no way is this an exact formula. It is a foundation for you to fool around with and adjust to your liking, a starting point for if you are confused or just want to learn more. Also be aware that while many have permanent altars temporary altars are more common and I may give tidbits on how to make a pocket altar in the future for those of you who are in the broom closet, like to be more organized or are just more secretive.
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The left-hand of an altar is typically dedicated to The Goddess, tools sacred to her (the cup, the pentacle, the bell, and the besom are examples) and sometimes imagery of her or representation of her as well (White, green or silver candles can be used as a substitute for the image).
The right-hand side is often dedicated to The God. Wands, athames, imagery or red, yellow or gold candles may be placed her.
The center is offerings and items for both of them, flowers and incense are common.
Now I will give you a very simplistic altar set-up that you are completely free to mess around with as you please.
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Hi again, sorry for the long hiatus but I'm back! I lost the password to this account for a while and got to overwhelmed with life stuff to really focus on it. I've gone back and edited previous chapters and will be posting more. Expect a break down of the tools mentioned here, some colour, herb and crystal correspondence, a few basic rituals and stories on personal experiences. This book has gotten a fair bit more views than when I was lost on here (still not a lot but I'm a bit proud ahaha). Also once again if you are apart of the pagans and witches amino feel free to add me as a friend and message me letting me know where you're from! I'll make sure to follow you back and I check it way more often then wattpad. My username is shayisintheway. :)
