All you wanted to know about Wicca

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Wicca is a very old religion that demonstrates respect for others as well as accountability for one’s dealings. It is not linked to the devil,  animal sacrifice or cults. Wiccans have faith in the sacredness of life and worship a double deity, a God and a Goddess

Wicca was initially used to differentiate the initiatory tradition of witchcraft which was practised as a religion.  Also known as the “The Craft of the Wise”, Wicca is one of the religions based on earth and is said to be closest to Native American spirituality. It involves Celtic deities, seasonal days of celebration and ceremonial magick.

Wiccan morality is based on the  eWiccan Rede, “An it harm none, do what thou wilt.” Or the slightly modified “An it harm none, do what ye will; if harm it does, do what ye must.” Where “An” is an outdated word which means “if”. The Rede is steered more towards personal responsibility rather than religious authority. One of the main differences between Wiccans and other kinds of witchcraft is the Rede.

A lot of traditional witches do not have faith in the Rede. This is a main topic of argument within the Pagan and Wiccan communities.  Plenty of Wiccans endorse the Law of Threefold Return or the fact that anything one does will be returned to them three fold. What it means is that good deeds come back magnified three times to the doer and so do the bad deeds.

Wiccans basically worship the Goddess and the God often called the Horned God. Some traditions like the Dianic Wiccans worship the Goddess; the God plays a small role if at all. Some Gardnerian Wiccans do not say they are duo theistic but may practice polytheism or they could be any one of agnostics, pantheists or animists.

Wiccans celebrate eight Sabbats, four cross quarter days Beltane, Samhain, Lammas and Imbolc, the solstices of Yule and Litha and equinoxes Mabon and Ostara. Besides they hold rituals called Esbats whenever there is a full or new moon.

Quite a few Wiccans are of the opinion that no magic can be performed on another person without his/her permission; the exception being in the case of pets or little children who can be protected by their owners or parents. Sometimes when the permission is sought but not yet received, the energy is put in an astral space for the recipient to pick if and when he/she thinks fit.

All Wiccans are witches but all witches are not Wiccan. They both practice magick and spells and that is about all they have in common. Wicca is a religion; witchcraft on the other hand, is not. Witches practice magick and worship their gods and goddesses in their own way and do not follow the typical methods of the Wiccans.

There are different kinds of witches like the Hedge, Fairy and Kitchen witches. Those who look for the real magick of witchcraft, may need to study for several years before they earn the title of witch but it takes more than study; you need a lot of practical knowledge too.

Quite a few witches are hereditary witches meaning the skills and knowledge that they possess have been handed down to them by a member of the family who was a witch. Then again, just because a family member was a witch, he/she doesn’t become one as a matter of course, it is a chosen path. Witches are well-informed about the spells, properties of healing herbs, prediction, natural and spiritual energies. Witchcraft itself is not linked to any religion so a person can be a witch as well as practice some other religion or not at all.

A witch may practise wicca ceremonials in traditional wiccan clothing of a robe alone or be a modern witch and wear a dress or even jeans and a t-shirt.  Here you will find a variety of ideas on wiccan clothing.