))( )(( Blessed Be - A Thread About Wicca ))( )((

[The_9th_Doctors_Rose]

I've decided to redo this thread and restructure it in a way that will make the information given here easier to find.

I will be copying a lot of the posts from the other thread into archive posts here (So they won't be lost forever). This will take a while to do but I feel it will be well worth it. Please do not post here. If you would like you may continue to post in the other thread till I take it down.


Poll Results From Previous Thread:

show spoilerhide spoiler

Wiccan?

Yes
50% [ 14 ]

No, but I'd like to learn.
14% [ 4 ]

Its not for me but its interesting.
14% [ 4 ]

No, its def not for me.
21% [ 6 ]

Poll Whore.
0% [ 0 ]

Total Votes : 28

 

[The_9th_Doctors_Rose]

Introduction:

Merry We Meet!

Welcome all to Blessed Be, A Wiccan Discussion Thread. Perhaps you are a long standing Wiccan? Or perhaps you are curious about what Wicca is? Either way this is a good place to be I think. 4laugh



What is Wicca?
Wicca is a Neo pagan religion based on Nature Worship. Despite what many people believe and will tell you Wiccans do not worship the devil, we don't even believe in him. Wicca is a very peaceful and loving religion. What one believes is up to their tradition. A tradition is a branch of Wicca. There are many different traditions.

I myself am a solitary eclectic Wiccan. This means that I practice alone instead of part of a group (Coven). Eclectic basically means you choose. You choose what deities to worship, what to study, etc etc.

Basically a majority of Wiccans live by the same rules.

The Rule of Three - Everything you do comes back on you threefold. If you do something good then you will receive good things in return three times as strong. If you do something bad it also comes back on you three times as strong.

And

An It Harm None, Do what ye Will. - You can do whatever you want as long as you are not hurting yourself or others.

Simple, no?

Wiccans generally believe in A God and A Goddess. Again this changes from person to person and tradition to tradition.

Many Wiccans do magick. Magick is basically using your inner strength and energy to change the world around you. Magick is all about the intent. If one is malicious in their magick, they perform black magick which is very bad. Black magick includes magick that will change other peoples' will and magick done for someone without their permission. If one performs a spell for someone else without their permission it may go against their beliefs or change their will causing more harm than good.

Wiccans generally celebrate eight sabbats (Holidays) these correspond with the Wheel of the Year.

The eight sabbats are:
Imbolc
Ostara
Beltane
Summer Solstice
Lughnassad
Mabon
Samhain
Yule

I will post more about these later in depth if requested.

Wiccans also celebrate Esbats monthly.

More on Esbats later.

Deities

Wiccans worship deities from whatever Parthenon(s) they choose. A Parthenon is basically any religion past or present (ie Egyptian, Greece, Roman, Norse, etc, etc.) Many people find themselves drawn to one particular Parthenon. Its best to start out learning all you can about your favorite Parthenon instead of trying to learn them all at once. Most people are drawn to a particular deity or deities. These are the deities they feel closest to and are called Patron deities. My Patron deities are Athena and Hermes.

These are just some of the very basic basics of Wicca. I hope to post more information eventually. If you have a particular thing you would like to know about feel free to pm me or post requests here. igHeart:


Merry We Part.


 

[The_9th_Doctors_Rose]

Resources:

Websites:
* Messages in the Moonlight
*The Witches' Voice
* Wiccan Traditions
*Kemetic Wicca
*Major Gods and Goddesses of the World


Books:
*Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin - Recommended by anticupid16
*The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft by Denise Zimmerman & Katherine A. Gleason

Facebook Pages:
*DailyWicca  

[The_9th_Doctors_Rose]

God & Goddess of the Week:

Hermes & Athena



My favorite story involving Hermes & Athena:
The Story of Perseus  

[The_9th_Doctors_Rose]

Past Gods & Goddesses of the Week:  

[The_9th_Doctors_Rose]

Pictures:
Dancing in a Wiccan Wonderland  

[The_9th_Doctors_Rose]

Sabbats

• What is a Sabbat?

A Sabbat is a Wiccan Holiday. On these holidays Wiccans celebrate the God & the Sun. There are eight Sabbats. Sabbats are naturally occurring events. They mark the Equinoxes - the two days a year when night & day are the same length, The Solstices - the longest day & night of the year, & the midpoints between these occurrences.

The Sabbats follow the Wheel of the Year. In Wicca the year is seen as s turning Wheel. Once it has completed a rotation, it keeps going & spins around again & again.



•Samhain (October 31st): Halloween, The Witches New Year -
Samhain (SOW-wen or sah-VEEN), one of the greater Sabbats, is probably the witches' greatest holiday. It marks the death of the Lord, and its also the start of a new year. On Samhain, witches hold celebrations to honor the dead. Like most people, witches celebrate at night.


•Yule (December 21st): The Winter Solstice -
Yule, one of the lesser Sabbats marks the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. It is also the time when the God is reborn & light begins to return to the earth. Wiccans celebrate by exchanging gifts, decorating a tree, hanging holly and mistletoe, singing, feasting, and burning a Yule Log. Exchanging gifts represents hope for the future, and the gift that the Lady has bestowed upon the earth by giving birth to the Lord, who is the Sun. The Yule Log is burned in the evening. It symbolizes the Lord reborn, & the return of the Sun. Every year some of the log is saved & is used to light the log of the next year. In this way the fire of the log is symbolically reborn as well.

A Note: Some people believe that Christ was actually born in the spring, but that church authorities decided to celebrate his birthday in the winter. They did this because they could not stop the Pagans from celebrating Yule at the time of the Winter Solstice. They hoped that the celebration of Christmas during the Pagan holiday would help convert the Pagans to Christianity.

•Imbolc (February 2nd): Rebirth of the Sun
Imbolc (IM-bolk) also called Candlemas, is the time when Wiccans celebrate the renewing fertility of the earth. Imbolc is a Greater Sabbat & a time to celebrate with seeds or newly germinating ideas. It is a time for purification. It is also a great time for spring cleaning too, getting rid of things you don't need & getting ready for the spring season to come.

•Ostara (March 21st): The Spring Equinox
(oh-STAR-ah) The Lord & Lady are seen as young and innocent at this time of the year. The day and night are of equal duration at the Spring or Vernal Equinox. A Wiccan celebration of Ostara includes boiled & decorated eggs. Some Wiccans do egg hunts & eat chocolate bunnies. This is a good time of year to buy a new ritual broom for sweeping out negative energies.

Many symbols of Ostara are common to Easter. Eggs have been a symbol of renewed life & fertility since the time of the Ancient Egyptians and Persians. In fact, in both cultures people dyed eggs & ate them in honor of the returning spring. The Egyptians also saw hares or rabbits, associated with the moon, as symbols of fertility and rebirth.

A note: Ostara (or Eostra) is the Teutonic Goddess of Spring & Fertility. The Christian holiday Easter gets its name from this Goddess.


•Beltane (April 30th) : Handfasting of the Lord & Lady.
At Beltane (BEL-tayne) the Lord has reached manhood, & he and the Lady unite in a handfasting.
To celebrate, many Wiccans dance around a maypole (a male phallic symbol) or focus on a cauldron, the symbol of the Lady who becomes pregnant at Beltane. Celebrants wear flowers or wreaths of green foliage.

A note: A Handfasting is a Wiccan Marriage Ceremony.


•Summer Solstice (June 21st): A Midsummer Dream
The Summer Solstice marks the longest day of the year. The Lord & the Lady are at their peak & everything is green & growing. Wicfans give reverence at this time but don't usually hold large celebrations. Midsummer Night's Eve has traditionally been a great day to perform love & healing magick.

•Lughnassad (August 2nd): The Early Harvest
(Loo-nus-uh) Marks the beginning of the fall harvest, the day on which the grain is cut. It gets its name from the multitalented Celtic God Lugh who, in addition to being King of the Gods, is associated with the Sun, magick, art, strength, courage, & music. Some Wiccans celebrate this Sabbat on the beach & build a sand sculpture of the moribund God to honor & mourn him. As fall approaches he starts to lose his strength. But the Goddess is pregnant with the God who will be reborn at Yule. Lughnassad is also called the Feast of Bread or Lammas, which means loaf mass. Wiccans often bake & hood feasts on this holiday to celebrate the plenty at this time of year. Houses can be decorated for the holiday with a wreath. Many Wiccans place fruits and vegetables on their altars while doing rituals.

•Mabon (September 21st): Harvest Festival
The second harvest is held on the Autumn Equinox to celebrate the last fruits of the year. Some people call this Holiday Harvest Home. The Lord is preparing for his death at Samhain & the Lady is beginning to mourn his loss. Night & day are of equal duration on this date, & you can feel the approach of winter & darkness. Rituals to honor this Sabbat include feasts with Late-season vegetables such as squash, nuts, sheaves of late wheat, & ears of corn. A cornucopia, a symbol of prosperity & plenty, is a nice addition to altars at this time of year. Some witches like to perform food magick on this Holiday.  

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