Wicca/Paganism/Druidry

[Karen]

I got the idea for this topic by the "everything paranormal" topic. I'm not entirely sure Witches/Wicca fits into the paranormal category as it is is definitely a religion that people practice, and it also has a LOT of misconceptions that I'd like to try to address.

 

Druidry is a religion that is resurfacing recently, in accordance to how the Druids in Ancient Ireland would have practiced (minus any sacrifices and stuff). Because there are no real records of how the Druids practiced, a lot of the things they do are taken from neo-paganism. It started in England in the 1800's but gained momentum the next century. Today, it's based on harmony with the environment and all things. Basically, keeping in tune with the Wheel of the Year (the changing of the seasons) and all of that fun stuff. The wikipedia link is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Druidism.

 

Wicca is a topic that I have more familiarity with. When I was younger a lot of my friends experimented with Wicca and it's been a source of fascination to me. There are lots of ties between Wicca and Catholicism, actually, something that can be discussed in another topic if desired. Wiccans worship a goddess and a god, and they believe in the threefold law which states that whatever a person puts out, good or bad, will come back to them times three. Much like "what goes around comes around". They believe in harmony between five elements: earth, air, fire, water, and spirit. There are several holy days, as shown by the wheel of the year. Wicca is fairly new, having gained popularity in the mid-1900's.

 

I would like to clear this point up: Wicca is NOT satanism. I have heard many misconceptions of this point. Firstly, Wiccans do not believe in the devil specifically, and worshipping him would be going against the threefold law and the Wiccan Creed. Satanism is something awful and horrendous and a person would be very hard pressed to find a wiccan that is also a Satanist. I can guarantee - a Wiccan that worships the Devil isn't a true Wiccan. He's not a Wiccan at all, actually.

 

A lot of religions have misconceptions about Wicca, especially because of the whole Wicca/Satanism thing, and it can be really frustrating because it's just either ignorance or faulty information.

 

Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Discuss away!

 

Oh and - the link for Wicca is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca

Edited April 10, 2011 by Karen

[Arie]

That was very informative thank you for sharing Karen! I have always been interested in the Wicca religion. It is really interesting since it is so different and foreign to me. I have never really met or talked to anyone who practices Wicca. It would be interesting to have a conversation with one. I did go to Salem once and found it quiet Lhasa sting. My question is, is Salem really just a tourist stop? Or is that real Wicca in practice?

[Karen]

That was very informative thank you for sharing Karen! I have always been interested in the Wicca religion. It is really interesting since it is so different and foreign to me. I have never really met or talked to anyone who practices Wicca. It would be interesting to have a conversation with one. I did go to Salem once and found it quiet Lhasa sting. My question is, is Salem really just a tourist stop? Or is that real Wicca in practice?

 

I was born in Salem, actually Salem has made its basis for tourism off of the Witch trials, which were a very tumultuous time in history. While most people agree that the girls most likely weren't *actually* practicing witchcraft, there are two sides to everything and there is still much debate. It's a shame we can't actually ask them! Salem has made it's living off of that, but looking past the tourism it seems to be a pretty important place for Wiccans and non-wiccans alike. There are many shops that focus on selling things like Tarot cards, crystals, pentagrams, etc. While I feel that this stuff is mostly gimmicky, there may be practicing wiccans that shop there. It's really hard to differentiate which parts are real and which aren't because as a new age religion, there is much about it that could be considered a sham. However, many wiccans do gather there and I'm sure some of them find significance in it. Honestly though, it's not a place of much historical significance for wiccans - if it were me I'd probably go to stonehenge or something!

 

I think Salem, for the most part, is really touristy. For people who aren't wiccan, it can also be a nice stop - there are many beautiful, old churches there that would be great for someone studying architecture or religion. I think that significance can be put into anything; it is what you make of it.

 

I hope that kinda answers your question. I couldn't really phrase my thoughts ahah, but there you go

[Arie]

That was very helpful! Thanks so much Hun. I figured that much of it was probably mostly for tourists. When I visited it scared me a little lol. But still it is very interesting to learn about wiccans, and their practices.

[Karen]

It really is. And it's such a peaceful religion; people get misconceptions all the time so I felt it was important to clear some stuff up.

[Midnight Toker]

Thanks for this topic. On the topic on Salem, we have historical knowledge to know that the whole thing was mass hysteria mixed with ignorance of the time period. It was also a faulty law system but thanks to that tragedy, it helped to form the legal system we have now. Guilty until proven innocent no longer exists and it was because of things like that. So I guess out of the negative something positive came.

 

Anyway, I said a lot about my practice in the other thread. I don't do much of Druidism but I do include some of that practice into my rituals. I'm considered a shaman (someone who is spiritual and communicates with the dead). I know that sounds odd but that's just how it is. I turned off the ability for a few years because I needed a break from it.

 

Anyway, yes, Wiccans (and Pagans in general) are not Satanists. We do not believe in the devil. We do believe in evil but we do not believe there is one "ruler" of it all. We just think that there is evil in the world that balances the good in the world. You can't have one without the other. Nature has it's chaos.

 

Again, if you have questions, ask me. I'm not sure what I could talk about. heh.

 

Here is a list of sites that are useful:

http://www.wicca.org/

http://www.wicca.com/celtic/wicca/wicca.htm

http://mysticways.wiki.zoho.com/History-and-Types-of-Wicca.html

http://webspace.webring.com/people/jt/thewaysofold/types.html

[Karen]

Anyway, I said a lot about my practice in the other thread. I don't do much of Druidism but I do include some of that practice into my rituals. I'm considered a shaman (someone who is spiritual and communicates with the dead). I know that sounds odd but that's just how it is. I turned off the ability for a few years because I needed a break from it.

 

Anyway, yes, Wiccans (and Pagans in general) are not Satanists. We do not believe in the devil. We do believe in evil but we do not believe there is one "ruler" of it all. We just think that there is evil in the world that balances the good in the world. You can't have one without the other. Nature has it's chaos.

 

 

You speak to the dead? How so? I mean, some people are more paranormally inclined and I've known a couple in my time. One of my friends is what is considered an "indigo child". It's really interesting actually, but I think not many people know much about if. If you feel comfortable elaborating, I would love to hear!

 

Your thought about the devil (or lack thereof) is really interesting because I've been thinking about it recently. I've come into conflict with myself a lot recently because I've been thinking about the devil. Since switching my church, I've been thinking a lot about the catholic teaching of the devil and how it compares to other religions' view. The catholic church teaches about satan and he being the king of all demons and evil, but as you phrased it, I've come to the conclusion that there IS evil in the world (again as you say, it balances out the good, the rose on the thorn, so to speak) and MAYBE it manifests itself in stuff like posession, etc, but for the most part i think it mostly lies within people and evil deeds.

 

Question: Have you ever heard of the Sweep book series? It's about Wicca and it's an awesome storyline. Not accurate at all to wicca though, as it tells people witches shoot fire balls and stuff, but still a good series lol. I was jw if you've heard of it

[Midnight Toker]

I don't like talking about my abilities too much so we'll just leave at a communication is open between myself and the afterlife. It involves rituals and protection spells to ensure that no demonic entities enter or disturb what I'm doing.

 

As for what you're saying, I think that's just the way it is. I find that the concept of the devil is just to scare people into moral acts. I sometimes view the thought of one Deity that way as well. "Do good things or else the Devil will get you and you won't go to a nice place called Heaven".

 

My thoughts, and I have no clue if I'm right, is that the afterlife is layers of psychic energy that can be explained in terms of physics. We just haven't figured it out yet.

 

I have heard of that series but I haven't had the change to get my hands on it. Books seem to be so expensive nowadays.