← Mentorships
I am taking this from one of my books as it explains it best. This is explaining Wicca to you. As I stated, it is from one of my books...so I will post the title of the book and author as well as they deserve all the credit for this. I'll also post a link for a site where you can get the book if you'd like for like $1.50 or so...it was cheap. All of their books are.
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practioner
Written by, Scott Cunningham
Chapter 1: Wicca and Shamanism
Shamanism has been defined as the first religion. It existed prior to the earliest civilizations, before our ancestors took the first steps down the long journey to the present. Prior to this time the shamans were the medicine people, the power wielders, male and female. The wrought magic and spoke to the spirits of nature.
The shamans were the first humans with knowledge. They created, discovered, nurtured, and used it. Knowledge is power; women and men who possessed it in those far flung days were shamans.
How did shamans capture or discover this power? Through ecstasy--alternate states of consciousness in which they communed with the forces of the universe. Early shamans first attained this state thorugh the use of such "tools" as fasts, thirsts, self-infliction of pain, ingestion of hallucinogenic substances, concentration and so on. Once mastered, these techniques allowed them to gain awareness of other, non-physical worlds.
Through such "awareness shifts," all magical knowledge was obtained. Conference with spirits and deities, plants and animals opened up new vistas of learning. Among their own people, the shamans often shared some of this knowledge but reserved the rest for personal use. Shamanic lore wasn't for public consumption.
Later, shamans advanced in the use of tools to facilitate these awareness shifts, marking the advent of magical ritual. Shamans around the world stilll use tools such as drums, rattles, reflective objects, music, chants and dance. Indeed, the most effective shamanic rites are those which utilize both natural and artificial tools--a sighing wind, roaring ocean, flickering firelight, a steady drum beat, the hiss of a rattle. These combined with darkness and chants eventually overwhelm the senses, forcing a shifting from awareness of the physical world to the vaster realm of energies. Such are shamanic rites which exist to this day.
From these primitive beginnings arose all magic and religion, including Wicca. Despite current controversy as to the "antiquity" of Wicca, it is spiritually descended from such rites. Though refined and changed for our world, Wicca still touches our souls and causes ecstasy--awareness shifts--uniting us with deity. Many of the techniques of Wicca are shamanic in origin.
Therefore, Wicca can be described as a shamanic religion. As with shamanism, only a select few feel compelled to enter its circle of light.
Today, Wicca has dropped the ordeals of pain and the use of hallucinogens in favor of chanting, meditation, concentration, visualization, music, dance, invocation and ritual drama. With these spiritual tools the Wicca achieve a state of ritual consciousness similar to those attained by the most brutal shamanic ordeals.
I deliberately used the term "alternate states of consciousness." Such changed consciousness states aren't unnatural, a deviation from the "normal" waking consciousness. Wicca teaches that nature includes a broad spectrum of mental and spiritual states of which most of us are ignorant. Effective Wiccan ritual enables us to slip into such states, allowing communication and communion with the Goddess and God.
Unlike some religions, Wicca dosn't view Deity as distant. The Goddess and God are both within ourselves and manifest in all nature. This is the universality: there is nothing that isn't of the Gods.
A study of shamanism reveals much of the heart of magical and religious experience in general, and Wicca in particular. With ritual as a means to enter ritual consciousness, the shaman or Wicca constantly expands his or her knowledge, and knowledge is power. Wicca helps its practitioners to understand the universe and our place within it.
At present, Wicca is a religion with many variations. Because it is such a personally-structured system, I can only state geeneralities about its creed and form here, filtered through my experience and knowledge, to create a picture of the nature of Wicca.
Wicca in common with many other religions, recognizes Deity as dual. It reveres both the Goddess and the God. They are equal, warm and loving, not distant or resident in "heaven" but omnipresent throughout the universe.
Wicca also teaches that the physical world is one of many realities. The physical is not the absolute highest expression, nor is the spiritual "purer" than the base. The only difference between the physical and the spiritual is that the former is denser.
As in Eastern religions, Wicca also embraces the doctrine of reincarnation, that much-misunderstood subject. Unlike some Eastern philosophies however, Wicca doesn't teach that upon physical death our souls will reincarnate in anything other than a human body. Also, few of the Wicca believe wee began our existence as rocks, trees, snails or birds before we evolved to the point where we could incarnate as human beings. Though these creatures and substances do possess a type of soul, it's not the sort we humans have.
Reincarnation is accepted as fact by many millions in the East and West. It answers many questions: what happens after death? Why do we seem to remember things we've never done in this life? Why are we sometimes strangely attracted to places or people who we've never before seen?
Surely reincarnation can't answer all questions, but it is there for those who wish to study it. This isn't something that should be believed. Through contemplation, meditation and self-analysis many come to the point where they accept reincarnation as fact.
The Wiccan ideal of morality is simple: do what you want, as long as you harm none. This rule contains another unwritten condition: do nothing that will harm yourself. Thus, if you as a Wicca abuse your body, deny it the necessities of life or otherwise harm yourself, you're in violation of this principle.
This is more than survival. It also ensures that you'll be in good condition to take on the tasks of preserving and bettering our world, for concern and love for our planet play major roles in Wicca.
Wicca is a religion that utilizes magic. This is one of its most appealing and unique features. Religious magic? This isn't as strange as it might seem. Catholic priests use "magic' to transform a piece of bread into the body of a long-deceased "savior." Prayer--a common tool in many religions--is simply a form of concentration and communication with Deity. If the concentration is extended, energies are sent out with thee thoughts which may in time make the prayer come true. Prayer is a form of religious magic.
Magic is the practice of moving natural energies to effect needed change. In Wicca, magic is used as a tool to sanctify ritual areas, to improve ourselves and the world in which we live.
Many people confuse Wicca and magic as if the two words were interchangeable. Wicca is a religion that embraces magic. If you seek only to practice magic, Wicca probably isn't the answer for you.
Another fundamental point: magic isn't a means of forcing nature to do your will. This is a completely erroneous idea, fostered by the belief that magic is somehow supernatural, as if anything that exists can be outside of nature. Magic is natural. It is a harmonious movement of energies to create needed change. If you wish to practice magic, all thoughts of it being a paranormal or supernatural must be forgotten.
Most Wiccans don't believe in predestination. Although we honor and revere the goddess and god, we know that we're free souls with full control and responsibility of our lives. We can't point at an image of an evil god, such as Satan, and blame it for our faults and weaknesses. We can't blame fate. Every second of each day we're creating our futures, shaping the courses of our lives. Once a Wiccan takes full responsibility for all that she or he has done (in this life and past one) and determines that future actions will be in accord with higher ideals and goals, magic will blossom and life will be a joy.
That perhaps is at the core of Wicca--it is a joyous union with nature. The Earth is a manifestation of divine energy. Wicca's temples are flower-splashed meadows, forests, beaches, and deserts. When a Wicca is ourdoors she or he is actually surrounded by sanctity, much as is a Christian when entering a church or cathedral.
Additionally, all nature is constantly singing to us, revealing Her secrets. Wiccans listen to the Earth. They don't shut out the lessons that She is so desperately trying to teach us. When we lose touch with our blessed planet, we lose touch with Deity.
These have been some of the basic principles of Wicca. They are the true Wicca; the rituals and myths are secondary to these ideals and serve to celebrate them.
The Complete book of Shadows (ritual book) included in Section III is a guide to constructing your own. Because these rituals are outer form only, you needn't be chained to them. Change rites as the mood strikes you. As long as the rite attunes you with the Deities, all is fine.
Don't shut out the physical world in favor of the spiritual or magical realms, for only through nature can we experience these realities. We are here on the Earth for a reason. Do, however, use ritual to expand your awareness so that you are truly at one with all creation.
The way is open. The ancient Goddess and God await within and around you. May they bless you with wisdom and power.
