Wiccan Religion
The Wiccan religion is a Neopagan religion that supposedly originated in England in the early 20th century. Although its date of origin is disputed, the role of Gerald Gardner (an English civil servant), in popularizing the religion in the 1940s is beyond doubt. He called it witchcraft or the witch occult. However, the belief formally came to be known as the Wicca Coach Handbags, in the 1960s. The followers are called the Wiccans or witches. Now let us know about the beliefs and traditions of this faith.
The Beliefs
Popularity of the Wiccan religion is growing steadily in the US and Europe, mainly amongst the teenagers. It is individuals today claim that through their existing religious beliefs, they don't find answers to the questions that rage on in their minds. Many young Wiccans find the beliefs of the socially accepted religions, paternalistic and autocratic. As per them, what attracted them was its belief in finding peace and harmony with the universe using natural means. It aims at tapping supernatural powers that can be used for the greater good of mankind. It allows for freedom of action Coach Handbags, which is regulated within a moral code, that allows its followers to act in any way that they want, provided their actions does not harm others.
Religious Ideology
There are a number of traditions or groups within the ideology which vary in the beliefs and practices that they follow. However, the belief in afterlife, magic and certain religious ideologies are common with all other religions. Wiccans most commonly worship two gods. One is the Triple Goddess and the other is the horned God. As per this belief the religion is duotheistic. However, certain follow what is known as pantheism. Such people believe that the God and the Goddess together represent the single supreme entity who is sometimes called 'the One' or 'the Prime Mover'. Those who are polytheistic worship a number of deities, each being a separate and distinct entity. On the contrary, for some, the God and the Goddess are not any distinct entities but represent thought forms. Hence technically, such Wiccans can be called atheists.
Belief in Reincarnation
Similar to the variations in theological views, there are various perceptions about afterlife among various Wiccan groups. All of them believe that the human soul reincarnates a number of times to learn new lessons and raise itself on moral strengths and spiritual knowledge through every birth. However, for some of them, a soul is born as a human being every time, whereas, other groups believe that a soul can reincarnate as any animal species.
Magic(k) and Witchcraft
Most Wiccans believe in magic. The word is spelled as 'magick'. This is to distinguish it from the tricks for entertainment that magic usually involves. For them, magic is a way by which the forces of nature can be used to bring about positive and desirable results. They use spells or workings during ritual practices which are aimed at healing, for protection or to repel negative forces. Some Wiccans call their magic as 'white magic' which is to distinguish it from black magic that is believed to invoke the Satan. They use witchcraft and sorcery to bring about positive changes. It is for this reason that the Wicca religion is also referred to as the 'Witchcraft' or just the 'Craft' and its practices are considered as modern witchcraft. However, here it becomes important to distinguish it from the evil with which witchcraft and witches have been associated for long, and understand the true meaning of the practice. Witchcraft had a strong basis in pagan religions. In older times it was regarded as the 'Craft of the Wise' because the witches knew that man stood below nature. They were well versed with the forces of nature and the healing powers of herbs and used them to treat the malaise of mankind. The negativity associated with witchcraft finds roots in the myths of the medieval Church which was aimed to discredit every belief and practice of the pagan religions.
Moral Code
As far as morality is concerned, there are no strict rules other than the Wicca Rede that says "an it harm none, do what ye will". This principle highlights the freedom of act and simultaneously a sense of responsibility that it professes. In certain Wicca traditions there is the 'Law of Threefold Return' that governs moral conduct. As per this law good or bad deeds of an individual come back to him three times magnified. Some Wiccans revere the 'five elements'- air, water, earth, sun and the Aether or the spirit that unites the other four elements. There are also certain Wiccans who believe in cultivating the eight virtues which are honor, humility, mirth, power, strength, reverence beauty and compassion.
Some Facts
It is the largest of all the Neopagan religions.
It is in sharp contrast with Christianity as it is a highly decentralized one as compared to the latter. As is already clear from the variations in beliefs in practices of the Wiccans, each group has modified its beliefs and rituals which is centralized around just one principle, and that is not causing harm to anyone.
Due to years of efforts of the Church to discredit anything that is Pagan, the Wiccans are easily and wrongly identified as worshipers of the Satan.
Their religious ideologies are based upon the Mother Earth cults of the Celtic and Nordic people who inhabited Europe before the advent of Christianity. It is a religion that revers the power of the feminine as the creator of everything around.
It is most commonly represented by the pentagram - the five point star. Each point stands for one of the five elements revered by the Wiccans. Other symbols that are used are the triquetra and the triple moon symbol, signifying the Triple Goddess.
Unlike most other religions, they do not have set tenets written in a sacred book. They however, follow the texts contained in the Book of Shadows, the content of which were changed by Gerard Gardner more than once.
The festivals that they celebrate are known as Sabbats. These are equally spaced throughout a year and together form the Wheel of the Year that represents the annual cycle of the different seasons.
While most Wiccans adhere to a lineage Wicca or a tradition Coach Handbags, there are some who are solitary practitioners of the religion. As per the followers, the Wiccan religion is mired with misconceptions rising from our beliefs in modern religions. On the other hand, some research has shown that it originated from certain ancient Celtic religions that practiced sacrifice. Its origin may leave some scope for criticism. However, with due respect to the beliefs of all religions, I feel that as long as a faith allows its followers freedom of act with the requirement that their act does not harm anyone (including themselves), there should not be any objection to practicing the religion. Related：
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