A place for all who worship the Lord and Lady

Wicca or ?

 

At the present time there are thousands of websites everywhere claiming to be Wiccan. The question is; are they Wiccan or something else altogether?

The first way to answer this question is their relation to Gerald Gardner. Gerald Gardner started Wicca. For those that are going to rant and say “NO, Wicca is centuries old!” you are wrong. Witchcraft may be older but Wicca came about in approximately the 1950’s with the publication of Witchcraft Today by Gerald Gardner. Wicca is a lineage religion, which means not everything can be called Wicca. To be classified as Wiccan you need to be linked by lineage or theology. Some Wiccans who can claim lineage say that is the only way to become Wiccan. However it is the opinion of the author that a link by theology can also classify one as Wiccan.

A link by theology has to be proven. Many so called Wiccans on the net haven’t even heard of Gardner. If one has read as much Gardnerian Wicca resources as available, understands them, could teach them to others and also has valid reasons for NOT following Gardners works then they can claim theology lineage. A person can not read a few sites that are occult related, put a few concepts together and call it Wicca. In short understand the origins, original concepts, original wording and practices before finding your own way, otherwise it is not Wicca.

A second way to answer the question on whether something is Wiccan or not; is how much it differs from the core concepts of Wicca. Eclectic Wicca is a term often heard but how far can you take eclecticism before it isn’t Wicca anymore?

An eclectic Wiccan who takes from many sources needs to be responsible at all time for the elements they bring into their practices. This is true for circle casting and also true for their general beliefs and practises. As an eclectic you may use Greek deities for one ritual, but other times use Egyptian mythology and never be part of one solid tradition. In a general practice this is fine but it would not be ideal to be using both Greek and Egyptian deities in the SAME ritual. This would be considered a mixing of energies and is not an ideal practise.

This means that some responsibility has to be taken by the practitioner not to mix energies in this way during ritual. One of the best ways to ensure this is to fully understand every single part of every ritual. A Wiccan should understand exactly what their words and gestures mean so that they will be aware of what energies they may be calling. The most obvious example of this in modern Wicca is the large use of the Guardians of the Watchtowers, which is an Abrahamic idea in a Wiccan ritual. Wiccans should be taking the time to fully understand the deity they are inviting to ensure that they are the best match for the working. And just because their may be a perfect match of deities for a healing, except one is Roman and one is Celtic does not mean it would be right to use it in ritual.

Careful consideration should also be taken in deciding on the design of the ritual itself. For example if it is a healing ritual do not hold it on a Friday night, with pink candles and invite the deity Aphrodite. While raising healing energy in this ritual may work it is far better to use the appropriate correspondences.

A Wiccan must also be careful not to claim that their practice is part of the genuine or original practices. Just because you use totem animals like the Native American Indians it does not give you right to claim heritage or ownership over rituals of that culture. A Wiccan who likes and researches Celtic mythology can not claim they are Celtic. Please respect specific cultures, religions and rituals by adhering to their rules for acceptance, i.e. bloodlines or initiations.

Wicca is a structured religion with specific beliefs and practices. Although many can be changed they do need to resemble the original Wicca as published by Gerald Gardner. If it is so different as to be non-recognisable is it even Wicca anymore or just another Pagan eclectic practice? In short a Wiccan should take care not to introduce so many ideas into a ritual that it is no longer Wiccan. Circles are used in many practices, so a circle does not have to be called Wiccan if in fact it has no link to Wiccan theology. You may be have a spiritual practice that uses a circle in ritual, but it does have to be Wiccan.

There is nothing wrong with an eclectic practice, just make sure it is Wiccan before labelling it as Wicca.

 

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