Misconceptions About Wicca

[Tatilina]

What Is Wicca

Contrary to what those who choose to persecute or lie about us wish to believe, Wicca is a very peaceful, harmonious and balanced way of life which promotes oneness with the divine and all which exists.

Wicca is a deep appreciation and awe in watching the sunrise or sunset, the forest in the light of a glowing moon, a meadow enchanted by the first light of day. It is the morning dew on the petals of a beautiful flower, the gentle caress of a warm summer breeze upon your skin, or the warmth of the summer sun on your face. Wicca is the fall of colorful autumn leaves, and the softness of winter snow. It is light, and shadow and all that lies in between. It is the song of the birds and other creatures of the wild. It is being in the presence of Mother Earths nature and being humbled in reverence. When we are in the temple of the Lord and Lady, we are not prone to the arrogance of human technology as they touch our souls. To be a Witch is to be a healer, a teacher, a seeker, a giver, and a protector of all things. If this path is yours, may you walk it with honor, light and integrity.

Wicca is a belief system and way of life based upon the reconstruction of pre-Christian traditions originating in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. While much of the information of how our ancestors lived, worshiped and believed has been lost due to the efforts of the medieval church to wipe our existence from history, we try to reconstruct those beliefs to the best of our ability with the information that is available.

For the past several hundred years, the image of the Witch has been mistakenly associated with evil, heathenism, and unrighteousness. In my humble opinion, these misconceptions have their origin in a couple of different places.

What Witchcraft is:
Witchcraft is a spiritual system that fosters the free thought and will of the individual, encourages learning and an understanding of the earth and nature thereby affirming the divinity in all living things. Most importantly however, it teaches responsibility. We accept responsibility for our actions and deeds as clearly a result of the choices we make. We do not blame an exterior entity or being for our shortcomings, weaknesses or mistakes. If we mess up or do something that brings harm to another, we have no one but ourselves to blame and we must face the consequences resulting from those actions. No ifs, ands or buts and no whining...

We acknowledge the cycles of nature, the lunar phases and the seasons to celebrate our spirituality and to worship the divine. It is a belief system that allows the Witch to work with, not in supplication to deities with the intent of living in harmony and achieving balance with all things.

The spells that we do involve healing, love, harmony, wisdom and creativity. The potions that we stir might be a headache remedy, a cold tonic, or an herbal flea bath for our pets. We strive to gain knowledge of and use the natural remedies placed on this earth by the divine for our benefit instead of using synthetic drugs unless absolutely necessary.

Wiccan believe that the spirit of the One, Goddess and God exist in all things. In the trees, rain, flowers, the sea, in each other and all of natures creatures. This means that we must treat "all things" of the Earth as aspects of the divine. We attempt to honor and respect life in all its many manifestations both seen and unseen.

Wiccan learn from and revere the gift of nature from divine creation by celebrating the cycles of the sun, moon and seasons. We search within ourselves for the cycles that correspond to those of the natural world and try to live in harmony with the movement of this universal energy. Our teachers are the trees, rivers, lakes, meadows, mountains and animals as well as others who have walked this path before us. This belief creates a reverence and respect for the environment, and all life upon the Earth.

We also revere the spirits of the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water which combine to manifest all creation. From these four elements we obtain insight to the rhythms of nature and understand they are also the rhythms of our own lives.

Because Witches have been persecuted for so many centuries, we believe in religious freedom first! We do not look at our path as the only way to achieve spirituality, but as one path among many to the same end. We are not a missionary religion out to convert new members to think the same as we do. We are willing to share our experience and knowledge with those who seek our wisdom and perspective however. We believe that anyone who is meant for this path will find it through their own search as the Goddess speaks to each of us in her time and way. Wiccan practice tolerance and acceptance toward all other religions as long as those faiths do not persecute others or violate the tenant of "Harm None."

What Witchcraft is not:
More information about Witchcraft is available in the Frequently Asked Questions section, but in the interim, here are the main points.

• Witchcraft or Wicca is not a cult. We do not proclaim ourselves to be spokespersons for the divine or try to get others to follow us as their leaders.
  
• We do not worship Satan or consort with Demons. Satan is a Christian creation and they can keep him. We do not need a paranoid creation of supreme evil and eternal damnation to scare us into doing the right thing and helping others. We choose to do the right thing and love our brothers and sisters because it IS the right thing and it feels good to do it. I suppose it is a maturity thing.
  
• We do not sacrifice animals or humans because that would violate our basic tenant of "Harm None." Anyone who does and claims to be a Wiccan or a Witch is lying.
  
• We have no need to steal or control the life force of another to achieve mystical or supernatural powers. We draw our energy from within, our personal relationship with the divine and nature.
  
• We do not use the forces of nature or the universe to hex or cast spells on others. Again, "Harm None" is the whole of the law.
  

Witches have a very strict belief in the Law of Three which states that whatever we send out into our world shall return to us three fold either good or bane. With this in mind, a "True Witch" would hesitate in doing magick to harm or manipulate another because that boomerang we throw will eventually come back to us much larger and harder then when we threw it.

This is not to say that Witches are perfect, we are human too just like everyone else and make mistakes and errors in judgment. Just as there are parents who love and nurture their children, there are parents who abuse their children. As there are many who devote their lives to giving and helping mankind, likewise there are those who devote their lives to taking advantage of and using people for their own gain. Unfortunately the same flaws in human nature applies to witches too.

Most of us continually strive to consider all potential outcomes of our thoughts and actions pausing to seriously consider the consequences before undertaking a ritual, spell or rite that could go astray. It is when we follow the path with the love of the Goddess in our hearts and adhere to the basic tenant of the Reed that our works are beneficial and we achieve harmony and balance with all things.

The heart of Wicca is not something summed up into a few short words and can often take on different meaning to each since the Lord and Lady touch us in different ways. To gain a fuller understanding of the Craft, I urge you visit the other pages on this site as well as following the links to a select group of exceptional Wiccan and Witchcraft sites. Through the wisdom and words set down through the ages, you will find that you are able to understand the basis of our beliefs and how they may apply to you. Your inner voice will also quickly let you know if the intent of what you are reading is for superficial purposes to benefit self instead of working to benefit the whole. Remember to read with your heart, for it is when you see life and the world with your heart and spirit that you truly gain an understanding of what Wicca is.

Blessed Be!

https://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/wicca.htm

I am hoping to find like minded Wiccans
Just a few wiccan quotes

 

[God_Is_Formless]

Hello, i am going to be direct with you here so please do accept my apologies if you feel offended

Okay, so tell me whether or not you feel that you chose the family you've been born into and your physical features?

I appreciate your appreciation for nature but kinda not get how, for example, you may come to believe that you are the goddess and the god knowing full well that there are so many things that lie beyond our control like say, the rising and setting of the sun?

 

[Tatilina]

Hello, i am going to be direct with you here so please do accept my apologies if you feel offended

Okay, so tell me whether or not you feel that you chose the family you've been born into and your physical features?

I appreciate your appreciation for nature but kinda not get how, for example, you may come to believe that you are the goddess and the god knowing full well that there are so many things that lie beyond our control like say, the rising and setting of the sun?

No, I do not feel that I chose the family i was born into nor my physical features.
In Wicca, the God is seen as the masculine form of divinity, and the polar opposite, and equal, to the Goddess. There are many deities in Wicca. I think you may have misunderstood the meaning of one of the quotes above which is no big deal. We believe we are one with the God and goddess. Some religions like Christianity and Islam view the god as masculine only, Wiccans do not. It can sound a little confusing, butt , essentially we believe that all the gods are one God and all the goddesses are one Goddess.
https://exemplore.com/wicca-witchcraft/Wiccan-Gods-and-Goddesses

We believe that everything is made up of energy and the different energy fields which explains in greater detail here:

http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/energy-fields.html

Yes, I am aware of the many things that are beyond our control.

 

[Plasticity]

If I'm right and there is only one God then you're in a lot of trouble.

 

[Tatilina]

If I'm right and there is only one God then you're in a lot of trouble.

How so? I see that you are a Muslim.
Tell me how I am in a lot of trouble? Describe to me in great detail, in your opinion, what kind of trouble I'll be in? I've heard it from Christians, but never a Muslim.

 

[Etagloc]

There is no evil? So if I'm hungry or if I just want some money, I can go rob people? If I want, I can torture people? It's okay to r*pe people?

I'm not saying I would do these things but there's some sick people out there who would love a justification.

 

[Tatilina]

There is no evil? So if I'm hungry or if I just want some money, I can go rob people? If I want, I can torture people? It's okay to r*pe people?

I'm not saying I would do these things but there's some sick people out there who would love a justification.

Are you on the right thread? To answer your multiple questions all at once, no. That is called common sense, wrong doing is not equal to or the same as Evil. I am not sure why you are asking if there is no evil? What is your definition of evil, though no one said there wasn't any evil in the world. Please do enlighten me.

 

[Etagloc]

Are you on the right thread? To answer your multiple questions all at once, no. That is called common sense, wrong doing is not equal to or the same as Evil. I am not sure why you are asking if there is no evil? What is your definition of evil, though no one said there wasn't any evil in the world. Please do enlighten me.

Whether you call it evil, sin, wrong-doing, etc. they all mean the same thing. I was just checking cuz some New Agers believe there is no sin or evil. And I live in a housing project and I would love to rob some rich people. But I believe in right and wrong so I don't. And it's not common sense. I live in one of the centers of the New Age movement and many people here do not believe in an objective right and wrong and will even be offended if you suggest there is an objective right and wrong. If morality is relative, then robbing people is only wrong if I think it is and I can go out and have some fun. I'm glad we both agree there is right and wrong.

 

[Tatilina]

Whether you call it evil, sin, wrong-doing, etc. they all mean the same thing. I was just checking cuz some New Agers believe there is no sin or evil. And I live in a housing project and I would love to rob some rich people. But I believe in right and wrong so I don't. And it's not common sense. I live in one of the centers of the New Age movement and many people here do not believe in an objective right and wrong and will even be offended if you suggest there is an objective right and wrong. If morality is relative, then robbing people is only wrong if I think it is and I can go out and have some fun. I'm glad we both agree there is right and wrong.

It should be common sense, but not everyone has common sense/a moral compass/conscience. Most definitely we agree that there is right and wrong. Sometimes when people join or become part of a new movement, they tend to lose themselves along with their minds. Anyone in their right mind would agree that doing any of those things that you listed above is absolutely wrong. Doing something wrong, doesn't always equal evil though. As humans, we do a lot of things that are wrong, that doesn't make every single wrongful thing we do evil.I f someone who lacks empathy that kills an innocent in cold blood murder, I would define that as an act of evil. You gotta narrow the definition and not leave it so broad as to not over exaggerate your point.

 

[JoChris]

Tanya, I hope you don't mind me cutting- and-pasting a previous comment of yours:

Yes, you are correct, the Wiccan Rede is the law we live by. I don't doubt or put aside the possibility that the Christians may be correct in what they believe, however, my goddess, Kali, chose me.

Is she the same Hindu goddess named Kali? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devi#Durga_and_Kali

 

[Tatilina]

Tanya, I hope you don't mind me cutting- and-pasting a previous comment of yours:

Is she the same Hindu goddess named Kali? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devi#Durga_and_Kali

Of course I don't mind, and yes she is. I would love to share this with you because Kali is so very misunderstood. This explains how Kali works and helps us very similarly to the Christian God.

2017 is The Year of Kali, Goddess of Endings & Beginnings.

At the turn of 2017, I decided it was time to call upon Goddess Kali to assist with various aspects of my life that urgently needed a complete and radical overhaul.

Throughout 2016, I had picked up a variety of negative and unhealthy habits, beliefs, emotions and feelings, including a few entanglements with people who really didn’t have good intentions for a friendship or who did not hold my best interests at heart. I knew that the time had come to let go, however, I also knew it was not going to be simple or straightforward and that I was likely going to cling to them unless I called in some divine intervention.

I asked for Kali’s assistance because I have absolute faith in her ability to discern what is going on with me. I allow her to remove negativity and what is no longer needed, and to leave what is positive, healthy and sill serving.

The moment I called in Kali she abruptly appeared and, in all honesty, the last couple of weeks have been traumatic at times, which is why it has taken me two weeks to complete this piece of writing.

I have been forced to see that many things that I believed to be true in my life were quite simply illusions. However, I wouldn’t ask for it any other way and I am grateful to Kali for showing up as soon as I called her and for loyally remaining at my side as once-important parts of my life disintegrated before my eyes.

Although this shedding of the old has been a turbulent and chaotic experience, it was also filled with love and blessings—and most importantly, it shifted and removed some of the things I knew I did not have the strength to eliminate on my own.

A Kali goddess cleansing is not for the faint-hearted and I would only suggest it to someone who is truly ready to let go of old, stagnant energies that have been weighing them down and causing suffering, as Kali’s energy is intensely powerful right now. The cleansing will unleash a much-needed, unstoppable storm that will not slow down until the detoxing of everything harmful in one’s life is over.

It is also vital to remain surrendered to Kali’s power throughout the entire cleansing process as she does not only destroy, she also creates, so it is essential that she is given the space she requires to complete the purpose she has been called upon to do.

The intentions, actions, and deeds we are choosing to focus on now, especially in the earlier part of 2017, will set the tone for what we will attract, create, and experience over the next nine years (numerology years run in nine-year cycles).

The most important themes during a “1” year are flexibility and resilience so that we are mentally, emotionally, and physically able to effortlessly accept and adapt to the continuous change that is constantly floating our way.

Kali is one of the most powerful, but misunderstood, Hindu goddesses. She is the embodiment of Mother Nature, the goddess of life, death, transformation, destruction, endings and beginnings.

Kali, whose name means time, quite forcefully pushes us out of our comfort zone by creating storms and lighting fires to cleanse the old and make way for the new. The turbulence can be unnerving at times, however, ultimately it causes dramatic shifts in our lives that empower us to reach our full potential.

This goddess carries a sword of knowledge along with a severed head that symbolizes the ego. These depictions express Kali’s ability to slice through delusions so that we are freed from society’s limitations and conditioning, and they also release us from anything that we have been blindly bound and tethered to.

Kali opens our eyes so that we see our situations with clarity and she gifts us the insight to firmly make decisions, let go of fantasy and move toward the truth.

Kali is wild and untamable and she terrifies some, particularly those who are threatened by strong, independent, fierce, dominant, determined feminine energy.

This goddess does not bow down to societal demands and expectations, she has her own moral code and ethical standards and she asks us to let go of any preconceived notions that we may have previously held about how we hoped or expected things should be and she asks that we keep our mind positive and hopeful for the best possible outcome.

She comes along and shakes us vigorously so that we have no choice but to accept that there are aspects of our existence falling apart at the seams and that we have tried to cling to for far too long. Kali brings with her a—sometimes painful—awakening to our true selves and illuminates everything false around us. This allows us to come to the realization that many things in our lives have been illusions and that we have the ability to sever ties with anything or anyone that is inauthentic.

We can call upon the energies of Kali at any time throughout 2017 and allow her to support us as we transition into this new cycle and year and find freedom and fulfillment as we release everything from the past.

It is important to remember that when we are asking for this goddess’ assistance that we try not to tell her what it is we need. We must have faith in Kali’s divine intervention if we are to get the results that serve our highest good. Even though at first we may not fully understand why certain things are beginning or ending, Kali is wise, compassionate, intuitive, loving and fair and she holds our best interests at the center of her heart.

Kali encourages us to trust in the process and accept universal order, despite how challenging it may feel. Often we want to hold on to people, beliefs, habits or circumstances, even though they are unhealthy and dysfunctional, simply because they feel familiar and change can feel difficult, unsettling and chaotic.

The hardest ones to let go of are those that cause us to repeatedly question, “What if?” However, these are often some of our most limiting circumstances and ones that cause us to remain in the past, wishing things were different. It is essential to keep letting go and trusting that whatever is meant to be will come back around again if it has a place in our lives.

Endings are a natural part of the circle of life and, when we fear them, we remain stagnant and halt our own unique evolutionary dance. Everything is energy that constantly vibrates; it is simply not possible for anything to eternally remain exactly the same.

When something changes and comes to an end, it just means room is being created so that something exciting and new can begin. Often what seems to be a loss is actually the start of a beautiful new phase in our lives.

Everything is happening exactly as it is supposed to and when we fear the change and cling to the attachment of what feels familiar, we just cause our own internal suffering. Calling Kali is almost like jumping into the deep end of the pool.

Swimming against the current won’t serve us and neither will it serve anyone around us. We must have faith and allow Kali to come along with a big, wide broom and sweep all of the dirt and dust away to freshen up our lives so that they are cleansed and inviting for brand new beginnings to enter.

Throughout this year we will find the courage to release our attachment to anything or anyone that causes us harm in any way and in doing this, we create space to invite new and positive experiences.

Although many fear Kali’s drastic approach, when we really feel into this Goddess’ energy, we truly see that the only thing to fear is fear itself. Kali will walk alongside us through the darkness as we bravely tread on the ground that we have been too scared to wander before. She will remain with us so that we are not tempted to flee from whatever has been haunting us and keeping us repeating harmful relationship patterns.

In venturing beyond our fears, we gain the opportunity to see things in a new light so that we can then unhook ourselves from anyone or anything that has been holding us hostage due to oppression or fear.


We can then go through a dramatic transformation and surrender to Kali to allow her natural healing powers to cleanse, revitalize and renew us.

One thing for sure is that Kali unconditionally loves and protects all of those who have faith in her and those whom she takes under her wing. She will be there while all hell breaks loose and she will rise as the calm breeze signaling the storm is over.

At certain times it may take every ounce of trust we have left in us to surrender to this Goddess so that her love, wisdom and knowledge can guide our transformation, but when we have gone through the transformation there will be no doubt that she was moving through our lives with care and precision, despite how ruthless it may have felt.

In 2017, there are various key dates when we can call in Kali’s energy to assist us with letting go and starting over.

https://www.elephantjournal.com/2017/01/2017-is-the-year-of-kali-goddess-of-endings-beginnings/

I'm sure you can see similarities in how Kali works in accordance with the Christian God.

 

[JoChris]

Well actually no. Kali appears to be a goddess of death and destruction. That's why I was alarmed when I read your claim that she had chosen you.

The God of the Bible is in control of all things. The very first verse of bible:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Not that long ago I read a testimony of ex-Hindu woman and the faith *in practice* sounds completely at the other end of the spectrum as well. I will try to find it again. It was from the 19th century I think.

New Age and modern paganism seems to have a lot in common with Hindu beliefs. Is that correct?

 

[Etagloc]

It should be common sense, but not everyone has common sense/a moral compass/conscience. Most definitely we agree that there is right and wrong. Sometimes when people join or become part of a new movement, they tend to lose themselves along with their minds. Anyone in their right mind would agree that doing any of those things that you listed above is absolutely wrong. Doing something wrong, doesn't always equal evil though. As humans, we do a lot of things that are wrong, that doesn't make every single wrongful thing we do evil.I f someone who lacks empathy that kills an innocent in cold blood murder, I would define that as an act of evil. You gotta narrow the definition and not leave it so broad as to not over exaggerate your point.

Well there is wrong in the sense of "incorrect". For example, being wrong on a math question. Then there is wrong in the moral sense. I think wrong, evil and sin are basically the same thing.

I think modern people hate the words "sin" and "evil" because they have very sensitive egos and they need things to be sugarcoated. I think wrong (in the moral sense, not in the sense that would be applied to an incorrect answer to a math question), evil and sin are just different ways of saying the same thing. But I don't really wanna debate over semantics.

Maybe you prefer a particular terminology and I use another terminology but as long as we both agree there is an objective morality (or whatever you wanna all it), then it's fine. But the culture where I live is very heavily into moral relativism and I've seen things here that were unthinkable in the more conservative place where I grew up. There is a segment of the New Age people that sincerely believes that morality is relative and that doctrine terrifies me because I think it is extremely dangerous. For example, my sociology professor taught my class that morality does not really exist, that belief in morality is a tool of oppression and that racism is justified. I'm not making this up. Then I saw a social worker tell a group of homeless people that there is nothing wrong with smoking crack and anyone who thinks there's something wrong with crack is an ignorant bigot and "crack helps people". I think that's an extremely irresponsible thing to tell a group of desperate homeless people. I had another social worker also tell me there's nothing wrong with crack and that there's nothing wrong if childrens' parents are smoking crack. I live in a very liberal city in California and I see things here that were unheard of back home. Things like people casually smoking crack on the street corners like it's totally normal. People with heroin needles in their arm on the sidewalk. (Back home, there was a lot of meth, yes, but people were not openly smoking meth out in the street.) People walking around naked. People taking dumps in the middle of the street. Public sex. Our streets are infested with the drugs and with homelessness and it's not even safe to go outside. Every day I have to worry for my life just taking the train to work because the dope fiends are out of control and I've almost been attacked more times than I can count by some deranged dope fiend on the public transportation. One of them killed my friend. But I'm "judgmental" if I see something wrong with this.

 

[Tatilina]

Well actually no. Kali appears to be a goddess of death and destruction. That's why I was alarmed when I read your claim that she had chosen you.

The God of the Bible is in control of all things. The very first verse of bible:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Not that long ago I read a testimony of ex-Hindu woman and the faith *in practice* sounds completely at the other end of the spectrum as well. I will try to find it again. It was from the 19th century I think.

New Age and modern paganism seems to have a lot in common with Hindu beliefs. Is that correct?

No not necessicarily as most of us want nothing to do with the new age movement as we refer to ourselves as the non-new age spirituality. People who don't understand tend to just lump us all together. There is a difference between spirituality and the new age movement.

http://mortentolboll.weebly.com/six-common-traits-of-new-age-that-distort-spirituality.html
https://www.sott.net/article/312195-Beware-these-10-basic-deceptions-of-the-New-Age-movement

This quote is perfect in summing up the new age movement

"When you discovered the damaging affect of fluoride and you shared that information are you judging...yes...because judgement is an element of evaluation. The whole pseudo-spiritual yoga kirton pick-n-mix CULTure is toxic...it dovetails perfectly with the I'm-all-right-jack creed of the rainbow fascists and positive police who would have you believe that smoothies, yoga, permaculture, recycling and chanting the names of trendy Hindu gods...are all you need to put the brakes on the ever escalating apocalypse we find ourselves in. Whatever you do, don't mention genocide or p***philia or any number of global deceptions in their company. Any reference to Aliens or the moon will be the nail in the coffin of your reputation amongst their circle." - Juliet J. Carter

 

[Tatilina]

Well there is wrong in the sense of "incorrect". For example, being wrong on a math question. Then there is wrong in the moral sense. I think wrong, evil and sin are basically the same thing.

I think modern people hate the words "sin" and "evil" because they have very sensitive egos and they need things to be sugarcoated. I think wrong (in the moral sense, not in the sense that would be applied to an incorrect answer to a math question), evil and sin are just different ways of saying the same thing. But I don't really wanna debate over semantics.

Maybe you prefer a particular terminology and I use another terminology but as long as we both agree there is an objective morality (or whatever you wanna all it), then it's fine. But the culture where I live is very heavily into moral relativism and I've seen things here that were unthinkable in the more conservative place where I grew up. There is a segment of the New Age people that sincerely believes that morality is relative and that doctrine terrifies me because I think it is extremely dangerous. For example, my sociology professor taught my class that morality does not really exist, that belief in morality is a tool of oppression and that racism is justified. I'm not making this up. Then I saw a social worker tell a group of homeless people that there is nothing wrong with smoking crack and anyone who thinks there's something wrong with crack is an ignorant bigot and "crack helps people". I think that's an extremely irresponsible thing to tell a group of desperate homeless people. I had another social worker also tell me there's nothing wrong with crack and that there's nothing wrong if childrens' parents are smoking crack. I live in a very liberal city in California and I see things here that were unheard of back home. Things like people casually smoking crack on the street corners like it's totally normal. People with heroin needles in their arm on the sidewalk. (Back home, there was a lot of meth, yes, but people were not openly smoking meth out in the street.) People walking around naked. People taking dumps in the middle of the street. Public sex. Our streets are infested with the drugs and with homelessness and it's not even safe to go outside. Every day I have to worry for my life just taking the train to work because the dope fiends are out of control and I've almost been attacked more times than I can count by some deranged dope fiend on the public transportation. One of them killed my friend. But I'm "judgmental" if I see something wrong with this.

We are very aware of the new age movement, I believe this covers what you are referring to

https://www.sott.net/article/312195-Beware-these-10-basic-deceptions-of-the-New-Age-movement

You certainly don't have to be Christian to see something wrong with this movement.

 

[Etagloc]

We are very aware of the new age movement, I believe this covers what you are referring to

https://www.sott.net/article/312195-Beware-these-10-basic-deceptions-of-the-New-Age-movement

You certainly don't have to be Christian to see something wrong with this movement.

Thank you, I appreciate that. It's serious- it's not a game. I really think my friend is dead because of that crap. He was stabbed to death by a heroin addict. The people in charge in my city are into that New Age garbage and we hear it preached everywhere and the people in charge have sat back and allowed my city to become a dangerous, drug-infested hellhole because their New Age "enlightened" ideology is more important than our lives and physical safety. It's not a merely theoretical issue for me. I'm about to to head on the train to go work a grave shift and every time I go to work I have to fear for my life and pack weapons on me because you can get killed just riding our public transportation. I'm legally not allowed to carry a switchblade but I still do because I fear for my safety.

I got you wrong, not because Wicca. There are some "wiccans" who are New Age people and now I know that there are those who are opposed to that. I don't really care if you're into Wicca or not, it's more how you practice it. Your version sounds pretty reasonable to me. I had a "new age" social worker (is this stuff built into their training???) who told me "there is no devil, no evil, no sin" and when I saw your thing that said there is no devil or demons in Wicca, I thought you were part of that wave.

But I don't really mind you or your religion. We probably have a lot in common. I'm not Wicca but I think we're similar in a lot of ways.

 

[AspiringSoul]

There's a wiccan guy who I buy things like incense and crystals from. I see him once in a blue moon and have random convos in his shop. Now the first time we talked we talked about the astral plane and our experiences, methods of protection etc.
I then asked him "in all seriousness, how can you literally consider an entity that is in effect a projection of our own mind, a god/goddess? I know you're pantheists but metaphysically YOU are more important/powerful than they are, so why worship them?"
keep in mind he has a big "pagan and proud" poster up on his wall which is why I was very direct.

He pretty much stumbled at the question, but i'm not a fan of awkward moments so I quickly started talking about the difference between panthiesm and monothiesm from a sufi perspective ie I explained the logical vs mystical perspectives and why holding a balance is key and how islam comes into it perfectly. I also explained the variations within islamic sects based on where they stand on either side and how each side is wrong and similarly with judaism and christianity. He obviously did have a strong reaction to what i was saying about judaism and christianity...because he obviously respected Jesus Christ but not jews or christians.

We settled on the topic of sufi islam, taoism, kabballah, vedanta and christianity as all aspects of the same universal truth.
I did that because I don't like the idea of selling someone A religion and think it's better to see the bigger picture anyway.

I won't ask him about his personal beliefs again. We have talked about prophecies/end times and current events.

It is much easier talking to this guy than it is to many muslims or christians.

 

[God_Is_Formless]

I then asked him "in all seriousness, how can you literally consider an entity that is in effect a projection of our own mind, a god/goddess?

This.

Thanks @AspiringSoul !

 

[Tatilina]

Thank you, I appreciate that. It's serious- it's not a game. I really think my friend is dead because of that crap. He was stabbed to death by a heroin addict. The people in charge in my city are into that New Age garbage and we hear it preached everywhere and the people in charge have sat back and allowed my city to become a dangerous, drug-infested hellhole because their New Age "enlightened" ideology is more important than our lives and physical safety. It's not a merely theoretical issue for me. I'm about to to head on the train to go work a grave shift and every time I go to work I have to fear for my life and pack weapons on me because you can get killed just riding our public transportation. I'm legally not allowed to carry a switchblade but I still do because I fear for my safety.

I got you wrong, not because Wicca. There are some "wiccans" who are New Age people and now I know that there are those who are opposed to that. I don't really care if you're into Wicca or not, it's more how you practice it. Your version sounds pretty reasonable to me. I had a "new age" social worker (is this stuff built into their training???) who told me "there is no devil, no evil, no sin" and when I saw your thing that said there is no devil or demons in Wicca, I thought you were part of that wave.

But I don't really mind you or your religion. We probably have a lot in common. I'm not Wicca but I think we're similar in a lot of ways.

You're welcome and I completely understand as our city is being transformed in the same manner. I don't know why, but the new agers like to buy church buildings and move into them, so we see New Age temples popping up everywhere we go. Crime has also greatly increased here, not to mention a new drug and addiction recovery centre has opened up just across the street! Just last week, a young woman that I knew is now in jail for second degree murder for stabbing another woman to death.

Oh, we are indeed opposed to it. Wicca has been mistakenly associated with evil, it's not that we deny evil in the world but the misconception about Wicca. It's disassociating from the misinformation of the practice of Wicca being evil and just to quote here from the original link.

We do not worship Satan or consort with Demons. Satan is a Christian creation and they can keep him. We do not need a paranoid creation of supreme evil and eternal damnation to scare us into doing the right thing and helping others. We choose to do the right thing and love our brothers and sisters because it IS the right thing and it feels good to do it. I suppose it is a maturity thing.

Of course we deny worshipping an evil entity when we do not worship Satan or summon demons, so it is true that there is no devil or demons in Wicca, just as there is no place for them in Christianity. New age and Wicca cannot mix just like anything else for the mere fact that the craft conflicts with the views of the new age movement because we are all about holding ourselves accountable and taking responsibility for our actions and our choices. Whether Satan exists or not, we don't want anything to do with him as any decent human being I would expect not to.

We do not worship Satan or consort with Demons. Satan is a Christian creation and they can keep him. We do not need a paranoid creation of supreme evil and eternal damnation to scare us into doing the right thing and helping others. We choose to do the right thing and love our brothers and sisters because it IS the right thing and it feels good to do it. I suppose it is a maturity thing.

Wiccan practice tolerance and acceptance toward all other religions as long as those faiths do not persecute others or violate the tenant of "Harm None."

I love finding like-minded people

 

[Tatilina]

There's a wiccan guy who I buy things like incense and crystals from. I see him once in a blue moon and have random convos in his shop. Now the first time we talked we talked about the astral plane and our experiences, methods of protection etc.
I then asked him "in all seriousness, how can you literally consider an entity that is in effect a projection of our own mind, a god/goddess? I know you're pantheists but metaphysically YOU are more important/powerful than they are, so why worship them?"
keep in mind he has a big "pagan and proud" poster up on his wall which is why I was very direct.

He pretty much stumbled at the question, but i'm not a fan of awkward moments so I quickly started talking about the difference between panthiesm and monothiesm from a sufi perspective ie I explained the logical vs mystical perspectives and why holding a balance is key and how islam comes into it perfectly. I also explained the variations within islamic sects based on where they stand on either side and how each side is wrong and similarly with judaism and christianity. He obviously did have a strong reaction to what i was saying about judaism and christianity...because he obviously respected Jesus Christ but not jews or christians.

We settled on the topic of sufi islam, taoism, kabballah, vedanta and christianity as all aspects of the same universal truth.
I did that because I don't like the idea of selling someone A religion and think it's better to see the bigger picture anyway.

I won't ask him about his personal beliefs again. We have talked about prophecies/end times and current events.

It is much easier talking to this guy than it is to many muslims or christians.

I'm sure this will surprise you,but I'm actually a polytheist. Wiccans tolerate other religions just as long as they tolerate ours.

Because Witches have been persecuted for so many centuries, we believe in religious freedom first! We do not look at our path as the only way to achieve spirituality, but as one path among many to the same end. We are not a missionary religion out to convert new members to think the same as we do. We are willing to share our experience and knowledge with those who seek our wisdom and perspective however. We believe that anyone who is meant for this path will find it through their own search as the Goddess speaks to each of us in her time and way. Wiccan practice tolerance and acceptance toward all other religions as long as those faiths do not persecute others or violate the tenant of "Harm None."

The reason we are easier to talk to is because we are less Judgmental but we also have very high expectations in how others should treat each other regardless of their differences. Must practice what you preach otherwise what you believe in, is believed in vain. I believe we have a much deeper understanding of things that others fear the most. A lot of people believe in the spiritual, but they don;t know how spiritual they are including everything around them, they don't want to see the unseen . They want to be a part of it, but only by word, what they can read and think.