Wicca

Introduction:

Wicca for a Modern World

Paganism and witchcraft have been around longer than you could probably imagine, but in the last five years, Wicca has progressed in ways that Wiccans who practised in the 1960s, or even the 1990s, could never have imagined.

Witchcraft has a long history of persecution and misunderstanding. In the sixteenth century, even being suspected of practising it could lead to being punished by death. By the eighteenth century, however, witches had mostly come to be seen as frauds, and were fined or imprisoned for using witchcraft to con and frighten people.

By the twentieth century, Wicca was firmly established by secretive covens. At this stage witches were often perceived as crazy women, wearing pointed hats and capes, dancing naked around the fire! That began to change as films and TV shows–such–as Bewitched, True Blood and the Harry Potter franchise–fashion trends and an increasing number of books on and featuring witchcraft and Wicca fostered interest.

Witchcraft and Wicca are, importantly, quite distinct. Thankfully, there is a genuine interest in the real meaning, practices and values of Wicca. We are a nature-based religion; we live and breathe true kindness and compassion, empowering ourselves and others around us, worshipping elements of our earth such as the moon, the sun, the universe, nature and the magick that they bring to us. We teach tolerance and diversity and acceptance. Solitary or in a coven, a practising Wiccan for a year or fifty years; we live our faith and respect our earth. The magick we produce comes from within and around us, not from looking the correct way or having the fanciest tarot cards.

Popular culture has brought witchcraft into the public eye, with famous personalities such as musicians Stevie Nicks and Björk alleged to be involved in witchcraft. So, the combination of readily available accurate information and people in the public eye embracing witchcraft and Wicca has helped bring more acceptance. Society is realising that we do not promote evil concepts, using magick against people to turn them into frogs, but a peaceful way of life that benefits us and those around us. People from all backgrounds, cultures, races, genders and sexualities are finding their feet in Wicca, creating their free paths within the faith. They are discovering that it is a way to empower themselves and others and are using it to improve their lives. There is now nothing to fear and we can proudly announce to the world that we are Wiccans and witches!

Wicca is certainly a faith for all but more recently, especially over the last few years, it’s opened a lot of eyes for many young women around the world. Wicca sparks creativity and allows people the choice to use elements of it to help them make their lives the way they want them to be. Lots of young girls are drawn to the faith because of the freedom and power it possesses. To me, it’s a religion that promotes equality in all; one that hasn’t been warped to suit one gender or race and has flexibility. Where some may feel trapped within other religions or even just in their everyday lives, Wicca can help break through those barriers.

Of course, with the changes that the internet has brought to humankind in the last couple of decades, Wicca has entered the online world, making it so much easier for everyone to learn. There are amazing communities of Wiccans, posting about spells, their journeys, Wicca teachings and even online covens. The answers to everything that you may be interested in or may have been wondering about are potentially just a few clicks away. There are some incredibly informative, experienced Wiccans writing online blogs, and you can access teachings from famous Wiccans which are documented online. For practical help, YouTube videos allow us to watch people carrying out their magickal workings, such as divination, spell and ritual work, which can be far more useful than just reading about the theory of these things. However, the downside with this accessible sharing of information is that anyone can publish online, so you have to be aware of occasional misinformation.

MODERN WAYS TO PRACTISE

To me, Wicca will always be about experiencing the earth, working with what you can find and practising the craft for its true meaning. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t embrace the amazing, positive aspects of what living in 2018 has brought to us.

First, as I mentioned previously, we can learn spells pretty much anywhere now. There are tons of spells, rituals and potions to make, adapt to our own intuition or use at our will, all documented online by experienced Wiccans. There are also an increasing number of books about spell work being published every year by incredible authors–not to mention the most accurate way of learning spells, from trusted witches and Wiccans.

It’s also much easier now to find the tools that we may want to use in our practices and to research different types of tools and raw materials. We can order purpose-made athames and bolines (both ritual knives) and chalices for our altars if that is what we prefer. There are also many online shops now, selling an endless supply of tarot cards, wands, crystals and even herbs that you can order and import for all of your magickal needs. This may open up opportunities for us to create spells with elements that we could have never dreamed of twenty years ago.

Wicca is no longer a secret–and before the faith’s recent growth in popularity, some practitioners may have felt it necessary to keep their activities confidential. Access to open discussion and education on the true meaning of Wicca has changed opinions on both personal and family levels and also in the media. The fact that we can (funds allowing!) relatively easily visit the ruins of the temples of ancient Rome, dedicated to our chosen deities, or that we can contact an online coven in another continent brings the possibilities of our practices, experiences, understanding and discussions to another level, if this is what we choose.

Everything is so easy to source and learn now; it’s wonderful in so many ways, but it’s important to remember that a faith based on authentic principles is far more important than making a fashion statement and how you are perceived on social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR WICCANS

Social media has benefitted today’s Wiccan community in extreme amounts and, without it, a lot of us would have never even heard of the faith. It’s an incredible tool to use on our Wicca journeys. There are increasingly more Wiccans, witches and pagans educating people on YouTube; they are creating tutorials showing us how to cast specific spells, illustrating how to do divination and sharing many more personal aspects of their practices.

Instagram has also seen a new community come to light, with Wiccans either teaching or showing their followers aspects of their journey or simply enjoying the witch aesthetic that has become popular with the new wave of Wiccans online. There are also apps for pretty much anything, from tarot readings, to online spell books, to Wicca community pages for Wiccans to share and connect. In general, this is an extremely positive step forwards, but there are two sides to it. Yes–everything is easier and anything we want for our Wicca journeys, tools, herbs, information, etc., can be sourced easily and quickly. However, sometimes social media can affect people’s journeys negatively and a lot of younger Wiccans may not see the faith for what it truly is. Wicca is a faith, a way of life; you don’t need every tool or every herb, need to know every detail when you are starting out. Just because you have a crystal ball and someone else does or doesn’t have the economic means or space to have one, that doesn’t make you a better Wiccan.

The witch style, aesthetic and vibes are fun and the online communities are incredibly interesting and entertaining but, in reality any true Wiccan can live and breathe their Wicca paths with or without the internet. The foundation and beliefs of Wicca will always be as simple as they were fifty years ago. There are some things you can learn only from experience, living as a Wiccan every day. This knowledge gained from daily witchcraft and the secrets within Wicca cannot be found online.

The internet, used correctly, can be an incredible tool to help us with our practices and, as it’s a huge part of our society, why not embrace it? There are so many incredible Wiccans, witches and pagans behind this movement, so do seek out the writers, the YouTubers and the platforms we use to share our journeys with the world as witches and Wiccans.

1.

Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism

The most common confusion about the terms Wicca, witchcraft and paganism is the difference between them. I have often been asked whether all witches consider themselves to be Wiccans, and some people think that all pagans consider themselves to be witches and many people are under the misconception that to be a Wiccan just means to be a ‘good’ witch. There is a huge difference between the three, so let us clear up the difference now. This could also help you when thinking about which path to follow from the beginning and maybe discovering which one you consider yourself to be.

WICCA

Wicca is a pagan, nature- and witchcraft-based religion. A Wiccan is someone that follows pagan beliefs and also practises witchcraft as a part of their faith. We follow the eight Sabbats (festivals) and twelve Esbats (celebrations of the full moon) and practise magickal workings such as rituals and spell work at specific times related to the phases of the moon. A Wiccan follows the energy and power of the natural earth and the universe and all its natural occurrences, the moon, the sun and the stars.

Wicca also promotes a great sense of freedom and positivity. It gives you the opportunity to take a path in the faith that you feel is right for you, allowing you freedom within the faith to do things in a way that you choose. Wicca embraces the fact we all have different beliefs and opinions while still being a part of the faith; it gives us the opportunity to live how we would like to but with the guidelines of our beliefs. Wicca promotes positivity but also self-love and empowerment, while trying to diminish negative energy and behaviours. Most of all we believe in balance: we believe that there can be no good without bad and that we cannot learn if we do not make mistakes. We own our mistakes and realise we alone are in charge of our behaviour. Wiccans tend to have morals and codes that keep this balance in our lives and that ensure we are as kind to humans, animals and the earth as we can possibly be. This also means keeping cruel, manipulative and toxic behaviour towards others as far away from us as possible. Wiccans practise their magick using the natural world around them. This can be from the ingredients that they use, the earth’s energy and even the timing of when we carry out our spell work, using the moon’s phases and seasons to guide us. We incorporate magickal workings into our philosophy to keep harmful factors out of our lives and to bring in positivity and goodness.

PAGANISM

A pagan is simply someone who follows a nature-based religion, paganism. There are several religions that could fall under the term paganism, such as Wicca, Druidry and Asatru. Pagans can be monotheistic or polytheistic, which means they can believe in one or many divine beings. Many pagans believe in one god and one goddess as they tend to believe in balance. Pagans practise nature-worship (which may sound a little strange to you, but it’s not, I promise). Many have a strong belief that the earth is sacred and they should treat it as an equal to themselves and take care of it as well as they possibly can. All of their practices follow the earth and natural occurrences such as the seasons, the moon and phases of the sun.

WITCHCRAFT

Last, but not least, is witchcraft. This is a practice. It is a craft. And a witch is somebody that practises witchcraft; to be specific, who practises magick and uses the earth’s energy to achieve a specific desired result. Anybody who practises a form of magickal workings, such as divination and future prediction, healing using the natural world, ritual work, spells, potions, alchemy, herbalism, etc., can be considered a witch. Sometimes even people with psychic abilities or who are spiritual mediums may consider themselves to be witches. So, a witch is someone who simply practises witchcraft in some shape or form. This means you do not have to be a Wiccan to be a witch, nor do you have to celebrate the Sabbats or follow any pagan teachings: a witch can have any or no religion. This also means you can be considered a witch if you are a Wiccan, even though ‘Wiccan’ is the preferred term, because we practise witchcraft as an element of our path.

2.

Divination

Divination uses a variety of tools in order to gain insight into situations, or your own or other people’s lives. Many Wiccans enjoy practising divination–it is a massive subject–and I get asked so many questions about it.

Wiccans use divination to predict the future, to gain insight into the present and the past. Sometimes in life you need a little help, maybe you’re feeling confused about a situation or you want some insight into which path the situation is moving towards. By using divination, you are allowing messages to come to you by using tools in a specific way in order to hear guidance from the universe and the divine.

I believe that everybody has some kind of psychic ability, but most of us mask it unintentionally throughout everyday life. Divination can be a tool to unlock and exercise our psychic abilities, allowing them to shine through. Your subconscious psychic mind needs to take over, which can be extremely relaxing and make you feel close with the divine; it can also help you to balance your emotions.

Divination helps to bring the solutions to problems into the light. Some Wiccans prefer to stick with one form, while others like to explore and work with all methods. There are many incredible books and online resources that explain and demonstrate the different divination techniques. I would suggest researching the methods that most appeal to you and reading and watching as many tutorials as you can. Until then, here are some basics:

DIFFERENT METHODS OF DIVINATION

TAROT READING

Tarot cards are a deck of seventy-eight cards, twenty-two of which are the major arcana and the other fifty-six, the minor arcana.

The major arcana are the cards that you might have seen before, with the names at the bottom of the cards, for example ‘The devil’, ‘The lovers’, etc. These cards are typically seen as the stronger cards: you must take notice of these during your readings as they are cards for the long-term and are related to the more significant parts of your life.