Welcome to Gaia! ::

I thought being wiccan was a belief, not a group. In fact the majority of wiccans pratice alone. I pratice alone. It's all about your connection to the earth and the powers and not about how well you are connected to people. Im confused here.I thought Wicca was about your connection to the earth not to the people in a coven.Whats up with that? Im being told by many Pagans on Gaia that in order to be Wiccan you have to be in a coven.I am deeply confused.Clearify this for me?
Whether you follow Wicca as a solitary practitioner or as a member of a coven is entirely up to you. There are debates about which one is 'right', but quite frankly those people need to get the sticks out of their asses. Some people, like myself, don't live in areas that allow for practicing in a group and so are forced to act as solitary practitioners. You can initiate yourself into the Craft once you feel that you have achieved that level of study and dedication to it. Others simply prefer to be a part of a community that shares the same basic beliefs. The real questions here are:

A. Is there a coven, or a group in your area that you are able to meet with?

B. Which do you feel more comfortable with?
wicca is a specific religion, kinda like christianity, or islam.

you cannot really be a solo practioner in wicca,you have to belong to a coven, you can be a pagan and a solo practioner, but not in wicca.

to use a parallel to judism, you cannot just read up on it and declair your self to be jewish, there is a whole procces.

though I wonder if anyone has set up a virtiual coven, through the net , for people who do not live near to others
HER0 PR0TAG0NIST
wicca is a specific religion, kinda like christianity, or islam.

you cannot really be a solo practioner in wicca,you have to belong to a coven, you can be a pagan and a solo practioner, but not in wicca.

This. However, as opposed to Christianity or Islam, Wicca is an orthopraxic religion, meaning that it's rooted in correct practices as opposed to being orthodoxic and based on correct belief. Wicca has an enormous set of correct practices and rules, and contrary to popular belief, is NOT just about "a connection" or "whatever I want to believe."
*sigh*


Please read Scott Cunningham's "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner"
Protip: Read Ronald Hutton's Triumph of the Moon. While not just on Wicca specifically, it clarifies all this nonsensical "Olde Religion" stuff.
Quote:
I thought Wicca was about your connection to the earth not to the people in a coven.Whats up with that?

Nah, you're thinking of generic fluffy earth-based neo-paganism. wink

Wicca is a fertility religion, founded by Gerald Gardner, which is oath-bound, so until you're initiated into a coven that can trace it's linage back to him, you're not Wiccan.

You can still practice any of the many pagan religions, including some where practitioners are considered witches. People have confused that just because Wicca is pagan does not make all pagan practices Wiccan, so it's understandable that, from the mush of information out there, you weren't sure yourself. smile
Sevashtyn
*sigh*


Please read Scott Cunningham's "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner"

No. I'd rather trust the word of real Wiccans than him.

Or literary or academic sources. Actually, there are hardly any pure academic sources on Wiccan beliefs and practices because it's all oathbound. The only journals and books on Wicca I can find within university libraries is on issues about paganism in general.
X-tan
Quote:
I thought Wicca was about your connection to the earth not to the people in a coven.Whats up with that?

Nah, you're thinking of generic fluffy earth-based neo-paganism. wink

Wicca is a fertility religion, founded by Gerald Gardner, which is oath-bound, so until you're initiated into a coven that can trace it's linage back to him, you're not Wiccan.

You can still practice any of the many pagan religions, including some where practitioners are considered witches. People have confused that just because Wicca is pagan does not make all pagan practices Wiccan, so it's understandable that, from the mush of information out there, you weren't sure yourself. smile



I'm sorry, but you're operating under the misconception that you can't be a part of a religion if you're not surrounding yourself with members of the same religion. You can be a Christian, and study Christianity, and not belong to a Church, per se. The same goes for Wicca. Please, read my first (and second) post.
Annabella Goddess Of Ice's avatar
  • 100
  • 100
  • 200
.
User ImageUser Image
~An Amazing Quest for an Adorable Item~



You can be a solitary practitioner in Wicca. You don't have to belong to a coven. Either way, I agree with Sevashtyn; she seems to be the only one actually giving you real information. For future reference, listen to actual Wiccans. Paganism can be close, but it's not Wicca, so what they say won't necessarily be as accurate as talking to an actual Wiccan. Good luck.



User ImageUser Image
~Click to help~
-dies- If. You. Are. A. Solitary. Wiccan. You. Are. Not. A. Wiccan.
Sevashtyn
X-tan
Quote:
I thought Wicca was about your connection to the earth not to the people in a coven.Whats up with that?

Nah, you're thinking of generic fluffy earth-based neo-paganism. wink

Wicca is a fertility religion, founded by Gerald Gardner, which is oath-bound, so until you're initiated into a coven that can trace it's linage back to him, you're not Wiccan.

You can still practice any of the many pagan religions, including some where practitioners are considered witches. People have confused that just because Wicca is pagan does not make all pagan practices Wiccan, so it's understandable that, from the mush of information out there, you weren't sure yourself. smile



I'm sorry, but you're operating under the misconception that you can't be a part of a religion if you're not surrounding yourself with members of the same religion. You can be a Christian, and study Christianity, and not belong to a Church, per se. The same goes for Wicca. Please, read my first (and second) post.


I have to disagree, wicca was founded by gardner, as such he made the rules, and part of that is the lineage issue, I do not consider solo practioners, who self initiated , to be wiccans, because they did not follow the rituals to become so.

this is not to say I find one group or another to be better then the other,
Sevashtyn
X-tan
Quote:
I thought Wicca was about your connection to the earth not to the people in a coven.Whats up with that?

Nah, you're thinking of generic fluffy earth-based neo-paganism. wink

Wicca is a fertility religion, founded by Gerald Gardner, which is oath-bound, so until you're initiated into a coven that can trace it's linage back to him, you're not Wiccan.

You can still practice any of the many pagan religions, including some where practitioners are considered witches. People have confused that just because Wicca is pagan does not make all pagan practices Wiccan, so it's understandable that, from the mush of information out there, you weren't sure yourself. smile



I'm sorry, but you're operating under the misconception that you can't be a part of a religion if you're not surrounding yourself with members of the same religion. You can be a Christian, and study Christianity, and not belong to a Church, per se. The same goes for Wicca. Please, read my first (and second) post.

But Christianity doesn't have set rules and practices like Wicca.

Quick Reply

Submit
Manage Your Items
Other Stuff
Get Items
Get Gaia Cash
Where Everyone Hangs Out
Other Community Areas
Virtual Spaces
Fun Stuff