Wiccans on Gaia

How do you feel about Wiccans and Witches?

I am a Wiccan/Witch	33.5%	[ 1905 ]
I respect their beliefs	37.9%	[ 2158 ]
I'm not sure about them	5.2%	[ 295 ]
I don't know much about them	14.4%	[ 817 ]
I do not respect their beliefs	3.5%	[ 201 ]
I am strongly against them	5.6%	[ 316 ]
Total Votes:			[ 5692 ]

[Briar Rosethorn]

Welcome, katethegoth666 and zero03. biggrin

zero03, Wicca ia new branch of Paganism that surfaced in the early 20th century.
Paganism is the oldest religion in the worlds (many people insist that Hinduism is the oldest religion and they are right, because Hinduism is a form of Paganism).
To be very simple, Wicca is a nature-based religion which believes in a God and Goddess (however, the perceptions of them vary greatly from sect to sect).
Almost every Wiccan observes the cycles of nature (such as the moon and the seasons) and celebrates them as aspects of life and the Divine.
Wiccans seek to recapture the balance between humans and the rest of the universe and therefore many are animal activists and environmentalists who care deeply about the earth.
The thing to remember is that if you ask 13 Wiccans what they believe, you will most likely get 13 different answers. This is because Wicca is a very personal religion which allows each and every Wiccan to live their lives in a way that suits them. However, all Wiccans believe in a male and female aspect of Deity and try to attune themselves with the natural cycles of the universe.

[Sephirothfan4223]

I'm not a Wiccan... I'm a Christian... but I always loved to have knowlege of other religions... I guess I kinda believe some of the things you said Wiccans believe like the All Being could be anything concept... I think all religions that have any sort of Diety sort of all have the same Diety just in different forms and names smile

Someone in my family was a Wiccan, as I found out like a year and a half ago I guess... lol random comment sweatdrop

What always bothers me is how badly some people of other religions treat Wiccans... people can believe whatever they want to. People shouldn't mistreat one another just because of beliefs... I seriously think religions based on nature are probably the most interesting to learn about for me since it's so different from my own religion... 3nodding

lol that's my random trail of thought on this topic ~ heart ~

[Briar Rosethorn]

Welcome Sephirothfan4223. Thank you for coming to chat with us and share your opinions and beliefs. smile

[AmatsuSuzuran]

First off, Paganisim being the oldest religion in the world, that cannot be proven. Yes, it's old, but who are we to say it's the oldest? Until there is concrete evidence about this, it's one OF the oldest.

And as to what Sephirothfan4223 said, that is something that is sad. Pratically almost all religions in the world are recognized as a true religion but Paganisim/Wicca is not.

As one of the oldest religions, I believe it should be recognized as a true religion. But then, that's just my opinion.

[glitterRETCH]

I'm a witch but I'm not Wiccan. I also follow some different beliefs and practices from other religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. <3

[Briar Rosethorn]

Quote:

First off, Paganisim being the oldest religion in the world, that cannot be proven. Yes, it's old, but who are we to say it's the oldest? Until there is concrete evidence about this, it's one OF the oldest.

And as to what Sephirothfan4223 said, that is something that is sad. Pratically almost all religions in the world are recognized as a true religion but Paganisim/Wicca is not.

As one of the oldest religions, I believe it should be recognized as a true religion. But then, that's just my opinion.

Actually, the first civilization ever recorded or found any sort of evidence of existing was Mesopotamia. The ancient Mesopotamians worshipped various Gods and Goddesses and performed rituals and offerings to appease them. Paganism is any religion with belief in more than one Deity and often incorporates nature-worship and rituals of sorts, which can allow Paganism to be classified as the oldest religion in the world.

[Tanith Aven]

EuthanasiaOfSanity

As one of the oldest religions, I believe it should be recognized as a true religion. But then, that's just my opinion.

I agree it should be recognized as a religion. I was absaloutley gutted with my Religous Studies Class. That's why I dropped it this year.

I have just stumbled across a web page with some rather interesting views on the difference between a Wiccan and a Witch.

"Wiccan's follow "The Wiccan Rede" but Witch's do not follow any rede but believe inacting justly, of course."**

**This is just the view of another Wiccan/Witch.

[XxTokyo AngelxX]

I respect their beliefs
People think im wiccan just because i was having my presentation about it. i dont like people talking about me being wiccan, because its lying. im not the right person to be wiccan, as far as i know.

[SweetAddict]

Heya!

I never though im ever gonna get to know so many wiccas/witches. I totaly love them! Im not realy a witch or so, but my friend is! She casts spells the whole day long, talks with spirits etc. Sometimes i come to help her with some easy castings. I realy wanna tell you people that i respect you REALY A LOT! I totaly adore you!!!

[Vertigo_Kiwi]

Proud_Witch

I agree with you. I don't believe in "Black Witches" because if you're casting a spell with ill intentions, then you're not a Witch, you're just someone who is vindictive and not following the Wiccan faith at all. I call those people Warlocks (which literally means traitor).

But, isn't there a difference between a Wiccan and a Witch? A Witch doesn't have to follow the laws of the Wiccan faith. Or did I just completely miss what you're saying, I may be misunderstanding you...I do that a lot. xd

[FluentSuicide]

Proud_Witch

Quote:

Hmm thanks for elaboration 3nodding but now you've thrown me again, im always willing to learn, but why would the lunar cycles be taken as divine?



Off on a tangent here; If oyu observe the pattens in nature then you do see how out of place humans are on this planet?

Well, since the female aspect of Divinity is associated with the lunar cycles then many Wiccans would agree that the lunar cycles are Divine. Personally, I think the spirituality behind it is Divine and that something Divine controls the cycle but I don't necessarily think that the cycle itself is divine.

Actually, I think that naturally, humans are in balance with the rest of the natural world however in our advancements, we have become more and more distant from the natural world and have cut ourselves off from our original place within the cycle. Modern day Wiccans seek to re-connect themselves with Nature and bring back that balance.

Doesn't the lunar cycle also affect fertility? domokun

[in the flicker.]

Proud_Witch

I'm a little sad... no one said goodnight to me last night. crying

Personally, I think all forms of Wicca are quite valid. I believe that Wicca is all about becoming closer with Deity (or God and Goddess as most Wiccans would refer to them) while finding a gentle balance that works with your lifestyle.

After all, I don't think religion is a thing that should restrict you from living your life the way you want to, but I think that having the guidelines of a religion helps one to live their life the way they'd like to. Therefore, if you're a Wiccan who does not go exactly by-the-book (as most Wiccans don't) then that's perfectly okay as long as you believe in the important stuff.

in the flicker, you may choose to be a very strict, by-the-book person who follows a faith rigorously, which is perfectly fine as well, because that's the way you want to live your life and it suits your lifestyle, but to say that Gardnerian Wicca is the only form of Wicca seems in my experience to be inaccurate. I call myself an Ecclectic Witch and I observe the Sabbats and believe in the Lord and Lady and celebrate the natural cycles and patterns of the earth, I just do it my own way with things that I've found work well for me, which I believe is perfectly valid as well and does not make me any less of a Wiccan than anyone who practises a more orthodox branch.

First: i never said Garnerian Wicca is the only form of Wicca. I'm only endorsing the fact that people should at least read what Wicca was intended to be like.

I never intended to sound disrespectful to any branch of Wicca, but disregarding the writings of Gardner just doesn't make sense. Why call oneself a Wiccan at all?

I don't feel like Gardner should be ignored, considering he came up with it. Even if you don't follow the traditions that Gardner set forth (because Wicca seems to be evolving away from that), you should at least know what they are.

I feel like it's important that people know that believing in the five elements and observing the sabbats does not a Wiccan make. I am, of course, not trying to insinuate that is what Eclecticism is about, BUT i'm trying to inform about traditional Wicca.

As I understand it, Eclectic Wicca basically takes just about whatever they like from whatever they like, and add it to Wicca. Then they subtract what they don't agree about Wicca, and there's that person's own, individual version of Eclectic Wicca.

is that wrong? I'm just curious. I'm not here to bash your religion at all. If that's what you believe, that's cool, but you shouldn't, in my opinion, act as if that's what "regular" Wicca is about. I am hesitant to say traditional, because that's not what you're claiming, but it does seem to me that you're insinuating that the majority of Wiccans believe what you do, and that isn't necessarily the case.

I'm going to stop now. this is going nowhere. I have no hard feelings toward you, and I should hope that you hold none toward me.

[FluentSuicide]

SweetAddict

Heya!

I never though im ever gonna get to know so many wiccas/witches. I totaly love them! Im not realy a witch or so, but my friend is! She casts spells the whole day long, talks with spirits etc. Sometimes i come to help her with some easy castings. I realy wanna tell you people that i respect you REALY A LOT! I totaly adore you!!!

3nodding YAAYY!! It's nice to see someone who doesn't want you dead for being a different religion. Even though it's not the sixties alot of people (not just people from that era) still think hate is cool. Where they get those ideas I'll never know. Apparently I'm a nutjob for being a vegetarian too. xp domokun

[Carrion dreams]

Sephirothfan4223

I'm not a Wiccan... I'm a Christian... but I always loved to have knowlege of other religions... I guess I kinda believe some of the things you said Wiccans believe like the All Being could be anything concept... I think all religions that have any sort of Diety sort of all have the same Diety just in different forms and names smile

Someone in my family was a Wiccan, as I found out like a year and a half ago I guess... lol random comment sweatdrop

What always bothers me is how badly some people of other religions treat Wiccans... people can believe whatever they want to. People shouldn't mistreat one another just because of beliefs... I seriously think religions based on nature are probably the most interesting to learn about for me since it's so different from my own religion... 3nodding

lol that's my random trail of thought on this topic ~ heart ~

Hello all, I just wanted to say how impressed I am with this comment and wish more ppl thought along these lines. As for me I once strictly followed wicca but now I have incorporated many things from different religions. Many faiths have many truths which fit my lifestyle and what I believe.