Q&A

[`Germicide]

Merry meet!

This is the Forum to post your questions and I will anwer them.

Please be kind and courteous and please be literate or at least try to be.  

[Knight of Shadows]

I'd like to ask the first question.

Could you explain exactly what wicca is? And what is the differences in wicca, magic, magick, and so forth.  

[`Germicide]

Wicca is a religion that revolves around 2 deities A god and goddess

It also is an elemental religion, working with the elements Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Spirit.

 

[`Germicide]

Magick is what we use the elements for.

Magick isn't the whole religion. Its just a side gift.  

[Knight of Shadows]

Is there a difference between Wicca and Witchcraft?  

[CoonHillda]

Question 1 Wicca is a relatively new religion based on the works of Gerald Brosseau Gardner. In 1954 Gardner published the first book on Wicca Witchcraft Today which most people would consider the birth of wicca. Wicca is a coven based religion alot of people wouldnt consider you a real wiccan unless in a real coven and you wont know the true names od the god and goddess you serve untill you are in one generaly. The religion is highly secrative. If your interested in learning more i would recomend that you read witchcraft today and the grimoire of lady sheba and if your thinking about becoming a wiccan deffinatly read the grimoire of lady sheba it lays out all the initiation rituals and the oaths you take and amny other things. It also has alot of nice spells and recipes.

Question 2 I hold this opinion and i know a few who do and have read it in a couple of books. Magic is what you use in spell work to bring something to reality in my own opinion magic comes from with in you gifted from your time of birth and perhaps before you dont need a god or goddess to perform magic but your own will and a good imagination visualization is a key componant in spell work i think everyone would agree and enough energy to do what you want. I hold the beliefe that "magic" as in what is used when you cast a spell is mearly focused energy.
Magick is what magicians do its parlor tircks. I question witch one of these Criss Angel uses sometimes that man is freaking amazing! O.O

either way spell it how you want i am not going to be offended either way.


Question 3 I personaly wouldnt say so but others may dissagree some wiccans dont like being called witch's not that its a bad name is any way shape or form some just dont like to use the term concerning their religion. My idea of witchcraft is just spell work and wiccans do certantly do spell work. Unless they are not active.  

[Starlock]

Knight of Shadows

Is there a difference between Wicca and Witchcraft?

I wish this was a simple question, but things are rarely simple with religion. So instead of giving you an answer, I'll tell you a bit of history.

When Wicca was first developing, its founder believed that he was discovering an unbroken lineage of underground witchcraft practitioners in his area. From the eyes of Wicca's founder, Gardner, witchcraft is Wicca. In his works on Wicca you rarely see him use the word "Wicca." He refers to the practice as Witchcraft. If you read a lot of these early works on Wicca and some early scholarship by outsiders on the movement, you will very often see Wicca used synonymously with Witch and Witchcraft. The matter is further complicated by the fact that the word Witch comes from an etymological root of wicca. So in an etymological sense and from the standpoint of its early development, the two words are synonyms.

As time has passed, modern practitioners of Gardner's creation and the Neopagan community have began to create a distinction between these two words. Wicca has generally come to be known as the religion created by Gerald Gardner (see the website "Wicca for the Rest of Us" for a breakdown of the characteristics of this Wicca), while Witchcraft can refer to many things outside of that definition. It is hard to pin down definitions because among the community there is disagreement about what makes a Wiccan. Some who are very traditionalist insist that you must be initiated into a lineaged coven to claim the title "Wiccan." Others believe that you can self-initiate (more commonly called dedication) and call oneself Wiccan.

In short, definitions vary and opinions vary on this question. Personally, I've stopped worrying so much about labels and instead focus on what it is that I'm describing. Using a single word to describe something so complex works poorly anyway. Let it be emphasized that where you use these terms, be sure to clarify what you mean!  

[13lackMagic]

Knight of Shadows

I'd like to ask the first question.

Could you explain exactly what wicca is? And what is the differences in wicca, magic, magick, and so forth.

Magic is typically refered to by the wiccan comunity as magicians, or stage magic.

Magick is more or less what is practiced by Wiccans.

That's what I've read anyway... sweatdrop  

[CoonHillda]

meh it differs from person to person i remember a heated debate in one of the other guilds about the use of the spellings. Remember though dont always believe what you read there are alot or writers out there more then willing to feeding you crap. silver raven wolf being one of them.  

[`Germicide]

Yes.

Witchcraft is just a practice.

Wicca is a religion that practices it. Wicca has alot more to do with religion then people think.  

[Starlock]

CoonHillda

meh it differs from person to person i remember a heated debate in one of the other guilds about the use of the spellings. Remember though dont always believe what you read there are alot or writers out there more then willing to feeding you crap. silver raven wolf being one of them.

The whole magic/magick thing is yet another one of those silly superficial thing that sparks community debate. The "k" was originally tacked onto the end by occultist Alestier Crowley to distinguish ritual magic from stage magic, so 13lackMagic is correct in the general sense. A fair number of Neopagans, though, see "magick" as simply an incorrect spelling and an unceccesary addition. At worst a smaller number of Neopagans see using this spelling as fluffy. Personally I do not use "magick" since I tend to agree that it is unneccesary. I might, in posting articles online, though, use it as a synonym so that for web and text searches, it is easier to obtain information on ritual magic and not have it confused with fantasy magic or stage magic.  

[13lackMagic]

Starlock

CoonHillda

meh it differs from person to person i remember a heated debate in one of the other guilds about the use of the spellings. Remember though dont always believe what you read there are alot or writers out there more then willing to feeding you crap. silver raven wolf being one of them.

The whole magic/magick thing is yet another one of those silly superficial thing that sparks community debate. The "k" was originally tacked onto the end by occultist Alestier Crowley to distinguish ritual magic from stage magic, so 13lackMagic is correct in the general sense. A fair number of Neopagans, though, see "magick" as simply an incorrect spelling and an unceccesary addition. At worst a smaller number of Neopagans see using this spelling as fluffy. Personally I do not use "magick" since I tend to agree that it is unneccesary. I might, in posting articles online, though, use it as a synonym so that for web and text searches, it is easier to obtain information on ritual magic and not have it confused with fantasy magic or stage magic.

Ok then. I just want to make sure to an extent, the information I'm getting is accurate. Thank you! biggrin [On another note, I love your Avatar, Starlock.]  

[Starlock]

13lackMagic

Ok then. I just want to make sure to an extent, the information I'm getting is accurate. Thank you! biggrin [On another note, I love your Avatar, Starlock.]

No trouble. Yours is pretty neat too! 3nodding  

[13lackMagic]

Starlock

13lackMagic

Ok then. I just want to make sure to an extent, the information I'm getting is accurate. Thank you! biggrin [On another note, I love your Avatar, Starlock.]

No trouble. Yours is pretty neat too! 3nodding

Thanks... xd  

[lordbirch]

I've beem practising wicca for three years now and i have a tendancy to write spells that rhyme.