Wicca Basics


1.What is Wicca?
2.What are pagans?
3.Do witches worship Satan?
4.What is a witch?
5.Do I need to find a coven?
6.What about initiation?
7.What is dedication?
8.Why a pentagram?
9.What is a Book of Shadows? 
10.The Principles of Witchcraft as laid down by the Council of Witches
                      


1.What is Wicca? 
Wicca is a nature-based religion. It stresses living in harmony with all creatures 
and the earth. It honors a Goddess and God that is contained in all nature 
and in ourselves. The Goddess and God are an aid for Wiccans to focus inner 
power and the power that is found in all of nature. Wicca is practiced in a 
group (coven or grove) or solitary.
It is based on pre-Christian European folklore and mythology. Wicca is the 
alternative name for modern Witchcraft. It is related to the ancient Mother 
Goddesses (Mother Earth, Mother Nature) in her aspects of Maiden, Mother and 
Crone.It dates from the paleolithic age when a god of hunting and a goddess 
of fertility were worshiped. The power of nature inspired the belief in
higher powers that controlled rain, wind, thunder, fire etc.Women made life, 
and that was magickal. The word wicca is a Celtic word meaning "wise". Also 
used is the feminine wicce. The Maiden symbolizes youth and anticipation of 
life, the continuation of life, spring, and the waxing Moon. Her color is 
white, light pink and light yellow In this aspect we see the world with
child-like wonder, the beauty of a feather, the mystery of a seed.
Mother symbolizes summer, ripening, recreation of life, the high point of the 
cycle, adult and parenthood, and the full moon. Her color is red, the color 
of blood and the life force, or green, a fertile color. In this aspect we 
learn to take responsibility for ourselves. The Crone symbolizes death and 
the end of cycles, winter, night, menopause, age, wisdom, councel , and the 
waning moon. Her color is black, dark purple or grey. She is the way to death 
and reincarnation. In the aspect of the Crone we understand that death is a 
part of life, not to be feared. The Crone has the wisdom of many years behind 
her. Todays Wicca is based on the works of Gerald Gardner in the 1950s, and 
present day Wiccans such as Raymond Buckland, Scott Cunningham, Silver
RavenWolf, and many others. It is also known as the Craft. 

2.What are Pagans?
The word pagan is from the Latin word paganus meaning villager or rustic dweller. 
It was used by the Roman military as an insult. They used it to describe anyone 
who was a civilian or incompetent soldier. It was adopted by the Christians 
to insult anyone who did not follow their religion. It is still used in this 
way. Pagans are polytheistic, meaning they have more than one god or goddess. 
Christians are monotheistic. It does not mean we are any better or any worse than
Christians. We are just different.

3.Do witches worship Satan? 
No. Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, also known by many other names, is a Christian 
Belief. Wiccans are not Christian so do not hold the same beliefs. It is generally 
accepted that the Christian devil is a corruption of the pagan horned God, 
the consort of the Goddess. According to Issac Bonewits, satanism is descended 
from the gothic witchcraft that was created by the Christians at the time of
the Inquisition. Satanists pattern themselves on ideas created by the church. 
It has nothing to do with Wicca. 

4.What is a Witch?
A Witch follows the cycles of the seasons. Wiccan holidays follow what is called 
the Wheel of the Year. A witch feels a direct connection to nature and divinity 
because he/she recognizes we are connected to all of Nature and the divine 
is all of nature and ourselves. A Witch knows the power in all things and is 
able to use this power to his/her advantage, but never to do harm.

5.Do I need to find a coven?
It is not necessary. Some people work well in a group, some are better solitary. 
It is up to you. Do not feel that in order to be a "real" witch you need to 
be part of a coven. Some find the political power struggles that go on in most 
covens to be too much of a distraction from the purpose of a coven, to work 
together. A person new to the group might be intimitated by the leaders and 
not follow his/her own feelings as to what is best. Feelings are important, 
you must do what you feel is the right thing for a particular situation. 
Trust yourself and your abilities.

6.What about initiation?
An initiation is used to mark one as a recognized part of a group. It means 
that the person has the intention of following the path chosen. Each Wiccan 
tradition has its own ceremony. In these traditions, you are only recognized 
as Wiccan if you have undergone such a ceremony. These rites are usually secret. 
It is not necessary to have been initiated to be Wiccan. The ceremonies
performed by the different traditions are important in the traditions themselves, 
but real initiation comes from inside, it is not just ceremonial. When you 
see beauty in clouds drifting by, when you feel excitement and wonder in seeing 
a flock of birds wheeling overhead, when you feel the magic in the air when 
trees fill out in spring, you are truly Wiccan. Wicca is a way of life, living 
in harmony with nature, feeling the change of seasons and celebrating nature. 
The ceremony is just that, unless you feel it inside. An initiation is an 
experience that is felt deep. It is not necessary for a high priestess or 
priest to stand over you. Each one of us is our own priest or priestess. If 
you feel the need to express yourself in ceremony, you can perform a self-initiation. 
Even though it is not performed in a coven, it is still important to take this 
seriously. This is not a game. This is a serious comment on the part of the 
initiate to learn all he/she can about the chosen path. Wiccans may use magick, 
but that is not all there is to Wicca. It is learning all you can about this 
earth we live on. Respect it for what is. Learn the cycles of life, and celebrate 
the magick all around us. 

7.What is dedication?
The dedication of a witch is when you accept the Craft as the path to follow. 
You promise to learn all things necessary. You will stick to your vow even 
if the going gets tough. The traditional time period is a year and a day. 
You will then have seen the progression of a complete circle of seasons, called 
the Wheel of the Year. In a coven they will teach and have a reading list. 
Solitary is what it is, sometimes it can be very rough and confusing, but stick 
to it. That is why it is called dedication. There are many good books out there. 
Some will say that you can't learn everything from books. That may be true 
in some cases. You learn by doing. Take spells, for instance. Just because a 
spell is passed down, does not mean it will work for you. If you put your time and
energy to building your own spell, it is more likely to work because it is 
your own. Your energy is running through it, not someone elses.

8.Why a pentagram?

                Thanks to Lionel Pepper for the research

The number 5 has always been regarded as mystical and magical, yet in essence 
"human".
We have five fingers and five toes on each extremity.
The five common senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste.
Humans perceive five major stages in our lives, birth, adolescence, union of 
male and female, parenthood, and death.
The number 5 is associated with Mars. It signifies severity, conflict and 
harmony through conflict.
In Christianity, Christ had five wounds on the cross.
There are five pillars of the Muslim faith and five daily times of prayer.
The medieval knight had five virtues - generosity, courtesy, chastity, chivalry 
and piety as symbolized in the pentagram device on the shield of Sir Gawain.
The number five is prime.
The upright pentagram bears resembles the shape of a human with outstretched 
arms and legs. We can juxtapose a human on a pentagram with head and four limbs 
at the points. This is man in microcosm, symbolizing our place in the Macrocosm 
or universe.
The concept of the microcosmic world of man corresponding to the macrocosm, 
the greater universe of spirit and elemental matter, became part of traditional 
western occult teaching, as it had long been in eastern philosophies. This is 
a DaVinci drawing of this concept.
The pentagram later became symbolic of the relationship of the head to the 
four limbs, and so from this of the concentrated essence of anything (or the 
spirit)  to the traditional elements of matter - Earth, Water, Air and Fire.
The pentagram has long been believed to be a potent protection against evil, 
a symbol that shields the wearer and the home.
It has five spiked wards and a womb-shaped defensive, protective pentagon at 
the center.
There are five elements in the pagan world, four that are matter (Earth,
Air, Fire, Water), and Spirit. These are arranged around the points.
The elements are placed in order of density - Spirit, Fire, Air, Water,
Earth. Earth and Fire are basal, fixed. Air and Water are free, flowing.
In ritual, the pentagram is sometimes drawn in the air either using the
hand or a ritual knife known as an athame. Drawn one way it is used
for invoking, the opposite for banishing.
Single point upwards signifies the spirit ruling matter. It is a symbol of 
rightness. With two points up and one (spirit) downwards, is signifies subservience, 
the emphasis is on the carnal nature of man. 

Open Pentagram

A pentagram may be open, without a surrounding circle. This is the active form 
symbolizing an outgoing of oneself, prepared for conflict, aware, active. As 
a pagan religious symbol, the open pentagram represents an open, active approach.

Closed Pentagram

A circle around a pentagram contains and protects. The circle symbolizes eternity 
and infinity, the cycles of life and nature. The circled pentagram is the passive 
form implying spiritual containment of the magic circle, and the individual 
nature of the pagan religious path.

Inverted Pentagram

The implication of inversion of a pentagram is the spirit is subservient to 
matter, man subservient to his carnal desires. It has come to represent the 
dark side and is considered a symbol of evil by Christians. In the 1940s Gerald 
Gardner adopted the inverted pentagram as a symbol of second degree initiation 
in the newly emergent, neo-pagan rituals in what was to become wicca. It
represents the need of the witch to learn to face the darkness within so it 
will not rise to take control. First degree uses a downward pointing triangle, 
third degree uses one-point up pentagram together with an upright triangle.

History of the Pentagram

The pentagram has been used throughout history.
The earliest known use dates to around the Uruk period around 3500 BCE at 
Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia. It was found on potsherds with other symbols.
The pentagram was a symbol of imperial power in later periods of Mesopotamian 
art. Power extended out to "the four corners of the world".
To the Hebrews, the symbol was linked to Truth and to the five bolls of the 
Pentateuch.
In Ancient Greece, it was called Pentalpha, as the pentagram is composed of 
5 "A" shapes..
The geometry and metaphysical associations of the pentagram were explored by 
the Pythagoreans who considered it and emblem of perfection.
To the Gnostics, it was the "blazing star" and along with the crescent moon 
was a symbol relating to the magic and mystery of the night sky.
It was a symbol of Godhead for the Druids.
The Celts associated it with the underground goddess Morrigan.
Early Christians attributed the pentagram to the five wounds of Christ and 
from then until medieval times, it slowly disappeared. Before the Inquisition 
there were no evil associations with the pentagram.
The Emperor Constantine I used the pentagram, along with the chi-rho (a symbolic 
form of cross) in his seal and amulet.
The annual church feast of Epiphany that celebrates the visit of the three 
Magi to the infant Jesus, had the pentagram as its symbol. It is now changed 
to a regular 5 point star in reaction to neo-pagan use of the pentagram.
In medieval times it was a symbol of truth and protection against evil. It 
was used as an amulet of personal protection and to guard windows and doors.
One point up symbolized summer, two points up it was a sign for winter.
The Knights Templar used the pentagram shape in the placement of chapels and 
shrines in the Rennes de Chatres in France.During the Inquisition many lies 
were spread. The pentagram was seen to symbolize a goat's head or the devil 
in the form of Baphomet, whom the Inquisition accused the Templars of worshiping.
The healers of the time took advantage of herbs brought from the East, as did 
murders who wished to gain power. Prominent deaths by poisoning caused the 
Dominicans of the Inquisition to move their attention from the Christian heretics 
to the pagan witches, the ones still following the Old Religion, because they 
knew of the herbs. The church condemned as evil all who used the pentagram, 
and condemned the symbol itself.
Pagan horned gods such as Pan became equated with the devil and the pentagram, 
which then was called The Witch's Foot.
In modern Wicca the pentagram can also be inscribed on the alter pentacle, 
points symbolizing the three aspect of the Goddess plus two aspect of the God.
The pentagrams use in modern neo-paganism as a group symbol is as important 
as the cross has been in the history of Christianity.

9.What is a Book of Shadows?
It is a place to keep information learned. It can be anything from a spiral 
notebook, to a fancy leather bound book. In it is placed everything the person 
feels should be there, answers to questions, candle and/or moon magick, Witchcraft 
history, herbal information, spells, whatever. This web site can be considered 
a Book of Shadows. I think a better title would be Book of Enlightenment. It 
is thought to have more power if it is hand written. These days, it is hard to 
find the time. Some Wiccans now have a "Disc of Shadows". It is easier to read 
and some type faster than they write.

10.The Principles of Witchcraft as laid down by the Council of Witches
               AS SET BY THE COUNCIL OF AMERICAN WITCHES,1974
1. We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces 
marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal quarters and cross-quarters.
2. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward 
our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance 
offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.
3. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than is apparent to the average 
person. Because it is far greater than ordinary, it is sometimes called 
"supernatural," but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential 
to all.
4. We conceive of the Creative Power in the Universe as manifesting through 
polarity-as masculine and feminine-and that this same creative Power lives in 
all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. 
We value neither above the other, knowing each to be suppportive of the other. 
We value sexuality as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of Life, and as 
one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.
5. We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological worlds-sometimes 
known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, the Inner Planes, 
etc.- and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for 
paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for 
the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.
6. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who 
teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and 
acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.
7. We see religion, magick, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way 
one views the world and lives within it-a world view and philosophy of life, 
which we identify as Witchcraft of the Wiccan Way.
8. Calling oneself Witch" does not make a Witch-but neither does heredity itself, 
or the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control 
the forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely 
and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with Nature.
9. We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of life, in a 
continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning 
to the Universe we know, and to our personal role within it.
10. Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion of 
philosophy-of-life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be 
"the one true right and only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others 
and to suppress other ways of religious practices and belief.
11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of 
the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitmacy of various aspects of 
different traditions. We are concerned with our present, and our future.
12. We do not accept the concept of absolute evil," nor do we worship any entity 
known as "Satan" or "the Devil" as defined by Christian Tradition. We do not 
seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that 
personal benefits can only be derived by denial to another.
13. We work within Nature for that which is contributory to our health and 
well-being.