Can I be an atheist and a wiccan witch at the same time, or are the two mutually exclusive?
827358
You can be an atheistic witch, but not an atheistic Wiccan witch; Wicca is theistic.\n\nEssentially, atheistic witchcraft is basically the acknowledgment and usage of unorthodox means to get a goal accomplished.  You do not have to believe in any gods and goddesses to get magick to work--though from experience, it sure makes it easier!
414744
Here is how I feel..\n\nHelp for Non-Wiccans \nThat someone you love should decide one day to be a Witch may be the last thing you ever expected. What could be more alien, more controversial, more overwhelming? \n\nYour loved one is probably exploring Wicca, a modern Pagan (Neo-Pagan) movement. Throw out all the stereotypes and the Hollywood hype you've seen or heard about Witchcraft. Wicca (like other modern Pagan religions) is actually a gentle, life-affirming, positive path. It is a religion and a way of life that connects on a very deep level with Nature and the Earth's cycles. Wicca is very individualized. Its followers do not answer to any all-powerful leader; nor are they cut off from family or friends. Wicca is not a proselytizing religion. For some, it just happens to be the religion that makes the most sense. \n\nHow should you respond to someone interested in Wicca? Try to understand that there are many positive spiritual paths from which to choose. Mainstream religion is not for everyone; give your loved one the freedom to choose for him/herself. If your under-age child takes an interest in Wicca, you have the right to insist that he/she stay away from it. But if Wicca is forbidden territory, your child may seek the information subversively; wouldn't it be better to permit overt exploration so that your child may seek information with your guidance? \n\nOccasionally you may hear the terms "white witch", "black witch", implying that there are good or bad versions of the path. This is actually a fallacy. Wiccans follow what's known as The Wiccan Rede, which states, "If it harm none, do what you will." This means one may live life as one sees fit so long as one does no intentional harm. (This includes casting negative spells and doing magic to manipulate others.) Wiccans by definition do not practice any form of negative magic. Those who do are not deserving of the title, "Witch". \n\nNo one can speak for others who claim to be Wiccan, and it is possible that there are some alleged Wiccans who are unethical. Keep in mind that in all walks of life, from every cultural, philosophical and religious background there are those who do not live up to the high standards of their community. The best thing to do is to encourage new Wiccans to be discriminatory, to use good judgement and common sense in their spiritual pursuits. \n\nFor more basic information about this path please see the other sections of this page including, "What is Wicca?" \n\nQuestions? If you have a question about Wicca or Neo-Paganism, write to Fly-by-Night psyche@flybynightbookstore.com. Your question and our answer will be posted on our web site (with only your first name for those who wish to maintain their anonymity). We may not be able to answer all questions due to volume but will attempt to respond to as many as possible.
398241
Alright... welcome tony_copeland to Theos Mart! Here, we have a large selection of religions for you to believe in. Personally, my favorite would have to be the Pagan Religion. Now, with this religious group, you have a lot of choices! You could be a Druid, a Shaman, a Voodoo practicioner, a Witch, a Priestess, a Priest, or any number of other things! You have the freedom to pick and choose your Gods and Goddesses at will, though, they might not always get along. Should you join this religion, there will be a need for intensive study, such as reading books and finding things out on your own. I suggest that you find a spirit guide, should you choose Paganism. A spirit guide -- whether it be a fae, an animal, a dragon, a unicorn, a demon, an angel, a God, a Goddess, Buddha, whatever -- will help you through life and help you make the right choices! But wait, there's more! If you choose Paganism, you get a one-way ticket AWAY from Hell because they don't believe in it! So, what will it be?
673170
I am a Wiccan witch does that count? I am female. For all you ignorant people below we are not evil we are not satanists we do not sacrafice babies we are basiclly normal people.  Satan is a Christian construct.
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It is against Wiccan beliefs to cast a spell on another that will effect their free will. If she is not Wiccan but another form of spellcaster, she might have cast a spell on him, but, having studied religions and the occult my whole life, I highly doubt a Wiccan cast a spell on your child's father. It really isn't what those people do. Maybe a rootworker or a Santera or a Vodouisant, but...messing with "free will," is a big no no to Wiccans.
601917
I consider myself Wiccan.  To me, it's an emerging movement that is still in the process of defining itself- initial trends included negative-definition (wicca is defined be what it is not, commonly "'wicca is not christianity' or 'wicca is not devil-worship' etc), non-definition (either because the group is too eclectic to attempt a definition, or out of a desire to maintain a hands-off approach), victim-definition (victimization, or the self-marginalization produced by emphasis on 'burning times' or historical religious persecution; irrelevant to modern practice, but it seems to be a popular method of forging ones identity, and there's alot of rumor-mongering in the pagan community to support this theory), and pseudo-historical-definition (claims to a prehistoric origin, etc).  \n\nNone of these cut it for creating a spiritual identity; Luckily, Wicca is moving away from these, as well as its habit of 'borrowing' (heritage theft, put shortly) and developing its own symbols, myths, jargon, and even deities.  There is getting to be less pressure for validation (via lineage, accounts of intolerance, etc).  Also a good sign- people need to feel confident that they are what they believe they are and not need to defend themselves to other Wiccans.\n\nA fend-for-yourself attitude in regard to dogma might be appealing if we want a truly open and freeform religion, but if Wicca doesn't provide something truly solid for people going through tough or troubled times it will fail as a religion.  Spells and magic aren't enough- Wicca needs to work on developing its philosophy and actually ask some of the harder questions.  But its starting to happen.  I am blessed to be living at a time when my religion is kicking its way out of the universal womb- ten or twenty years from now we'll have the first real generation of Wiccans who were raised in the tradition (current demographics are between 92 and 99% converts).  I look forward to hearing what they have to say about it.\n\nWicca has a few things that have been established- the importance of elemental divisions, duality in divinity, emphasis on systems of correspondences, the Magic Circle as both battery and sacred space.  All good tools; it's a starting point.  There is a current trend of wiccans turning to or creating particular Trads; I think that will continue, because the generic 'wicca' identifier is too big and unwieldy to provide as strong a sense of community.  We hesitate to come up with statements about who we are for fear of leaving some members out- how often do we have to qualify that most wiccans are nature worshippers but some aren't, that most use the god-goddess model but some don't, that some wiccans cast spells but some don't?  I'm all in support of breaking Wicca into smaller sects, so that people can actually feel like they know something about their fellow practitioners.\n\nSo, Wicca is an opportunity for creativity.  No religion can stay undefined for long and still survive, but for now, we are the ones who will help to shape what Wicca becomes.  Tis both an exhilerating and humbling thought.\n\n(NOTE- my ideas of Wicca being in transition are my opinion, and only that- I don't mean to offend people that feel they already have a solid community identity or that come from an actual hereditary tradition that recently adopted the name 'wiccan', or anyone else.  But I'm all about the chaos.  :)
512173
Hi....I am a Wiccan (and have been for the past 20 years).  Wiccans do worship Mother Earth & Father Sky.  You will be able to find most Wiccan Followers volunteering in their communities by cleaning up garbage sites, volunteering in animal shelters, etc.  While your Friend apparently claims to follow the Wiccan Religion, I don't believe that he, in actuality, knows anything about the Religion.  You may want to broach the subject with your Friend by asking him to explain the Principles behind Wicca and asking him how he incorpates Wicca into his daily life.  Have a lovely rest of the day.
163755
It's a Pagan religion. There's a God and a Goddess who are equally important. There are 8 holidays. Halloween/Hallow's Eve/Samhain is New Years. Beltane/May Day (May 1st) is basically a holiday meant to be spent with the one you love for some passionate interactions (based on the union of the God and Goddess)... the religion is mainly dualistic, but, can be quite polytheistic if you allow it to. Many Wiccans perform magick, but, one does not have to if they do not want to. They believe in "An it harm none, do as thou will" and the Law of Threefold Return, where if you do something -- good or bad -- it'll come back threefold. Anything else you'd like to know?
1163013
Wicca, i believe in the energy of all things are connected. there is more to this world than you can see. you worship where you are as you are. harm none. i celebrate the seasons and moon and sun phases as the important celestial events they are. i believe in magic, fairies, and all sorts of magical folk. i don't wonder how the world was created, how do i prove it and what will it change if i know? i believe in a god and goddess. i don't believe in trashing other religions because my god by any other name is still my god. others may not see it this way, but i believe my god is their god, they just refuse to acknowledge the female counterpart.\nI'm getting long winded, that's a start.
228738
First of all, it's nice to hear from Christians that you should respect another's faith.  Secondly, to hear from some of you that your way was is the TRUTH, is nothing new to me.  I understand it is how your faith operates.  Also, I just wanted to point out being brainwashed must involve a collective group of people who believe exactly the same thing.  This is not what you will find in the Wiccan faith.  As 100 Wiccans who or what is "GOD" and you will get 100 different answers.\n\nNow for the real question at hand.  I am distressed to hear that one from our faith of respect and tolerance is trying to "convert" you.  Obviously this person has not done much reading on the actual basic principals of Wicca.  One of these being that we do not convert, we only educate when asked.  This faith is one, which should be sought out and found.  To offer it up freely would be an insult to those who really wish to spend time deciding for themselves where their spiritual path takes them.\n\nAs for how to deal with this, I feel you should be blunt.  Tell her that you are not interested in participating in any rituals with her.  If this is all she has to offer in your time together then apparently you two don't have much in common.  You don't have to be rude, but don't beat around the bush either.  Make it clear what your intentions are as friends.  If one day you decide to walk in this path then you already have a point of contact.\n\nI would like to also say, that I am sorry some of the people who have posted answer have not been very supportive.  No matter what you decide to believe, always know that not one person has the right to make or persuade you to believe otherwise.
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Choosing someone of your faith certainly makes a better match in the long run, especially in our faith (I am Wiccan myself).  It's very hard to maintain a relationship with someone who is always secretly thinking your going to hell, even if they keep it to themselves.  Plus it makes it harder to celebrate the holidays, especiallly if your coven considers their celebrations exclusively for believers.
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I would agree that I'm not sure you can be both.\n\nMy understanding of Agnostic is one who is unconvinced on the existance of a higher being...which would leave it open to their possibly encountering something that convinces them. Basically they don't know one way or the other, so they choose to err on the side of caution and not put their faith in something intangible.\n\nWhile an Athiest is someone who is adamantly convinced there is no higher power.\n\nOne of my favorite lines from the tv show "Northern Exposure" is "I respect Athiests, I think it takes a lot of faith to not believe in God."\n\nI personally beleive in God, while not subscribing to any particular organized religion, and so far this is working out pretty well for me! :)\n\nTake care and God Bless you too! :)
1031364
Wicca is about understanding metaphysics and the great powers of the universe. Wiccans believe in God and Goddess not only a female Deity also male. There are a lot of people making money from religion and spirituality, if you come across such people trying to sell you spells and religious books claiming they know how the world will end and things like that you should know it might just be a fraud. I'm Neo-Pagan so I have read up on Wicca but am still learning. I think the main purpose is to grow spiritually.
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It so tempting to try and believe in these things. Truth is, Satan himself would be pleased if you did. Because God sees and knows all. \n\nAs a human, you never have to find out what's going to happen to you. If you persist on this, you will stay where you are and do nothing, thus negating all what God has given you. On the other hand, if you work hard and pray hard, you will know where you're going without the need of witchcraft. A strong person needs not the falsehoods and lies to know his future, he makes HIS own future with God's aid and help.
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No its not possible to be a Christian witch, it goes against ways of Christianity and which ever branch of witchcraft you are referring to. In Christian beliefs, not only is it a sin to be a witch, but there is the belief in most branches of Pagan religions in more than one god/dess (while there is no “supreme” god in most cases of witchcraft) \n\nBeaufortbeauty … not all witchcraft is about appreciating nature and its bounties. Not all witchcraft is Wicca.  Wicca is a fairly “modern” branch of witchcraft, created by Gardner. It has some basis in traditional witchcraft, but not much. As for Wicca not having a supreme god, no it don’t, it has a goddess, The Lady, who is worshipped as the creator. And in her absence, The Lord. \n\nCookie777.… the practice and symbolism behind Christmas, everything from the 12 days of Christmas, the use of mistletoe, holly, the colors red and green, the image of Santa himself, among others, where taken from the Pagan stories, symbols, and celebrations of Yule. Yule is a pagan holiday (and even Christians use the term Yuletide), when Christianity became the power in religion, it needed to draw in followers, to do this, they incorporated many of the pagan symbols and celebrations into Christianity to make it more easy to convert to. Look at the old churches across Europe, many of them have images of pagan gods and pagan symbols in the artwork. Easter is another holiday once celebrated by pagans, Ostara. From Ostara you get the symbolism of the egg (a symbolism for fertility), the hare (this is your easter bunny, but the hare is also a symbolic representive of the goddess Ostara). Coloring of eggs: these were offered as gifts to bring blessings of prosperity and abundance to someone’s life.
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I've been out of the closet for 10 years.  When I had my son, I decided then that I'd start being open about my religious choice.  I have bumper stickers on my car "Witches Parking Only All Others Will Be Toad"; "Witches Do It In Circles"; "Where There's A Witch, There's A Way".  I have quite a few magikal supplies, concealed in a storage box that has a celestial print on it.  My supplies are concealed as I have a few friends who don't approve & have told me that as long as they don't see my supplies, they'll be fine. This works well.  My essential oils are stored in my curio hutch on the second shelf. Unless you're right in front of it, you can't see them.  I've educated people where I can by providing info leaflets & directing them to informative websites.  In the source below is my favorite site.  Witchvox has a lot of great information.  I'm also a volunteer for the local Pagan Pride Day celebration, also in the source below.
82383
I think Wicca would be nice; if not Wicca, I'd chose being a witch cause then I'd have the power of casting spells.  But maybe Buddhism is the best choice. Having said that, please understand that I am reborn and new to the faith.  Praise Jesus and pass the potatoes, too (just kidding).  Amen.