Wicca is an earth-based Spiritual path, based on reviving the ancient pagan religions of pre-Christian Europe. Wiccan’s have a strong belief in the forms and forces of nature and that the divine source exists on all planes and is both male and female. Wiccan’s see aspects of life and nature as being sacred.

Wiccan’s will attempt to attune themselves to natural rhythms of nature and cycle of life so they can communicate with the divine form. Wiccan’s will use rituals and rites, which are a mix between ancient text and modern ceremonies as well as shamanic practices to achieve this commune with the divine force.

For Wiccan’s the divine form / force is divided in to two parts the two parts are considered to be equal and opposite (up-down / left-right / good bad / summer-winter etc.). These two halves created the balance in the universe and manifest as a Goddess(s) and God(s). By manifesting the power in two deities (Goddess and God), the natural balance of opposites, cause and effect are retained, e.g. Summer/winter, light/ dark, life and death etc   

Although Wiccan’s may name their deities Wiccan’s believe that all goddess’s are but one goddess and all gods are but one god. The reason a Wiccan will call on a deity by name is to focus the aspect or nature of the persona that that aspect of the divine portrays. Wiccan’s believe that with the will of the divine and through magickal workings such as spells and rituals you can bend the unlimited source of energy to your will and desire. 

The Wiccan path has no leaders, No laws saying what is right and wrong, No real religious text such as The Bible,The Qur’an ,The Torah,The Vedas ,The Book of Mormon ,The Guru Granth Sahib ,The Avesta ,The Zhuan Falun etc although there are hundreds of books on wicca.

Wiccan fall basically into two groups the Hedge Witch, which is a solitary practitioner, and those that belong to a formal group or coven. Covens normally consist of 13 member and they are normally presided over by a High Priest and Priestess who have had may years of experience and are respected as an Elder and teacher of the craft.

All Wiccans adhere to one overriding ethical precept as stated in the “Wiccan Rede”:

“Though it harm none, Do what thy wilt”.

For a more detailed view of this rule please read “And it Harm None”

And to insure that Wiccan’s work ethically and with an understanding that their actions have a consequence the have “The Three-Fold Law”.

Which basically is what you send out will return three-fold three times good three times bad. This means Alli Online that a Wiccan has to be responsible for their own actions and how the actions affect other people because of the backlash they will receive for causing harm

Wiccan’s celebrate 8 major rituals each year called “Sabbats”

There are 4 major and 4 minor Sabbats. The major Sabbats include: Imbolc (February 2nd), Beltane (April 30th), Lughnasadh (August 1st) and Samhain (October 31st), while the minor Sabbats are: Ostara (Spring Equinox, March 21st), Litha (Summer Solstice, June 21st), Madon (Autumn Equinox, September 21st), and Yule (Winter Solstice, December 21st).

The Sabbats are solar rituals marking the points of the sun’s yearly cycle, and make up half of the Wiccan ritual year. The other half is made up with “Esbats”, the Full Moon celebrations. There are 13 full moons each year symbolizing the goddess, wisdom and the inner self of the individual.

Anybody can be a Wiccan or Study Wicca and many people do. Since Wicca is a very personal and practical religion it can be moulded to suit an individuals needs spiritually and personally.

There are many different branches with in the Wiccan religion all with different rituals and rite but they all share the basic structure Wicca and Wicca is only one of many Pagan paths, And the one thing all these traditions share, is an overriding reverence for life, nature, and the environment, as seen through the Goddess and God.

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Originally posted 2010-06-24 08:59:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Wheel of the year is basically a calendar of the 8 festivals called Sabbats celebrated by Wiccan’s and some other pagan paths. The wheel looks like a cartwheel with 8 spokes marking the sections of the year. The wheel is in 2 sections the first is the Quarters know as “the lesser Sabbats” or “quarter days”, these quarters mark the movement of the sun through the year with the vertical spokes marking the solstices and the horizontal spokes marking the equinoxes

The second section represents the cross quarters “cross-quarter days,” “fire festivals,” or “Greater Sabbats”, these are a mix of Gaelic and Germanic festival but basically or from my understanding the cross quarters are the cycles of life and death.

The truth be told the Wiccan Wheel of the Year as been made up and in fact at the very starting of Wicca only the Cross quarters where celebrated online pharmacy without prescription it was the Bricket Wood Coven that added the quarter days basically because the wanted more meeting They did this while Gerald Gardner was away although he did not object to the additions as this brought Wicca closer to Gardner’s Long time friend Ross Nichols’s Neo druidism groups the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.

Although this Wheel has no historical value in terms of reclaiming the Craft it is a valued addition to Wicca and in other pagan paths.

For me the wheel is a great source of meditation, understanding of life and death, a reminder of the cycles in life and most important reason of them all 8 reasons to party and celebrate the divine source. But the Wheel is more than that the symbology of the circle and it relation to the sun and moon a reminder that the wheel is eternal it has no beginning and no end.

The solar aspect of the wheel relates to the God forms of the Oak and Holly kings, twin gods sharing or battling for control The Oak King will rule the light Half of the year he is born at the winter solstice and begins his rule in spring and dies in autumn to be reborn again at the winter solstice.

Whilst the Holly King rules the dark half of the year he will take control at the death of his twin and will rule until the re-birthed Oak Kings is strong enough to control and then will step down and withdraw.

Although there are version of this story that state that the 2 twin are fighting for the favour of the goddess, I see the Holly King as a wise and caring father figure Protecting and helping his brothers and the earth he is a reminder that The God form is eternal, While the Oak king is a reminder of how fragile life is we are born grow die and are reborn with all that that entails.

The Luna Aspects of the wheel, which relate to the goddess aspect are easier to identify the wheel turns as the moon turns with midwinter being the new moon the vernal equinox the first quarter Midsummer the full moon the autumnal equinox the last quarter and back to the new moon

Now for the eight spokes each of the spokes relate to a different festival in ancient times these festivals where used to mark agricultural events such as planting and harvesting and storing food as well as the solar events of the solstices and equinoxes.

Since different pagan paths and Wiccan groups and individuals have different names and rituals on these date their no correct formula to the festivals in fact the festivals change depending on what hemisphere your in.

If we take a quick look at the festivals and how I see them I will cover them in greater detail in the future.

For me the wheel starts a Samhain (Sowain) the Celtic New Year and the Festival of the dead a time to remember friends family past and present. But it a reminder to me that at the start of any thing you will face hardship and you will need support, it also a reminder that in time passed this would be a harvest your last one for a long while and what you have will have to last if you did have enough to last you through the winter you could die. I celebrate this time by having a feast where guest bring some raw food and a meal is created from the food gathered, silly games are played and everyone has fun customers are often worn.

The Next spoke is Yule the winter solstice this to be is about the rebirth of the god and the potential that is still hidden. Since Christmas is around this time I combine the both I send Yule Cards to friends. I have my own Yule tradition that Mix the Christmas feel for the Children in my life I buy tiny presents from the pound shop wrap them up and hang them from the tree, these are what I call tree presents they are gift from the tree.

The Next is Imbolc this signifies the beginning of spring it a time of new beginnings and the beginning of planting this is about preparing the food for the year to come. I use Imbolc to plan what I am going to do in the coming year. Traditional I would find a daffodil and just meditate on the story of Persephone.

The next is the Vernal Equinox or Ostara for me this is a time for fertility rites and the creation a time of change this is also the time that the Goddess and god are reunited as lovers. This is the time where I would work closely with my partner on intimate rituals to strengthen our love and relationship.

Beltane is next this is a fire festival and has great focus on masculine energy and Sex although there are many May day rituals that are still preformed today the may pole is one of the most know, For me beltaine is a time for sacrifice and surrender it is a time for me to accept what I need to give up to achieve what I planed to achieve at Imbolc. This would be the time when I would choose to walk through the woods charging myself with the potency of the God.

Now we are at Litha or Mid Summer the point where the Goddess is swollen which the fruits of the earth the God are at his Full potential, for me it’s a time to Enjoy and celebrate a day where theirs nothing to do everything is in balance and as it should be. It for me a day where I just enjoy the goddess and god.

Then we have Lammas the first harvest it’s a time when I would go in to the garden and pick my fruits and veg I would normally prepare a meal with what has been gathered and share with friends and family. Sharing your hard work is a wonderful of honouring The God and Goddess.

And the final spoke before returning to the new year is the Autumnal equinox the final harvest so back into the garden for the last harvest and clearing the garden ready for next year again I would share this food with family and friends either as food baskets, or as a meal depending on size of harvest.

Although I have not gone into to much detail of the rituals and correspondences I will do this as in later articles.

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Related articles

• Samhain (socyberty.com)
• Autumnal Equinox: Why First Day of Fall 2010 Is Different (news.nationalgeographic.com)
• Yule: Celtic Festival of Rebirth and Light (brighthub.com)

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  Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2010 Cyber Caulron

Originally posted 2011-01-23 05:39:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Litha, which means to stand still or stopping, is the name given to the pagan Mid summer ritual. The Summer solstice which happens around the 21^st / 22^nd of June depending on the position of the sun.

As pagans we celebrate the summer solstice as part of the wheel of the year and their some slight differences in the symbology. Some pagans see the [wikipedia]summer solstice[/wikipedia] as the time where the Goddess took over the earth from the horned God at the beginning of spring and she is now at the height of her power and fertility. For some Pagans the Summer Solstice marks the marriage of the God and Goddess and sees their union as the force that creates the harvest’s fruits.

For me it the time when the god and goddess of the light half of the year are at their most fertile and radiate life. The God is at his peek but from this point forward he will weaken until he is final defeated and killed by the god of the dark half of the year and is reborn in mid winter.

For me this time of year is about balance and enjoying the best times while you have them it is also it a big reminder that nothing will last forever.

This is a time to celebrate growth and life for Pagans, who see balance in the world and are deeply aware of the ongoing shifting of the seasons it is also time to acknowledge that the sun will now begin to decline once more towards winter.

When celebrating midsummer Pagans draw on diverse traditions. In England thousands of Pagans and non-Pagans go to places of ancient religious sites such as [wikipedia]Stonehenge[/wikipedia] and [wikipedia]Avebury[/wikipedia] to see the sun rising on the first morning of summer.

Related articles

• England Recognizes Druid Religion (israelnationalnews.com)
• Druidry deemed a religion in U.K. (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Originally posted 2011-02-17 03:38:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter