Not quite understanding.... (hell, pagan, pray, Christians, Christ)

[OneoftheLost]

Ok, well as I promised in my intro thread, I have ALOT of questions...one of them centers on the Dualities of Wicca. My stepmom was wicca, but not true wicca as I understand the word...

Anyway here's what I would like to know. From what I can see of Wicca and the few practitioners that I know, they fall into one or another group. The religious group, and the spell-casting group. Now I am not saying everyone is like this, Im just asking. My questions is this.

Lets say you practice the wicca religion, where does this spell casting come in? I don't understand why they do it? because they can, or is it like christians and praying? Is it a link to the Goddess? From what little my friend has told me of the spell-casting side of things, its not like the media portrays at all, spell casting isnt some... wave your hands, mutter some wierd vowels and poof! somebody is in love withe somebody else, or somebody is cursed, or even that lightning suddenly comes down.....but that is another subject entirely, so in a nutshell, why spell-cast?

[BFD_Zayl]

Well, I'm not Wiccan, but maybe I can help you out. many people have their own reason for spell casting, mine are that not only does it help me get what I need, It also establishes a link to the Gods. instead of just asking for a something to happen, you make it happen. but In Wicca, i guess it could be seen in the same way as praying...idk...

[Feathers in Hair]

Out of curiosity, are you looking for viewpoints from all Pagan paths, or mainly the Wiccans?

[OneoftheLost]

Originally Posted by BFD_Zayl

It also establishes a link to the Gods. instead of just asking for a something to happen, you make it happen.

Hmm..I guess that makes sense...but from what my friend said it could be extremely dangerous. So would the payoff be worth it? I don't know. Spell Casting, Magic, Magika, it all seems pretty far-left to me. I guess I could understand if it was like praying...but if its really that successfull, then why hasn't it gone more main-stream? the potential back-lash for the inexperianced or greedy, or religious prosecution, Or am I missing the point entirely...

*EDIT* oops only saw his post Feathers, I guess its more of a look on Wicca's, but Paganism in general works too...

[BFD_Zayl]

Originally Posted by OneoftheLost

Hmm..I guess that makes sense...but from what my friend said it could be extremely dangerous. So would the payoff be worth it? I don't know. Spell Casting, Magic, Magika, it all seems pretty far-left to me. I guess I could understand if it was like praying...but if its really that successfull, then why hasn't it gone more main-stream? the potential back-lash for the inexperianced or greedy, or religious prosecution, Or am I missing the point entirely...

*EDIT* oops only saw his post Feathers, I guess its more of a look on Wicca's, but Paganism in general works too...

lol, for that part it would be better to ask the people that don't do it, rather than the people who do. its not "Extremely" dangerous, although there are some consequences if you do something rather stupid. i guess the answer to your question would be, mainstream religions have pretty much demonized it.

[OneoftheLost]

Oh...hmm.. any true Wiccan's care to share their views on my original question? I'm assuming that its similair to Zayl's explanation, but I want to be sure.

[Gentoo]

I'm an eclectic Wiccan, so I hope that's something.

Why spell-cast? I view spells as a sort of active type of prayer. It links yourself with the Deities and sets into motion a desired outcome. A spell is only as good as the caster believes it to be.

What is a spell? I would say that it's a focused energy created/gathered by the caster to achieve a desired outcome. If that's too technical, I could break it down if you'd like.

[Circle_One]

Like Feathers, and Zayl, I'm not Wiccan, but I've had my fair share of encounters with Wicca, and, I do practice Magick.

Ok, first, let me point out that I disagree with Zayl's statement that it's not dangerous. Spellcasting is extremely dangerous, especially for dabblers, and those who don't know what they're getting themselves into. It forms a direct link with the Powers That Be, and if that can be quite dangerous, if you're unpracticed, and unable to handle it.

Originally Posted by Lovely Gentoo

Why spell-cast? I view spells as a sort of active type of prayer. It links yourself with the Deities and sets into motion a desired outcome. A spell is only as good as the caster believes it to be.

I agree with this.

But you have to understand, the majority of those who practice Magick, don't do so on a regular, daily basis, nor do they do so for just anything (at least from my perspective).

The way I see it is: If all else fails, do a casting.

But also, the way I'm taking you to mean spellcasting, is different from the practice of Rituals. Which are done for many reasons and don't always call for a spell casting to be done (most of mine rarely call for it). Unlike Gentoo, I see my rituals more like prayers, rather than the spells.

For the record, what do you consider "True Wicca"?

[OneoftheLost]

O_o

You know I had this really well thought out, time consuming response to that. Then of course the forums went down for a good twenty minutes kept saying that IE could not find the server. Even tried firefox. I will edit this with the repost later. This happens to me alot.

[Circle_One]

Heh, happens to me all the time too, darling. You're not alone.