What do all Wiccan's believe? (Earth, beliefs, experience, atheist)

[bflydad]

I've been involved in this discussion on another group and I wanted to ask it here. I expected that I would get some general consensus on a couple of core beliefs but what I got was interesting. First, most people suggested that Wicca is more about practice than belief (which I agree) and that any attempt to put some sort of boundaries around Wicca destroys what Wicca is (which I disagree with - on both religious and pragmatic grounds).

So what are the positive core beliefs (i.e. not "you can't believe in ...") of Wicca?

[MaddLlama]

I'd like to preface this by saying that I agree that Wicca is not fundamentally a religion of the "anything you want to be is Wiccan" style of eclecticism that seems to make up its image, and detracts from its legitimacy. And, I think that stems from the incorrect misconception that Wicca is the only form of Paganism out there But, I digress...

For me, I think there are a few things that you simply have to believe in order to be a Wiccan:

1. Theism. You have to be some sort of theist, whether a polytheist (hard, soft or extremely squishy), monotheist, panetheist, etc. I don't believe you can be agnostic or an atheist and still use the title "Wiccan"
2. Balance. I'm sure Dianic Wiccans everywhere will want to chop off my boobs for this, but I believe a Wiccan practice that only recognizes the feminine or the masculine at the extent of the other is ultimately not a Wiccan one. Wicca depends on both the God and the Goddess in balance and harmony
3. Reverence for nature. Some form of appreciation, or view of something reverent in the natural world is essential. It is, after all, an "earth-based" religion.
4. Magic. Whether or not one casts spells, I think the belief in a greater essence or energy is another essential.

[bflydad]

Originally Posted by MaddLlama

1. Theism. You have to be some sort of theist, whether a polytheist (hard, soft or extremely squishy), monotheist, panetheist, etc. I don't believe you can be agnostic or an atheist and still use the title "Wiccan"
2. Balance. I'm sure Dianic Wiccans everywhere will want to chop off my boobs for this, but I believe a Wiccan practice that only recognizes the feminine or the masculine at the extent of the other is ultimately not a Wiccan one. Wicca depends on both the God and the Goddess in balance and harmony

So can you be monotheistic and be balanced?

Does duo/polytheism imply a polarity/balance?

[MaddLlama]

The monotheistic Wiccans I know are really what I call the "squishy polytheists", it's just one step further from the "all gods are one god, all goddesses are one goddess" approach to polytheism - all gods and goddesses are ultimately one god broken down into comprehendable bits. I think it's definately possible to have a balanced practice with this approach. Which, brings me the next point about duotheism and polytheism.
I think that the tendancy in Wicca, no matter the theistic approach, is to believe either in one all encompassing god and goddess, or adopt a matron and patron goddess/god, and that's where the balance lies.

My personal experience is that the "harder" the polytheist, the less likely they are to be Wiccan, and more likely to be recons.

[Gentoo]

I think it's possible to be monotheistic and balanced, as long as that one god/dess has both yin and yang qualities.

[bflydad]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

I think it's possible to be monotheistic and balanced, as long as that one god/dess has both yin and yang qualities.

So do you think someone can be monotheistic and Wiccan?

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by bflydad

So do you think someone can be monotheistic and Wiccan?

I don't see why not.

Wicca can be very fluid within it's guidelines... someone can just believe that the God and Goddess occupy one "body" rather than be two separate beings.

[bflydad]

Do Wiccan's have any core beliefs on souls (i.e. do we have them, do they exist before/after life, ...)? Is reincarnation a core belief?

[Gentoo]

I think a lot of that depends on the tradition the Wiccan follows, either that, or they can make their own judgements. But I would say that a lot of Wiccans (myself included) believe that souls exist and reincarnation is what happens to them.