How much North African and Abrahamic influence on Wicca?

[Nayana]

My Question
How much does North African and Abrahamic mysticism influence Wicca and is it part of the basis of Wicca, i.e does one need to believe and practise this to be a part of a Wiccan Coven.

Hi All,

After a long long time away I am back, Still the same, following Dharmic practises and Yoga and well as Paganism.

I have connected to a local coven and I was quite surprised how much Egyptian symbols was being used.
I would love to get more into Wicca as there are quite a few covens around my area and I would like to join in. I would like to know more from perhaps someone who is initiated?

 

[Sirona]

Blessed Be, @Nayana,

all I know is that you have to study Wiccan material by yourself for "one year and one day" before you can get initiated. Wiccans want to avoid becoming "uniform", and so what is actually believed may differ from coven to coven. I read several Wicca books, but I found Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham the most informative. As for gods and goddesses, I think Wiccans are pretty eclectic and use whatever deities suit them, regardless of the tradition the deities come from. I'm not so much into Wicca anymore, but I noticed that practices like Wicca, magic and the like often "borrow" pagan gods in order to appear "ancient". Gardner, the guy who created Wicca, took inspiration from many sources, including Satanism-inclined Aleister Crowley who probably once was considered groundbreaking and scandalous in invoking ancient gods. Most Wiccans believe in One God and One Goddess, some believe in One Goddess only. What the deities' names are is not so important, as all gods are seen as manifestations of the One God and all goddesses are forms of the One Goddess.

This is a famous Wiccan chant invoking goddesses from various ancient and / or pagan religions:

As for Abrahamic influences on Wicca, there's a Christian Wicca forum on RF.

Christian Wicca DIR

 

[Hildeburh]

My Question
How much does North African and Abrahamic mysticism influence Wicca and is it part of the basis of Wicca, i.e does one need to believe and practise this to be a part of a Wiccan Coven.

Hi All,

After a long long time away I am back, Still the same, following Dharmic practises and Yoga and well as Paganism.

I have connected to a local coven and I was quite surprised how much Egyptian symbols was being used.
I would love to get more into Wicca as there are quite a few covens around my area and I would like to join in. I would like to know more from perhaps someone who is initiated?

The answer to this question depends solely on your definition of Wicca. There is Gardnerian Wicca, AKA British Traditional Wicca (BTW) that traces its origin to the New Forest region of England, its offshoots in other countries also have a tracable origin to British Traditional Wicca; via the pedigree system. Then there is eclectic religious witchcraft that borrows from the outer court/published material of BTW and borrows the name Wicca.

BTW is an intiatory, coven based (not solitary), non eclectic tradition whose members are sworn to secrecy regarding their core traditions. BTW does not prescribe belief, you can believe the Lord and Lady are archetypes, aspects of one deity, actual beings or you can be an atheist; BTW is orthopraxic not orthodoxic, meaning that you can believe what you want but must practice in accordance to set tradition. Generally seekers participate in the outer court celebrations prior to being taken on as novices, this process can take years.

On the other hand eclectic religious witchcraft (also called dedicatory religious witchcraft) that draws on the outer court material of Wicca can pretty much be and inculde any culture or tradition the individual practitioner or coven chooses, they are by their nature eclectic. It is unlikely therefore that your local coven is BTW if they have divulged their traditions to you prior to initiation. The one year and a day is not the BTW tradition it is eclectic and largely unnecessary if you are solitary or join an eclectic coven.

I hope that answers your question. I further suggest if you are interested in BTW that you read the books written by Gerald B Gardner, they are dated yes, but it will give you an introduction to BTW that you cannot otherwise access unless you are an initiate and help you understand the nature of Wicca.