regarding Wicca

[RajputMaster24]

Dear Friends, is Wicca pantheistic in its theology (God and Goddess control the universe?)?

Also is Wicca based on ancient pre-Christian religion or shamanism?

 

[VioletVortex]

Wiccans are a pretty diverse group of people in terms of their theological views. Some are atheists who see it as a system of symbolism, some believe in gods as forces of nature. I don't believe that many Wiccans are pantheistic, though. Most are more deistic, seeing their gods as representations of forces.

Wicca was created as a form of Celtic reconstructionism, but it isn't the most accurate reconstruction of it. Modern Druidry has more in common with traditional Celtic Paganism. It's not rooted in Shamanism, as far as I know, that came from Russia.

 

[lovesong]

Dear Friends, is Wicca pantheistic in its theology (God and Goddess control the universe?)

Two gods controlling the world is not pantheism. Also, while the god and goddess thing is the most traditional form of Wicca, it has drastically branched off since.

Also is Wicca based on ancient pre-Christian religion or shamanism?

It was an attempt at Celtic reconstructionism. It was actually not bad for its time, but since we have learned much more and come to realize that Wicca is pretty far off. So, no.

 

[Callisto]

Dear Friends, is Wicca pantheistic in its theology (God and Goddess control the universe?)?

Also is Wicca based on ancient pre-Christian religion or shamanism?

Most Trad Wiccans tend to be hard polytheists. However, Trad Wicca is also an orthopraxy not an orthodoxy. Meaning, the emphasis is on maintaining proper practice rather than dictating proper belief - you’re not told how to interpret what you experience. So it’s not impossible for one to be other than a hard polytheist and there are those who do identify otherwise.

Eclectic witches influenced by Wicca and identify as such tend to be far more diverse.

There are pre-Christian concepts found within it but it is not a reconstruction.

 

[Callisto]

Wicca was created as a form of Celtic reconstructionism, but it isn't the most accurate reconstruction of it. Modern Druidry has more in common with traditional Celtic Paganism. It's not rooted in Shamanism, as far as I know, that came from Russia.

It was an attempt at Celtic reconstructionism. It was actually not bad for its time, but since we have learned much more and come to realize that Wicca is pretty far off. So, no.

Wicca is not Celtic nor a reconstruction of a Celtic practice. The whole Celtic buzz arose in the 1990s along with the Celtic craze (think Lord of the Dance, Riverdance). This is part of the glut of misinformation cranked out by publishing companies that persist to this day. Prior to that, one very rarely heard "Celtic" and "Wicca" in the same sentence or as somehow being in relation. Wicca is British, which is why the traditions are collectively referred to as British Traditional Wicca.

Two articles that explain in greater detail:

http://www.tangledmoon.org/wiccanotceltic.htm
http://wicca.cnbeyer.com/not_celtic.shtml

That said, there are individuals who incorporate Wiccan elements in their practices and who honor Celtic deities and it works for them. But no, Wicca did not originate as a Celtic practice, reconstructed or otherwise.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

Dear Friends, is Wicca pantheistic in its theology (God and Goddess control the universe?)? Also is Wicca based on ancient pre-Christian religion or shamanism?

Gerald Gardner, who created the religion, thought he was reviving the ancient religion of Britain and Northern Europe. In fact, he knew more about religion in Ceylon and Malaya!

As a Theosophist, he was familiar with the Hindu idea of Para Brahman. He taught that there was one divine principle which manifested in the world as a God and a Goddess, and all other divinities were aspects of those two or thought-forms created by their worshipers.. As far as I know, he did not teach pantheism.

Modern Wiccans can be anything: pantheist, duotheist, polytheist, even atheist! Wicca is a bit like Hinduism in that respect.