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What do you think about Wicca?
- Thread starter Starlight
- Start date
It's seems to work for wiccans.
How about you, what do you think?
How about you, what do you think?
Starlight
Spiritual but not religious, new age and omnist
I like Wicca very much. If I had become a pagan, I would probably have chosen Wicca. Wicca also has good morality rules on how to be a good person
Ah morality, one of the things about some religion i object to. Not the morality itself but claiming it for its self.
Morality was a human (and some.animals) trait long before religion was thought of.
Taken by religion, turned into rules that demonise those not of a particular faith.
I could go on (and on) but I won't... ;-)
PoetPhilosopher
Veteran Member
All the good stuff seems to be hidden behind covens, etc. And you end up with a lot of books on the subject that are written by rather unqualified people. Then it's also lonely if you don't practice Wicca in an "official" Gardnerian way, as other followers will tend to see you as an outcast. Although there are ways to carve your own path, there are aspects of it that I feel remind me of Freemasonry (though I'm not saying the two are exactly the same - no, that's not what I'm saying).
But other than that, I guess I found it likeable when I identified as polytheist. I feel some things about it are unconventional if you try to do it in a more traditional way, and I agree with people that suggest there is some "woo" involved.
For me, it was an invaluable stepping stone on my path of spiritual development.
It's an initiatory religion of different traditions with solid core ethics and morals and valuable tools for spiritual growth, though it may not be for everyone due to its emphasis on sex in ritual.
Unfortunately it's been perverted into various forms of what I call McWicca as a result of people having a rudimentary understanding of the religion as a result of the unqualified authors @Snow White mentions in their post and what they see in Hollywood productions and cherry picking certain aspects and calling them "my version/tradition of Wicca," which winds up as little more than an eclectic form of Neo-Paganism. No less valid than any other path, of course, but many traditional Wiccans take exception to calling these variations Wicca.
It's an initiatory religion of different traditions with solid core ethics and morals and valuable tools for spiritual growth, though it may not be for everyone due to its emphasis on sex in ritual.
Unfortunately it's been perverted into various forms of what I call McWicca as a result of people having a rudimentary understanding of the religion as a result of the unqualified authors @Snow White mentions in their post and what they see in Hollywood productions and cherry picking certain aspects and calling them "my version/tradition of Wicca," which winds up as little more than an eclectic form of Neo-Paganism. No less valid than any other path, of course, but many traditional Wiccans take exception to calling these variations Wicca.
Erebus
Well-Known Member
It's a bit tricky to give my thoughts on Wicca as a whole as it's incredibly diverse. A Gardnerian coven member and a solitary New-Ageish practitioner may well have very little in common with each other. There's good and bad to any approach really so any praise or criticism I give will fall apart fairly quickly. Covens for example can be a good way for people to find community and a place of safety. They can also be hierarchical and easily abused.
I do quite like the Wiccan Rede: "Do what you will, so long as it harms none."
It's not a fleshed out system of morality and it's certainly easy to pick apart if you care to do so. As a basic rule of thumb for everyday life though, I honestly think it works well.
I do quite like the Wiccan Rede: "Do what you will, so long as it harms none."
It's not a fleshed out system of morality and it's certainly easy to pick apart if you care to do so. As a basic rule of thumb for everyday life though, I honestly think it works well.
RestlessSoul
Well-Known Member
I find Wiki more useful, personally, but to each their own…
I don't know much. It has decentralized beginnings. I am curious if it remains decentralized or if it glues in to something. Judging by the trunkloads of books (in B&N and libraries) for women it markets itself as a religion for women. I don't see much of a path in it for men other than a sexual role. I've met numerous female wiccans from as long ago as the early 1990's; but I've never met a male one or at least none who talked about it.
Wiccans hate having their religion described, so I'll cut it short.
Nimos
Well-Known Member
Don't know anything about it, to be honest. So they are probably fine.
Sgt. Pepper
All you need is love.
I am a Wiccan, and I like Wicca very much. I became interested in Wicca after reading some posts on the forum. I was not interested in any form of religion before that. The Wiccan Rede, the different deities, the respect for nature, and the openness of Wicca concerning death and the afterlife are why I find it most appealing. Becoming a Wiccan has made a significant difference in my life. Wicca has also aided my emotional healing while also nurturing peace and contentment in my life. I never had these experiences as a Christian.
Seems mostly benign. Also seems like a religion people often "dabble" and experiment with on their way to other paths.
The Kilted Heathen
Crow FreyjasmaðR
I'm not fond of it. I've often referred to Wicca as "Buffet Paganism" because of it's propensity to pick and choose small portions of various cultures and mash them together on one plate. It's colonialism with a smile, essentially, pushing watered down cultures and over-simplified practices, and expecting it to be the New Norm. Then locking much of it behind initiation and Inner Circles for the "True Wicca" (Gardnerian Wicca and a few copycat off-shoots); I've never been fond of such gatekeeping. As well for a religion that builds on duality, I find that's where a lot of "Love and Light" folks come from, who deny any sort of negativity in a naïve effort to cultivate positivity to the point where it does more harm than good.
Which of course isn't to speak for all Wiccans. Some began in the most easy to access Pagan religion (Wicca), and some even find themselves in specifics such as Seax Wicca (Germanic focus), or keep themselves to a reasonable pantheon (for comparison I knew a Wiccan who claimed to actively "work with" 150 deities like they were Pokemon.)
Which of course isn't to speak for all Wiccans. Some began in the most easy to access Pagan religion (Wicca), and some even find themselves in specifics such as Seax Wicca (Germanic focus), or keep themselves to a reasonable pantheon (for comparison I knew a Wiccan who claimed to actively "work with" 150 deities like they were Pokemon.)
Wicca wasn't for me as as a nonbinary person, but I owe it a debt of deep gratitude for being the lock that opened up a cage I was trapped in when I was younger. Wicca looks so different from what I believed "religion" was - and their understanding of god so different from what I believed "god" was - learning of it freed me from the cultural hegemony of classical monotheism and Christianity. That learning would have never happened if it wasn't for one girl I happened upon in high school who was Wiccan and beyond kind to me. She herself taught me nothing about Wicca other than Wiccans were nice and kind and accepting of others who had experiences of things mainstream culture hangs you over.
I haven't kept up on how the movement has evolved since finding my place within Druidry. I've little doubt the same old controversies are still there, but that like all good religions, it's going to adapt and evolve with the needs of its adherents regardless of any humming and hawing by curmudgeons (that sometimes include myself). Wicca becomes what it needs to be for its generation. I would be interested in seeing if it has fixed it's problems with nonbinary identities at all, as that's the big thing that drove me away from it. With kids these days being so much more liberated on those notions than even a generation ago, I bet they will sort it out.
I haven't kept up on how the movement has evolved since finding my place within Druidry. I've little doubt the same old controversies are still there, but that like all good religions, it's going to adapt and evolve with the needs of its adherents regardless of any humming and hawing by curmudgeons (that sometimes include myself). Wicca becomes what it needs to be for its generation. I would be interested in seeing if it has fixed it's problems with nonbinary identities at all, as that's the big thing that drove me away from it. With kids these days being so much more liberated on those notions than even a generation ago, I bet they will sort it out.
syo
Well-Known Member
Hate it.
