First steps

So you are really interested in becoming a Wiccan, you feel excited about your decision but suddenly you freeze: "Errrr... where should I start?"... There is so much to read, to learn that you have no clue where to begin.

Ok, first things first: as with anything else you decide to learn, go from the easiest to the most challenging aspects. Bear in mind taht this is a never ending journey since you will continue learning for the rest of your life. The difference between learning to walk the Pagan Path and any academic study is that you will not merely acquire knowledge, you will transform yourself and the way you see  and feel everything around. At some point of your development as Pagan, you will have a sense of rebirth, nothing will be the same because it will be better...

Here are some suggestions, take them as that for  there are no rights and wrongs (each person´s experience is UNIQUE) :

• MEDITATE: it is been highly proved that meditation has several benefits to your health, your mind and your spiritual developmen. I encourage you to meditate for two main reasons. To begin with, through meditation you will achieve a stronger connection with yourself and with The Divine; as a result, your intuition will increase. The second reason to incorporate this practise to your life is simple: by meditating you will learn to focus yourself on somenthing and this is the key point to work magically. If you are unable to focus and direct your energy, it does not matter how many candles you light your spells will not result as expected.
• DECLARE YOUR INTENTION TO THE GODS: once you are decided to learn The Craft, express your wish to Them. You do not need to perform any complex ritual, you may simply look up the sky and talk to the Gods aloud or silently. Tell Them what you want. Ask Their guidance. Do not feel silly when doing this, They are there, They have always been and They will always be. Begin to connect with the Gods and you will feel their presence. You may come accross a particular book to read, you will find an excellent site, you will hear about a wonderful course, or you may meet other Pagans. Many things can happen as long as you are open to them.
• DEVELOP YOUR INTUITION: as you meditate, you will learn to listen to yourself. Nowadays, we tend to live in a hurry all the time and that silences our inner voice. Listen to it again! Pay attetion to how you feel: if you sense that something is wrong, it probably is so try something else. Intuition is crucial in this Path because in many aspects there are no rights and wrongs: it is YOU who will have to decide what is the best and the correct answer will come from you intuition.
• ORGANIZE YOUR STUDY: most people are tempted to begin learning spells but it would be better to start learning how magic works so begin with the basics and increase little by little the amount and complexity of the information. Stop and go backwards as many times as you need to fully understand a topic. It is advised to study during a year and a day before dedicating to the Gods but remember this is a journey not a race, maybe it takes more time or less. It does not really matter how much time it takes: enjoy every step of the way.
• BEGIN A JOURNAL: write down your thoughts, your dreams. Make summaries of what your read, begin collecting articles and data. Take a few minutes after meditating and make some notes about your feelings. Your journal will be really helpful because it will be a kind of record of your progress as well as a guide for further study. Besides, your journal is the beginning of your Book of Shadows ( a unique source of information written by every Wiccan).

As I wrote before, these are just humble suggestions for people who may want to start walking this Path. I hope you find them useful!

May the Gods be with you every step you take in this experience we call life.

Brightest blessings!

Morgana Gullveig.

The God

The God does not resemble the almighty and rigid God of Christianity or Judaism. He equals the Goddess in status, complementing her in perfect balance. Traditionally, He is viewed as a Horned God, associated with nature, wilderness, sexuality, hunting, and the life cycle. 

He is Lord of Life, and the Giver of Life, yet He is also Lord of Death and Resurrection. His nature is dual for He is not only the Hunter, He is also the Hunted; He is the Sun by day, but He is also the Sun at Midnight; He is the Lord of Light, but He is also the Lord of Darkness: the darkness of night, the darkness of the Shadows, the darkness of the depths of the forest, the darkness of the depths of the Underworld.

The God has many names, as does the Goddess. Many times in Wiccan thought, he is called Cernunnos, the Celtic Horned God. His symbols are the sword, spear, arrow, and sickle, as well as the wand, the knife, the staff, and many other phallic symbols. His creatures include, but are not limited to, the dog, the stag, the wolf, the dragon, and the eagle.

For a closer approach to the His´s nature, read the Charge of the God:

Listen to the Words of the Horned God,

Who was of old called among men:

Adonis, Tammuz, Dianus, Herne,

Bran, Beli, Lugh, Gwyn,

Dionysus, Osiris, Cernunnos, Pan,

And by many other Names.

 

O Secret of Secrets,

That art hidden in the being of all that lives,

Not Thee do we adore,

For That which adoreth is also Thou.

Thou art That, and That am I.

 

I am the Flame that burns in the heart of every being,

And in the core of every Star.

I am Life, and the Giver of Life,

Yet therefore is the Knowledge of Me

The Knowledge of Death and Resurrection.

 

I am alone, the Lord within ourselves,

Whose Name is Mystery of Mysteries.

I am the Horned God.

 

I am the Lord of the Universe,

The Father of all living,

The All-Devourer and the All-Begetter.

 

I am He Whose Seed lies strewn

As glittering Gems across velvet darkness

Within the Womb of the Mother.

 

I am the Lord of the Shadows

In the darkness of the Underworld,

For I am the Midnight Sun.

 

I am the Light of the Stars,

And the Spark of the Spirit Eternal,

For I am the God Within.

 

I am the Horned Leader of the Hosts of Air,

The Leader of the Wild Hunt,

The Judge of Gods and of Men.

 

I am the Hidden God,

Who ever yet remains,

For I dwell within the secret seed.

 

I am the seed of grain,

I am the seed of flesh,

I am the Seed of the Stars.

 

I am the Lord of the Heights,

I am the Lord of the Depths,

God of forest, of flock, and of field.

 

I am the Hunter and Hunted,

I am the wolf and the Shepherd,

I am the vine and the grain.

 

I am a Guiding Star above you,

I am a bright Flame before you,

I am a smooth Path beneath you.

 

I am the Light of Life.

I am the Flame of Love.

I am the Horned God!

 Blessed be!

Morgana Gullveig

The Goddess

The Goddess is the Universal mother, source of fertility, infinite wisdom, abundance and love. We worship the Goddess in her three aspects: Maiden, Mother and Crone which represent the Moon phases ( waxing, full and waning) as well as the different stages in women´s life.

The Goddess gives life to all that is, and to her everything returns to be reborn as the chant says: 

"We all come from the Goddess

and to her we shall return like a drop

of rain, flowing to the ocean..."

To know more about Her, read the "Charge of the Goddess", written by Doreen Valiente:

Whenever ye have need of anything, 

once in the month and better it be when the moon is full, 

then shall ye assemble in some secret place, 

and adore the spirit of me, 

who am Queen of all witches. 

There shall ye assemble, 

ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, 

yet have not won its deepest secrets; 

to these will I teach all things that are as yet unknown. 

And ye shall be free from slavery; 

and as a sign that ye be truly free, 

you shall be naked in your rites; 

and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, 

all in my praise. 

For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit, 

and mine also is joy on earth; 

for my law is love unto all beings. 

Keep pure your highest ideals; 

strive ever towards them, 

let nothing stop you or turn you aside. 

For mine is the secret door which

opens upon the Land of Youth, 

and mine is the cup of the wine of life, 

and the Cauldron of Cerridwen, 

which is the Holy Vessel of Immortality. 

I am the gracious Goddess, 

who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man. 

Upon earth, 

I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal; 

and beyond death, 

I give peace, and freedom, 

and reunion with those who have gone before. 

Nor do I demand sacrifice; 

for behold, I am the Mother of all living, 

and my love is poured out upon the Earth. 

I am the beauty of the green earth, 

and the white moon among the stars, 

and the mystery of the waters, 

and the desire of the heart of man.

Call unto thy soul, arise, and come unto me. 

For I am the soul of Nature, 

who gives life to the Universe. 

From me all things proceed, 

and unto me all things must return; 

and before my face, beloved of gods and of men,

let thine innermost divine self be enfolded, 

in the rapture of the infinite. 

Let my worship be within the heart that rejoicest, 

for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. 

Therefore, let there be beauty and strength, 

power and compassion, honor and humility, 

mirth and reverence within you. 

And thou who thinketh to seek for me, 

know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not, 

unless thou knoweth the mystery; 

that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, 

thou wilt never find it without thee.

For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning; 

and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.

 

Blessed be

.Morgana Gullveig

Wiccan beliefs

 This entry is a brief summary of  common Wiccan beliefs. I say "common" because most practitioners will agree on them but there might be different points of view, specially among eclectic and solitary Wiccans. For someone interested in this path, this can be useful to have at least an idea about our beliefs.

1.      We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarters. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility towards our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.

2.      We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called supernatural, but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all. We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity-as masculine and feminine-and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.

3.      We recognize both outer and inner, or psychological, worlds  sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, Inner Planes, etc.,  and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.

4.      We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership. We see religion, magick and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it  a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft, the Wiccan Way.

5.      Calling oneself Witch does not make a Witch  but neither does heredity itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature. We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know, and our personal role within it. Our only animosity towards Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be the only way, and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice
and belief.

6.      As Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the origins of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future. We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as Satan or the Devil, as defined by Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.

7.      We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being.

In addition to the above points, the following can also be descriptive of Wiccan beliefs:

Wiccan Deities

Beliefs can differ when it comes to deity. Most Wiccans believe that a creative force exists in the Universe, which is sometimes called “The One” or “The All”. Little can be known of this force. Most regard the Goddess and the God as representing the female and male aspects of The All. These deities are not “out there somewhere”; they are imminent in the world. Many regard various pagan Gods and Goddesses (Pan, Athena, Diana, Brigit, Zeus, Odin, etc.) as representing various aspects of the God and Goddess. The term “Wicca” normally implies that the person’s religion is based upon Celtic spiritual concepts, deities and seasonal days of celebration. While the holidays (Sabbats) are Celtic concepts, not all Wiccan practice is based on Celtic spirituality. Some Wiccans include beliefs, practices, and symbols from ancient Pagan religions (e.g. Egyptian, Greek, various mystery religions, Roman, Sumerian), or upon Aboriginal religions (Native American Spirituality, Shamanism). Some Wiccans are actually agnostics, who take no position on the existence of a supreme being or beings. They look upon the Goddess and God as archetypes, based on myth. It cannot be stressed enough that Wiccans have no supernatural being in their pantheon of deities who resembles Satan.

Respect for Nature

Wicca is a natural religion, grounded in the earth. All living things, including stars, planets, humans, animals, plants, etc. are regarded as having a spirit. Many Wiccan rituals deal with bringing harmony and healing to nature. Wiccans tend to share a great concern for the environment.

Gender Equality

Wiccans celebrate the sexual polarity of nature. For example, the fertilising rain is one manifestation of the male principle; the nurturing earth symbolises the female. Females are respected as equal (and sometimes at a slightly higher rank) to males. A priestess is often the most senior person among a coven – a local group of Wiccans/Witches. They aim for a female-male balance in most of their covens, although men are typically the minority.

Human Sexuality

Sexuality is valued, and regarded as a gift of the Goddess and God, to be engaged in with joy and responsibility, and without manipulation. Wiccans generally accept the findings of human sexuality researchers that there are three normal, natural and unchosen sexual orientations: heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality. Some Wiccans celebrate “The Great Rite” which can involve ritual sexual intercourse. However, it is consensually performed by a committed couple in private.

Afterlife

Wiccans have a wide range of beliefs when it comes to the Afterlife. Some believe in ancient legends of a Summerland, where souls go after death. Here, they meet with others who have gone before, review and integrate their previous lives on earth, and are eventually reincarnated into the body of a newborn. Some beleive that after many such cycles – perhaps some as female and others as male; some lives with a high standard of living and others in poverty; some in positions of power and others suffering oppression – that the individual accumulates sufficient experience to go on to another level of existence about which we know nothing.

Some see an individual’s personality, memory, abilities, talents, etc. as functions of the human brain, which degrades and disintegrates at death. They do not anticipate any form of continuity after death.

Other Wiccans anticipate continuity after death in some very narrow senses – either that the molecules that go to make up our bodies may in turn be incorporated into other living entities, or that our influences on children, friends, and society in general will continue to have influences on the next generations.

Three-fold Law, Law of Return or Karmic Law

Most Wiccans believe in this law – whether it be three-fold, seven-fold, etc. or simply give and you shall receive.

The Three-fold Law states that “All good that a person does to another returns three-fold in this life; harm is also returned three fold.”

The Law of Return, or Karmic Law, is simply “What you put out, you will receive back”. The reason for some Wiccans preferring this law over the Three-fold Law is their belief that it would be unfair of the universe to give you something back threefold when you’ve only put it out the once.

What is the difference between a Wiccan and a Witch?

- A Wiccan is a follower of the religion of Wicca, which was popularised in the 1950s by Gerald Gardner. Wicca is a religion based around the worship of nature and the earth we live in, achieving balance and positive change in our lives, and can involve the practise of Witchcraft. A Wiccan is always a Witch. The main difference is that a Wiccan will follow their beliefs and also practise ethically and responsibly.

- A Witch is a practitioner of Witchcraft, the artform originating thousands of years ago. Witchcraft is not a religion, but a practice. A Witch can be a Wiccan and embrace the beliefs and ethical views of a Wiccan, but some choose to practise soley as a Witch. Witches are not bound, unless they choose to be, to any specific ethical or moral doctrine.

Morgana Gullveig