Questions to Fully Understand Wicca - Part 1

Some time ago, I was challenged by a High Priestess who frequents Yahoo! Answers to answer the typical questions she believed only those of privileged knowledge in the Wiccan religion can answer (i.e. Traditionalists). She posted them in response to an answer given on a Wiccan question, and I made mention that it may be possible I'd be able to answer these questions. Naturally being the "privileged" type, she believed otherwise (and stated so).

Well, I like a challenge, and take her up on it. Here are my responses to her Questions to Fully Understand Wicca (This will have to be broken up into several parts as there are a LOT of questions).

Part 1


Do you understand what Wicca actually is?
From the limited amount of information I have obtained over my 18+ years study and exposure to Paganism, I think it's fairly safe to say I understand what Wicca is. In short, Wicca is a polytheistic fertility religion focusing on the worship of consorting deities.

That Wicca is the aforementioned religion basically means that Wiccans tend to believe in multiple deities (polytheism). Typically they believe in two, but are not limited in the number of Gods they are "allowed" to worship. Because Wicca is a fertility religion, the Gods that are honored/worshiped are consorting deities, meaning they become lovers over time, and, as a result of that love, form a child who ultimately becomes the God loved by the Goddess after the death of the previous God (both Gods being the same God (clear as mud, no?))

The relationship between the Gods is understood as we witness the evolution of their relationship throughout the year, starting with the birth of the God and the youth of the Goddess. As they grow and mature, they become entranced with each other, eventually embracing each other forming a child who will be born shortly after the God dies, thus continuing the cycle again, throughout the year.

Aside from the mythical and theological aspects of the religion, Wicca is an oathbound religion. Anything found outside the religion, either through website resources or books is released information to provide some sort of "comfort" for the public to understand the religion. Whether the information we now have that is public knowledge was released intentionally or not is dependent on the information itself and can possible be debatable. Regardless, the information is out there. Much, however, is faulty and should be taken with a grain of salt.

What we do know publically about the religion is that they worship consorting deities and perform rituals at certain intervals during the months and year. Each ritual services to honor either the God or Goddess, depending on the period in which the ritual takes place. For example, each month, on the full moon, rituals called "Esbats" are performed to honor the Goddess, as she is represented by the moon. Its fullness during this period of the month may represent the fullness she eventually becomes at the height of her pregnancy with the God. Typically there are 13 Esbats that take place during the year, as there are 13 lunar cycles in one year.

Periodically during the year will Wiccans perform rituals that honor the God. These are solar rituals because the God is represented by the Sun. His brightness and warmth provide the fertility needed to bring life to the world and ultimately his fertility helps in creating the offspring that eventually becomes the God. These periods are referred to as "Sabbats", in which there are four Greater and four Lesser. The Greater Sabbats are such because they take place when there is a higher sense of energy. These Sabbats are Imbolc (Feb 2), Beltane (April 30), Lughnasadh (Aug 1) and Samhain (Oct 31), though often these Sabbats may go by other names, depending on region and tradition. These Sabbats are based on the agricultural cycle of the year.

The Lesser Sabbats are based on the Solstices and Equinoxes. These Sabbats being: Ostara (Mar 21), Litha (June 21), Mabon (Sept 21) and Yule (Dec 21), again names may change depending on region/tradition. These Sabbats are based on the astrological cycle.



Next Week:
Part 2