Is Wicca Whatever You Want It To Be?
There are a lot of people out there who have the impression that Wicca is the kind of religion in which you make up what you want and go with it. Contrary to this idea, Wicca is not a DIY religion. It's "flexible"...but not make-it-up-as-you-go-along. Wicca has structure that makes it Wicca, and to take out the main elements that make Wicca, Wicca, you cease having Wicca and have moved into Eclectic Paganism.
For example, there are a LOT of people who believe they can blend Wicca with another religion, such as Christianity. They believe that they can substitute the God for Jesus and the Goddess for Mary OR...they try to justify using "Asherah" as the Goddess, believing her to be the original consort of the Christian God. Regardless of who they choose to substitute the Gods with, Wicca is not a Christian religion, therefore Christian elements cannot successfully be integrated to it. Wiccans do not acknowledge the Christian deities. Not to mention the fact that many of the regulations within the Christian religion make it VERY difficult to BE Wiccan, such as the regulation of not believing in multiple deities, the need for salvation and a savior, adhering to books that determine how one is to live and believe, etc.
Another example of this idea that one can do what they want to Wicca is to completely omit a deity altogether. Wicca is a polytheistic, fertility religion. To take out one deity, say the God, completely destroys the point of Wicca. Without the God, how can you understand the relationship that is played out during the Wheel of the Year? As well, how does omitting the God make Wicca polytheistic? Polytheism suggests the worship of MULTIPLE deities. And the fact that Wicca is a fertility religion, one cannot achieve fertility without a mate. So to omit the God no longer makes Wicca a fertility religion.
I can understand people's desire to make Wicca fit their beliefs...especially considering the majority of people coming into Wicca come from restraining religions, such as Christianity, but religion doesn't service to fit into other people's beliefs. You can't mold it and re-shape it to fit your desires. If this were so, many people would change Christianity to suit THEIR beliefs by omitting the idea of hell, angels, Adam and Eve, etc. People follow a religion because IT speaks to THEM (not the other way around). It might be disappointing, but you can't just change Wicca because you don't like its structure; that makes as much sense as changing Christianity because you don't want to worship Jesus, but you want to pray the rosary and eat communion wafers.
If you have the desire to be a part of a religion, then that means doing the necessary research using proper sources that give accurate information on the religion, understand what the elements of the religion mean and how they integrate into the religion, and understand that if there are elements that are undesirable to you in the religion, how much of it disagrees with you and whether or not you can live with that integral element. If not, then perhaps that religion is not for you.
I can understand people's desire to make Wicca fit their beliefs...especially considering the majority of people coming into Wicca come from restraining religions, such as Christianity, but religion doesn't service to fit into other people's beliefs. You can't mold it and re-shape it to fit your desires. If this were so, many people would change Christianity to suit THEIR beliefs by omitting the idea of hell, angels, Adam and Eve, etc. People follow a religion because IT speaks to THEM (not the other way around). It might be disappointing, but you can't just change Wicca because you don't like its structure; that makes as much sense as changing Christianity because you don't want to worship Jesus, but you want to pray the rosary and eat communion wafers.
If you have the desire to be a part of a religion, then that means doing the necessary research using proper sources that give accurate information on the religion, understand what the elements of the religion mean and how they integrate into the religion, and understand that if there are elements that are undesirable to you in the religion, how much of it disagrees with you and whether or not you can live with that integral element. If not, then perhaps that religion is not for you.
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