Introduction

Hale and Welcome

What is Wicca?

First and foremost I must begin by saying that this site is about the British view of solitary wicca, as practised by our ancient ancestors.

The word "witch" is old English for "wise-one", as in knowledgeable and good to the ways of nature, and was originally spelt "wicca" "wic", "wicce" or "wicc", but pronounced "witch", hence it's modern day spelling, but many practitioners of the old craft of the wise like to still use the spelling of wicca or wicc.
Originally the word was feminine, but came to represent both the masculine and feminine. You will note: "wicca" on this site spelt with a lower case letter " w" denoting the original meaning of the word, as explained above and dates back thousands of years.
When this word is spelt with a capital "W" as in "Wicca" it has come to mean an earth based religion in it's own right, and was established by Gerald Gardner in the late 1950's. From his knowledge of pagan practises he established a belief system based on the coven based witchcraft and magick of the middle ages. He formulated a set of "rules" as to how rites etc should be performed, similar in ways to the doctrine of organised religions, this may not be a bad thing, I certainly wouldn't want to judge either way, but my view of Paganism is one of evolution and a feel for nature, based on the old religion of our ancestors. In America, I also found that Gardner's "Wicca" has really taken off and the real history of nature magick has been lost in a sea of ceremony. My other concern concern about this is that a lot of folk could be drawn to " Wicca" for the wrong reasons, through shows like "Buffy" and "Sabrina", because it looks "cool".
However, since having read about Native American spirituality, I have found that their ancient beliefs are very similar to those of the ancient pagans of Great Briton.

I wish to say very strongly that witchcraft or the craft of the wise has NOTHING to do with the Hollywood horror genre version.
It has NOTHING whatsoever to do with devil worship, satanism, black magic or any form of evil intent.

Witchcraft /wicca is based on Paganism, to coin a phrase, "All witches are Pagans, but not all Pagans are witches." Again the word "pagan" has taken on new meaning over the years. The word "pagan" spelt with a small "p" originally meant "earth dweller", therefore by that very meaning no-one can be "converted" to be paganism, as every human being is already a pagan, unless of course they reside on another planet or on a space station!
The word is now spelt with a capital "P" and denotes anyone who did or still does pratcise an earth based religion. Paganism today, especially in Great Briton is a mish mash of "borrowed" traditions from each invasion the country underwent - the Celts were perhaps the greatest influence upon our original earth based traditions, bringing more ceremony and order, but over the years Nordic, Viking and Roman customs have influenced greatly our view of Paganism, "borrowing" pantheons from all of these peoples, as well as through travel to other lands such as Greece, and not forgetting the influence of the Angles and Saxons, and now Paganism in this country is also influenced by ancient traditions worldwide. We should also aknowledge the influence Romany Gypsies had, perhaps one of the major groups of people most noted for spell casting and divination.
Again this could be viewed as the natural evolution of the religion, on it's own spritual path, so to speak.

The power of goodness is within us all, witches are more aware of these powers and use them for the good of all, sometimes as solo witches or in a group known as a coven. It is solitary witchcraft that I am dealing with on this site. A word usually used to describe this "power" is "magick". The Old English spelling of either "magick" or "magyck" is usually used to differentiate it from the misuse of the word "magic" which makes most folk think of conjuring tricks presented by showmen. Although very clever and entertaining to watch-there is no mystery in the form of "magic" about them!
During Sabbat festivals and at different phases of the Moon, this power is harnessed, and a spell is cast to do good, such as a healing spell. The word "spell" has no sinister meaning, it has, again NOTHING to do with "bewitching" for some evil purpose. It is merely a type of prayer, and is ended by the words "So May It Be", (sometimes the old English word "mote" is used in place of "may"). In other words, "Amen".

There are no hard and fast rules to Paganism, the interpretation, is whatever feels right to the individual. To some it is a religion, or to a solo witch, such as myself, it is more of a philosophy and way of life.
However, there are very important basic rules which every witch today adheres to today, these being the Witches Rede (rule) of HARM NONE. And the Three-Fold Rule, "Whatever you do will come back to you three-fold". A good thought or deed will be repaid back three times over. But beware, any bad thought or deed will also be repaid three times over. (How many times have you heard people complain that "accidents" always happen in threes! This was probably due to them having an intentional bad thought or acting in an uncaring manner). Again these "rules" have evolved over the years, in ancient times witches had no problem dishing out curses if they saw fit, regardless of the outcome to themselves! It has been much more recently that Pagans worldwide honour these two codes. Also spells should never be cast more than three at a time and never for selfish purposes.

THE TRIPLE GODDESS OF THE CIRCLE OF REBIRTH AND THE HORNED GOD

The Triple Goddess represents the three aspects of life, birth, death and rebirth. The Horned God is her consort, he is represented with stag's horns, as he is the hunter, the provider, and father. Herne is one of his many names.

Followers of the Old Religion believe the universe was created out of the body and mind of the Great Mother, of all living things. The oldest creation myths from around the world recount the many ways that human beings have percieved this original birth of earth, sky, plants, animals and the first human couple.

We find Neanderthal grave sites, dating back many millennia, with their dead buried in a curled-up foetal position, their bones painted with red ocre. Symbolically the deceased have re-entered the womb of the earth, once again red with the blood of the mother. They have literally and symbolically returned to her, thus completing what our Ice Age ancesters knew to be the complete cycle of life-from womb to womb, from a single mother to the Great Mother.

It is this fundalmental Cycle of Life that Wiccans believe in today. I have read Carl Jung, Jonathan Miller and Darwin. Scientifically, I am of course interested in how life on earth evolved, my personal belief is that the first human being was a female, capable of giving birth to herself, which is why the Goddess is a Triple Deity, representing her aspects of Maiden, Mother, and Crone (Wise-woman or Grandmother).
It was only later in order to strengthen the species that she gave birth to a son. Who became the Horned God, a duel Deity represnting husband and father.

Carl Jung believed that we all have a collective unconsious, that there is part of our memory we all share, which is passed down genetically from the one Mother we originated from. Stone age man recognised the passing down of such knowledge, in animals we call it "instinct" and never question it. Human beings have this basic instinct too. In Carl Jung's lifetime there were still many unidentified strands of DNA, Carl Jung believed that some of these represent inherited memory (instincts). Recent developements have scientists claiming now to have identified the remaining strands of DNA. As of yet I am unaware of them publishing their findings. Uncanilly cave man painted many symbols on their cave walls of the double helix, representing re-incarnation in the sense of passed on knowledge and re-birth.

The universe is still forever changing, being re-born, this can be equated with quantum theory which rationalises the fact that everything in life and the universe is infinate.

Recommended reading for more information ;
Carl Jung, "Symbols of Transformation" and "Synchronicity"
Laurie Cabot, "Power of the Witch"
Rae Beth, "Hedge Witch"
J.P.McEvoy and Oscar Zarate, "Quantum Theory for beginners"
Wolf Moondance, "Rainbow Medicine"