A BRIEF HISTORY

Aside from the Wiccan Rede and the "three-fold law", Wiccans do not have to subscribe to a fixed ideology so beliefs vary, however the common theme is that Wiccans gain a connection with the divine spirit of mother nature through the celebration of her cycles through the Wicca calendar. This is done either individually or with other Wiccans.

According to most versions of the three-fold law, whatever one does comes back to one thrice-multiplied, in amplified repercussion. One short, rhymed version of the Wiccan Rede states "Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: An it harm none, do what you will." Often "none" is interpreted to include the doer him self in analogy to the "golden rule" of other faiths. There are no universal proscriptions regarding food, sex, burial or military service and Wiccans, as a rule, discourage proselytizing (attempts to convert others to a different religion).

At key points in the year Wiccans gather and connect with nature, generally by forming a circle, sometimes using set forms of words, or otherwise improvising according to the participants needs.

The morality of Wicca is based heavily on free will allowing individual freedom with as little interference as possible. There is high level of equality in Wicca with the emphasis on the circle and the lack of any preaching. The concept of a talking stick where everyone has their say is more widespread than dominating leaders. The emphasis is on the creation of harmony by allowing the individual to do their own will but encouraging them to think of the harm done to others by the exercising of this freedom.

In order to understand Wicca it is essential to know its roots. All countries have a native spiritual tradition based around reverence for the forces of nature. Wicca is the native tradition for the nations of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, and is rooted in the period before 500 BC which marks the start of the iron age. The sacred sites from this period, in particular Avebury/Silbury and Stonehenge, are important to Wicca as are the ancient British legends, for example the Mabignogian. Wicca was illegal in Britain for nearly 1000 years up until 1951, however following it's legalization a large amount of material has been published and Wicca is now accessible to all.

Wicca has its own art, including jewelry, and also has a deep understanding of the power of plants, in particular the influence of their fragrances. Many Wiccan also use crystals, both for their natural beauty and for their spiritual power.

Wiccan jewelry includes earrings, pendants and necklaces which often contain precious stones with particular meaning and Wiccan symbols.

Wicca is a Neo-Pagan religion based on the pre-Christian traditions of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Its origins can be traced even further back to Paleolithic peoples who worshipped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess. Cave paintings found in France (and dated at 30,000 years old) depict a man with the head of a stag, and a woman with a swollen, pregnant belly. They stand in a circle with eleven mortals. These archetypes of the divine are worshipped by Wiccans to this very day. By these standards, the religion that is now called Wicca, is perhaps the oldest religion in the world.

In 1951, the laws against Witchcraft were repealed in England. A man named Gerald Gardner was the first to come into the public eye with description of what modern witches were practicing. His information came from the traditions of a coven called the New Forest Witches, and from Ceremonial Magick and the Kaballah. He began what is now called the Gardnerian Tradition of Wicca. From Gardnerian came Alexandrian Tradition and a host of other offshoots that today number in the hundreds.

Wicca is based on a deep respect for nature and the certain knowledge that we do not have the right to exploit it for our own gain. Wiccans are deeply concerned with conservation and ecology, and as in all Neo-Pagan religions.

Wiccans believe that both animate and inanimate objects possess a spirit which forms part of the Whole. Spirit is that essence which every object possesses linking it to nature.

Wicca is a celebration of the life-forces of nature as personified by the Goddess and her consort, the Gods.

Some Wiccans see their inspiration and traditions as coming directly from the Gods. Certain Wiccan mythology holds that Wicca has come down from the stone age, surviving persecution in secret covens for hundreds of years.

Others say that their Wicca is a long-held family tradition (or "fam trad"), passed down through villages and grandmothers. Aidan Kelly argues that modern Wicca was largely pieced together by Gerald Gardner from Margaret Murray, Charles Leland and other sources, with significant revisions by Doreen Valiente (and others), beginning in 1939.

Whatever its origins, Wicca today is a vibrant, modern religion, open to change, creativity and personalization. Wicca is different than the religions of the ancient people, but it embraces some of the same beliefs. Wiccans have a common belief that the Earth is Sacred and the animals that dwell on it are sacred as well. Wicca or Witchcraft, Paganism, High Magic and other forms of Occultism are not Satanism. Satan is a belief of Christianity.

A poem inspired by:

"To equate witches with Nazis because neither are Judeo-Christians and both share magical elements is like saying that swans are really scorpions because neither are horses and both have tails." Starhawk

You Know NOT What You Say

Witches are not at all, what the Nazis represent
Our beliefs are opposite of genocide intent.
We accept all for who they are in action
We abstain from their claimed Sunday religion.

We do not judge them for the color of their skin.
Nor what kind or how big of a house they live in.

Only two religions of the world are full of bigotry of the Third Reich
The Muslims in Arab countries and Christianity in their extreme right.

Witches do not destroy, but preserve and create
Working the magickal, our love we satiate.
The Goddess and the God have given a gift of love
We do not take from others nor do we push and shove.

We do not desire to control
We only wish the real truth to know.
We do not seek power and money
We nurture our Earth in harmony.

All life forms are sacred to those of the Keltoi nation
Paganism is not a religion but a spiritual path in motion.
A chosen trail that reveres the life force.
And what creates it as a sacred source.

Balance must be kept and maintained with tenacity
Between mercy and severity of humanity.
The Kabala is an example of the path we take
The Shaman is in the communing wake.

Existence in all of Her spirit forms that we know.
Surrounding ourselves in the blue of light as it flows
We are the Protectors, Knights, and Dragons of Truth
The physical does not concern us in death or birth.

We cannot deceive others as to what we do or why
As after crossing the threshold, we can no longer lie.

We do not believe another is responsible for all we do
We take credit for our thoughts and deeds in the light of blue.
We do not pretend we are forgiven our actions
As we seek no absolution for our infractions.

For within our heart and soul we know
That what we do comes to us three fold.
We live the laws of abundance, not selfish in our creed
Bringing harm to none we live to follow our sacred reed.

Giving all we have, so there is enough for all.
Unlike the Christians as through their life they crawl
In the laws of Scarcity destroying all upon their path
Claiming sainthood to their God's unspoken wrath.

That Jesus grants to them absolution as they are so right,
Reality bespeaks there is no end to their darkness in sight.

From patriarchal society, we seek no validation
Nor do we practice any self-righteous condemnation.
For we believe all humans know deep within
Right from wrong as their life is what they live.

Opposites of magick we refer to as light and dark
Without the night, there would not be an ember's spark.
We respect the reality of stability
As on Earth in grace, we dance lightly.

We do not label that which we do not understand
We do not expect the cosmos to bow to our demands.
We know that the universe must unfold, as it must,
Drumming to its own beat of natural laws in trust.

The magick of the elements is being in tune
Using keys to unlock the secrets of the moon.
Opening portals of the elementals essence,
Whence we partake of the sacred silence.

Communicating at a frequency of the elemental,
Poised with equilibrium, partake in communal
If clumsy in our timing as we weave the loom
We will shatter as glass like the ice from a spoon.

"An ye harm none, do as thou wilt!" is what we live by
The Reed of Three as unconditional love we give a try.
To compare us to the Nazis is to not know what you say
For those who do this, know not what we are in any way.