text: The Truths About Wicca And Paganism
  The Truths About Wicca And PaganismUpdated on December 15, 2011
  IntroductionWhat is Wicca? What is Paganism? These are questions that I am seeing quite often and these are questions that I intend to answer. It is true that Wicca and any other Pagan like path is often misunderstood. Like a lot of religions, plenty of people are judged for following these paths and my hopes for writing this is to try to lessen this judgement, at least just a little bit.
  DefinitionsIf we look up the definition of Wicca we get this as an explanation a religion influenced by pre-christian beliefs and practices of Western Europe that affirms the existence of supernatural power (as magic) and of both male and female deities who inhere in nature and that emphasizes ritual observance of seasonal and life cycles. Sounds kind of confusing doesn't it? And the definition really doesn't give Wicca the justice it deserves.
  And when I tried to look up the definition of Paganism I surely don't see any justice for every definition uses the word Pagan in it. The beliefs or practices of Pagans. The state of being a Pagan. Pagan spirit or attitude in religious or moral questions. What kind of definition is this? My question is how are these definitions going to answer anyone's questions when they ask what is Wicca? What is Paganism?
  The Truths About Wicca And PaganismThe first thing I want to make clear is that those who follow a Pagan like path do not worship Satan. Satan is a Christian construct, not even mentioned in Wicca/Paganism what so ever. Our beliefs aren't considered an occult. I mean there are always the ones that will take it a step further and turn it into an occult, however the normal ones aren't like that at all. It is an actual religion and is recognized. I know it's confusing because the meaning of the word occult being secret or mysterious. However Wicca and Paganism is not considered an occult.
  The pentacle, the star symbol that we often use, is not a satanic symbol. It is actually a symbol that represents the elements being Earth, Fire, Air, Water and Spirit or Self.
  We believe in more than one God. We have a variety of Gods and Goddesses. A lot of us will recognize and respect the existence of many Gods and Goddesses however we will usually honor only the ones of our traditions.
  Hell is something that Pagans and those of the Wiccan path do not worry about because again that is something of the Christian belief. There are some who do worry about hell because they came from the Christian background while others do not worry whatsoever about their soul. We focus on the good things because what we do in this lifetime will pass on into our next.
  We do not sacrifice animals, at least not many of us do because the majority of us feel that we should harm no one. Though I will admit there are a few of the odd balls out there that will. Though I myself truly will feel that if one person does then they aren't truly Pagan nor Wiccan. Our beliefs are about the exact opposite. Truly not about harming anyone. QuotesHere are some great Pagan/Wiccan quotes that I rather enjoy. Perhaps they may help you get a better grasp on our beliefs.
  "If you take a copy of the Christian Bible and put it out in the wind and the rain, soon the paper on which the words are painted will disintegrate and the words will be gone. Our bible IS the wind and the rain." ~Herbalist Carol McGrath as told to her by a Native American woman
  "When one defines oneself as Pagan, it means she or he follows an earth or nature religion, one that sees the divine manifest in all creation. The cycles of nature are holy days, the earth is our temple, its plants and creatures our partners and teachers. We worship a deity that is both male and female, a mother Goddess and a father God, who together created all that is, was or will be. We respect life, cherish the free will of sentient beings, and accept the sacredness of all creation." ~Edain McCoy
  "Religion is about creation, and for that reason religion should be about the earth." ~Laurie Cabot
  ConclusionThis is the Wicca and Pagan path. It's based on nature and based on the earth. Usually those who follow this path won't just observe their beliefs once a month. This is something that people will observe daily. There are the sabbats and esbats that we do celebrate but we go beyond that. We try to connect to our faith as often as possible. At least I try to. Hopefully this has answered your questions, at least better than those silly definitions.
  More by this Author7PaganismGoddesses Of The Moon In PaganismInformation on Goddesses of the moon from different cultures.
  leann2800 4 years ago I think you did a wonderful job describing your experience with this religion. I think any religion that is not mainstream in any culture will have the label occult. Some of the same practices you say Christians have accused Pagans of are practices all religions have practiced at one point in their history such as animal sacrifice. While I do think that it is wrong for anyone to judge Pagans, I also think Christianity is not the only religion that has followers that are judgemental or that persecute others. I think that is a human trait not a religious trait.Oh! You could probably make a few hubs just on Pagan quotes. Those were really good.
  Cresentmoon2007 4 years ago from Caledonia, MI Author Leann, I was thinking about writing a hub about Pagan Quotes.Yes, it is indeed a human trait, and not really a religious trait to be judgmental, no doubt about that. Thank you for reading.
  WiccanSage 3 years ago Nice intro to Wicca. Definitely a full religion that is practiced on a regular basis, not something done once a month.
  Cresentmoon2007 3 years ago from Caledonia, MI Author Thank you WiccanSage.Sign in or sign up and post using a HubPages Network account.0 of 8192 characters usedPost CommentNo HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.sending
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