When one hears the word Wicca, one would automatically think of witches, magic, rituals, spells and maybe even brooms. Only a few understand what Wicca really is. Some probably have heard of Wicca because it seems that Wicca is well known for its magic love spells. It is also synonymously linked with witchcraft and voodoo.
Wicca is the largest neopagan religion in the world today. Wiccans, followers and observers of the religion, have great reverence for the Earth and for their Goddess and her consort, the Horned God. It is a natural religion, tied to the Earth. It is sometimes referred to as “The Craft” or “The Craft of the Wise”. Wiccans are often solitary practitioners but more have formed groups or covens.
The Wiccan religion is closely tied with Celtic traditions. They also believe that there is a creative force that exists in the universe which they sometimes call “The One” or “The All”. Rituals are a very important part to this religion. Magic, they believe that comes from the earth, plays a very big role in their rituals. Magic that is often in the forms of chant spells, simple love spells, psychic love spells, etc. Rituals are sacred to the Wiccans.
Rituals often start with the casting of the circle; it is the consecration of a sacred space where the ritual is to be done. Next is the invocation of a deity or deities. The body of the ritual consists of the magic, spell casting, dance, reading, singing, etc. The closing or banishing of the circle completes the ritual. There are many Wiccan symbols used in rituals. The Pentagram is a symbol of faith used by the Wiccans in most of their rituals.
Spells also play an important part of the Wiccan world. But not all spells can be done by the Wiccan witch. Laws also govern over spell casting. Some spells are forbidden to be done if they would be in any form trying to control, manipulate, and dominate. The main rule forbids harming other people, including the Wiccan witch herself.
The Wiccan Rede is the statement that provides the key moral system of the Wicca. “An it harm none, do none ye will”. To sum it up, The Rede is the rule governing Wiccan behaviour. The word rede came from an Old English word “roedan” which means to guide or direct. It is reinforced by the Three-fold law.
The Threefold law aka The Law of Return or the Rule of Three is like the Golden rule to the Wiccans. “All good that a person does to another, returns threefold in this life; harm is also returned on threefold.”
The Wiccan Book of Shadows is a book that contains all the magical and religious texts in the religion of Wicca. It contains the core rituals, magical practices and philosophy of the Wiccans within its pages. It has been said that the contents of the Book of Shadows are traditionally copied by hand by that of one’s initiating High Priestess or Priest who copied theirs from their own initiator. This was observed depending on a coven’s structure from generation to generation.
Apparently, we have a lot to understand about this religion. It is not just all about casting love spells and doing magic. Wicca is a religion bounded to the earth with rituals that deal with bringing harmony and healing to others. They may be witches who practice magic or they may invoke god and goddesses, but they are not really the bad guys as society once pictured them to be.