|
Witchcraft is not merely a system of magick. Wicca is a Pagan mystery religion of Goddess and God. It is also a Nature religion.
The Witch is a magic-maker and worships a Goddess - the Great Mother Goddess-and the Horned God. In Greek mythology he is
Pan and, to the Celts, Herne or Cernunnos. Wicca is based on remnants of simple Pagan traditions handed down in folklore
and country custom. Onto these have been grafted more sophisticated beliefs for the more formal Paganisms of Rome, Greece
and Egypt, and from the initiatory mystery traditions. Wicca involves the development of magical psychic powers, but hand
in hand with the wisdom to use them. An initiatory system of spiritual development is an intrinsic part of the tradition.
For women, Wicca is a spiritual path in which we can worship the Divine in its female form - as Goddess. Many women come
to Wicca from femisism. They have re-evaluated the word 'Witch", and realized that it involves the use of the innate powers
of the Wise Woman. However, it is not only women who seek the Goddess. Men too are attracted by Wicca's vision of deity
as both Goddess and God. Despite the popular image, both men and women can be Witches. The traditional male Witch is a countryman.
He is one who is in touch with the elements, who has worked the land, healed a bird's broken wing or the illness of a child;
one who loves the Goddess and know both Goddess and God.
The growing enviromental awareness in society today makes Wicca more and more attractive. Wicca honours the Divine as manifest
in Nature. The Earth is our spiritual mother, and we sense that the Divine is not "out there", but all around us. Nature
itself is sacred and holy, a manifestation of the Divine Life Force. Greenpeace, enviromental action, vegetarianism and animal
rights are all manifestations of a reawakening spirit of reverence towards the Earth. This was natural and instinctive to
our ancestors, but recent centuries of urban living have suppressed it.
Initiation, is the sense of a personal transformatory experience of the Divine, is undoubtedly an attraction of Wicca for
some. Some Wiccan traditions have three or more initiation ceremonies that mark transitions through spiritual change. Such
rites can be powerful, spiritual, and psychological events which are life-enhancing and life-changing.
~~Vivian Crowley - "Wicca"
|
