The Gods of Wicca:

This does not by any means imply that Witchcraft is polytheistic- but neither is it monotheistic. Wicca is actually "Panentheistic"- meaning that we believe that deity is all pervasive. Everything that exists is imbued with the very essence of the One, but the One far surpasses the whole of creation.

We believe that the One is inside everything and everyone, but is not limited by our comprehension.

Wicca views Deity in a unique way. First, as the One, then as the Goddess and God. Then, the view changes to the normal Human stages of Life. Five aspects, all equal, represent this level of Deity. The Maiden, or the Virgin, is the youthful female usually viewed as a huntress (as in the Roman Diana). The Mother is the fertile caring woman, in her prime of life. She is usually viewed as strong, yet gentle, caring, yet wrathful in her protection of her children (the Egyptian Isis is a prime example). The Crone is the wizened old woman with a lifetime of knowledge and experience (like the Greek Hecate).

There are two aspects of the God: The Young King (like the Greek Pan), playful, hunter (as well as hunted, for all things are connected) and warrior, and the Old King, lordly and wise, full of a lifetime of responsibility (as in the Celtic Dagda).

The next stage in our view of the Divine is the way we view aspects. To us, all the worlds religions are valid, and their ways of viewing Deity are no different past the point of culture. This means that while one witch may worship the Gods while seeing them as figures from Greek mythology, S/He is as close to the Gods as another witch who sees Them as the Gods of the Egyptians. The Power that they worship is the same, even though the faces may be different.
 
 

To the Witch, all things move in cycles. The Seasons turn in a great wheel, marking each passing year. Spring, then Summer, then Autumn, followed by Winter, and then the Spring comes again and the cycle repeats itself.

This belief in cycles is recurrent in the Wiccan faith. As the Wheel turns the Seasons, so too does it affect life, in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The Wheel never stops turning, whether it be the Wheel of the Year or the Circle of Life.

Witches do believe in reincarnation, believing that in each life our souls have lessons to learn. Once we learn them, it is time for another lesson, another life. Each progressive lifetime, as we learn our lessons, we are brought closer to the Gods themselves.