So, you want to know about me, huh? The correct answer is, "Why, yes,
Rob. Yes I do." Well thank you for your interest. The first thing you
should know is that I am, quite literally, a Witch. This page will be
dedicated to my religion, the wonderful age old craft of Wicca. What I would advise you to do first, if you haven't done it already, is check out the song that led me to my path. Then come back and continue on.
Have you read the song? Are you sure? Promise? Alright then...
First, Wicca is a pagan religion, thereby
making it somewhatunconventional to some. Please not that "Wiccan" and "Witch" are not interchangable in all cases. While many Wiccans are Witches, not all are, and nor are all Witches Wiccan.
I consider myself both a practitioner of Wicca (a Wiccan) and a practitioner of magick (a Witch).
As a Wicca, I worship or at least believe in myriad gods and goddesses. Not all Wiccans worship the same deities. While I see The Goddess as Diana, many others see Her as Isis, for example. Those worshipped depend upon the particular tradition, if any,
the practitioner follows and personal preference. Many people feel a deep spiritual connection with one or more deities.
Wiccans choose gods and goddesses of Greek, Celtic, Norse, Asian and Egyptian origins, to name just a few (though this is certainly not all). They are often times not exclusive. For example, one person may choose to worship Isis (Egyptian) as goddess and Zeus (Greek) as god.
A further exploration and explanation of the God and Goddess can be found by following the links below.
Wicca teaches us to recognise our inner strengths and powers, our own little psychic abilities as it
were. We realise that we do have magickal powers given to us by the gods and
that they are to be used for good and never harm. We live in peace with fellow man
and especially nature, as nature is a manifestation of our gods. The Wiccan Rede states,
“An it harm none, do as ye will”. And "none" means NONE. Harm not yourself nor anyone or anything else.
Also strongly discouraged and frowned upon and generally not practised by Wiccans is any sort of magick that attempts to influence anyone else.
This includes love spells. We have no right, and we believe it is wrong, to attempt to change anyone's mind about something.
Inflicting our will upon someone else is harming that person. For this reason as well, we do not attempt to convert others to our faith.
I consider myself an "Eclectic Wiccan." This means that I do not follow one particular tradition of Wicca, but draw on many different paths.
I consider myself Wiccan because I follow the general tenents and rules and the very basic outline of the religion brought to us by Gerald Gardner, considered the "founder" of modern-day Wicca.
(While the deities and some of the rituals are centuries old, the formulation of "rules," concepts, and precepts as we know them are fairly modern.)
Some Wiccans follow a strict path and adhere to certain rules, degrees, and dictates. Examples of traditions are
Alexandrian, Gardnerian and Dianic. Being a fairly loosely "organized" religion with no real scripture or laws, everyone is equally right.
This includes not only Wiccans, but all Pagans (also not interchangeable with "Wiccan" or "Witch"), but everyone of all faiths. We do not believe that
we follow the only true path, and one of our general rules is to be wary of anyone who insists that they do.
Wicca is a very personal and ver variable religion. Therefore, none of what I've said
is the absolute, end-all be-all truth. Others will disagree. They're right too.
Pagan Links A-Plenty (see also the links page for more)
Commercial:
Lytha Studios
Whispered Prayers
Earth Spirits Shoppe
Azure Green
Resources:
More Pagan Links Than You Can Shake A Broomstick At
Sacred Spiral
Facade- Tarot, Stichomancy, Runes, Biorythms and More
Delaware Valley Pagan Organization
Pagans for Peace
Paganism.org
Wiccan Resources
WiccaNet
The Broom Closet- Philadelphia Pagan Events
Ashlynn's Grove- Resources
The Witches' Voice
Fellowship of the Earth
Witches Anti-Discrimination League