What is this Paganism thing?

Last year March I posted this blog and after having received a few queries lately, I though it would be a good idea to post it again.

What is it?

I often get asked, what is Wicca? What is Paganism? And so on. One thing I have discovered is that you can explain it to someone and that will be the end of the conversation and most of the time the person who asked will be left feeling confused.

When people in general ask these questions they do not so much want to know cold hard facts and ideologies (which is generally what we bombard them with in response to such questions), what they really want to know is “How does this relate to me? How do I use this information and apply it?”

This is going to be the aim of my post today, to try and explain Wicca on a personal level. Let me know if it helps!

The rules!

In Wicca it’s more like The Rule, as we really only have one law that governs our thoughts and actions and is a necessary place to start. We call it the Wiccan Rede:
“Do what thou wilt so long as it hurt none.”

The first part of this law “Do what thou wilt” so often gives many people the wrong idea of what it is that we believe. We do not believe that we can just run around doing whatever we want to, as wonderful as that concept may seem. It represents our True Will.

Our True Will is paths in which we follow and direct our magick. It is the path in life in which we wish to follow, it is our hopes, goals and dreams. In Thelema Magick the law is written as “Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law.” This is the first part and means follow your path and your dreams. The second part is “Love under the law.” Follow your path in life with love. If you do not love what you are doing, then perhaps you are on the wrong path.

The second part of the Wiccan Rede is “so long as it hurt none.” We cannot use magick to harm anyone or to affect and change their freewill, and by doing so not allowing them to follow their true paths in life. The Three Fold Law is a general rule that forces us to take responsibility. It teaches us that what we send out into the world, not just our magical workings but our every day thoughts, words and actions, will come back to us three times stronger than the energy we sent it out with. So if you’re going to curse someone, then just think about how strongly you’ll be cursing yourself!

So follow your true path in life and in your magick and do it with love and without hurting anybody else, animals or any other part of nature. Yes, it is that simple!

Oh the possibilities!

What attracts most people to The Craft? The immense possibilities of the power we can bring into our lives and what we can do with that energy. Magick is filled with new, wonderful and exciting opportunities that we want to grab hold of with both hands. It is the change in our awareness that we can actually affect our surroundings and circumstances by willing it to be true.

Magick doesn't have to be a huge ritualistic show. I believe keeping it simple makes it more effective as you're not confused and distracted by all the little extras you've thrown in! However the spells and ingredients we use help us to focus our intentions so that we can have the outcome we desire. It is ultimately the emotions that you put into the magick that is the driving force.

We refer to it as sympathetic magick, meaning that “like attracts like”. If we want to feel joy, when performing our magick we fill ourselves up with joy and infuse the spell with that, the same with love, happiness and so on, the list is endless. It attracts to us the energy and emotions we desire in our lives, changing it for the better.

An important thing when starting out in The Craft is to remember that magick is not something “out there” that you need to find, the answers are not something you need to go in search of. It is inside of you. We are all a part of the universe and the magick is inside of us, it IS who we are. Once you feel and understand that you will be able to realise the control you have in your own life.

So what is the short answer when someone asks me about my religion?

If somebody asks me “What is Wicca?” but they are not asking because they are truly interested in finding out about the religion but just out of curiosity. I define it simply as “a nature religion that follows the cycle of the seasons and where we acknowledge the existence of a God and Goddess.” It is simple and straight forward.

To elaborate more for someone who is truly interested in the religion here is a more in-depth answer. Wicca is a nature religion, and not necessarily meaning that we all run around naked worshipping trees and rocks but in realising that we are a part of the universe and the natural world. What happens in the cycle of the seasons, the cycle of life, death and rebirth affects us. Not only can we see the physical changes, as we do with the seasons, but we are intuitively, emotionally and physically affected by the change. Read my previous blog entry “Emotionally Affected” and you’ll be able to see a very recent affect the world has had on us.

We acknowledge the existence of a God and Goddess (the triple Goddess of Maiden, Mother and Crone) though for every person their personal deity is different. If you would like to learn more about the different Deity Pantheons and so on there are many books and websites available, though to make discovering your deity a truly personal experience, sit down and meditate, welcoming your deity to enter into your life. When you are done write down everything you felt and experienced. Use all five of your senses to describe the experience then use these as a reference when looking for your personal Gods and Goddesses.

In closing

There is so much information available to us on the subject of Wicca and Paganism and there are so many different paths within these that we can choose to follow. May I suggest for those who are new to The Craft or are curious in finding out more, please don’t search the internet. I know there is some wonderful information out there, but there is just so much information that you will be left feeling even more confused than when you started your search.

The best thing to do is go into a bookshop (yes they do still exist, and there are even some online ones but physically going into a bookshop is worth the experience, you are surrounded by the magic and energy of the books) have a look around in the esoteric section and look through the books. You are bound to find a subject that you will be strongly attracted to and then you will be beginning the path of following your True Will in magick.

If you are still unsure, then have a look at the series of books written by Silver Ravenwolf, they are very good guides for those starting out in The Craft. Another book which I felt was very useful was Cassandra Carter’s “Every day magic”.

Another option is to seek out a mentor, a leader in The Craft, and possibly a Coven that you will be able to learn from. Don’t just “jump in” when it comes to magick, take the time to learn it first, it will be worth it in the end.

I hope this helps those with questions, and if not, feel free to ask and I’ll help as best I can.

)O(