The Wiccan Religion - Research Paper Example

? The Wiccan Religion Apart from the widely-practiced Abrahamic religions, there are many forms of paganisms prevalent around the world. The term paganism is used to describe all the religious practices that are polytheistic and associate nature with divinity. Paganism is one of the fastest growing practices around the world especially in the United States and Africa; however it is difficult to obtain exact figures as many of its followers are either sole practitioners or do not believe in preaching their religion (Higginbotham 1-2). Almost all of the forms of paganism are focused around worshipping nature and multiple deities; hence they appear to be the same religions to a non practitioner. Paganism is an umbrella term which encompasses many pagan practices and religions including Wicca which is one of the most widely practiced forms of paganism. Wicca is one of the most widely misunderstood forms of paganism and people usually associate mistake it for a religion promoting evil witchcraft and weird rituals (Cunningham 2010). The Wicca has its roots in the early pagan practices and could be called its direct descendent. Even though Wiccan beliefs bear a striking dissimilarity, it can easily be traced back to the early forms of paganism. During the medieval ages, the church decided to eradicate the pagan religions because it was believed that paganism was actually linked to satanic worship. ‘Witches’ were targeted and burtally burned at stakes if found guilty of possessing the art of witchcraft. About 40000 to 100000 people were killed during the famous ‘witch hunt’ because they were suspected to be linked with witchcraft (Howard 2010). The word ‘witches’ and ‘witchcraft’ had a very negative connotation and was usually considered a symbol of devil worship, and strange rituals which involved rape or cannibalism. Many of the followers of pagan religions abandoned their sacred beliefs for fear of their lives however a few clung onto it and followed it in secrecy. The current form of Wicca actually propagated in the twentieth century however many of the followers are of the view that it is a rather refined form of the same paganism (Howard 2010). During the twentieth century, many leaders stood up to propagate ‘Wicca’ because they feared that the ancient religion of witchcraft would completely die out. In the year 1954, a civil servant by the name of Gerald Gardner published “Witchcraft today” in which he spoke of his fears of extinction of the ancient religion. He also recounted his encounter with the other members who were part of the Witch cult. He decided to spread the religion and for this purpose, Gardner formed the Bricket Wood coven in the city of Hertfordshire in 1946. For the organization of the coven, he declared himself the high priest while making Dafo the high priestess. Gardner laid the foundation of the ‘book of shadows’, the wiccan book of spirituality and personal experiences. He preached that the book was actually an ancient practice and that its revival was necessary to revive the religion. The religion he preached, began to be known as the Gardnerian Wicca. There was however a lot of disagreement and unrest within the believers, the reason for which was the Gardner’s imposition of the Wiccan laws. The Gardnerian Wicca however attracted a lot of people and hence the Bricket Wood coven could be said to have played a vital role in the revival of Wicca. Following Gardner’s open proclamation, many other followers emerged and claimed that the ‘traditional witchcraft’ was being followed by their families since ages. With the public declaration of such a large number of followers, the Wicca began to be seen as a religion rather than a satanist cult. A large number of covens were formed devoted to the cause of guiding solitary practitioners as well as propagating the Wiccan religion across the globe. With the increased number of covens, the religion entered from England to the neighbouring countries of Ireland and Scotland. In the 1960s, the religion received a new boost when an Englishman by the name of Alex Sanders proclaimed through media to be a traditional witch and proved his allegiance to the Gardnerian’s coven. Later he became so influential that together with his wife, they claimed to be the symbols of the Wiccan world having allegiances of more than one hundred and twenty seven covens. He introduced his views into the religion which began to be known as the Alexandrian Wicca. The most famous of which was the allowance for homosexuals in the religion because previously homosexuals were looked down upon as the Gardnerian wicca believed in gender bipolarity. In his later years however, Alexander encouraged amalgamation of the two forms to build one ‘perfect’ religion (Howard 2010). With the combined efforts of the solitary practitioners and the covens, the Wiccan religion experienced its full bloom and began to be incorporated into popular culture, becoming a part of movies, tv series and documentaries including “The Craft” and “The Heaven and The Earth show”. Since there is no one religious books and there are so many divergent opinions even within the different covens of the religion that it is difficult to fully understand it. The misunderstanding generates a fear generally linked with the term ‘magic’ and that is what surrounds Wicca in a controversy. The main controversy that surrounds wicca is the constant allegation of its association with satan worship. The wiccan rituals are mostly performed at night with a ‘distinct’ dress code which may range from stylish hoodies to long black robes. The rituals hold a stiriking similarity with the satanic practices of the past in terms of the timings of the ritual and the dresscode observed. Also the Wiccans worship the ‘European Pagan Horned God’, however in wiccan beliefs, the horned God is not associated with satanism but viewed as “the energy of nature, of plant and animal life, which energy manifests for people in music and dance, intoxication and ecstasy, and all joyous activities, including lovemaking.” Therefore despite the allegations, Wiccans deny practicing Satan worship. Moreover, Wicca does not have one holy book that could be said to hold all the wiccan beliefs. It is instead one’s own interpretation of the nature and that is Wiccans are surrounded by controversy because it is believed that they do not consider themselves bound by a religious moral conduct because they have the freedom to make their own ‘book of shdadows’ (Howard 2010). The dark history of witchcraft and Wiccan’s similarity with it has surrounded the Wiccans with the controversy of blood or child sacrifice. Even though Wiccans deny making animal or human sacrifices to appease their creator, they do accept the fact that they “pour out libations … Some female Witches use their own menstrual blood in spells; other witches may prick themselves … and offer a drop or two of their own blood. But the only blood a Witch has the right to offer is her/his own. (Rogers 2008)” Magic is seen as an evil force in most of the religions including Christianity and Islam and Wicca’s open admiration of this art may cause repulsion. Performing magic is one of the essentials of Wicca regardless of the covens; however Wiccan perception of the magic is of something positive. Wiccans extensively engage in what they call ‘white’ magic which is pure and necessary to achieve inner peace. Also once a Wiccan gets a command over witchcraft, he may use it to ward of ‘dark magic’ and ‘evil spirits’. Whatever Wiccan beliefs are, the word ‘magic’ does not hold a positive connotation in a common man’s eyes. Wiccan’s ceremonies are more devoted towards the culture of ancient paganism. Most of the ceremonies take place at night. Nudism and sex are seen as symbols of nature and the creation of the world and that is why many witches prefer to attend the ceremonies completely naked. However there is no obligation and one may dress up any way he likes if it falls under the wiccan dress code for the ceremonies. The wicca holds high regard for both the sexes since it believes in a society that is bipolar rather than patriarchal. The Wiccans believe in reincarnation and life after death but they reject the notion of a person being sent to heaven or hell based solely on their deeds in this world (Cunningham 5). Wiccans are staunch believers of the concept that a person does not go to heaven or hell after death but enters a temporary blissful state after which the soul is reincarnated into a body of a human or any other living organism. They are of the belief that their current existence is just a part of a continuous cycle and that they have already lived and will live in the body of another living being. Wiccans deny the existence of the devil as they proclaim universe to be place of peace and harmony rather than a battleground for the good and evil (McColman 2002). The religion preaches that any evil that is prevalent in the world is because of the evil within the people which needs to be healed through spiritual interaction with the Creator. The wiccans are firm advocates of this belief since it makes the individual solely responsible for one’s acts rather than allowing him to put the blame of his wrongdoings on the devil. The Wiccans of higher rank frequently hold rituals which revolve around the use of ‘magic’ to sluice individuals from the evils within them. Most of the Wiccans are ‘duotheistic’ in their beliefs and view ‘God as having two dimensions; a masculine and a feminine dimension’ (McColman 2002). According to Wicca, God is not seen as the creator of universe, rather God is considered as an embodiment of the universe. For Wiccans ‘the soul of the God and the Goddess reside in the physical universe’ (McColman 2002). However there is a lot of variation among the followers and many believe in the concept of monotheism as well as polytheism. The Dianic Wiccans believe only in one Goddess while the Church and School of Wicca believe in one genderless God. Many others are adherers of soft polytheism in which a number of lesser deities are worshipped and hard polytheism which involves worship of the major deities. Rituals constitute the essence of pagan religions and they way they are performed carry religious significance to the followers. Since Wiccans consider divinity as an important aspect of nature, they associate spiritual significance to all the elements of their environment and perform most of their rituals under open sky or deep within a forest where they feel closer to nature. Also most of the Wiccan rituals are performed in the night, which they consider as the best time to meditate and call out for their creator. Also, as science proves that the black color is the most absorbent of energy; wiccans consider it as a means to harness the energy of the nature to devote their focus and prayers towards their creator. (McColman 2002). Even though black color has its own significance in the Wiccan culture, there are no particular compulsions in term of dress code. Some wiccans even perform their rituals naked wanting themselves to be purged from the artificialities of this world while they are praising their creator (McColman 2002). Wiccan concept of magic is totally different from what is usually perceived about this art. The wiccans believe that every aspect of nature is a representation of God and hence interacting with it would allow them to do magic. They consider magic to be a form of science that is not fully understood. The term ‘magic’ holds weird and even repulsive connotations to most of the religions and cultures around the world. The ‘witch hunt’ by the churches is one example of where users of magic were brutally targeted. In Wiccan beliefs, magic is just a way to direct the flow of nature and it does not always mean that magic ends up harming anybody. Magic, they feel is their ultimate way to direct the flow of energy in the universe. Due to its uniqueness and freedom of interpretation, Wicca is rapidly becoming dominant around the world. According to scholars, in the United States alone, it is the fastest growing religion after Islam. Even though Wicca is not one of the most widely practiced religions in the world, it is important to study about them in order to clear misconceptions and promote religious tolerance towards different forms of Paganism. Works Cited McColman, Carl. When Someone You Love Is Wiccan: A Guide to Witchcraft and Paganism for Concerned Friends, Nervous Parents, and Curious Co-Workers. Career Press: 2002. Cunningham, Scott. Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2010. Rogers, Jay. The Champion, "Child Sacrifice in the New Age." Last modified April, 2008. Accessed December 15, 2011. Howard, Michael. Modern Wicca: A History from Gerald Gardner to the Present. Llewellyn Worldwide, Llewellyn Worldwide, 2010 Read More