I leave for a day and the thread gets so nasty, ah well- time to clean up.
Moving on
Wicca is a religion. It is not inherentally witchcraft. BUT Wicca does permit and in some traditions even promote the use of magic and then the practitioner does cross over into practicing witchcraft. Not all Wiccans are Witches and not all Witches are Wiccans. So to make a blanket statement about Wicca and Witchcraft becomes rather difficult because a person does not have to practice Witchcraft just because they happen to be Wiccan.
Whitehorse- you asked about spells and magic. Magic is about energy and programing energy to acomplish a specific goal. If one wishes to cast a spell one uses tools (music, wands, candles, ect) to help them raise energy (usually within a sacred circle or blessed area that they have called their gods to for saftey and their blessings) then one focuses on the intent ("I need to get out of debt" or "Heal this aweful flu that has aflicted my sister" and so on) until they feel that the energy has become attuned with their intent. Then they would send the energy out of the circle into the wider world again so that it may influence whatever needs to be influenced to accomplish the intent. That's the basic idea.
As for Wiccans wanting power over people-
Not so. I know the site you quoted (all of them actually) rather intimately. They are all primers on Wicca and do not go into any depth really. Websites on Wicca rarely do because in truth we don't want a bunch of teens and tweens converting and then bouncing around doing spells all the time without following the religous aspects of Wicca first. Some pagan traditions are about power over people, Wicca is not one of them. Wicca's first goal is to be harmonious with the world around you. Harmony does not involve control over everything. Magic can only do so much (one of the first things any Wiccan learns, mainly through trial and error) and responsiblity becomes larger with the more power you have (another starting principle). No one really wants to be responsible for that much power in general. Wicca is about knowing yourself and the world around you well enought that you can get things in life accomplished without harming others and enjoy life a little while you are at it. Not exactly world domination is it?
Further, in regards to flaming. I realize (as does everyone else here I'm sure) that this is a Christian Board. We expect to be told that our ways are not the ways of your God. We expect to be told that your God will meet out justice and punishment on us if we do not comply with His laws (or what you perceive His laws to be, but that's neither here nor there right now) but to be heckled, berated, belittled, insulted purposely, and told to leave is pushing the line. There is a certian concept of expressing your beliefs politely and manners are what make the world go round. Remember, just as I am a representitive of my religion where ever I go and whatever I do, so too are you. There doesn't need to be swearing and nastiness to convey an opinion. I hope we can all get back to getting along as this is the season for love and charity and harmony in both our religions.
Yes, some traditions use the Celtic calendar where the year begins as Samhain (Halloween) because the Celts believed that the next day began when the sun set therefore when the year 'sets' with Samhain it is at the same time the beggining of the next year. Others consider Yule, the return of the Sun the beggining of new year, but they are less common. The months can be marked in many ways and some even use the Druid Tree Calendar that has 13 months - one for each moon and sacred tree.
Moving on
Wicca is a religion. It is not inherentally witchcraft. BUT Wicca does permit and in some traditions even promote the use of magic and then the practitioner does cross over into practicing witchcraft. Not all Wiccans are Witches and not all Witches are Wiccans. So to make a blanket statement about Wicca and Witchcraft becomes rather difficult because a person does not have to practice Witchcraft just because they happen to be Wiccan.
Whitehorse- you asked about spells and magic. Magic is about energy and programing energy to acomplish a specific goal. If one wishes to cast a spell one uses tools (music, wands, candles, ect) to help them raise energy (usually within a sacred circle or blessed area that they have called their gods to for saftey and their blessings) then one focuses on the intent ("I need to get out of debt" or "Heal this aweful flu that has aflicted my sister" and so on) until they feel that the energy has become attuned with their intent. Then they would send the energy out of the circle into the wider world again so that it may influence whatever needs to be influenced to accomplish the intent. That's the basic idea.
As for Wiccans wanting power over people-
Not so. I know the site you quoted (all of them actually) rather intimately. They are all primers on Wicca and do not go into any depth really. Websites on Wicca rarely do because in truth we don't want a bunch of teens and tweens converting and then bouncing around doing spells all the time without following the religous aspects of Wicca first. Some pagan traditions are about power over people, Wicca is not one of them. Wicca's first goal is to be harmonious with the world around you. Harmony does not involve control over everything. Magic can only do so much (one of the first things any Wiccan learns, mainly through trial and error) and responsiblity becomes larger with the more power you have (another starting principle). No one really wants to be responsible for that much power in general. Wicca is about knowing yourself and the world around you well enought that you can get things in life accomplished without harming others and enjoy life a little while you are at it. Not exactly world domination is it?
Further, in regards to flaming. I realize (as does everyone else here I'm sure) that this is a Christian Board. We expect to be told that our ways are not the ways of your God. We expect to be told that your God will meet out justice and punishment on us if we do not comply with His laws (or what you perceive His laws to be, but that's neither here nor there right now) but to be heckled, berated, belittled, insulted purposely, and told to leave is pushing the line. There is a certian concept of expressing your beliefs politely and manners are what make the world go round. Remember, just as I am a representitive of my religion where ever I go and whatever I do, so too are you. There doesn't need to be swearing and nastiness to convey an opinion. I hope we can all get back to getting along as this is the season for love and charity and harmony in both our religions.
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