Wicca as a spiritual path

[ravenwolf]

hi everyone!!!
i am wiccan and it is a spiritual path for me. i did used to be a Christian but i found it was no longer fulfilling for me and i needed something that really spoke to me and wicca was it. i hope to clear up any misunderstandings about this path. I personally believe all spiritual paths are valid in that they promote spiritual growth. I believe in an all powerful universal power or Spirit, but i also believe this power to have masculine and femenine polarities, and that gods and goddessess of ancient times are but aspects fo this one power, i also believe this energy to be in everything, and that all living things carry the spark of Divine within....the only difference between those who are spiritual and those who are not are whether they have connected to that spark within. I do believe in Jesus, however i view Him a little differently than Christians do. I beleive He was enlightened and came to show humanity that they to could also acheive enlightenement , just like many other enlightened beings that have been on Earth. i would love to hear any question or thoughts.
~raven wolf

 

[gaijin178]

I am happy that you have found a path that resonates well with you.

Metta.

 

[rainbowprism]

I'm not trying to be arugmentative but I'm just pointing out that beliefs that promise you are going to be enlightened and cause your troubles to vanish...can be tricky. It is normal for your car to break down, it is normal for someone to cause you offense and so on. Strength is in God, not each other. Just my .02

(And not to incite your wrath, but I have been on the other side of this argument before, so I'm not speaking from no conceptual knowledge of your beliefs)

 

[ravenwolf]

Thanx metta
rainbow prism,
i never said anything about beliefes promising enlightenment i said that was how i viewed Jesus. I do believe that people have the ability to become enlightened but not through means of beleiving anything. My beliefs dont promise anything because its a find out for yourself thing. I find and connect with Spirit in my own way and i believe working on ones self spiritually brings one a step closer to enlightment but doesnt promise because that takes a lot of work and self knowledge. And i never said anything about problems vanishing either. And i never said anything about strenght in eachother either. And no you did not incite any wrath, just annoyance at the fact that you obviously didnt read what i wrote because you replied about things i never said.
~ravenstarr

 

[Faith In God]

Wicca is a spiritual path. everything is. where that path leads is another story.

 

[Cerridwen]

Hey~

I'm not trying to be arugmentative but I'm just pointing out that beliefs that promise you are going to be enlightened and cause your troubles to vanish...can be tricky. It is normal for your car to break down, it is normal for someone to cause you offense and so on. Strength is in God, not each other. Just my .02

Our beliefs don't promise that all our troubles will vanish. I don't know where you got that idea from. We do, however, as Wiccans, learn how to better deal with, accept, & understand those troubles. No one is debating whether it's "normal" or not to have every day annoyances occur. We are still human, after all. Strength is in each other, & in the Gods.

Being "enlightened" only means that one becomes closer to the Divine, & there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Every religion promises enlightenment in some form or another, whether through that specific wording or not.

(And not to incite your wrath, but I have been on the other side of this argument before, so I'm not speaking from no conceptual knowledge of your beliefs)

You apparently don't have much "conceptual knowledge" of our beliefs, or you wouldn't have said that they promise troubles will "vanish".

Love & Blessings, Cerridwen*

 

[rainbowprism]

You apparently don't have much "conceptual knowledge" of our beliefs, or you wouldn't have said that they promise troubles will "vanish".

I feel the poster that replied in between us worded my sentiments better. And I didn't say knowledge of your beliefs, I said 'others'....some of those others have had me tap into some things that just shouldn't be messed with. Some Wiccans say they only practice white magic instead of black...well how are they so sure they aren't manipulating things they shouldn't be? (Notice I did not say that their magic doesn't really work, I'm just questioning whether or not they are safe) Like I said before, I'm saying everything with all respect to another spiritual individual and I'm not talking down to you.

 

[Cerridwen]

Hey~

Actually:

(And not to incite your wrath, but I have been on the other side of this argument before, so I'm not speaking from no conceptual knowledge of your beliefs)

(emphasis mine)

I'm glad you aren't talking down, & I appreciate that. I have been Wiccan long enough to have seen every stripe of those "claiming" to be Wiccan, when in reality, they don't know what Wicca is, except for something they've read in "Teen Witch", which is scarely more than bovine excrement.
There is no "white" or "black" magick. There is intent, however, magick itself, energy, is purely neutral.
Well, if one doesn't know whether they are manipulating things they shouldn't be, then one shouldn't be manipulating anything. Magick isn't a game. You don't play with those energies unless you know what you're doing. That's just common sense.
Thanks for the respect, you have mine in return.

Love & Blessings, Cerridwen*

 

[ravenwolf]

Some Wiccans say they only practice white magic instead of black...well how are they so sure they aren't manipulating things they shouldn't be?

I second what cerridwen said. .....everything is interconnected..all of energy and when magick is worked(along with other things such as prayer and thought...which are not as reactive or cause/effect)it causes "vibrations" that make the change by moving energy....so one should not do this without knowledge...i personally do not have that knowledge(and i really dont think anyone really does because you would have to have infinite knowledge of the whole universe and how everything is interconnected really know how to work a spell without causing something to go off course in the "plan" of the Universe) so when i do work magick(which is rare...only if i really need to)i do a very general one..not specific...and i i leave the rest up to the will of my Higher Power or God and Goddess that way im not working for something specific and causing things to happen in a uncontrolled chain reaction....this way the Universe is still working its plan through the spell. This is just the way I see Magick and my own morals about it....this is not neccasarily true to all Wiccans. As for Black and White magick I dont see Magick as being black or white rather its nuetral...all magick is, is energy and energy is just that..energy...its what someone does WITH it that makes it black or white.
~dragonstarr

 

[coyoteBR]

ravenwolf:
I can't put better than Gaijin. It's always a great new to know someone finds their path, the way that speaks deeper on your heart, soul and reason, to re-unite with God.
I wish you all the best, peace, strengh of will and curiosity to keep always searching and learning about The Creator.

coyoteBR

 

[rainbowprism]

God bless you Cerriden and other posters

 

[ravenwolf]

Thank you rainbow prism
May you be Blessed also on this journey called life!!!!
~ravenwolf

 

[rainbowprism]

Thank you Ravenwolf! (I like that screename)

 

[Starcrystal]

Ravenwolf, I understand exactly where you're coming from. I agree with some of what you say, and I disagree with some of it too. I'm a born again Christian but in my many experiences I've found Jesus to be somewhat different than what many churches teach. I think many deny a lot that Jesus did and taught. I also beleive God manifests as both Father & Mother, and Gods mother images are also found in the Bible.
Hopefully I won't get attacked by some of the more orthodox Christians for saying these things, which has happened in the past here. We must understand God is not in a little box consigned to a certain theology. God is so unimaginably beyond peoples comprehension, yet spiritual things are really simple when viewed in the spirit.

 

[ravenwolf]

Starcrystal,
I have read about how the Hebrews have words for a God and Goddess and i think they were in the Bible but were misinterpreted or tookin out(im not sure). And its also expected that not everyone will agree on everything, i dont expect anyone to agree with me at all. And I know what you mean about spiritual things and simplicity ...when viewed in Spirit. I have a lot of respect for someone that can have a strong mind and ventur out to believe in something in the face of adversary...i to have the same struggle, my family is christian so they look down upon my diff. beliefs.
Brightest Blessing,
ravenwolf

 

[Talame]

I believe the word you are thinking of is Elohim. The word eloh or elah denoted a female deity in the ancient Hebrew, while the -im denoted a plural form. So the name Elohim actually means goddesses!

 

[Cerridwen]

Hey~

Thanks for the blessings, Rainbowprism ..... Right back atcha.

Yes, actually the word in hebrew is Elohim. One part of the word means male & one means female. Also, in the creation story, it originally stated: "let us make man in our image". I'll have to find a good link for you on that explanation. It's quite fascinating.

I think as big as this universe is already, & as many different people as there are, we'd have to be really arrogant imbeciles to assume that there is only one way to the Divine, or that one system of belief is any more accurate than another.

Love & Blessings, Cerridwen*

 

[Starcrystal]

Yes, Elohim is one Hebrew word that expresses plurality and can also be a feminine.
There is also reference in the Bible to God being Mother or having motherly qualities: where it speaks of God being like the mother Eagle who bears her young upon her back & flutters over them in the nest, and where Jesus speaks of desiring to gather his people as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings. There is also subtle reference to Mother Earth in the Bible and in the apocrypha.
Its sad that the patriarchal religiosity of many beleivers put down the feminine aspect of the Creator, and by so doing they often suppress women in general in the process. The funny things is, God is a SPIRIT, and has no specific sexuality. Humans attribute sexuality to God, but in reality God has no gender, but can manifest with the attributes of either gender.
I also don't understand the huge problem some Christians have with finding God in nature. Jesus himself used the example of the wind to explain being born again in John 3. Paul wrote about people finding God in nature to the Romans. David wrote about the heavens and the creation declaring the glory of God in the Psalms, and God used examples of nature to speak to Job in the last few chapters of that book..... So why do some Christians call me a pagan and a witch, even though I'm a born again Christian? Do we just pick & choose what parts of the Bible suit us and disgard the rest, and the obvious?

 

[Starcrystal]

Cerridwen,
Yes, actually the word in hebrew is Elohim. One part of the word means male & one means female. Also, in the creation story, it originally stated: "let us make man in our image". I'll have to find a good link for you on that explanation. It's quite fascinating.

Actually I was taught by someone not of this plane that God formed "man" (the male) out of the dust of the EARTH, which is female in nature. God then caused Adam to sleep and formed Eve out of his rib. In essence then, the male was formed of all the elements of the female (Earth) and was actually just a conduit through which the female passed from Earth to human form. I'd have to look it up, but somewhere either in Psalms or Job I think, it tells of when a person dies they return to "The Mother of all living" ~ which is the Earth.(Actually I think its in the apocryphal books, but no less valid..) The verses I was thinking of are in Psalm 139:13 - 15 because here too it makes a connection between the persons mothers womb and the Earth.

 

[Cerridwen]

Hey~

That sounds very cool-& it makes sense. Yes, do look it up, I'd love to read it!

Love & Blessings, Cerridwen*