Core Beliefs of Wicca

This is an important topic and one which needs to be considered seriously by anyone who believes that Wicca is the path for them.. Once upon a time everyone knew what the core beliefs of Wicca were because everyone studied the same set of beliefs.But as Wicca has grown and expanded things have changed. Some things have been added which have enriched the path. But often things have been taken away which change the subsequent journey into something no longer recognizable as Wicca.

Worse yet it has come to the idea that Wicca is whatever we want it to be. Things are added or removed on a whim, sort of a buffet spirituality. As an example I once encountered a person who wanted to know whether or not they could omit the God and Goddess from their path and still be considered Wiccan. Well no, you can't.

Wicca is a specific religion with specific beliefs and practices which make it Wicca and not something else entirely. While I do feel that change keeps us as a vital and living faith, I also feel that if you change the core beliefs and practices too radically what you are doing may be a valid Pagan path, but it is no longer Wicca.

A number of years ago on another message board my husband and I and several other Wiccans both traditional coven types and solitaries engaged in a long conversation as to just what constituted the core beliefs which made Wicca a specific spiritual path. At the end of the discussion we came up with the following. And while I feel these pretty well sum up Wiccan beliefs, I allow as how others may put different priorities on each category. Also note that while these elements need to be present for the religion to be called Wicca, there is plenty of wiggle room in them to allow for individual practices as well.

1. Wicca is a mystery religion.

2. Wiccans believe that Divinity is made manifest in both masculine and feminine Forms.

3. Wiccans believe that the world was created and is maintained by the joining together of these two Forms in the Sacred Marriage.

4. Wiccans believe that Divinity is immanent within the world, and therefore all that is is in some part Divine.

5. The dates for Wiccan observances are determined by the changing phases of the moon, and the turning of the seasons.

6. Wiccans hold a religous observance at the time of the full moon.

7. Wiccans believe that magic is efficacious when worked in the proper forms and setting as part of a Wiccan religious practice.

8. Wiccans believe that each person is able to experience direct contact with the Divine without a need for an intermediary.

9 A re-enactment (in some form) of the Sacred Marriage is a necessary part of Wiccan ritual.

10. The ethics and behavior of Wiccans are guided by the Wiccan Rede.

11. Wiccans believe that the world will return to them the same sorts ofenergies they send out into the world.

I think it is important to consider seriously what constitutes the core of Wicca. The present tendency for people to think it can be anything they want it to be puts it in danger of becoming a meaningless term. Wicca is a specific path. If what it is is not to your taste there are other equally valid paths to chose from. Or one can create a path that is unique to yourself. But to try to apply the Wiccan label to something which is not what Wicca is all about is foolish and misleading. Labels are important because we must use them in order to communicate clearly. So choose to label what you do correctly.

-Lark-

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I agree that there are some core beliefs that all who give themselves the title of witch should have. However I also believe that part of the beauty of Wicca is your own personal journey through the Craft and your life. Through my life i have found through personal experience my own set of beliefs that make my connection to the Goddess individual. I do agree that there are just some things that don't change but at the same time I feel its important that every person finds there own path as well.

I would not argue about that.

While I believe that the core beliefs have to be there for one to term what they practice as Wicca, I also believe that there is plenty of room there to make your practice personal to you and your spiritual needs. What I don't believe is the idea that Wicca is "anything I want it to be". Build your spiritual life on the foundation of core beliefs and then you can add in things that personalize it to your needs.

-Lark-

You mentioned above that the Divinity is manifested through male and female energies.

Can you tell me something? If you are in disposition to answer, of course...

Is it possible for a follower of Wicca, let's see, a male person, to have female energies on the inside?

"Is it possible for a follower of Wicca, let's see, a male person, to have female energies on the inside?"

Absolutely!

In my opinion, just as we carry inside of us some of the chromosomes from both our physical mother and father, so too do we carry inside of us some of the energy of both God and Goddess who created everything.

-Lark-

I totally agree with you, most of my posts are concerned on my worry about Wicca, and how it is being portrayed. How this "buffet" because I see no other way on calling it, is misguiding and disrupts the sole essence of Wicca.

Blessed be
I uphold an agree all you have said and am too concerned with the way that other individuals are dramatically changing areas of Wicca as if to almost suit their needs.
However i am concerned moreso that the mythology of the god and the goddess is kept as a mystery. I have heard so many stories as to how it all began with the god and goddess, dividing Wicca and it's practitioners which is confusing me.

Sparrpw, I'm not certain I understand what you are asking in terms of the mythology of the God and Goddess? Which particular God and Goddess are you speaking of?

It is true that in British Traditional Wicca (ie Gardnerian, Alexandrian, etc.) that the names of the specific Deities worked with in this form of Wicca are oathbound and are known only to initiates of those Traditions.

But that God and Goddess are not the same Deities that many other Wiccans work with. When I am in a Gard circle, I am working with my oathbound Deities. In my personal (non-Gard) practice I work with Sekhmet, Anpu, Tehuti, and Menthu.

Can you elaborate a bit more on where your confusion about the mythology lies?

"9. A re-enactment (in some form) of the Sacred Marriage is a necessary part of Wiccan ritual."

What exactly does this mean. o.O

**"9. A re-enactment (in some form) of the Sacred Marriage is a necessary part of Wiccan ritual."

What exactly does this mean. o.O++

In Wicca it is commonly believed that it is the relationship between the God and the Goddess (The Sacred Marriage) that is the source of the energy that makes all of Creation continue.

Thus in Wiccan practice it is common to represent this joining of the God and the Goddess in what is known as the Great Rite. In some Traditions of Wicca the Great Rite is performed by having the HP and HPS evoke the God and Goddess into themselves and then engaging in ritual sex.

Obviously this isn't practical for those who are solitaries, so an alternative is to performed it symbolically. In many other Wiccan Traditions the Great Rite is performed symbolically by the ritual joining of the athame and the chalice.

The Great Rite is as central to Wiccan practice as Communion is to Christianity. It doesn't matter so much which form one uses to represent it. But it is important that it be performed in some fashion.