Core Beliefs of Wicca

Alex, you are in fact incorrect in your statement. How Wiccans perceive their Deities is indeed a matter of personal experience and not something which is set down in any sort of rule book. But you are correct that our Deities have a far more complex nature than simply saying they are all-loving, or all powerful.

Nor do Wiccans avoid baneful magic out of fear of the consequences. We avoid it whenever possible because it is the right thing to do, not out of fear of some sort of karmic punishment. When necessary a Wiccan will do whatever is necessary magically or mundanely to protect themselves and those they love from harm. Sometimes baneful magic is both appropriate and necessary and there is nothing in the tenets of Wicca to prevent one from using it.

I was on this site a few years ago and I admit I didn't take it seriously. But now (after growing up a little :P) I have decided to really pursue practicing and this time take it seriously. I do have one question. It may be silly. But I was wondering who exactly are the god and goddess? Are they Greek, Roman, Nordic etc...

In British Traditional Wicca, (such as Gardnerian or Alexandrian)the God and Goddess are two particular Deities whose names and identity are only known to those who have been properly initiated into those Traditions.

In eclectic Wicca who one chooses as the God and Goddess are entirely up to them. So one might choose Greek Deities while another chooses Celtic. In my own personal practice, outside of my coven, I tend to work with Egyptian Gods and Goddesses.

Hope that helps and doesn't just confuse you more.

untill i read your explanation of 9 on the list for some reason it didn't click untill you mention the great rite lol computers make my brain a little gooey sometimes

i suppose it might be hermetic of me to say that all gods and goddesses are an expression of THE god and goddess

It might indeed be Hermetic of you; although some Wiccans also follow that belief.

But remember that Wicca is an "experiential" religion. So how one experiences of perceives the nature of Deity will differ from one Wiccan to another based on their personal interactions with the Divine.

You will indeed encounter Wiccans who believe that all Gods are one God and all Goddesses one Goddess...and that they are simply reflections of a single Divine being. This is known as soft polytheism.

Others, myself included, feel that each Deity is a seperate and independent being in its own right. For me this is based on how I have experienced the Gods and particularly the Goddesses over my 30 years of practice. This is referred to as hard polytheism.

Other Wiccans view the God and Goddess as Jungian archetypes, parts of our subconscious minds that lead us to our Higher Selves.

There is no right or wrong answer to what the nature of the Gods might be as we have no absolute way of knowing. We must base our approach to them upon our personal experience of their natures.

This is very helpful to me! I just recently became a Wiccan so it is nice to know what the core beliefs are. I also agree with you that there can be wiggle room because I am sure that over time I will find other things that I will add to my core set of beliefs that will help me become more connected with the God and Goddess.

I just wanted to say Lark, that thank you. All your extremelyw helpful posts on here have made my journey a great one so far and shall continue to for a while I hope. And just to put this out there, my views off the gods and goddesses are that, all of forces in which they represent (Nyx: moon, ect) are pretty much the power and life force of those things manifested into names and images, of course they have power of their own. That is my view.

Priests Lark, I am not only new to the site,but to the study of the Craft as well.I am in my third month of study and have read a couple of books on the subject,i am a seeker and can not yet call my self wicca in good conscience .My question is two fold if i were to walk to study the British Traditional teachings what authors would you suggest?And could you tell me the major difference between the Gardanian view verse the Alexandrian viewpoint.Thank you in advance.

Hi RedDireWolf, The first thing to remember is that all of the British Traditional Wicca Traditions are oathbound and do not reveal their actual teachings until on has been properly initiated into a BTW coven. So one cannot actually be considered to follow a BTW path through reading books or surfing the internet. That being said, one can get a feeling for what BTW is like by reading those authors who have written about it and who are themselves actually initiates of British Traditional Wicca. Here's some authors that I'd suggest:

Gerald Gardner - after all, he brought British Traditional Wicca to the world.

Fred Lamond

Patricia Crowther

Ellen Bourne

Vivienne Crowley

Phillip Heselton

Janet and Stewart Farrar

I cannot comment too much on the differences between Gardnerian Wicca and Alexandrian Wicca. While I am an initiate of Gardnerian Wicca I am not an initiate of Alexandrian Wicca so I am not party to their specific practices. Furthermore, my oaths do not permit me to talk in any depth even about Gardnerian practices. However, in talking with my Alexandrian friends, there is a bit more of Ceremonial Magic in Alexandrian practices.