Core Beliefs of Wicca

oh ok got it I now beleave im wiccan but whats the difference between Pagan and Wiccan?

Wicca is a specific religion, just like Islam or Buddhism.

Paganism is a sort of blanket term that covers most polytheistic (believing in many gods) religions. Exactly which religions are covered by the term depends on who you ask, since Hinduism has thousands of gods but most people don't think of it as terribly pagan.

"Pagan" comes from a Latin term that just meant "country dweller" and it essentially referred to people who had nature-based practices and beliefs rather than the "civil religions" (like Christianity) found in cities.

All Wiccans are pagan to one degree or another, but the majority of pagans are not Wiccan.

Lark you are quite right the new forest coven that you refer to was in a small place near burley and it did exsist and still does exsist to this day :-) blessings macus

I'm new to Wicca and believe that at least a little self discipline is needed. Would you possibly have a few words of help to stick to the Wiccan Rede?

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.