I would like to again give a warm appreciation to you all, who have been as active as you can, and though I cannot really be present to guide you through, I know you are doing your best. In this paragraph I would like to give you a bit of a clarification. This class will not turn you into a Wiccan, as a matter of fact this can bring you as closer to Wicca as any other book. I am not comparing me to the wonderful works of Farrar, or Conway, in no way, but I say this so that you understand, that studying Wicca does not turn you into one; no matter how much books you read, or covens you attend, and parades you participate in; it doesn’t even matter how much information you have been able to retain, this does not mean you are a Wiccan. So then, what does make you a Wiccan? Heart, only that bud that has truly been planted and bursts into bloom, and with the years grows ever so much lovely.
I give basics, and can point out any mistakes you are willing to share, you have all come up to me and asked which is something I love, but remember religion is more than just the outside part, you have to get deeper. Family, school, work, every little aspects of your lives are affected by this decision and learning process, it is good that you have a second opinion on life in itself; I do not wish to meddle into your own business, and I want to make it quite clear, I have done so with other groups in which some where uneasy, and never confided some mundane things unto me; so never feel that I want to be your “trust” buddy. But then those who did share and asked for my “wiccan” advice manage to find an in depth meaning to this path, and all life aspects that it covers; many of them still contact me from time to time searching for a refreshing counsel, I am much honored to see their growth and being considered a good road towards wisdom.
Now, I do not know why I didn’t put this topic first, somehow I feel this should have been the first lesson, just because it is the whole basics of religion. Gods. To me there is no religion without one; be it whoever it is, and Wicca is not the exception.
To understand Wicca you must absolutely understand its deities, Wicca is a dual religion, and this means that unlike modern religions, our gods are aspects of both feminine and masculinity. Some time ago dual/ity was one of your vocab words, and this is something every Wiccan must know. Paganism understands a concept of duality as infinite and unique. Goddess has become the main focus in mayor feminist pagan groups, it is critical to understand that neither Goddess nor God is more important than the other. We all have the right to worship as we may, but we must acknowledge that Goddess cannot be without God, or God without Goddess, neither is second nor third and this should not be in our lives of worship if we aim for duality and balance.
So Wicca Worships two main deities:
-God
-Goddess
So when does the multi-deity situation come up?
As you well know, pagans are defined as polytheistic, which means that we have “many” Gods, though to many this might be true, to others this is false. We well described that paganism is a religion that honored, and worshiped the earth and its many manifestations, when someone comes up to you and says pagans are those who worship many Gods, you must correct this person, and let them understand the proper definition. No, not all pagans believe in many Gods, while some worship God and Goddess, others worship a pantheon, or Goddess alone, or any other Gods, and yet others only worship the One.
New Age philosophy is the “genre” to put it in words, in which neo-paganism falls in. Wicca as you must be already aware of is a neo pagan religion. Many people state that it is an ancient religion with ancient beliefs, though there is some remote truth in this statement, it is mostly false. Remember the real Wicca comes into being in the 50-60’s with Gardner, and Wicca is a religious adaption to the modern world, with many sets of theories ranging from Thelemites, to even Masonery. Now I will focus on this later on, it is not meant to be a barrier between learning and you.
Now that we see that not every pagan worships “many” gods, this is the normal categorization within the pagan community. All Goddesses and representations of an ultimate female power; if there is an absolute female power, it is referred to as creatorix, and/or mother; as a result, goddesses like Hecat, Isis, and Atabey who are all from different cultures are all manifestations of the same Female energy. And so the same applies to male Gods, Zeus, Thor and Ra, can be seen as different aspects of one ultimate Male Power.
I hope this is not too complicated to understand; as a result most pagans believe that no matter the name, we are all worshiping the same ultimate force, or The ONE, only that we are using different names.
The One can be explained as the combination of both female ultimate, and male ultimate, in a merge that gives you the absolute Energy force, or High Power.
Nevertheless, there are those who choose to believe that there are different lone entities, that guide the people who choose them.
Wicca like I have discussed many times before, has turned into a laughing matter, with so much liberty people have gone to calling themselves Satanic Wiccans, to Christian Wiccans. Everything must be done in an orderly and logical manner, if it is true that Wicca permits a certain freedom of choosing deities, one must also be wise about it. If I am a Wiccan who believe in reincarnation, practices pleasure (sex, and many other happy joys), and does magic, how in the name of whoever, can I be a Christian!? We have to put some sense into everything. So then I can be a Satanist because Wicca lets me choose a deity, and then not even understand the very religious structure of Satanism? Logic, and order above all. Do not get me wrong, you are free to choose your path, but if you do choose to be a Christian, or Satanist, take Wicca out of it. It is not to be a merry go round a la cart, buffet ride! Bring respect to your religion above everything else, and yourself, do not be a fool. With this said, I think I have made my point.
Not turning Wicca into a crazy serve yourself, can sometimes be a tough trip, especially when deities are concerned. To choose deities simply look at what you believe in, like I have said before to many people, you can’t choose out of the blue, as time passes you will see who is more familiar to you, and who makes you feel more comfortable.
Remember to keep balance and peace. Do not mix Hades, with Isis for example; try to be organized and clear. This does not mean that you should not worship Gods from other pantheons, you can, but be careful study them. Why can’t you have a great bond with Athena and Poseidon at the same time? They hate each other, so keep the peace, and be careful!
I will not give you a list of deities, I will post a link that can be useful, this journey is yours. But here are some hints:
1-Ancestry (use Gods your bloodline can be familiar with, if you are Greek by lineage these Gods will probably be good to call on; if you are African American, this would be the perfect blood line to investigate).
2- Place of Birth (Call upon sacred deities from where you were born).
3- Where you live (Each place has a religious history, maybe Romans had conquered some hundreds of years ago? Or maybe there are native ruins?)
4-Do your research (You will be adopting something new and foreign, so read, do not just pick Mayan because they are “cool”, be more spiritual, read their myths and stories, and see who calls to you).
Excersice:
Take your time to look at the lists bellow, choose deities that call out. Write a short “essay” 500 words, telling me who they are and why they call to you. Do not feel pressured take your time to research family history, or in depth information on each Goddess and Gods.
Vocab:
Oracle
Pantheon
Fertility
Equinox
Sabbaths
Valor
Bible
Torah
Odyssey
Vedas
Popol Vuh
Quran
Tripitaka
# Promised List of Deities
(links)
http://www.scns.com/earthen/other/seanachaidh/godgoddess.html
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/godsmyth/a/070809godsandgoddesses.htm
http://www.empathys.co.uk/53.html
I exhort you to do your own research, I have given quick eye over these pages, there may be inaccurate, but I have not focused on these pages, or read them, nevertheless, I do not want to make your life's hard, so a facilitate some information, good luck!
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