Wicca for beginners: origins, symbols, rituals and beliefs
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Have you ever heard about Wicca? Do you understand what it is about? If you want to learn more about Wicca, you are in the right place. We have gathered some useful information about Wicca for beginners.
Wicca for beginners: all you need to know
What is Wicca?
Wicca is a neo-pagan religion created by Gerald Gardner and influenced by pre-Christian beliefs and practices of Western Europe, who advocate the existence of supernatural power as magic.
Also called “The Art”, Wicca preaches love, joy and it is considered a shamanic religion, because it defends the existence of other worlds, parallel to ours, and possible contacts with beings that belong to them.
It values nature and believes that we belong to it, different from the conception that God created nature to be dominated and exploited by man. The woman has a prominent role in witchcraft, as a mother, representing the personification of Great Mother Nature. Know the origin, concepts, beliefs, and practices of this religion.
Wicca’s origins
The founder of Wicca – Gerald Gardner – had always been interested in anthropology, history, occult science, and archeology. He also had contact with Freemasonry and liked to read about the pagan and Celtic rituals that were held in Britain.
Gardner updated the ancestral knowledge of witchcraft for the twentieth century and called this practice Wicca. One of the founder’s main goals was to disassociate the evil from witchcraft that was determined by Christians. So he emphasized positive values about the knowledge of nature rather than rites and mysteries.
It is important to note that not necessarily those who practice a Neopagan religion are Wiccans. Wicca is just one of the pre-Christian religions that have surfaced. In Stonehenge, we find another example of a Neopagan religion where non-Christian festivals are held.
There are rumors that the true author behind Gerald Gardner’s writings would have been the English magician Aleister Crowley. However, there is no evidence to support this theory. Gardner was an initiated member of the Ordo Templi Orientis, an Order from a masonic academy led by Crowley to an independent organization following the philosophy known as Thelema. Gardner was authorized to lead the work of this Order in England.
Wicca beliefs
In Wicca, they believed in the existence of masculine and feminine gods, being the masculine called Cernunnos or Cerunos and, the feminine, Mother Goddess.
The Mother Goddess has always existed, is uncreated and creative. Its feminine condition allows us to face three conditions of human life: virginity (innocence), mother (fullness), an old woman (wisdom). It can be represented by the moon, and the exaltation of fertility, knowledge, healing, and care are part of her worship.
Cernunnos or Cerunos is also known as the Horned God, the spouse of the Mother Goddess. It is a god who is born, dies and reborn, as well as life, seasons and plants. It is associated with male virility and was mistakenly identified as the devil by Christians.
Wicca also includes the cult of pantheons such as Celtic, Assyrian, Norse, Greek, among others. Only the faithful can decide who to dedicate their worship to. They also believe in reincarnation and the Triple Law, in which all human actions return even more intensely to those who have practiced them. They reject the idea of the personification of evil.
Wiccans gather during ceremonies with the Solstices and Shabbat to perform rituals of gratitude, renewal, and requests to the gods. The Wicca feasts are linked to seasons and nature, as well as paganism.
Wicca’s rituals
The rituals of Wicca are guided by the phases of the moon, the Solstices, and the Equinoxes. There are practices for large, small, or even individual groups. It is essential that the environment is clean and the altar tidy. Those who are practicing need to know in advance what their function in the ritual will be, so that no energetic, physical or spiritual dispersion occurs.
In making the circle, one must summon the elements and the deities. In the end, the circle will be broken and, little by little, the participants will return to the present. It is allowed to serve some food or drink to aid in relaxation at this point.
The experiences experienced during rituals should be recorded in the Book of Shadows, a type of journal of practitioners of pagan religions.
Wicca’s symbols
The symbols of Wicca are common to the various pagan religions. Wicca herself uses symbols of other religions in her rituals such as the Yin and Yang and the Egyptian cross. Know two symbols and their meanings:
Triple-moon
This pagan symbol represents the three phases of the moon: waxing, full, and waning. The triple moon symbolizes the three phases of the Mother Goddess: Maiden, Mother and Elder. They are directly related to the phases of the crescent moon, full and waning.
Pentacle
This is the figure of a pentagram within a circle. It is an object found on altars and used in rituals, spells and incantations.It is a five-pointed star that is present in various religions and cultures, also found in Wicca. It represents the five elements, the masculine, and feminine, the union of the cosmos, among others.
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