wicca Weed Eater You can collect 'em all! Suzy got the red one Sally got the white one and Jessica, she got the black one Soon, every mall store in the country will have the New Wicca Playset for all the little girlies to play with. But wait..there's more! If you act now, you'll get your own set of smelly incense and low quality crystals. Hurry, kids! another industry seeks to get rich by decieving you! 010718 ... Aimee My best friend is wiccan. It's kinda cool, she's always been one to get me to join the "old religion" as I call it. It does make a lot of sense, but for some reason I just don't have the patience to learn it, practice it, and moreover deal with people telling me I'll go to hell for it.. but every now and then, I practice my spells... I'm actually quite good at it.. surprisingly. 010719 ... Karp It's frightening what people will believe in these days. It's saddening what people won't believe in these days. 010719 ... Pythagorus Wicca is what I call the "brand name" of witchcraft. There has been a movement in america since the mid-nineties to bring witchcraft to the mainstream. Various marketing schemes have been launched and targeted at teenage girls, including movies, television, books, fashion, music, and accessories. Trying to make it "cool" while focusing on wrenching that dollar out of the "uncool" girl's pocket. I would hardly say that's subtle. Yet unsuspecting America, of course, pays no attention, and instead focuses on wealth and power (greed). Now, I'm sure no one stops to think about the potential hazzards of letting marketing schemes get out of hand, but let's remember Barney, ladies and gentlemen, ok? (joke) Does it provide a need, or a service? It exercises spiritual movement, and serves as a faith-based mechanism, (it does take Faith to BELIEVE that your spells will come true, and your SPIRIT is exercised by Faith) things a body NEEDS, yet it does not do it for good purposes, which, when you look at history, that always ends up very, very bad. It redirects spiritual energy toward money, and like weed eater says, it will make a ruthless corporation rich. There are certainly better ways to exercise your spirit, (&mind, &body), too bad (or is it good) you can't use deceptive marketing for THOSE activities. 010719 ... absent but still present 'does it bother you that i'm wiccan?' no. it bothers me that you just raped me. but other than that, i'm okay with you. 010719 ... *Ziima* I used to be Wiccan. But then I moved on to bigger and better things. Theres so much more to the world and so much more beyond the boundaries of Wicca. I am a Shamaness. Used to have a coven. Was the high priestess...but it dissolved. I'm glad. 010719 ... evil grendel i never was much for the right_hand_path 010720 ... ass facely i have a wicca chair on my porch 010720 ... Inanna Arts and Crafts Magic is the art and science of changing one's consciosness at will Wicca is one religion that does not view males as superior 010906 ... Jenna I've been trying to decide if I'm going to stay with it for a couple of months now. I don't know how its going to turn out. Yes there is that movement to market to teenage girls. There's also a lot of really misleading books for those of all ages. But there is some really insightful stuff out there. You have to seek it out. Whatever you do, don't waste money on Silver Ravenwolf. Why *shouldn't* Wicca be mainstream? Maybe then I could stop being lectured about going to hell. Then again, probably not. 011206 ... CraZgrrL Umm... the Wiccan Rede (which is the basic, & pretty much only, "law" for Wiccans) states " 'An it harm none, do as ye will". In lamens terms, that's "Do what you like, as long as you're not hurting anyone, doing something against your or anyone else's will, and you're not trying to harm your self." I think that's a golden-type rule that ALL should live by. Regardless of religion or non-religion. If you're pure of heart, Karma will be good to you. If you don't believe in "Karma", just do good things, O.k.? :) 011218 ... reenz .....Rocks 020520 ... Zatumushgir The Rule in its entirety runs more like: "A Wicca seeks to harm none; but if forced with the choice of two ills, he/she will choose the lesser." Too many now days seem to forget that there are many Gods and Goddesses of war involved in the pantheons. This is because there are some things that you must fight for. The safty of one's family and village, for one... 020815 ... emily the second I know a lot of people who call themselves "wiccan" or "witches". They wear pentacles around their necks that say "look at me! be afraid, be very afraid!". I knew one girl, who wore one such pentacle, and lectured her friends (i not being one of them) on the secrets of spellcasting and ritual... and forgot it all in a month, and the pentacle thrown into a drawer somewhere I guess. I'm a little different from the rest of them... Wicca didn't find me by way of the throngs of modern culture and the newest "crazes". I found it. When I first read about it in a book my sister gave to me, I knew right away it was everything I'd always believed in, before it had a name. This book wasn't on Wicca itself (and thank god it wasn't Silver Ravenwolf) it was about the ancient celtic traditions of magic, about the 8 holidays and about the gods and goddesses... the spellcasting part that most self proclaimed witches are most drawn to and focused on wasn't as important to me as the ideas and philosophies about nature and the world... I'd go on but I'm too tired right now. Bleck. it's so fucking stupid to sit here saying "I'm diffent, i'm better", I've really got to stop now. That sort of thing always gets people into trouble. 020826 ... Kitten I was Wiccan the day I was born, my distant family were Irish travellers. My Grandma taught me many things. I love my religion, its a mixture of Wicca, Shamanism and Ancient Egyptian principles. I will always follow this path. 020827 ... Eowithien Its a very interesting religion to me, since I am Orthodox Christian (yes its pretty much the same as Greek Orthodox, and yes like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, except I'm not greek and people like that don't *really* exist). My friend is a hedge-witch and I respect her for her choice from going to Greek Orthodox to Wicca. Its a very unusual switch but I can see why. Religion is very confusing because of the beliefs (which are pretty much the same, I mean the laws and principles are) and I like Wicca because of its history. I think it is odd that Wiccans believe that its been around for so long when everyone else thinks that its only been around since the witch-burning times. I have yet to see a spell work (or to see one at all) but I plan and paying more attention in the future. 030227 ... Eowithien I am thinking of converting. Wicca is everything I've ever wanted to believe in and believed in. 030301 ... User24 I like the idea of wicca, just not sure if I believe everything it's about (mainly because I don't know about it, but I'm learning.) 030326 ... pipedream you can embody 'wiccan' principles of peace and loving yourself (which are pretty much present in nearly every religion) without being wiccan. i think this wiccan thing is a mixture of wanting to be different and ignorance about your religion. i'm not the best authority on my religion, but i know what it says, and it sounds a lot like peace, fraternity, intelligence and loving yourself and God. wither wicca, or anything else, for that matter? im not saying wicca is bad, im just saying that you can find all the things wicca talks of around you if you make yourself aware of it without having to put yourself in yet another label. 030327 ... User24 pipedream: that is absolutely true, however, if I beleive X,Y and Z, and religion A also beleives those things, I want to find out what that religion thinks about other things, to see if I agree with them, if I agree totally, I am part of that religion, willingly or not. 030328 ... endless desirse wow. good point there user. i guess whether or not you call yourself something, if you believe what that religion believes, you are connected to that religion. but then why doesn't it work in the opposite direction? some people call themselves a religion but do not practice/believe in the principles and ideas of it, so are they not connected to it? my thoughts on wicca. . .my church had a thing on it and completely comdemned it and all of its followers. i really don't think it is that bad at all and i find it absolutely fascinating. i don't think that the church realizes how similiar their basic concepts are to that religion. they are just so blind. and never want to be wrong. always just hearing there own voice and never anything else around them. 030628 ... the idiot blatherskite crap. i spelled my own name wrong. i do that sometimes with ellyn. i spell it ellen the way everyone else does. i always get so mad at myself. 030628 ... User24 an it harm none; do as ye will 030629 ... joe What we think of as the modern revival of witchcraft began in the 40's and 50's. Gerald Gardner published his books on Wicca in England in the 50's. It's apparent much of his ritual structure and concepts come from Golden Dawn material, and Aleister Crowley's. Doreen Valiente wrote the original "The Charge of the Goddess", and "The Wiccan Rede", also written by her, is actually a long poem in it's original form. All this nonsense about Wicca being a pre-historic religion are.. well.. nonsense. People like to believe it is because they feel it makes them morally superior; it allows them to say to themselves, "My religion is better than yours!" GRAMMAR (since many don't seem to get it.): You follow the religion called Wicca. You are Wiccan, you are a Wiccan. You are not "[a] Wicca". Not all witches are Wiccan. People often use the term "Wicca" for any religio-magic system that has roots in folk practices. This is incorrect usage. Not all Neo-Pagans are Wiccan. See above. 030827 ... who i am doesnt matter anymore i enjoy reading up on it, i belive in it. and maybe one day ill truley practice it but for today i dont want a religion. 031021 ... marked . 031022 ... klasdl 40 sdl f the church is blind, endless, that's true, but in some respects, it sees more than anything; it's not only a religion, but a religion with a budget and a business plan, add it's history of hostile takeovers of other (often indigenous) religions, and you can soon see why it's been so historically successful. 031027 ... skye wicca is the most beautiful thing i've ever known. 031107 ... u24 http://www.religioustolerance.org/boy_arm2.htm 040202 ... u24 it's what I've come to expect from civilised society. 040202 ... u24 you sit in the sunshine, and watch the grass blow in the wind. You close your eyes, and can still feel the breeze blowing about you. Now you feel the wind, and experience everything it is touching, from the blades of grass making a tiny swishing sound around you, to the trees on the hills opposite. And you understand that this is not man made, that the wind blows, and everything responds in a beautifull flow that is beyond our comprehension. You lie back, and feel the grass bend under your body, and feel the heat of the sun, and the whisper of the wind over your face. You try to open your eyes, but the sun shines so brightly that it is all you can do to squint up at the sky. Birds circle about, and in the distance you can hear the sea, slowly lapping against the shore. The world is around you, and you are a part of it, and in that moment, you feel lighter than air, and wish that it could last forever. this is why. . 040202 ... iNsEcUrE_GoTh_GiRl I am thinking of converting. Wicca is everything I've ever wanted to believe in and believed in. that is succintly everything i feel about Wicca, and it's already been said. it's good to know that other people know the feeling too. 040403 ... moron succinctly* 040403 ... ambermoon i have been studying wicca for a wile now and though i wouldnt say that i am a