Wicca Course : Week 1

What is Wicca?

What we learn with pleasure we never forget.

Alfred Mercier

Week 1 - What is Wicca!

Wicca is a religion. Wicca is a way of understanding and interacting with Deity and
the Universe. It is a life-affirming path of growth and expansion.

Wicca is not primarily about magick, though it does use it. Wicca is about your place
in the Universe and your evolution as a spiritual being. Wicca is about moving
forward on your personal spiritual journey - about learning, growing, and becoming
the most you can be.
Wicca is based on reverence for Nature and Her cycles, respect for the Earth and all
Her creatures. Wicca reveres the natural forces of the Universe and sees them
reflected in the world around us, and in every person and thing.

Wicca has great reverence for Deity, Who for us has both a Mother and a Father
aspect. Wiccans approach Deity through many names and forms, both masculine
and feminine, drawn from all over the world and from every age. We often compare
Deity to a diamond with many facets; each name or image for Deity is like one facet
on the diamond. Each facet may be considered separately and all are beautiful in
themselves, but all are aspects of the single stone.

Wicca believes that Deity comes to each person in the way that is best understood
by that person, and that this is different for different people. Wicca believes that the
relationship between a person and Deity is highly individual, personal, and
subjective. Not everyone will have the same understanding of Deity, because not
everyone is in the same place, or able to understand from the same level or
perspective. Because of this no one has a right to judge another persons relationship
with Deity, because each person is different.

This is why we respect all the names and forms that have been used to honour Deity
through the centuries -Deity needs them all in order to come to all people in the way
they can best understand.

The most common way for Wiccans to approach Deity is in the form of the TRIPLE
GODDESS, Whose three forms are Maiden, Mother, and Crone, and whose symbol
is the Moon. Her consort is THE GOD, Who rules the cycles of the solar year and is
called among other things Lord of the Dance. His symbol is the Sun. They are
viewed as POLARITIES, opposing but complimentary powers, like the Eastern
concept of Yin and Yang.

Wicca has a very strong moral base. By "moral" we mean treating each other in an
honourable and loving manner. Wicca has only one law which all traditions agree on:
DO AS YE WILL, BUT HARM YE NONE. In other words how you dress and who you
sleep with is not our business -those issues are not what we mean by "morality." But
a moral person doesn't hurt other people, and this is the criteria for all moral action;
"Am I harming anyone?" If you are, you are acting wrongly.

Wicca is a Pagan, or Native, religion. The word Pagan means "country dweller" and
reflects the fact that Pagans follow indigenous, native religions rather than the Book
religions. Pagan religions are built up over millennia as a result of people's
observations and experiences - they are living, growing religions that can and do
change when change is needed. Pagan religions revere the natural forces and
cycles of life, and it is from observation and interaction with these that their beliefs
developed.

Wicca is wholly unrelated to the Book religions; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and
Satanism. The Book religions have a totally separate origin from the Pagan religions,
and a very different history.

So let's consider just what Witchcraft & Paganism are! Over the centuries the
Christians have used the word "pagan" in the same way that Jews use the word
"gentile"; to mean everybody else. This is highly misleading because only a tiny
minority of non-Christians are actually Pagans. A Pagan is a follower of one of the
many nature and fertility religions, which exist or have existed worldwide.
Witches worship the same One God as everybody else. However they tend to
subdivide this one Godhead into a number of specific Gods and Goddesses, each
showing a different face or aspect of the One God. This is for easy reference and
convenience, after all God is a huge concept for the frail human mind to
comprehend. Pagans seek God by attuning to the elements of creation - Nature.
Witchcraft is one of the Pagan religions. Often the terms Wiccan and Witch and
interchangeable but technically Wicca refers to the "practice" of a witchcraft based
belief system, usually with ritual components.

The followers of Wicca, both male and female, are "witches". Note, the word
warlock does not mean a male witch but rather an "oath breaker". The actual
origin of this word is from Christianity and was meant as an insult to a non-
believer.

Beginnings:
So how did Paganism begin? Of course nobody knows for certain but the answer
clearly lies in our far distant past. Just imagine early men and women, starting to
become consciously aware of themselves and their environment. Imagine them
looking up at the night sky and feeling awe. Imagine them realising that the herds
they hunted moved in seasonal cycles and reasoning that these very seasons were
the givers and takers of all that was good. It must have been a short jump for them
to start praying to the Earth Mother and the Sky Father.

If you are interested in the details of human evolution there are many good books
available on the subject. For our purposes let's just take the briefest look.
Everybody has heard of the Neanderthals. They are a now extinct subspecies of
human beings that lived roughly from one million to about ten thousand years ago.
They are not our ancestors but rather our cousins. About one million years ago we
had a common ancestor. No fossil records have been found to tell us precisely what
this early human looked like. We know what Homo Erectus and Homo Habalis were
like, but they were several million years earlier.

So to get a rough idea of what our ancestors were like we need to look at our cousin
Homo Sapien Neanderthalus. We tend to think of them as short, muscular, dim
witted, ape like people. This may or may not be true. The Scientists' own prejudices
probably coloured their interpretation of the evidence. One thing we know for certain
is that Neanderthals had much larger brains that we do. As their body weight was
not proportionally greater we should conclude that they were MORE intelligent than
we are. But of course it all depends on your definition of "intelligence".

We know their brains were a different shape than ours, all at the back with hardly
any frontal lobe. So we must deduce that their intelligence, although great, was
geared in different directions. If you want to read up on this in more detail there are
lots of books available on brain design, frontal lobes, the cerebral cortex etc.
The point I want you to grasp now is that they (and probably our own ancestors too)
had very powerful primitive brains. Now it has been suggested by those who have
studied the subject that they would have been incapable of performing many of the
tasks that modern people take for granted such as mental arithmetic and abstract
thought. If you were a "dim witted Neanderthal" and you were presented with a
technological marvel (such as a cart with wheels being drawn by oxen) you would
call it "magick".

I am going to speculate that they could do things with their larger brains that we
would call "magick" today! And they would have taken such things for granted. A
very interesting book that explores this idea in a fictional way is Clan of the Cave
Bear by Jean Auel (Hodder & Stoughton - 1980).

Great! Fantastic for them! But so what? They are all dead and we don't have their
large brains. True, but there is still one thing in our favour. Although our brains are
smaller they have not lost all of the primitive architecture. The new, modern
configuration has not replaced the Old Magickal Brain, but has been ADDED TO IT!
We still retain a remnant of that magickal brain, the cerebellum, and it can be
reactivated. One researcher who has done a lot of work on this is Stan Gooch.
Modern New Age thought tends to convey the idea that we humans started as
primitive animals and are gradually evolving into gods. However it may be closer to
the truth to say that as we have become more "intelligent" we have become less
godlike. We have lost most of our animal instinct, our intuitive faculties. In many
ways animals seem more like gods than we do. Maybe this was the original
meaning of the old "Garden of Eden" myth.

But we can have the best of both worlds. We are intelligent and well educated. We
know how to operate all kinds of hi tech equipment such as computers. And we can
also learn to use a much older, yet even more powerful machine, our magical,
spiritual old brains.

This course will teach you how to gradually reawaken this primitive and very
powerful part of your brain. We will do this through ritual, through meditation,
through seasonal celebrations, through dancing and drumming, and in a multitude
of other ways.

There are a lot of rubbish books on the market at the moment claiming to teach
people how to perform magick without all the "silly old mumbo jumbo". The problem
with this approach is that most students need to learn the mumbo jumbo; all the
wand waving stuff; at least in the beginning. For most aspiring occultists it is
absolutely essential for success. Magick is performed by the Old Brain and the
mumbo jumbo is a trick we use to gain access to it.

When an experienced occultist wants to get something done, he or she just sees
the thing complete and finished in his mind, and it is so. When you write a letter you
just get out a piece of plain paper and start writing, but when you were a child you
had to learn to write using specially ruled paper to teach you the proportions of the
letters. It was the same for the Witch or Occultist. In the beginning he had to learn
all the mumbo jumbo just as you will learn it in this course. In this course we are not
going to cut any corners. We are going to teach you properly, so that you can enjoy
 real results and be able to not only do your own rituals and spells but also write
them.

During the next few weeks and months you will learn to perform the rituals with all
the wands, ritual swords, incense, coloured candles; in fact the whole paraphernalia
that is necessary to persuade the Old Brain to do its magick for you. After a (long?)
while you will progress to the second stage of your training and learn to do all the
above entirely in your own head.
Some time later some of you will, through much practice, move on to stage three,
just see the thing done and it is. Some students progress to this stage easily and
naturally, while others will never reach that stage in this lifetime. It really doesn't
matter. You will start to see changes occurring in your life from the time you perform
your very first Craft Ritual. Just let yourself progress at your own pace and through
this primitive power you really can have everything you want in life.
Some students ask "isn't this primitive power dangerous? Isn't that why more
modern religions call it evil?"

NO! It is no more evil or dangerous than electricity. If handled without proper

training it can be very dangerous!

Through this course you will receive the proper training. When you have mastered
these lessons you will no more wish to live without the power than you would wish
to live without electricity.

Different Paths

There are many different types of Pagan living around the world. In the Southern
hemisphere Indigenous Australians, Indigenous South Americans, and a handful
of African tribes still follow their old traditions. In the Northern hemisphere Native
Americans continue to follow their traditional Shamanistic religion while other
countries such as Russia also have a strong pagan tradition. There has also
been much interest in the way of the shaman by modern western peoples
worldwide.

There is currently a strong revival of the Druid tradition. The Druids were
originally the priesthood of the Celtic peoples. They follow the same seasonal
ritual calendar that we do and know much of Earth & Natural Magic. Trees are
their special interest.

The other main Pagan tradition practiced in modern society is WICCA. Wicca
has also been called Witchcraft and the Old Religion. Wicca is a shortened form
of the Old English Wiccacraft. Its roots go back further than anybody knows, but
probably grew out of Druidism two or three thousand years ago. Wicca is the
Anglo-Saxon word for witch. Another possibility is that Wicca and Druidism
existed side by side for a very long time. As both were oral rather than written
traditions it is impossible to know for certain. Also as the two traditions have such
similar beliefs the divisions may be quite arbitrary.
Wicca is an integral part of the Western Pagan Tradition. Over the centuries it
has spread all around Europe, Australia and America as well as many other parts
of the globe.

Both Wicca & Druidism were heavily persecuted by the Romans as they
marched northward through Europe. The Druids were treated extremely harshly;
in fact no Druid was permitted to live! As a result their tradition was almost totally
wiped out.

Witches on the other hand fared somewhat better. They were driven
underground but never completely destroyed. Covens have always existed,
worshipping the old gods and goddesses in secret. It is true that modern Wicca is
also the result of a revival movement, and that much of what we know or believe
of our past comes from non-traditional sources. But we have always had a thin
thread of continuity from earlier times.

Just as Wicca is one of many forms of Paganism, so there are different paths
within Wicca. Groups that can trace a direct, unbroken line back to ancient times
are known as "Traditional" or "Hereditary". Traditional groups still tend to be
extremely secretive and do not usually recognise other Wiccan paths.

Modern Witchcraft

Back in the 1950's one man who claimed to have studied in a Traditional coven
went public, writing two very open *fictional* books (Modern Witchcraft, Rider,
London, 1954 and Witchcraft Today, Rider, London, 1957). He later published
his Book of Shadows in collaboration with Doreen Valiente. His name was
Gerald Gardner and covens that follow the revivalist movement he started call
themselves "Gardnerian".

In the 1960's Alex Saunders and his wife Maxine broke away from their
Gardnerian coven surrounded by much controversy and bad feeling. The result
of this split was the Alexandrian tradition, with its more elaborate forms of ritual.
Some of the other paths include Algard, Celtic, Dianic (also known as Feminist),
Frost Wicca, Hasidic, Seax Wicca and Web of Life Wicca. There are other forms
too, mostly in the United States where all religious groups can register as a "church"
and receive tax advantages. This has led to much more openness than here in
Australia.

The form of Witchcraft taught in this course is predominately Traditional Wicca,

and is based on the southern hemisphere, but can be adapted easily to Northern
Hemisphere. My ways of teaching Wicca grew from the handed down teachings
of an elder of Old Traditional Wicca. As far as possible I teach the Old Ways.
One big difference is in the attitude to the sexes. Some other paths put the
female principle above the male. We treat them both as entirely equal in all ways.
Different of course, but equal. This also means the God is equal to the Goddess.
Wicca is a path for both individualists, and groups. Basically we are free thinkers.
In Wicca and in Paganism generally THERE IS NO DOGMA! We do not believe
that our way is the only way. Reality is too complex to be confined in a
straitjacket of simplistic rules and dogma. All paths lead to the centre.
There are as many forms of Witchcraft as there are Witches and the various
groupings are fairly arbitrary. We each know from experience that our path
works. And we know from other witches that their paths work too!
Wicca is a reconstruction of the Nature worship of tribal Europe, strongly
influenced by the living Nature worship traditions of tribal peoples in other parts
of the world. The works of such early twentieth century writers as Margaret
Murray, Robert Graves and Gerald B. Gardner began the renewal of interest in
the Old Religion.

After the repeal of the anti-Witchcraft laws in Britain in 1951, Gardner publicly
declared himself a Witch and began to gather a group of students and
worshipers. In 1962, two of his students, Raymond and Rosemary Buckland
(religious names: Lady Rowen and Robat), immigrated to the United States and
began teaching Gardnerian Witchcraft there. At the same time, other groups of
people came interested through reading books by Gardner and others.

Many covens were spontaneously formed, using rituals created from a

combination of research and individual inspiration. These self-created covens are
today regarded as just as valid as those who can trace a "lineage" of teaching
back to England. In 1975, a very diverse group of covens who wanted to secure
protections and benefits of church status formed Covenant of the Goddess
(CoG), which is incorporated in the state of California and recognised by the
Internal Revenue Service. CoG does not represent all, or even a majority of
Wiccans. A coven or an individual need not be affiliated with CoG in order to
validly practice the religion. But CoG is the largest single public Wiccan
organisation, and it is cross-Traditional (i.e. non-denominational).

Basic Beliefs:

Wiccans worship the sacred as immanent in Nature, often personified as Mother

Earth and Father Sky. As polytheists, they may use many other names for Deity.
Individuals will often choose Goddesses or Gods from any of the world's
pantheons whose stories are particularly inspiring and use those Deities as a
focus for personal devotions. Similarly, covens will use particular Deity names as
a group focus, and these are often held secret by the groups.

Most Wiccan groups also practice magic, by which they mean the direction and
use of "psychic energy," those natural but invisible forces which surround all
living things. Some members spell the word with a K, "magick," to distinguish it
from stage magic i.e. sleight of hand entertainments.

Wiccans employ such means as dance, chant, creative visualisation and

hypnosis to focus and direct psychic energy for the purpose of healing, protecting
and aiding members in various endeavours. Such assistance is also extended to
non-members upon request.

Many, but not all, Wiccans believe in reincarnation. Some take this as a literal
description of what happens to people when they die. For others, it is a symbolic
model that helps them deal with the cycles and changes within this life. Neither
Reincarnation nor any other literal belief can be used as a test of an individual's
validity as a member of the Old Religion.

Most groups have a handwritten collection of rituals and lore, known as a Book of
Shadows. Part of the religious education of a new member will be to hand copy
this book for him or herself. Over the years, as inspiration provides, new material
will be added. Normally, access to these books is limited to initiated members of
the religion.

Living Wicca

As with any spiritual system, Witchcraft is understood through the knowledge of its
parts. Only then can a full and rich spiritual harmony exist. The spirituality of this path
is contained within its three foundational parts. With these three characteristics of a
Witch's belief system, the universe unfolds and new knowledge nourishes our daily
lives. Use these three manifestations with love in your heart and you will find your life
is enriched beyond comprehension.

TABLE OF LIMITLESS POTENTIAL

MAGICK: Opportunity for limitless potential
FAITH - Awareness of limitless potential
WORSHIP - Expression of limitless potential

Worship is the mover and shaker of the group. Worship is the expression through
ritual, meditation, communication, dance, love, prayer, and all those things that end
up "expressing your deepest beliefs."

You should worship your faith daily. It should be so much a part of you for without it,
you are merely a shell, existing on oxygen only. There is no need that you do circles
constantly or ritual all the time, but rather to the daily use of the Craft that opens your
heart to the experience of the moment. For example, being nice to people, because
everyone is a child of the Goddess, or, while driving, learn not to be so warlike while
driving - so aggressive. A simple smile to someone you do not know or a polite hello
is another form of spirituality and being connected with the Goddess and her
children. Allowing people to live their own way without judgment. Judgment is a real
problem for a lot of people.

As a devoted and practicing Witch, you use worship to enhance your heartfelt
concentration motives and end results. You can feel joy in your heart when you know
you are doing all that you can do.
Faith can give you strength, hope, love, responsibility, and joy. These are big pluses
in any spiritual growth. The Table of Limitless Potential gives you a sense of really
contributing. It forces you to look at life with a smile. If you see each "down time" as
an opportunity to learn, then that time will seem less severe. You should try to find
something to laugh about daily.

Witchcraft facilities inner growth. Aside from the many things that a novice witch
experiences, aside from the Lunar and Solar dances, apart from the herbs and
stones of the Mother, and apart from the rich symbolism in ritual and spell, apart
from all these things, the Witch must sort out her or his life's evolvement, need to
accept the lessons as they are experienced. We are here for a purpose and that
purpose is to learn as much as possible and to find the Harmony of the
Goddess/God. If that education requires that we throw out some preconceived
thoughts and notions, then so be it. All people will question "humanness" at some
point. Witchcraft is a path of questioning. Not all information is available to everyone
at once. We cannot just read it in a book or learn it by research alone. Much can be
learned this way and should be, but we can only know if something is right for us
after we have physically and emotionally absorbed a great deal of information. We
expend time and effort reading to get the full understanding. So in Witchcraft, we
need to research and learn what we can. The trick is that after we have done our
study, we must allow ourselves some time for reflection and absorption.
Get to know yourself.

Remember you are responsible for SELF. If you are unhappy about something,
change it. Go within to see what is important to you, and what motives you to feel
this way.

Walking the Path

There are really no words to express the joy and peace of Witchcraft. We are
practitioners of a religion far older than any of the organised faiths better known
today. The Goddess/God has been a focus of celebration and life for tens of
thousands of years. We recognise the joy of living and the cycles of our lives through
the mysteries of She who gave us life. We take pleasure in the Esbats of the Lunar
pulse. Talk to the Mother daily, as you would your own earthly Mother. We walk the
path seeking knowledge through the light and love of the Lady/Lord. It fills us with joy
to know that many other Witches are working together and along toward a more
peaceful world - a world of harmony, where children are loved, life is precious, and
joy is the order of the day.

The Mother/Father is within all of us, therefore we're intimately connected. Witches
are reflections of the love of the Goddess and with Her help, we will span the
distances of time and space to meet once more in Her arms.

In taking these lessons you must understand that you are not just learning some
interesting things about magick and witchcraft, you are undertaking a spiritual
journey. If you apply the things you are taught and persevere in your studies, it will
change you on the deepest levels of your being; you will learn about parts of yourself
that you may never have known existed (your Higher Self, your Astral body, your
Chakras and your aura, to name only a few), master psychic skills you've only read
about or seen in movies (clairvoyance, divination, psychometry and many more) and,
learn how to use magick to take control of your very Destiny. You will develop
strengths you do not now know that you have, and you will in time face your deepest
fears; and vanquish them.

Wicca is a path of transformation and growth that will challenge you and lead you to
a renewed and enriched existence.

Wicca is about learning to make your own choices, and the Wiccan pathways exist to
provide a framework in which to learn and grow. Wicca seeks to open your thinking,
not to limit it.

To be a Wiccan is to honour Nature and all that is in Her. To acknowledge the life in
all things, and be in harmony with it.

To be a Wiccan is to work with the seen and the unseen. To learn the magickal
secrets of stones, of plants, and animals - to speak to the faeries and the spirits and
to hear their replies.

To be a Wiccan is to use every tool available to grow, to learn, to become the best
that you can be. To use magick, meditation, and ritual to overcome all limitations, all
fears, all imperfections, and to move always in harmony with Deity, always to the
good, always in accordance with your highest self.

This is what it is to be a Wiccan.

If knowing these things you still want to be a Wiccan, then these lessons will help
you make a good beginning.

Attune with Nature' s cycles.

Attune with the Moon' s cycles
Attune with the Sun
Attune to themselves
Examine and change themselves
Live harmoniously with nature, our home planet, and the universe
Fulfil their Karma
Find the Godhead alive within themselves.
 The Wiccan Rede
(Advice of the elders)

(Full Version - adapted for Southern Hemisphere)

Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.
Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.

For tread the Circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out.
To bind the spell well every time, let the spell be said in rhyme.

Light of eye and soft of touch speak you little, listen much.
Honour the Old Ones in deed and name let love and light be our guides again.

Deosil go by the waxing moon, sing and dance the joyful rune.
Tuathail go by the waning moon, chanting out the baneful tune.

When the Lady's moon is new, kiss the hand to Her times two.
When the moon rides at Her peak then your heart's desire seek.

Heed the South winds mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail.
When the Wind blows from the West, nurture your heart and your nest.

When the wind comes North to south, love will kiss you on the mouth.
When the wind whispers from the East, all hearts will find rest and peace.

Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.
Birch in the fire goes to represent what the Lady knows.

Oak in the forest towers with might, in the fire it brings the God's insight.
Rowan is a tree of power causing life and magick to flower.

Willows at the waterside stand ready to help us to the Summerland.

Hawthorn is burned to purify and to draw faerie to your eye.

Hazel-the tree of wisdom and learning adds its strength to the bright fire burning.
White are the flowers of Apple tree that brings us fruits of fertility.

Grapes grow upon the vine giving us both joy and wine.
Fir does mark the evergreen to represent immortality seen.

Elder is the Lady's tree burn it not or cursed you'll be.

Four times the Major Sabbats mark in the light and in the dark.

As the old year starts to wane, it's now Samhain.

When the time for Imbolc shows watch for flowers through the snows.
 When the wheel begins to turn soon the Beltane fires will burn.
As the wheel turns to Lughnassadh night power is brought to magick rite.

Four times the Minor Sabbats fall use the Sun to mark them all.
When the wheel has turned to Yule light the log the Horned One rules.

In the spring, when night equals daytime for Ostara to come our way.
When the Sun has reached its height time for Oak and Holly to fight.

Harvesting comes to one and all when the Autumn Equinox does fall.
Heed the flower, bush, and tree by the Lady blessed you'll be.

Where the rippling waters go cast a stone, the truth you'll know.
When you have and hold a need, hearken not to others greed.

With a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend.

Merry Meet and Merry Part bright the cheeks and warm the heart.

Mind the Three-fold Laws you should three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow wear the star upon your brow.

Be true in love this you must do unless your love is false to you.

These Eight words the Rede fulfil:

"An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"