Wiccan Ladies League

What Wicca Is...

    The most basic definition of Wicca is a modern attempt at recreating the pre-Christian European religious beliefs. However, this is really not all that sufficient of a definition.

    Wicca is a Nature-based spirituality, yet paradoxically most Wiccans live in urban areas. Wicca celebrates the seasons as they occur throughout the cycle of the year, known to us as the 'Wheel of the Year', and various other days of honor towards specific gods and/or goddesses. It is a fertility religion, however, not exactly in the human sexuality sense that most people believe it is.

    Wicca is a relatively new religious path for people in the modern world. It is still evolving and growing. Wicca today is different from Wicca in 1975 or from 1951. Wicca, for the most part, is a religion of chioce; few people are born into a Wiccan family, and even those who were are not guaranteed to be Wiccan like their parents.

    Wicca is generally a religion of small intimate groups of people, where people do for themselves what they feel necessary for worship and spiritual growth and fulfillment.

    Wiccans are ecologically minded, as well. They reuse, renew, and recycle. They walk gently upon the Earth and plan actions to help revive and renew Her. This means that they may even purchase things that are 'second-hand'.

    Being a Wiccan also may mean that we are not caught up in mainstream hype. Wiccans enjoy popular culture, and do not waste their time with 'fads'. We have chosen to fall off the 'beaten path', so to speak, which means that it is no longer important for us (Wiccans) to 'keep up with the Joneses'.

    Wiccans are constantly learning, changing, and growing, in mental, emotional, and spiritual ways. We evolve and adapt to life and the world. We are constantly asking 'why' or 'why not', so, in many ways we are similar to many other people who think, act, and determine for themselves how they live.

What Wicca Is NOT...

    The most common misconceptions about Wicca are that Wiccans worship the devil, they sacrifice animals and children, they have wild orgies, and they wish to destroy the Christian religion.

    There are no animal, child, or blood sacrifices in the Wiccan religion. In Wiccan rituals and ceremonies, the 'sacrifices' are 'symbolic' and the use of breads, vegetables, fruits, wine, and flowers, are used in our 'offerings' to the gods and goddesses.

    There are no orgies. True, Wicca is a 'fertility' religion; however, fertility in Wicca is mainly seen as the procreation of ALL things in Nature. Plants, animals, insects, as well as humans, all reproduce, as fertility is important in order to maintain the life force of the planet.

    The pentagram/pentacle, or the five-pointed star, is NOT a symbol of satan/satanism. It is an ancient symbol that the Pythagorians used as the symbol of the mathematical beauty of the Universe. Although both Wiccans and satanists use this symbol, it does not make them analogous. Both the Nazis and the ancient meso-Americans use the 'swastika' as a sacred symbol, and they are not the same, either.

    Wiccans do not wish to destroy the Christian religion. Wicca attempts to recreate the indigenous religious systems of pre-Christian Europe, in a modern context. We are not an anti-Christian (satanic) religion. Satanism is a deliberate pervasion and reversal of Christianity. The Wiccan religion does not even believe in or accept the Christian concept of an evil entity or spirit by the name of 'satan' or the 'devil'.

    The Wiccan religion does not proselytize. In general, Wiccans do not train or teach anyone under eighteen years of age, for a number of reasons, including legal ones, UNLESS it is our own children, and ONLY if thay child wishes to be taught the Wiccan religion. Wiccans do not mess the the 'free-will' of others when it comes to the teaching of our Path. The choice has to be the other person's.

    Wiccans neither condone nor engage in ritual abuse. The accusations that some Wiccans practice this appear to stem from some people who equate Wicca with satanism. One of the major credos of the Wiccan religion is the Wiccan Rede--'And it harm none, do what you will'. This law makes it difficult for any self-respecting Wiccan to intentionally hurt other people. Especially one of our own fellow worshipers.

    Wiccans do not participate in any illegal and/or immoral activities either. We do not condone or engage in the selling/using of drugs, guns, gangs, white-slavery, or pornography, as we see these things as harmful and contradictory to our spiritual growth.

 Albion Tradition---a complete working system of the Craft of the Wise, specifically for solitary practioners, that was founded by Katheryn Campbell. 

 Alexandrian Tradition---a Wiccan sect founded by Alex Sanders and his wife in the 1960s, with its focus strongly upon training in the area of ceremonial magick, which includes elements of the Enochian system and the Qabalah, and possess a hierarchial structure.

Arician Tradition---founded by Raven Grimassi in 1998, and is a blend of modern concepts along with many ancient beliefs and practices that once comprised the religious rites held in the sacred grove of the Goddess Diana at Lake Nemi, Italy.

 Aridian Tradition---also founded by Raven Grimassi in 1981, it is a system based upon the Triad Tradition of Old Italy that was established in the late 14th century to early 15th century Italy.

 Artus Wicca---a system devised by Ceisiwr Serith that was inspired by Gardnerian Wicca.

 Cellarius Tradition---stems from a Celtic base and embraces that pantheon of God/Goddess.

 Dianic Tradition---a feminist Wiccan religion, for women only, who give worship and honor to the Deity as Goddess, and participate in the elimination of oppression of women.

 Gardnerian Tradition---a tradition of Wicca founded by Gerald Brosseau Gardner, with its core beliefs being balance, duality, and the God and Goddess being equal.

 Georgian Tradition---founded in Bakersfield, California in 1970 by George E. "Pat" Pattersonand was first chartered by the Universal Life Church in 1972.

 Green Tradition---a tradition of its own, seperate from other more modern Pagan/Wiccan traditions although it can be successfully combined with any other tradition, and is mainly an herbalist system.

 Hereditary Tradition---a term used to indicate a tradition of Wicca and Witchcraft that has been passed down through the family lines.

 Ladywood Tradition---founded in 1982 by Amber K and Catelaine, is an eclectic creative system of Wicca.

 Matrifocal Wicca---a tradition established in 2001 by Hecate RavenMoon, whose main focus is on women's mysteries, cauldron mysteries, and is an eclectic system of Wiccan practice with its major focus on the spiritual, religious system of practice and not so much the magickal practice, and focusing on the 'female' Deities.

 Reclaiming Tradition---contemporary American Witchcraft which strives to 'reclaim' the ways of the "Old Religion".

 Red Witch Tradition---a 'Goddess' centered tradition that is earth-based and Pagan by nature and creed, that is a five-tiered eclectic tradition offering five seperate degrees of study based on yearlong oaths of fulfillment.

 1734 Tradition---a tradition based on the philosophy of Robert Cochrane, that has British-Celtic roots.

  Cauldron Mysteries---

  The 'cauldron mysteries' represent the inner teachings of creation, transformation, and regeneration within the Wiccan religion. The cauldron appears in many European tales associated with Witchcraft. In myth and legend the cauldron brews potions, aids in the casting of spells, produces abundance or decline, and is a holy vessel for offerings to the powers of the night, and to the Great Goddess. Its main attribute is that of transformation, whether of a spiritual or physical nature. As a symbol of the Goddess it can bestow wisdom, knowledge, and inspiration.

Women's Mysteries---

    In Wicca and Witchcraft, 'women's mysteries' are those teachings that are unique to the experience of being 'female', blended together with pre-Christian European Pagan beliefs and practices. Wicca is, among other things, essentially a lunar religion containing the women's mysteries of Old Europe. These mysteries can be divided into three main catagories: a). triad mysteries, b). blood mysteries, and c). dark mysteries. Each contains other related aspects of the associated mythos in which they reside.

    The 'women's mysteries' tradition arose from the fact that primitive women saw themselves as a mystery. There was a natural need to understand such things as menstrual bleeding, pregnancy, and childbirth. These were things that seperated women from men, whose bodies demonstrated no such power. To primitive humans there was some magickal force at work and at play in the lives of women, and it apparently differed from its role concerning the men of the clan. This mentallity served to elevate women and established a sense of awe among the men.

    Originally the clan operated as a group of individuals, a collective consciousness. During this period, the women's mysteries consisted mainly of fertility rites involving the clan as a whole. The change of consciousness wherein the individual (and individual relationships) held importance gradually evolved, giving rise to various inner cults. These cults were extensions of the mysteries overseen by women.

    Within this new structure arose rules concerning sexual intercourse and menstruation. Women were the first to perceive the connection between sexual intercourse and conception. Female initiates were taught methods of preventing conception, along with the secrets of love magick. Just as women tended the fires of the hearth, so too did they regulate the fire of men's passion.

The Women's Triad Mysteries---

    The 'women's triad mysteries' are comprised of the following aspects: a). preservation, b). formation, and c). transformation. These are related to the mundane mysteries wherein women traditionally hold dominance over the home, the table, and the bed.

    In days of old, the symbols of a woman's power were related to these important facets of human life. The broom, cauldron, hearth, and the pillow were all signs of her vital domestic reign that nurtured family life. In ancient times women were honored for their gift of stability and sanctuary.

    Women controlled, either directly or indirectly, all facets of family life and played a vital role within the community. In Greek mythology the Morae or Moirai are goddesses of fate who rule over the three decisive moments of life for a woman--birth, marriage, and death.

The Women's Blood Mysteries---

    The 'blood mysteries' are associated with the teachings and rites connected with menstruation, rebirth among the same clan, contagion magick, sex magick, and atavistic resurgence. These are all extremely ancient concepts originating from the Neolithic, if notPaleolithic, era.

    The blood mysteries were largely unique to women and marked their status in the early clan structure: maiden, mother, and crone. The inherent power of these mysteries compelled men to become acquiscent within the early matrifocal cults. Out of this mystery tradition arose the matriarchal structure that is the basis for the priestesshood within modern Wicca and Witchcraft.

The Women's Dark Mysteries---

    The 'dark mysteries' involve things of an occult nature. Within this catagory are such things as lunar magick, the worship of chthonic deities, death, and regeneration, astral magick, dream magick, and generally things of an Otherworld nature.

    This is one of the most dangerous, and perhaps most powerful, aspects of the mysteries. No doubt the resulting personal power associated with a mastery of this tradition underlies some of the fears concerning Witches during the time of the Inquisition.