What drew you to Wicca?

[enchanted_one1975]

For those of us that turned to Wicca later in life, was there one thing, above all else, that you especially liked about the religion?
I will start...

In my former spiritual life as a Christian, I always felt like something was lacking. Going to church now and then, praying before bed, and making donations to the men that ran the church all seemed like it wasn't enough. I think the best way to describe it would be a shortcut to salvation. I then stepped back and looked at what I was really proclaiming and who were the people in this with me. There were rotten people with little or no morals. They were seldom, if ever, sorry for their wrongdoings. They didn't have to be. They had tons of rules but they didn't have to follow them. They are supposedly saved by grace. That just doesn't sound right. When I started learning about Wicca I was especially drawn to it because I could actually get very intimately involved in my worship. It involves more than attending a service and making a payment. To be a good Wiccan, IMHO, one also needs to be a good person. I always loved nature and respected the Earth. I discovered that through Wicca I could respect the Goddess by respecting the Earth. Instead of giving money to the church I can offer items directly to my Deities. I can make an item, find it, or buy it. I know if I am offering the right thing and They know if I am offering the right thing. If I am having a rough week financially and my offering consists of something that grows wild in my yard They understand. If I am doing well and I offer them something valuable it can be my way of thanking them for helping me do well. For me, it is all about The Gods and Goddesses and what I can do for them.

Ok, so here is my short answer...

My biggest attraction to Wicca is the ability to worship my Deities at a level that I consider proper.

So what is your biggest attraction to Wicca?

 

[MoonShadow1]

Greetings,

Interesting that enchanted_one1975 would just so happen to ask this question at a time when I was thinking about this just today !

I am currently reading Exploring Wicca : By Lady Sabrina and it has truly increased my interest in this facinating religion one hundred fold !

As I seriously consider what drew me to take a much closer look at Wicca, I am convinced that it has truly been a result of many years accumulation of Metaphysical studies!
Druids, Folk Magic, Medevial Witches, Paranormal interests, Ancient Egyptian and Celtic Wisdom, and of course the outstanding possibilities of Psychic abilities !

Indeed if we were to closely examine these combined metaphysical systems would we not detect a most profound "Golden Thread" that would most assuridly indicate the strong presence of Witchcraft ?


These combination of systems have been the major factor in developing an acute interest in Wicca for yours truly ...... I regret having waited so long in making a decision to undertake a much closer look at this facinating system of spirituality !!!

Thanks ..... M/S 1

 

[Gentoo]

I was originally drawn to it because I shared a lot of the beliefs at the time, and it seemed like the place I needed to be then. It certainly did help me during a tough time in my life

 

[enchanted_one1975]

Interesting that enchanted_one1975 would just so happen to ask this question at a time when I was thinking about this just today!

I think I have been nominated the official Wiccan thread starter. Hey I try!

 

[Gentoo]

I think I have been nominated the official Wiccan thread starter. Hey I try!

You do a good job

 

[Jeremiah767]

I had a somewhat similar youth to the OP from the sounds of it. I was raised Christian and I still derive the majority of my moral do's and don't from Christianity. When I was younger I felt like I could communicate with God. Not always, and not self initiating but I definitely felt a strong connection to the divine, and every time I heard or noticed his intervention I knew I was on the right track in my life. When I was about 17, suddenly, I stopped hearing from God, and I stopped noticing his intervention in my life. I tried prayer, but it didn't work. I felt religiously cold, like I was no longer on the right track. I had recently done some research into other religious path's not because I had intent to find a new path but for research's sake, I just found other religions to be interesting to learn about. I decided to clear out my mind of everything I know about Christianity and just try to form my own opinion on what was true and what was not.

Here's a few things that came to mind
God is not evil-derived from personal experiences
God has a devine plan-same as above
If there is a reason for torturing people on a planet, it would have to be so they can learn something, but that something could not be learned equally by all living people on the planet, so reincarnation, becomes an essential- Just simple logic
nature is a divine metaphor for God- this is actually something that I always believed as a Christian, infact, metaphor's were a huge part of my theology growing up

so you take those and look long enough for a religion that matches with them, and the best thing you find is wicca. Any religion that teaches belief in a divine text(bible, torah, koran) can't be taken seriously from my point of view anymore because I've seen the factual fallacies with the bible. And I know it was written by mere men, and if God were truly inspiring every last word on one of those books, there would be no mistakes.

 

[The Neo Nerd]

Whilst not actually being wiccan, after i shed myself of all the bull **** christians beliefs i had, wicca was the first religion i studied. Ok i wasn't much of a christian to start with, it never gelled with me.

The first time i had ever heard of the word wicca was from a girl i was dating. She talked of respect for oneself and respect for the earth. She told me of how wicca empowers the individual not just the leaders. She told me of the wiccan rede and i fell in love with part that says 'an it harm none, do as you will', this spoke to me in a way that christianity never did.

And she was a beautiful soul and all her wiccan friends were beautiful souls. They were the most down to earth friendly people i had ever met, they never tried to convince me of their religion, they lived it and i found myself being drawn to those beliefs. (plus they are great in bed hehehe)

I'm not a wiccan, but that's because i'm an atheist but i still live by the ethics and morals those wiccans taught me and i believe i am a better person for it.

-Q

 

[Anti-thesisofreason]

Much of it as with most of Paganism just jives with my own thoughts and beliefs about the world around me. Especially the idea of a male/female deity combination and the connection with nature.

 

[Herr Heinrich]

Well enchanted_one it looks like this would be a good place to post what I was asking about earlier.

Anyway I was raised Roman Catholic I left that only a few years ago. I think about two. I am now as my religion says a Taoist and Buddhist, with Taoist leanings. I am in my first semester of college, but have already learned tons. I am in a philosophy class and a world religion class. I have also recently been ordained a lay Buddhist after taking a class for a few months at the zendo. Recently I have been assigned a paper in Comparative World Religion Class. It is supposed to be about a religion that we didn't cover in class so I picked Wicca, because it was on the list. I was already trying to find information about Wicca, but was having trouble for some reason. So I got the assignment and immediately looked for books at the library. We have tons! Also recently before that someone recommended a book to me. They had that one too. So I have been doing alot of reading lately about Wicca. I find it so interesting. So many of the concepts in Wicca parallel other things I have learned about Eastern religion. Especially Taoism. The whole idea of how energy works is a major parallel. As is how all the books i have read describe deity. That their is one great "spirit" that transcends human understanding. And how it has faces put to it so humans can understand it. I was amazed. It was very similar to what Taoism and Buddhism believe. The Tao is the unknowable force, Yin and Yang are the God and Goddess. I love making connections between religions. Anyway I am partly interested in Wicca because when I as growing up I would always imagine the possibility of a "Moon Goddess". I have always been fascinated with the idea of a goddess like that.

Recently I have been particularly attracted to the goddess Brigit. I am trying to find more stories about her at the moment. Celtic music and mythology has enraptured me recently. I have always found mythology interesting though. I especially like Chinese and Norse mythology. Today I have decided I am going to start studying mythology more extensively.

Ok here is one last story. Like I stated above I have recently been totally enraptured by Celtic stuff in general. Anyway I was looking through our local bulletin when I saw an add for a Celtic curiosity shop in a nearby town. So I tore out the add and decided to go there a few days later. That monday my girlfriend and I went to it. It was very lovely. They had alot of Celtic Cross stuff. They also had some medieval arms. It seemed like an everyday Celtic Christian store...almost. They had a lot of Faerie stuff. Mainly Amy Brown. I then noticed along with their other Celtic jewelery a Celtic style Thor's Hammer. I was like that is kind of out of place. Anyway I then noticed some crystallized essences and bottled essences. Also a Brigit's Cross. I started to wonder more and more. I then saw candles for specific metaphysical purposes. So I had to ask the owner. I asked if they had a lot of Neo-pagans and Wiccans come through. She said yes. They were a pagan couple. They had recently moved their shop from another nearby town. They knew about a lot of different covens and things like that. I was so surprised it was awesome! So I now have a connection and resource nearby. I am going to try and find a learning coven I think. Maybe a Celtic coven too. But my mind was blown the rest of the evening. I was like "what are the odds!?" The sequence of events was astounding. It made me examine my ideas about the nature if existence. Like what makes something real. I am now starting to think maybe the Gods and Goddesses of old are "alive". I am also starting to be convinced about the idea of magick. I was more receptive to it when I learned it was all about energy, but I still needed that experience to be convinced. That experience helped.

Sorry that was so long. Any comments, stories, insights, etc would be greatly appreciated.

 

[enchanted_one1975]

Well enchanted_one it looks like this would be a good place to post what I was asking about earlier...

Well it sounds like you are on the right track. Doing a paper on Wicca is a great way to introduce yourself, as you will have to look at it with an open mind if you want a passing grade. I am not sure what book(s) you are reading on the subject, but one that I always recommend to those interested in Wicca is Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin. It is a paperback so if you can't find it at the library it isn't overly expensive. One thing to keep in mind about Wicca though. You will undoubtedly learn that Wicca was created in the 1950's. That doesn't make it any less reputable of a religion. It is based on the old Pagan religion, which pre3dates Christianity. I see Wicca as a denomination of Paganism, much like Catholic is a denomination of Christianity. If you do decide to follow a path in Wicca, be sure to always keep your mind, eyes, and ears open. It is a very personal "living" religion. That is one thing I love about it. I get to live as a Wiccan every second of my life, where when I was a Christian, it was normal to just be a Christian for an hour on Sunday and maybe a few minutes before bed each night. Wicca will give back to you an amount proportionate to what you put in. If you are unsure though, take your time. There is no need to rush and slap a label on yourself. If there is any particular aspect you need help with please ask. If I don't know the answer, someone here will.

Oh, and hold onto that cat that is living in your ceiling. He/she would look neat on the back of your broom. Unlike many think, our cats do not have to be black.

 

[Herr Heinrich]

Well it sounds like you are on the right track. Doing a paper on Wicca is a great way to introduce yourself, as you will have to look at it with an open mind if you want a passing grade. I am not sure what book(s) you are reading on the subject, but one that I always recommend to those interested in Wicca is Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin. It is a paperback so if you can't find it at the library it isn't overly expensive. One thing to keep in mind about Wicca though. You will undoubtedly learn that Wicca was created in the 1950's. That doesn't make it any less reputable of a religion. It is based on the old Pagan religion, which pre3dates Christianity. I see Wicca as a denomination of Paganism, much like Catholic is a denomination of Christianity. If you do decide to follow a path in Wicca, be sure to always keep your mind, eyes, and ears open. It is a very personal "living" religion. That is one thing I love about it. I get to live as a Wiccan every second of my life, where when I was a Christian, it was normal to just be a Christian for an hour on Sunday and maybe a few minutes before bed each night. Wicca will give back to you an amount proportionate to what you put in. If you are unsure though, take your time. There is no need to rush and slap a label on yourself. If there is any particular aspect you need help with please ask. If I don't know the answer, someone here will.

Oh, and hold onto that cat that is living in your ceiling. He/she would look neat on the back of your broom. Unlike many think, our cats do not have to be black.

That was the book that was recommended to me before I had the paper assigned. It is a wonderful book. She takes a very down-to-earth approach. I read a few other books including the Complete Idiot's Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca. The Idiot's Guide was very New Agey. I think the authors kind of have their head in the clouds at times. I am learning alot about Wicca though and it is a very beautiful religion. I won't go slappin labels on myself though without thinking so don't worry.

Also that cat is a picture of Ceiling Cat. I don't have a cat.(I wish I did though. I loves them.:sad4

 

[Gentoo]

I read a few other books including the Complete Idiot's Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca. The Idiot's Guide was very New Agey. I think the authors kind of have their head in the clouds at times.

Yeah, you have to filter through a lot of authors before you find someone/thing that gels with you

 

[Raito9]

I was drawn to it's peacefulness and non judgment of members. It doesn't matter what collar your skin is, if you gay or straight, there are no rules against it. It's a generally loving religion. I have to admit, i'm not really into the God and Goddess, just the nature aspect of the religion.

 

[enchanted_one1975]

I was drawn to it's peacefulness and non judgment of members. It doesn't matter what collar your skin is, if you gay or straight, there are no rules against it. It's a generally loving religion. I have to admit, i'm not really into the God and Goddess, just the nature aspect of the religion.

It is a very loving and a living religion in that we are not usually hypocrites like many other religions have. If you are not into the God and Goddess, I would be interested to know your center of worship. Care to share?

 

[MoonWater]

Well enchanted_one it looks like this would be a good place to post what I was asking about earlier.

Anyway I was raised Roman Catholic I left that only a few years ago. I think about two. I am now as my religion says a Taoist and Buddhist, with Taoist leanings. I am in my first semester of college, but have already learned tons. I am in a philosophy class and a world religion class. I have also recently been ordained a lay Buddhist after taking a class for a few months at the zendo. Recently I have been assigned a paper in Comparative World Religion Class. It is supposed to be about a religion that we didn't cover in class so I picked Wicca, because it was on the list. I was already trying to find information about Wicca, but was having trouble for some reason. So I got the assignment and immediately looked for books at the library. We have tons! Also recently before that someone recommended a book to me. They had that one too. So I have been doing alot of reading lately about Wicca. I find it so interesting. So many of the concepts in Wicca parallel other things I have learned about Eastern religion. Especially Taoism. The whole idea of how energy works is a major parallel. As is how all the books i have read describe deity. That their is one great "spirit" that transcends human understanding. And how it has faces put to it so humans can understand it. I was amazed. It was very similar to what Taoism and Buddhism believe. The Tao is the unknowable force, Yin and Yang are the God and Goddess. I love making connections between religions. Anyway I am partly interested in Wicca because when I as growing up I would always imagine the possibility of a "Moon Goddess". I have always been fascinated with the idea of a goddess like that.

Recently I have been particularly attracted to the goddess Brigit. I am trying to find more stories about her at the moment. Celtic music and mythology has enraptured me recently. I have always found mythology interesting though. I especially like Chinese and Norse mythology. Today I have decided I am going to start studying mythology more extensively.

Ok here is one last story. Like I stated above I have recently been totally enraptured by Celtic stuff in general. Anyway I was looking through our local bulletin when I saw an add for a Celtic curiosity shop in a nearby town. So I tore out the add and decided to go there a few days later. That monday my girlfriend and I went to it. It was very lovely. They had alot of Celtic Cross stuff. They also had some medieval arms. It seemed like an everyday Celtic Christian store...almost. They had a lot of Faerie stuff. Mainly Amy Brown. I then noticed along with their other Celtic jewelery a Celtic style Thor's Hammer. I was like that is kind of out of place. Anyway I then noticed some crystallized essences and bottled essences. Also a Brigit's Cross. I started to wonder more and more. I then saw candles for specific metaphysical purposes. So I had to ask the owner. I asked if they had a lot of Neo-pagans and Wiccans come through. She said yes. They were a pagan couple. They had recently moved their shop from another nearby town. They knew about a lot of different covens and things like that. I was so surprised it was awesome! So I now have a connection and resource nearby. I am going to try and find a learning coven I think. Maybe a Celtic coven too. But my mind was blown the rest of the evening. I was like "what are the odds!?" The sequence of events was astounding. It made me examine my ideas about the nature if existence. Like what makes something real. I am now starting to think maybe the Gods and Goddesses of old are "alive". I am also starting to be convinced about the idea of magick. I was more receptive to it when I learned it was all about energy, but I still needed that experience to be convinced. That experience helped.

Sorry that was so long. Any comments, stories, insights, etc would be greatly appreciated.

xiao_shu that is wonderful. I know precisely what you are talking about as i have had a very similar experience myself. I was into Taoism and Buddhism for awhile but it never really gelled for me. A few months ago I decided to start looking into paganism again and started researching the various pagan religions that are out there. I stumbled across one called the feri tradition. As soon as i started reading about it I was hooked, and the more I read the more I felt drawn in. I looked into the history of the religion and apparently it was started in the san fransisco bay area which is right nearby for me. But what i found even more astounding was this. There is a shop in the downtown area of the city I live in called Mystic dream. One of the owner's is a feri practitioner and teacher. His shop holds extensive classes on the feri tradition and one friday every month they hold a ritual service in the feri style at that location. Now not only has this shop been about a five minute drive away from me my whole life but it is also the location of the monthly meetings for the diablo valley pagans, a google group that started up about a year ago(i think) and that I had been a member of since the beggining. I fell away from the group when I started looking into buddhism and taosim but have recently come back. In fact this guy who teaches the classes, I met him at the first meeting of DVP and only a few weeks before had been in his shop to buy a pentagram necklace which I still have. It's just amazing how everything has fallen into place like this, almost as if I'm being led to the feri tradition, all I had to do was start looking and i found it.

Sorry for going on so long but I never actually really thought about this as being anything more than a lucky coincidence until you told your story Xiao_Shu. I haven't decided yet if I will follow feri. I'm also looking into Wicca and Druidism. As to the OP, while I'm not drawn to wicca as strongly as I am to the feri tradition it is still a religion that catches my eye. This largely due to how it empowers the femenine and encourages women to be strong, independant, sensual, sexual, creative and all those other things that I myself am, yet was never able to fully embrace as a Christian or as a buddhist or taoist. Wicca, like most Pagan traditions, is a very warm, welcoming, and liberating religion that honors nature and deems the femenine as just as sacred and powerful as the masculine. I feel it is a religion that would allow me to truly be myself in my entirety, without exception and accept me in that entirety, rather than asking me to change to conform to some set dogma. I am allowed to carve my own path rather than simply walk one that had already been tread for me.

I think I'll stop there before I ramble on any further and start boring people. Thanks for starting this thread enchanted one and thank you Xiao shu for sharing your story. It has been very enlightening.

 

[Raito9]

My center of worship is simply to see nature in it's glory and help my fellow man by myself. I'm an eclectic soliatary practioner.

 

[xkatz]

Recently I have been particularly attracted to the goddess Brigit. I am trying to find more stories about her at the moment. Celtic music and mythology has enraptured me recently. I have always found mythology interesting though. I especially like Chinese and Norse mythology. Today I have decided I am going to start studying mythology more extensively.

Sorry that was so long. Any comments, stories, insights, etc would be greatly appreciated.

Xiao Shu,

I have a great book on mythology that I recommend, since it covers a lot of the Old World myths (ie Egyptian, Middle-East, Greco-Roman, Norse, Celtic, Indian, Oriental). It's called The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology by Arthur Cotterell and Rachel Storm. It's ISBN # is 1-84038-516-2.

 

[Herr Heinrich]

Xiao Shu,

I have a great book on mythology that I recommend, since it covers a lot of the Old World myths (ie Egyptian, Middle-East, Greco-Roman, Norse, Celtic, Indian, Oriental). It's called The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology by Arthur Cotterell and Rachel Storm. It's ISBN # is 1-84038-516-2.

Thank you for the recommendation. i will have to look into it.

 

[Herr Heinrich]

I think I'll stop there before I ramble on any further and start boring people. Thanks for starting this thread enchanted one and thank you Xiao shu for sharing your story. It has been very enlightening.

That was a cool experience. I love when stuff like that happens. It just kinda blows your mind for a while. Recently I have also been looking into Druidism. All the Neo-Pagan faiths are interesting.
Although Taoism is the basis of my spirituality and thinking recently I have come to the thinking that studying and being a part of a religion that is closer to home is a very good idea. Also the Tao can be found in many religions and philosophies. As Stephen Michell once said (I am paraphrasing) Truth has long left Taoism and moved on. It is always moving. He was stating that the Taoism of old has become something different and that the Tao has moved on from it.

 

[MoonWater]

That was a cool experience. I love when stuff like that happens. It just kinda blows your mind for a while. Recently I have also been looking into Druidism. All the Neo-Pagan faiths are interesting.
Although Taoism is the basis of my spirituality and thinking recently I have come to the thinking that studying and being a part of a religion that is closer to home is a very good idea. Also the Tao can be found in many religions and philosophies. As Stephen Michell once said (I am paraphrasing) Truth has long left Taoism and moved on. It is always moving. He was stating that the Taoism of old has become something different and that the Tao has moved on from it.

Indeed, I have to agree with Michell, I never liked the idea of a single stationary truth. I have always seen truth and spirituality as being like water, always flowing and changing and different for each individual. And the wonderful thing about most Pagan traditions is that they are so welcoming and flexible it's very easy to adapt your current beliefs and spirituality into the tradition(or traditions if your eclectic) of your choice. I'm personally leaning closer and closer to feri tradition but if you feel yourself being called closer to Wicca then "wicca: a guide for the solitary practitioner" is a good place to start even if you aren't going to do it all by yourself. Also for a general overview there is "spiral dance" by starhawk and "drawing down the moon" by margot adler. The latter is more general and goes over more of the history of the pagan movements than the former which talks about Paganism from the point of view of the feri tradition, making it a bit more specific but still very useful for getting an ideaof what Paganism is about.

Blessed be on your journey