WHAT IS WICCA?

For centuries, Wicca and other forms
of paganism have been plagued by
prejudices and negative stereotypes.
We are among the most misunderstood
of religions.

Despite popular belief to the contrary, Witches
do not worship Satan, and we do not harm others!
Wicca does not recognize ANY pure-evil deity
and we believe that harming others
(including animals and ourselves)
is morally and ethically wrong. The Devil
is a Christian god and to believe in the Devil, one must
believe in the Christian god, because the devil is
his antithesis. Since Pagans don't believe
in the Christian god, we don't believe
in the Christian devil either.

We believe in an inner sense of justice,
rather than the concept of "hell". This means
that we are responsible for our own lives and that
our choices and actions will bring about consequences
either good or bad - this is commonly
known as karma.

Although we do believe in deity, we see it as
being dual in nature - both masculine
and feminine, light and dark,
represented by the Goddess and the God.
We do not have an omnipotent, pristine and perfect deity
We see the gods as having both
a good side, and a darker (but not evil)
side as well. The Gods are not perfect.

Wicca is a religion (and yes, it is legally
recognized as such)that reveres nature
We believe that Deity is manifested in
all of nature - in plants and trees; animals and humans;
the sun and the moon, etc...
Deity is all around us, and of course, within us.

We do not discriminate against those of
different color, background or sexual preference.
To the Goddess and the God, all are
equal and are sacred.

A great many pagans are involved in causes
such as ecology, animal welfare and rights,
women's and civil rights, etc...
This is because we strive to help make
the world a better place. The earth
is our Mother and we want to prevent Her destruction
at our own hands. After all, this is to
be our home not only for this lifetime,
but for many lives to come.
We strive to live in harmony and balance
with the world around us - to live
and learn to the best of our ability
the lessons we have been put here to learn.
We believe in reincarnation - that our souls return
to this plane time and time again, in order
to learn all that there is to learn
and to move toward spiritual enlightenment.

We hold rituals to honor the goddess
and the god, and to celebrate life and nature.
We believe in tolerance and respect for
other religious beliefs and other ways of life.
We do not try to "convert" others to our path -
We believe that part of the beauty of this world
is its diversity. We respect all life and work to preserve it

Scary - aren't we?