Ask a Wiccan! (priest, Christians, sunday, Jesus)

[stycotl]

i could be wrong, but as far as my conversations went with my wiccan friend, the religion has nothing to do with vampirism. people can mix and match i suppose, but that is like mixing christianity with buddhism. it becomes something else, and no longer resembles more than slightly either of the originals.

[UnsurePerson]

FredNotBob, I do have some questions... but maybe it would be easier to answer them through email.. theres a lot about wicca that i dont know that i want to... i might not be able to get on much this weekend, but i will try. my email is cr8tivesfred@gmail.com. Please try to email me... thanks!

[UnsurePerson]

that was sposed to be creativesfren@gmail.com.
sorry!!

[UnsurePerson]

sorry again... im having keyboard/ spelling issues... cr8tivesfrend@gmail.com
yeah... thats the right one... thanks... bye!

[FredNotBob]

Originally Posted by CelticLady1

I have a question for our Wiccan friends here. My son has a friend, who is a 17 year-old young lady. She apparently is interested in Wicca, which I have no problem with, and neither does my son. However, is it common for folks to mix Wicca with something else? The young lady in question also has an interest in vampirism, and seems to think that she can mix the two. I honestly don't know that much about Wicca, let alone vampirism, but it simply doesn't make sense to me, to mix the two together. Would not these two belief systems be widely divergent from one another, or am I missing something?

You're not missing anything, and thank you for such a good question!

While it's possible to 'blend' Wicca with other paths, it can be confusing, especially when contradictions occur. Vampirism could be considered a 'harmful' activity, and the Rede would say 'no' -- but then, I've also heard of 'Christian' Wiccans (which is totally confusing, since they are, by nature, opposed).

Keep in mind that she *is* 17 -- it's a very trying time, and the need to 'feel unique' brings out a lot of odd behavior, so the vampirism thing may just be 'one of those teenager things'.

On a semi-related note, I've heard many things, good *and* bad, said about authors such as Silver Ravenwolf who put out 'Wicca for Teens'-type books and 'spellcasting kits'. Some consider those kind of authors a 'sore spot', some are more accepting, and some simply reject their books outright. My only advice here is: use your own judgement, and read with a critical eye.

Learn about the *person*, not the *product*, before you make a judgement.

FindingHope asked:

Originally Posted by findinghope

as a Catholic i worship God and also pray to the saints. who is your highest power and are there subsiquent powers?

That really depends on who you ask. The *highest* power is something that many Wiccans call 'The All'; it's essentially 'the stuff that the gods are made of'.

The Wiccan faith has a god and a goddess -- neither is more powerful than the other, they're equal in all respects. In keeping with the concept of 'the All', the goddess and god are felt by many to be part of/descended from/created by 'the All', and they may have different names, depending on which Tradition a Wiccan follows, and the pantheon that it contains.

The idea of 'subserviant' or 'lower' powers is not a common one to Wiccan belief -- I certainly can't speak for all Traditions, but I've never encountered a Wiccan that places the gods on a scale of strength or rank.

[CelticLady1]

Originally Posted by FredNotBob

You're not missing anything, and thank you for such a good question!

While it's possible to 'blend' Wicca with other paths, it can be confusing, especially when contradictions occur. Vampirism could be considered a 'harmful' activity, and the Rede would say 'no' -- but then, I've also heard of 'Christian' Wiccans (which is totally confusing, since they are, by nature, opposed).

Keep in mind that she *is* 17 -- it's a very trying time, and the need to 'feel unique' brings out a lot of odd behavior, so the vampirism thing may just be 'one of those teenager things'.

On a semi-related note, I've heard many things, good *and* bad, said about authors such as Silver Ravenwolf who put out 'Wicca for Teens'-type books and 'spellcasting kits'. Some consider those kind of authors a 'sore spot', some are more accepting, and some simply reject their books outright. My only advice here is: use your own judgement, and read with a critical eye.

Learn about the *person*, not the *product*, before you make a judgement.

Thank you, FredNotBob, for answering my question. You pretty-well said what I have been thinking, that these two paths really appear to be at odds with one another, particularly given the Wiccan Rede. I realize that not all people in the vampire sub-culture give or take blood; some of them claim to be "psychic" vampires, and take energy, but either way, this would indicate that there is a dominant person, and a subjugated person, (even if it is voluntary), which certainly does not seem to mesh with the Wiccan beliefs. That's not to say that those in the vampire sub-culture are necessarily "evil", in the sense that most of us would think of, but it just doesn't seem healthy, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally, (not to mention the blood thing, for those involved in that aspect of vampirism. That's another issue, with potential problems).

Being that she is only seventeen, (and having been that same age once, myself), I'm well-aware of the peculiar ideas that kids can come up with, especially if they think it will shock or annoy their parents; I raised two teenagers! So, I've already considered that this is simply one of those experimental sort of things. But, it certainly doesn't hurt to educate oneself about religions, beliefs, and spiritualities that one is not familiar with.

As to Silver Ravenwolf, although I have not read a complete book of hers, I have read snippets taken from them, and I cannot say that I am impressed. Granted, I am not a Wiccan, but she seems to incorporate some nonsense into her work, and she also seems to spend a good deal of time bashing Christians. While Christians are not above reproach, and the church has some very bad history, which cannot be denied, she seems to take great delight in pointing out every flaw and sin that she can, (sometimes to the point of embellishment), instead of taking a balanced approach, and acknowledging both sides of the Christian story. I have seen this balanced view from other Wiccan websites, and from the two Wiccan books I am currently reading, so it is obviously possible to tell others of one's Wiccan beliefs without resorting to bashing and name-calling. And, to flip it around, it is unfortunate that many Christians feel the same need to shred Wiccans, and any other belief systems that conflict with their own. When I read a book, or a website, etc., I look for at least two things. How reasonable is the author, and how balanced are they. I don't have to agree with them, but I do have to feel as though I can respect them. If they are spouting off nonsense and bashing, that tells me a great deal.

[Badland wonder]

I agree that there are many approaches to Wicca. One thing that always interests me is the common thread between Wicca, Native American philosophy, and yes, even Christianity.
Take Easter for example. The date for Easter Sunday is set by the equinox, followed by the first full moon, then Easter. All one celebration of the same thing...renewal. Wicca celebrates the equinox and the full moon. Native American have always given homage to the timing of the natural cycles. And Christians, call it Easter. There was a goddess Eostre that was celebrated at the same time of year in ancient times. Her totem was the hare, or bunny, who brought the eggs, a symbol of fertility, which spring is also a symbol of, which equates to renewal.

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by Badland wonder

I agree that there are many approaches to Wicca. One thing that always interests me is the common thread between Wicca, Native American philosophy, and yes, even Christianity.
Take Easter for example. The date for Easter Sunday is set by the equinox, followed by the first full moon, then Easter. All one celebration of the same thing...renewal. Wicca celebrates the equinox and the full moon. Native American have always given homage to the timing of the natural cycles. And Christians, call it Easter. There was a goddess Eostre that was celebrated at the same time of year in ancient times. Her totem was the hare, or bunny, who brought the eggs, a symbol of fertility, which spring is also a symbol of, which equates to renewal.

It is more accurate to say that the Christian Easter was morphed from earlier spring renewal traditions. When the Catholic Church could not stop the pagan rituals tied to the rhythms of the earth cycles, they co-opted them and put Christian events on top of them. The secular fun stuff is hearkening back to pre-Christian rituals and symbols that they could never completely kill. That's why Christmas is near the Winter Solstice when the whole story revolves around a spring climate (lambs being born and all that) and the time of year is the death of the god representing the fallow time of year that winter is. Easter is similarly bastardized from the earlier beliefs in that the god dies. The rebirth happens soon after, but there is so much emphasis on death and sinning at easter.

[molochai2580]

Originally Posted by UnsurePerson

I am not wicca, but I have thought before about becoming so... I've always felt different and almost feel a spiritual connection (I think I may be psychic, but I know it doesn't make a difference whether you are or not). I hear that you pick a stone, and I have picked two that I think represent me... I will list them in order

Amber- It means light doesn't it? what does it mean in Wicca?

Bloodstone- It is the opposite of Amber in almost every way (as far as looks go). Amber looks like light, and it looks like darkness.. to me it attracts the side of me that craves something that amber doesn't give.. amber attracts the opposite side. What does it mean?

Other stones that I am attracted to and that might describe me are these (though I don't think that, as far as what I've felt from seeing the stone, they are like me as much as the two above)
citrine because of its similarity to some amber, peridot because I am simply attracted to it, and amethyst (I personally do not think amethyst is my stone, but I took a personality test, and it said that amethyst was...)

Could you tell me what each one means..? Could you tell me also what it means that I was attracted to the top two? Thank you for your time!

-An Interested Person

P.S. I've got more questions if you'd be willing to anwer them.

As FredNotBob said the library is a good place to start, but so is the internet... lol
Here's a couple of websites on stones, just to get you started:

Greenlee's Forest - Meanings of Stones
Attraction to Crystals and Gemstones - Crystal Therapy - Healing Properties in Stones
Stone & Gem correspondences
Shadows in Light: Stone Correspondences

[WHITEWOLF508]

Although Wicca is only 50 years old or at lesat the formalized aspect is that age, the church has been against magic and witchcraft for as long as the church has existed. Why ?

1. Magic as practiced by hedge witches was mainly for healing and actually worked. The practioners were mainly female and in competition with the physicians of the day that believed illness was caused by demons and did noting to help their patients.
2. Those that were nature based did not need or welcome the church hierarchy telling them what to do.
3. The churches ruled by fear and used "witches" as a fear object in order to control their own congregants.

Growing up on a farm in the 1950s, I saw many practices that I considered as superstitous but certain farmers claimed as custom..leaving the ladys portion of the crop in the field, leading animals between twin fires on May eve to promote fertility, etc. I do not think that these were related to Gardner's idea of Wicca but the customs were related to antiquity.

Regarding the young lady's interest in vampirism-many take up Wicca, vampirism and related things simply because they want to be cool and because they want to rebel. They have no relationship to each other beyond that. You can always tell the cool witches--their pentacle is a as bis as a dinner plate and they act very spooky..They would be jerks no matter what religion that they practiced