The Basics of Wiccan Belief

The basics of Wiccan belief center around two Deities: the Goddess and the God. Depending on the pantheon you choose to honor, the perceptions of Goddess and God may differ greatly. Ten thousand Wiccans, ten thousand religions. Wicca is a very personal thing; you choose the way to worship that feels right to you. If you want to say St. Brigit, that’s fine. If you want to say the Goddess Brigid or Bride, that’s also acceptable. There is no “one true way”, by the Wiccan philosophy. There are many paths up the mountain to reach the pinnacle.

The Goddess and the God are regarded in most cases as equal deities, as opposed to the Christian viewpoint that God is the only deity. There are some “trads”, or traditions, that deal with mainly one Deity; Dianics are Goddess-oriented and mostly female, while others–say, perhaps, Norse or Scandinavian traditions–would tend to honor the God (example: some Norse traditions would honor Odin, the All-Father, as the main deity). Many Wiccans choose a pantheon, or set of cultural gods and goddesses, to work with. This often defines what they refer to the Deities as. For instance, Celtic Paganism may tend to refer to the Goddess as Brigid, while Asatru (a Nordic branch of Paganism, not neccessarily Wicca) may refer to the Goddess as Freya or Freyja. In Wicca, females are considered equal to men. This causes many women to seek out Wicca instead of Christianity because of Christianity’s negative attitude toward women. Some Wiccans never settle on any pantheon at all, but simply continue to use the generic terms Lord and Lady or God and Goddess for their works.

The way Wiccans regard the Lord and Lady (also called the Great Mother and the Great Father) is very spiritual; we look upon them as a part of everything–including us, the Earth, and even those people who we do not like. The Goddess and the God are in nature. That is why you find that most Wiccans are environmentalists, at least midly. The Lord and the Lady are our spiritual and primal father and mother. They are the Beginning and the Ending. They are a part of us, within us, and around us. All is sacred. We see Them as with us always, through hard times and good. We can connect with Them ourselves, rather than watching as one person among many is regarded as particularly favored by one God.

The Deities are truly the basis of our religion. Magic is a side benefit of Wicca, but not the basis of what Wicca is. Keep that in mind as you read.

In many cases, the God and Goddess are seen as two sides of one deity, the all, the whole, the sum of creation. That’s how I tend to view them. You may want to look at it differently. That’s fine. I cannot stress it enough: diversity is what makes the world such a grand and glorious place to live.

Until you find the trad (tradition) or pantheon that feels right for you, you may want to simply conduct your rituals saying “Lord and Lady” or “Goddess and God”. Don’t feel that you must have a specific name for Them; study on what you find interesting, study many different traditions and cultures. This way, you will find that when you do settle on a pantheon or tradition, you are much more comfortable with it then you would have been if you had simply and blindly chosen a pantheon. Some people, myself included, often keep using God and Goddess even after extensive research because it feels right. Don’t limit yourself.

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