Wicca is a nature based religion. It is attuned to nature and the Earth on which we live. It is an ancient religion that pre-dates Christianity by many thousands of years.
For me, Wicca, to put it simply, is a belief system, based on the harmony of nature. That is to say that not all Wiccan practitioners are tree huggers or obsessive herbs gardeners (although we do have one!), nor are we obsessed with the acquisition of crystals. We try to conduct our lifestyle in harmony with nature and natural occurences rather than to work against them.
Contary to popular belief, such as is often depicted in TV programmes, we are not all spell casting teenagers. The eldest Wiccan practitioner we know of is in their eighties, but we insist that persons be over 18 in order to be considered for membership to a Coven.
There are people practising these beliefs from all aspects of life. Class for us is not an issue nor is political affiliation, and above all due to our strong natural tendencies, we are an equal opportunities community! This applies equally for gender ability and ethnicity.
Our work involves celebrating our eight seasonal festivals, marking the natural changes that take place in the year, teaching newcomers about the history of our beliefs, teaching crafts and skills which are of use to the Coven collectively and practising various methods of healing and divination (not just Tarot cards!!)
We DO NOT worship the devil (aka Satan, Lucifer etc) nor do we "raise the dead" - although at Halloween the dearly departed are always welcome to join our celebrations, if they so please. Our most principle law is that we may, within reason, do as we see fit, as long as it harms no-one.
If you are interested in Wicca, there are several books available, but I would like to recommend, by way of an introduction, Principles of Wicca by Vivianne Crowley. Published by Thorsons in 1997 ISBN 0-7225-3451-5. Alternatively email me by clicking on the link below.
