Wicca, an often misunderstood form of paganism, is a spiritual practice that focuses on the connection between all things in nature and the presence of a divine spirit in everything, said Sabrae Jason, an Athens resident and the high priestess of the Coven of Celestial Tides.
Wicca is an earth-centered religious tradition and Wiccans make a point to celebrate the cycles of nature, Jason said. Wiccans celebrate the changing seasons, including the summer and winter solstices and vernal and autumnal equinoxes, and they also celebrate the cycles of the moon each month.
It's just very much about being in contact with the natural world and realizing that we're all connected through nature to the divine
Ohio University senior Leah Stampe said.
Stampe said Wicca is a highly personalized faith that allows people to incorporate different meaningful elements into their own version of the religion and take something different from it.
Wicca is a very self-defined faith. There's information out there about it but there's not strict way to practice it. You practice it in the way that you see fit said OU senior Jade Baltimore.
New Marshfield resident Terri Jean, who converted from Christianity to Wicca in 1999, said she likes practicing Wicca because it gives her the flexibility to form her own belief system.
Though there are some beliefs that vary among Wiccans, most people who practice Wicca share a general respect for nature. They believe that the goddess is central to the religion and hold polytheistic views.
Wicca originated with Gerald Gardner in Britain in the 1950s and '60s. Gardner spent a large portion of his career in Asia, where he studied the occult. After he returned to England, he formed his own movement that included aspects of witchcraft and a reverence for nature. This movement, which would later be known as Wicca, spread to the United States in the late 1960s, according to the 2002 edition of The New Encyclopedia Britannica.
Jean, who was once a practicing Methodist and taught Bible school, said identifying with the Wiccan belief system has not stopped her from incorporating elements of her old religion into her way of life.
I still believe in Jesus. I still believe in keeping his name holy and loving him; I just question the religion that was built after he was here
Jean said. I still pull a lot of the elements of other religions into Wicca and that's one of the things Wicca allows you to do. You can design your own belief system.
One important aspect of Wicca is the concept of the four elements. Each of the four directions -north, south, east and west -are associated with the four elements -earth, air, fire and water.
These four directions are also four of the points on the pentacle, a five-point star enclosed in a circle that is often used to symbolize Wicca. The fifth point on the star is representative of the universal spirit that joins the other four elements, Jason said.
Although there are many beliefs unique to Wicca, it is similar to mainstream religions than most people realize, Jean said.
I pray every day. I have a book of prayers that I follow
OU freshman Danielle Blacklock said. It's pretty much like any other prayer that you would practice in any other religion.
Prayers and spells performed by Wiccans accomplish the same goal as prayers do in other religions, Stampe said.
The difficult part, she said, is determining whether the prayers and spells are having an effect or whether extraneous forces are to blame for the outcome of a spell.
That's where faith comes in
she said. That you have that power
and your power is causing things to happen.
Jason said her duties as the high priestess of her coven are similar to that of a Christian minister.
The high priest and the high priestess are in charge of running rituals and generally they are people who have a lot of experience. To some extent it's a ministerial calling
Jason said.
The major difference between Wicca and most religions is the adaptability of the Wiccan belief system, Jean said.
Wicca is a free-thinking belief system where you design your own beliefs and work with the idea of karma
and in Christianity you work from a guideline
which is the Bible
Jean said.
Though Christians abide by rules such as the Ten Commandments, Wiccans believe they are free to do as they wish provided no one else is harmed in the process, Blacklock said.
Another important difference is that Wiccans strive for balance between the masculine and feminine aspects of a supreme being, whereas most religions view the masculine element as dominant, Jason said. To counteract this common practice, the goddess is the focus of Wicca, although some Wiccans worship a male god or other deities as well.
I like Wicca because it's beautiful and it's simple and it's very much observing the seasons and knowing that everything is karma-based
