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When people think of withcraft they conjure up images of old women with pointy black hats murmering spells over a cauldren and turning people into frogs. This image comes from years of television, news and religious propaganda. Witches can be both male or female and are not satanists as popularily believed. Wiccans believe in a female and male aspect that is present in every person and living creature. Most Wiccans refer to them simply as the Horned god and goddess although some to choose to call them by a name. There is no supreme evil (ie devil, satan) only good and those who choose to ignore the good.

Wicca encompasses a large variety of religious beliefs. Some wiccans choose to practise in a coven consisting or 3-13 members lead by high priest/priestess or to practise alone wherein they would wait the traditional year and a day and then perform a dedication ritual. When first dedicated a witch typically chooses a wiccan name usually after a mythological god/goddess or an element of nature and often begun with lord or lady (ie Lady Star Fyr)although choosing a well known name may not be the best option as others may already have chosen it ( i once saw two 15 yr old male witches get in a fist fight over who had the right to call themseles Lord Merlin)
The wiccan religion does not have any beliefs about homosexuality or pre-marital relationships , they believe that all people are equal and should be treated as such.
When it comes to spells the general rule is " If it harms none, do as you will" which prevent witches from casting love spells or any other speel of a selfish or revengful manner. Also there is the three-fold rule which says that any majic you send out will be returned to you three times, whether good or bad. Most Wiccans rarely cast spells only in important situations. Spells are regularily cast at an altar set up by the coven of individual, commonly found on an altar is candles, pentacles(star inside a circle), athame(ritual knife), chalice, wand(carved from a piece of wood or a stick found by the person) and anything else the practitioner chooses to place there.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Wicca is the phases of the moon many of our rituals are centered around the the various holidays associated with the moon.
Wiccans also have what is comparable to the Christian bibe which is called a book of shadows, each witches is unique and no two are the same. Every person writes and records spells rituals or other useful information in their own Book of shadows, which can range from a decorated notebook from the dollar store to a fancy one purchased from a new age supply store. Another inportant tool is tarot cards although not all wiccans use them there are hundreds of different decks each used for a different purpose and each person again has their own preference.
While i attempted to touch on most aspects from the varying types of wicca but they are too numerous to describe all the rituals spells and thoughts. I hope this article was helpful

"Blessed Be" (a wiccan goodbye)

Learn more about this author, Tori Hartman.
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