Inside The Wicca Circle – Feeling The Magic

by Lori Ann Robinson,
Contributing Writer,In5D.com  

Living a magical lifestyle isn’t always easy. In today’s society where paganism, specifically Wicca, has become less taboo and more mainstream, many people are drifting away from organized religion and finding their way back to nature and the old ways.

Why is this? It can be for a number of reasons. Wicca, which isn’t always synonymous with Witchcraft, offers more freedom from the so-called traditions of Christianity with its rules and regulations and lists of do’s and don’ts. In its most base form, Wicca, a religion that focuses more on the worship of nature, has roots that stretch back to the origins of man, though it wasn’t called by any specific name in those days.

It is comprised mostly of paying homage to nature, the elements of Earth, Air, Water and Fire, but can also involve the worship of Gods, Goddess and pantheons. There are different sects of Wicca as well. Dianic, Alexandrian, Gardenarian and so on, including the much debated eclectic Wicca. Each sect has its own set of requirements, initiation and ways of worship. When you break it down like that, it doesn’t sound so freeing, does it? In fact, in some ways, Wicca can be just as organized as any organized religion and it has its own set of similar issues, such as leaders who are driven by ego and greed.

Making a decision on which sect to join isn’t unlike deciding what church to go to or sect of Christianity to belong to. So how does one make that determination?

It sorta depends on what you need.

If you’re the type of person who needs structure, lesson plans and direction, the Dianic, Alexandrian and Gardenarian sects are going to be more your speed. If you do better working on your own, and studying at your own pace, eclectic Wicca and the solitary path might be the right road for you to travel.

What is eclectic Wicca?

There are a lot of opinions on this, ranging from the negative to the positive, but in my own personal opinion, Eclectic Wicca can incorporate just about anything you want it to because Wicca is all about the Rede. “Harm to none, Do what thou wilt.”

Explore this with me for a moment, will you?

Wicca, specifically in the neo-pagan movement is all about the light. Regardless of which sect you join or dedicate yourself to, the foundation is the same. Don’t do anything you can’t take back and don’t deliberately cause malicious harm to another human being/animal. A lot of people refer to this as the “Fluffy Bunny” rule, or throw around the term “Love and Lighters” to describe those people who hold to the Rede.

Those who hold to the Rede also have an aversion toward doing anything to interfere with another’s free will. You can’t cast spells to break up marriages because you want someone to be with you when they’re already committed to another. You can’t hex those irritating coworkers and you’re charged with the responsibility of remembering at all times, your words as well as your actions have power and what you send out, does generally find its way home eventually. Think good thoughts, do good things and good things will come back. That’s the simplest way to explain it.

Back to Eclectic Wicca

I told you that, to tell you this- There’s a lot of mystery out there about what us Wiccans/Pagans do in our covens and rituals and I’m not going to tell any major secrets in that regard. I will, however tell you that nothing can be accomplished if the belief in the magic as well as yourself isn’t there. You can claim power all you want. You can cast spells and conduct rituals or be a part of them done by others; but it won’t matter if you doubt and this is why living that magical lifestyle is so critical, so very important to what we do.

I chose Eclectic Wicca as my specified path after I’d explored all the other avenues. I found in this exploration that not only did other parts of other belief systems make sense to me, but that they rounded out my ability to manifest or practice my path. I looked around me and saw that some of my peers had become so stifled from the box they’d either put themselves in or allowed themselves to be put in by leaders of other groups that I didn’t want that.

I wanted to pay homage to my deity the best way that I could and for me, that was in understanding and learning about all faces of that energy and then putting it to use in my daily life. I say that I am Wiccan because I believe in the Rede. That said, I believe that there is more than one god that has dominion over humanity and I believe that divine energy isn’t necessarily male, or even necessarily female but the perfect picture of duality, a blending of the yin and the yang and that is the different faces we’ve seen through out history of gods and goddesses represented in different religions. It kinda gives the image of a bipolar Creator, but if “god” can be all things, doesn’t it make sense that its energy could be a goddess of harvest when its people needed it to be that? So I studied and I learned each face and facet of that divine energy and I incorporated into my working knowledge of the craft and Wicca. What I ended up with as a result of stepping out of the cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all idea of practicing this faith was rituals that held more energy and spells that produced quicker results.

Subscribing to the Rede is about as organized as I decided to get when it came to my belief system and for the better part of my early years of practice I was solitary. Nearly ten years ago, I was lucky enough to meet some people who were just getting their feet set on to the Craft of the Wise and we connected. Together, we formed a coven that has grown over the years. Because I had the most experience, I was elected the head of this circle and what I’ve focused on in this position was helping others to learn that there is more than one way to do things and that though the trappings of rituals are nice (the candles, the invocations, the incense and bells and whistles) and serve the purpose of not only paying homage to our god/goddess energy but also connect us to the brethren of our kind who have gone before; those things weren’t always necessary or even needed. Intention and belief are. You can do everything by the book and not get results if the intention and belief aren’t present. You can appeal to every sect of practice, appeal to ever deity known to man, but if you don’t understand, don’t believe and don’t have the intent, you’re just going through the motions.

In our group, we write all of our rituals and when I say we write them, I don’t mean that we write them days before we gather and then study them. We write them on the fly usually a few minutes before we perform them. We tailor them to fit whatever needs we’re trying to meet at that time. There have been many times when the need for spell or ritual has cropped up but the accessories weren’t on hand. We never let that stop us. If the intent is there, we carry on.

Living a magical life means walking your talk. Understanding the seen and unseen, knowing how to bridge those gaps between the two and having the intent to always work for the greater good of both planes. There is no absolution in Wicca. You are responsible for what you know or do not know, do or do not do, regardless of whether or not you’re being taught by someone else. Stick to the Rede and harm none. If it feels wrong, it probably is.

My point in all of this, and I promise that I do have one, is that Wicca, like any religion done right, can be a beautiful and fun journey. Don’t allow yourself to be too caught up in lessons or in trying to fit anyone’s accepted idea of what this is all about. I believe wholly the god/goddess that we worship wants us to be who we are and pay homage to the Earth we’ve been given as well as each other, as openly and as honestly as we can in whatever way that comes naturally.

Don’t fret if you can’t find a coven that fits you right away. If you’re meant to join a circle, the right one will come along. Until then, find a group of like-minded people and learn together. Experiment, explore and do it with a light heart.

Don’t worry if someone tells you you’re doing it wrong. Plenty of people have told me that as well. Until the day that a God or Goddess appears in front of me during ritual and corrects me, I’ll keep doing things my own way because the truth is; no one really knows for sure. We’re all just figuring it out as we go along.

About Lori: Lori is the author of Bimini, which is on sale at Amazon, iTunes and Barnes & Noble. She is currently working on two other novels and is excited and grateful for the opportunity to share the stories that take root in her mind and come to life on the screen with the readers  You can contact Lori here: threeravenscircle@gmail.com and http://threeravenscircle.weebly.com/

See EXCLUSIVE In5D videos and ad free articles on Patreon for a minimal donation! https://www.patreon.com/in5d

Follow In5D on Patreon, Telegram, Twitter, Bitchute, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Truth Social @greggprescott

 

Tags: christianity, free will, god, goddess, goddesses, gods, magic, religion, wicca