Rosewicket Wicca Coven

To me wicca is not just a religion, not just a way of life, its who you are, wicca is the deep connection to the goddess and the god, and the five elements, the deep connection to nature itself. Wicca is when you lightly rest you hand on the trunk of a tree and feel the life force, the knowledge, the age pulsing within. Its when you stand and watch the  sunrise set fire to the trees, the sound of birds singing, the gentle waves lapping at the shore, the growth of an unborn child within its mothers womb, the sweet scent of the flowers in summer, the fiery reds and yellows of autum, the majesty of the mighty mountains. Wicca is all around us.
 

Wicca is nature loving religion, that originates with the roots of time. Much of the information of how our ancestors lived, worshiped and believed has been lost due to the efforts of the medieval church to wipe our existence from history.
 

Wicca, or witchcraft in ancient history was known as "The Craft of the Wise" because most who followed the path were in tune with the forces of nature, had a knowledge of Herbs and medicines, gave council and were valuable parts of the village and community as healers and leaders, and where genrally intelligent people.  They understood that mankind is not superior to nature, the earth and its creatures but instead we are simply one of the many parts, both seen and unseen that combine to make the whole.   
  

 For the past several hundred years, the image of the Witch has been mistakenly associated with evil, heathenism, and unrighteousness. These misconceptions have their origin in a couple of different places. 
 First of all, the church of the 15th to18th centuries was offended and challenged by the fact that, upon coming to england, thet discovered an ancient religion far older than their own. Worried by this, and determined to beome the main religion, they created these myths to convert the followers of the original religions to Christianity. By making the Witch into an evil person, who performed acts of evil and by turning the old gods and goddess' into devils and demons, the missionaries were able to make the general population fear the witches and the old dieties which aided in the conversion of the people. Also, as science began to surface, the men who were first studying it had a very poor understanding of female anatomy, especially in the area of a women's menstrul cycle. Unfortunately these incorrect fears and superstitions have carried forward through the centuries and remain to this day. This is why many who follow these nature oriented beliefs still hide away, practicing in secret to escape the persecution and harassment associated with the name of Witchcraft not to mention the bad publicity the press and Hollywood has given us simply to generate a profit.
 

What Wicca is:
Witchcraft is a spiritual nature loving practice that encourages the free thought and will of the individual, encourages learning and an understanding of  nature, coonferming the divinity in all living things. Most importantly however, it teaches peace and responsibility. We accept responsibility for our actions and deeds as clearly a result of the choices we make, and we never harm others. We do not blame other people, or circumstances for our mistakes.  If we make a mistake or do something that hurts another person or being, we accept the responsibility for our actions. We celebrate the cycles of nature, the lunar phases and the seasons to celebrate nature and to worship the divine. It allows the witch to work with, not in obedience to deities with the intent of living in harmony and achieving balance with all things.
 

The spells that wiccans perform are for healing, love, harmony, wisdom, creativity, peace, understanding and more. The potions that make could be for pain relief, or an herbal flea bath for our pets. We try to learn and use the natural remedies placed on this earth  for our benefit and for the benefit instead of using drugs unless absolutely necessary.

Wiccans believe that the  Goddess and God exist in all things. In plants, the elements, in the animals, in the earth, in each other and all of natures creatures. This means that we treat everything of the Earth as divine. We honor and respect life in all its forms.Wiccans learn from and worship the gift of nature by celebrating the cycles of the sun, moon and seasons. We try to live in harmony with the movement of the universal energy, or magick. Our teachers are the trees, rivers, lakes, meadows, mountains and animals as well as others who have walked this path before us.
We also revere the spirits of the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water which combine to manifest all creation.   
  

Because Witches have been persecuted for so many centuries, and we have practiced in secret for so long we strive for religious equality. We are willing to share our experience and knowledge with those who seek our wisdom and perspective, but we never try to force others into our way of thinking, instead we try to educate them to help remove the labels that we were falsely given so long ago. We believe that anyone who is meant to be wiccan will find its path when they are ready. The main tenant of wicca is harm none.

What Witchcraft is not:
Witchcraft or Wicca is not a cult.   We do not proclaim ourselves to be spokespersons for the divine or try to get others to follow us as their leaders.

We do not worship Satan or consort with Demons.   Satan is a Christian creation and they can keep him. We do not need a paranoid creation of supreme evil and eternal damnation to scare us into doing the right thing and helping others. We choose to do the right thing and love our brothers and sisters because it IS the right thing and it feels good to do it.   

We do not sacrifice animals or humans because that would violate our basic tenant of "Harm None." Anyone who does and claims to be a Wiccan or a Witch is lying.

We have no need to steal or control the life force of another to achieve mystical or supernatural powers. We draw our energy from within, our personal relationship with the divine and nature.

We do not use the forces of nature or the universe to hex or cast spells on others.   

Witches have a very strict belief in the Law of Three which states that whatever we send out into our world shall return to us times three whether good or bad. A true Witch would NEVER do magick to harm or manipulate another.
The heart of Wicca is not something summed up into a few short words and can often take on different meaning to each since the Lord and Lady touch us in different ways. To gain a fuller understanding of the Craft, try to read as much as you can, both in books and online, however be wary of sites that encourage sacrifices, curses and hexing, as these sites are false, even sites that are not obvious can be lying, practice caution, and if you are unsure, then ask another, more experienced witch. Remember to read with your heart, for it is when you see life and the world with your heart and spirit that you truly gain an understanding of what Wicca is.

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