What does it mean to be Wiccan?

ok, it is my understanding that to be Pagan is one thing, but to be Wiccan is a higher level. Solid teachings of the craft for no less than a year and a day, and I too can be on my way to being a full fledged Wiccan.

But where do I start? This whole solitary thing leaves me in the dark a lot. Am i doing this right?

So I bought this book called, Wicca: A year and a day, and it basically goes step by step, and day by day through the teachings of Wicca. Each day is broken down so that, if done correctly, by the books end you will have completed the initiation, well at least the educational part, then the last hurdle is to be initiated into a coven, then I will be "A wise one" and "Bender of all things"... kewl!

Right after I bought it and read the preface I decided to wait until a the wheel turned to Samhain, being such a historical period and the start of the new year. So i dove into it on the day of Samhain and just after the preface it says you can start at any time, but that the best time to start is in the spring when things begin to grow and bloom. I began the teachings anyway, and discovered that with my move from Germany back to Virginia Beach coming up, that it'd be safer to wait till I got home.

I am really excited, has anyone here gone through this books teachings and have anything to add?

If anyone has any suggestions? I'd love to hear them. At this point I am an open book.

dB

Tags: bending, learning, pagan, reading, teaching, wiccan

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Permalink Reply by Robert Chapman on November 7, 2009 at 8:08am: Hey Daniel, I have never read that particular book, but I will say that most books like that cater more to the "solitary eclectic" crowd. While there is nothing wrong with this, it is important to dispel a few misconceptions before you get started.

One: Wicca isn't a higher level of paganism. lol Wicca is one of many pagan religions.

Two: There is a difference between Wicca (now called Traditional Wicca) and eclectic wicca, which you can learn about in books such as the one you have. Trad Wicca is an initiatory and oath-bound Mystery Tradition. Eclectic wicca is not.

Three: That particular book may very well teach you the basics of what you need to know to practice a solitary form of eclectic wicca, but as for initiation into a trad, I wouldn't bet on it.

All that aside, Im sure you can learn some useful stuff from such a book and I would only recommend that you flesh out that book with more scholarly and historical works. If you are leaning more toward Traditional Wicca, then your reading and studying list will be quite vast and you will absolutely need to contact an existing coven for those teachings and membership. Trad Wicca is not a solitary path.

My advice is to work through whatever materials you have with the understanding that it is just one view amongst many and that you must research all information to prove the validity (or not) for yourself. I think it's important to start out simple (in the beginning) but to really get the most out of your personal journey you will need to take the stance of "forever student" and make the library your best friend.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Hrafnbjorn on November 7, 2009 at 9:06am: I agree with Robert, Wicca isn't a 'higher form,' except in the minds of some Wiccans (which I think is good). I think the statement was meant to show that Wicca has the year and a day paradigm, and poster is under impression that other religions don't have similar educational models. A year isn't very long at all to study something (and not enough time to be competent with most things), add an extra day doesn't change much. Don't get me wrong, I think it is good to have a mechanism in place to weed out those that aren't committed, etc...

As for the timing of study, I find it easier to learn during spring and autumn. For me personally times of transition are an inspiration. Summer time is hardest for me when it comes to learning. This is for many reasons, main one is the heat. I don't deal well at all in the heat. On top of that, during summer I am under siege (when at home) by wild critters. No matter how hard I try to get rid of them, more show up every year. The last 2 years have been very bad, as now there are more threatening animals showing up. Anyway, I am getting off topic now... Winter is hard as well, because I want to be out enjoying the weather, and work is very busy for me in winter.

Frith
Hrafnbjorn; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SoulFire on November 7, 2009 at 1:34pm: Another excellent post! :) I concur with everything you've said.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Master Golden Wizard "Luxas" on November 7, 2009 at 8:53am: it means you have one more letter then "wicca" and thats the (n)... beyond that it is still trying to make a name for itself....goodluck; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Windcaller on November 7, 2009 at 2:46pm: Wicca has an ecclectic nature to it... it is a polytheistic unitarian form of shamanism..
THere are seveal traditions of it... (Celtic, Dianic, Roman, Saxon etc)
And as far as I know... they all abide by the same code...
Wicca is a 5 way discipline....
Theology
Holistic Medicine
Mentalism
Philosophy
Spellcraft
Many pagan and nonpagan teachings will give you insight into these... it's mastery is the basis behind Wicca; ▶ Reply to This