Chasing the Wind

News. Faith. Nonsense.


Review: What's the Deal with Wicca?

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What’s the Deal with Wicca by Steve Russ is a “deeper look into the dark side of today’s witchcraft.” The author gives a quite detailed picture of Wicca and why it appeals to teenagers expecially, and compares it to Christianity. If you are a teenager or know a teenage considering Wicca, knowing about this religion will help you relate to him or her.

Wicca is an interesting mix of religions. It’s complicated, both contemporary and centuries old, and a mix ofoccultism, neopaganism, and witchcraft. Wicca’s core beliefs are the same now as they were hundreds of years ago, but it’s been repackaged as a New Age style of witchcraft. The details of Wicca though, changes from person to person or from coven to coven since Wicca is a do-it-yourself flexible belief system. If the Wiccan sees something in another religion they like, they’re free to blend it in their own system. It allows the teenager to be free of restrictions and outside control.

Wiccan believe in something called the Rede which basically says, “An ye harm non, do what ye will.” A Wiccan is free to do or worship in any way they see fit as long as they don’t harm another. Other than that, Wicca seems to be a piecemeal individualistic religion where they appoint themselves as their own rulemake of what’s right and wrong.

This allure of personal power is what makes Wicca so enticing and dangerous. While the Wiccan may worship or call upon the powers of famous, powerful people (mostly Roman gods and goddess but they’re free to call upon Egyption gods, or Hindu, Buddhist, Celtic… or even Jesus), they do not realize they’re trying to use spiritual beings as a tool. In short, they’ve appointed themselves their own god, to boss around the ancient dieties.

Christianity differs by submitting to a higher authority. Rather than boss around a god, a Christian seeks to submit to God, to do what God wants.

Some Wiccans believe that all religions are essentially the same and that there are many paths to God, but a closer look at the actual beliefs show that this is not possible. Wiccans, for instance, believe in reincarnation, while Christians believe that we live and die once and then we are judged. Wiccans believe in witchcraft, manipulating their surroundings by invoking invisible powers, while the Christian God detests witchcraft. And Wiccans believe that it’s more important to reveal your own truth through experience and have no absolutely moral code or concept of sin.

As much as Wiccan want to believe Jesus is a “great white witch with a coven of thirteen,” a review of Jesus’ teachings show that Jesus would have soundly rejected such a description. Jesus is the Son of God who sacrificed himself for our sins, and who says the only way to heaven is a belief in Him. In short, the Wiccan belief is incompatible with Christianity. They can’t both be right.

I found the book highly descriptive about Wicca and all it’s various forms, and enjoyed the individual stories from teenagers who told why they left Christianity for Wicca, and I enjoyed the compare and contrast with Christianity. I recommend What’s the Deal with Wicca hightly.



13 responses to “Review: What's the Deal with Wicca?”

  1. “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.” -Ghandi Question: What’s the deal withconservative Christians getting all bent out of shape on behalf of gods that they deny the existence of? This whole “it’s offensive to mix different pantheons” thing…where did that come from? And, assuming that this isn’t a crazy question, why the heck shouldn’t one mix

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  2. You speak of Wicca as though it’s a religion for teenagers only. When in fact, the majority of Wiccans are women in their 30’s and 40’s.

    And believe me, knowing right from wrong does not depend on following a religion. Careful how you word things.

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  3. On further thought, you may have a point about Wiccans attempting to ‘boss’ deities around. There are certainly Wiccans out there that behave like that, and books on the subject that encourage it. I for one remember my manners.

    If you publish my comments, thankyou.

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  4. You’re welcome, and thank you for your insight. Although the book was written as an aid to understand the Wiccan’s appeal to teenagers, I didn’t mean to imply that only teenagers follow Wicca.

    One certainly doesn’t have to be a Christian to understand right from wrong, I would agree with you there. If a Wiccan attempts to use Jesus as their deity, though, they’ve completely misunderstood the message of Jesus who would most certainly not appreciate being associated with Wicca. Jesus tells us that the path to salvation is narrow and leads only through Him.

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  5. Agreed. I wouldn’t dream of ‘borrowing’ Jesus, though I understand there are those who do. I imagine it would offend him. Just as it’s offensive to ‘mix ans match’ deities from different pantheons.

    Thanks for your reply. An interesting review, overall. 🙂

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  6. you have an interesting look into wicca, that I’ve noticed alot over the internet. And if that is truly how most wiccan’s act, it makes me sad.

    Its not that we appoint ourselves of whats right and wrong, we follow our belief’s and feelings. We know and understand (at least I think we should) that what we believe can be wrong. This also ties into what you said about blending what we like into our practice. The most basic part I think Wicca is about, is being happy with what you believe and understanding that no matter what we believe we don’t know 100% sure that we’re right…No one does until they die. I hear all the time that people say we “Make it up as we go along.” which I personally believe is just a missunderstanding because of perspective.

    I think that alot of the more serious Wiccans (As I’ve noticed that alot of the younger ones are wiccans for all the wrong reasons.) have a belief very similar to any devoted Christian, that its more a way of life then a set of belief’s.

    and I personally find people who think Jesus was a witch or a pagan or whatever very entertaining…You don’t have to be Christian, Muslim,Jewish or even religious to know that Jesus right or wrong believed what he preached about. That the idea of him being anything but a jew trying to spread his belife’s about Christianity, is just someones attempt to make themselves feel better about their religion.

    but I think I’ve talked too long as it is, I have a bad habit of rambling on when I have nothing to do, thank you for listening.

    -Sises

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  7. Thank you for your comment. I’d like to question part of it –

    Its not that we appoint ourselves of whats right and wrong, we follow
    our belief’s and feelings.

    I believe those are the same things; one is using one’s own beliefs to determine what is right. Have you ever been wrong in your feeling? I don’t mean to equate the two by any stretch, but Hitler thought he was right. When relying solely on your own feelings, you’ve appointed yourself as your own god, the sole judge of right and wrong.

    The most basic part I think Wicca is about, is being happy with what you believe.

    Do you think it’s possible to be happy and be wrong at the same time? For instance, can one be happy and greedy at the same time? Do you think it’s possible that, in that case, one is settling for a lesser amount of happiness? And finally, do you think there’s a difference between a self-focused happiness and a others-focused joy?

    more serious Wiccans […] have a belief very similar to any devoted Christian, that its more a way of life then a set of belief’s.

    I don’t believe that to be Christianity. Let’s define Christianity as an acceptance of the divinity of Jesus, an acceptance of His personal sacrifice for atonement for our sins, and a devotion to serving others as agape, self-sacrificial love in loving response to that sacrifice. If you’re just following Christian “rules” then it’s not Christianity.

    I personally find people who think Jesus was a witch or a pagan or whatever very entertaining

    Hey, we agree here. It’s not possible that Jesus (who preached that He is the only way to salvation and that witchcraft was evil) and Wicca are both right. They might both be wrong, but they can’t both be right. And trying to absorb Jesus into Wicca shows a complete misunderstanding of what Jesus taught.

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  8. I don’t belive many teens follow Wicca for the right reasons at first. They get ideas from movies and television that we can make things fly or control others, some once they find out what we are truly adout they either reject us or they decide to be Wiccans for different reasons usally for more relalistic ones.

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  9. What, exactly, would be the right reasons for following Wicca?

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  10. i dont believe that it is right to put down someones religion just because you dont agree with. I think Wicca is a good thing. It helps confused people find themselves. I think a little bit of self freedom is a good thing, it just might save someone. Being tied down can do harm to people.

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  11. Kris, so you agree that, even if you don’t agree with it, it’s wrong to put down Christianity? And if Christianity says Wiccan is wrong, you don’t have a problem with that, either?

    A little self freedom can be damning.

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  12. Heh. The latest plugin I’ve added to Chasing the Wind pulls up all sorts of old comments on other blogs that link here. Comment #5 just appeared today:

    Question: What’s the deal with conservative Christians getting all bent out of shape on behalf of gods that they deny the existence of? This whole “it’s offensive to mix different pantheons” thing…where did that come from? And, assuming that this isn’t a crazy question, why the heck shouldn’t one mix pantheons? Give me one good reason. (See also: A conChris who says that Wicca is just “nonsense feminist paganism” by another name. This dude has never met a Wiccan, has he? I think that he’d notice a distinct Y-chromosome maleness about some of them.)

    posted by Amy at 5:47 PM January 13 2006

    Well, first of all, I’m not bent out of shape. I’m tall and oblong and vertical. And it’s a book review; my rants look different. But the “on behalf of gods they deny the existence of” doesn’t capture the Christian perspective – The first commandment is “Thou shalt have no other gods but Me” and elsewhere God says He is a jealous god. God doesn’t set a whole lot of rules, but that’s one of them. That also implies other gods are not following our God’s will – in other words, the opposite. Sounds a lot like a demon or Satan to me.

    The “pantheon” quote wasn’t from me. I know you’re not supposed to mix polka-dot shirtheons with plaid pantheons, but I’m not an expert there.

    And if you’re going to try and defend Wicca against the charge that it’s not “nonsense feminist paganism,” well, if you were a man you’d be more convincing. 🙂

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About Me

Michael, a sinner saved by grace, sharing what the good Lord has shared with me.

Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes, said, “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

If you’re not living for the glory of God, then what you’re doing is meaningless, no matter what it is. Living for God gives life meaning, and enjoying a “chasing after the wind” is a gift from God. I’m doing what I can to enjoy this gift daily.

Got questions? I’m not surprised. If you have any questions about Chasing the Wind, you can email me at chasingthewind@outlook.com.

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