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Wicca and Paganism

Note: This is an old, and unupdated part of this website. I stand behind the articles I wrote, but don't expect any updates. New content about Wicca and Witchcraft can be found on my monthly podcast Bullshit-Free Witchcraft though. It's a lot of fun.
I have been a practicing Witch for over twenty years. To be more specific, I am a Solitary Wiccan of a Simplist Eclectic Tradition. In this section you will find various essays, writings, and possibly videos which talk about my own spiritual journey.

If you have any questions, you can reach me at trh@trhonline.com.

Unlike some other sections of this website, new articles are listed on the bottom of this page. This is because each essay assumes you have read the previous one.

Trae's Overly Simple Wicca FAQ
Trae's Overly Simple Wicca FAQThis is the FAQ for this section, and mostly is here to get definitions out of the way. This really, in my mind, should be titled "That Page of Information Every Site About Wicca Has."

That title just gets too long though.
How I Came to Wicca
How I Came to WiccaI don't know how most people's stories go, and I don't know how other people were drawn to Wicca. But what I can do is speak from my own experiences, and tell you something about how I came to call myself a Witch.
Rituals, Symbolism and Magick
Rituals, Symbolism and MagickA brief essay about the importance of Ritual in Wicca, and the importance of improvisation. When most people write about Wiccan ceremonies or worship, I have often seen a focus on the tools required and the language. They read like an instruction sheet, and usually end up with a lot of newly exposed people putting together a grocery list of materials and ritual items they're going to need. I often feel like they miss the point though.
Covens, Circles and Solitaries
Covens, Circles and SolitariesHow does one make the choice between practicing Wicca alone and with others? Many of us are drawn to the Craft for different reasons. Personally, I'm a fiercely independent person, and in truth one of the reasons I came to Wicca was the option to practice as a solitary witch. On the other hand, group work can be a very rewarding thing - and I know for a fact that what I miss sometimes is a community around me.
Coming Out of the Broom Closet
Coming Out of the Broom ClosetOne of the biggest challenges to any Wiccan is figuring out how to "Come out of the Broom Closet." Telling your friends and family that you're a "Witch" can be incredibly intimidating. How will they react? What will they think? Will they judge you for it? Is there even a remote chance that someone's going to try and tie you to a stake, surround it with kindling, and light you on fire? In other words, there is a constant fear that they won't accept it.
Wiccan Fundamentalists
Wiccan FundamentalistsMost Pagans say that the largest enemy to modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism is Fundamentalism, and they are right. But while many look at Fundamentalists and Zealots of other faiths like Christianity as this supposed enemy, the truth is the largest enemy is Fundamentalist thinking from within Neo-Paganism and Wicca's own ranks. Wicca is an improvisational religions, and the lack of an "authority" figure draws many to the craft. It's a faith that pulls more from personal experience than dogma, but that doesn't seem to stop certain members of the Wiccan community from attempting to dogmatize it.
Ethical Magick
Ethical MagickRecent events have led me to think about the ethics of spell crafting, and what (at least in my opinion) a Witch should and shouldn't do.

In essence, everything a Wiccan does, be it spell craft or going to the grocery store, boils down quite simply to the Wiccan Rede, commonly phrased as "An it harm none, do what ye will." No matter what a Wiccan does, considering whether or not it harms another person must be considered. Now, this does make certain things quite clear, but not everything in life is black and white.
A Sense of Play
A Sense of PlayI believe that most Neo-Pagan faiths, Wicca very much included, do their best when they evoke that sense of play... that sense of joy. That sense that makes you giggle like an eight year old. Where people go wrong is when they think that to truly believe in something they must treat it as though it is the most serious and humorless subject on Earth. When a person does that, criticism of one's faith changes from being something that one rolls their eyes at to something almost criminal instead.
Understanding the Wiccan Rede
Understanding the Wiccan Rede"An it harm none, do as ye will." It's only eight words. But they are eight words steeped in meaning, and they build the moral and ethical core of modern Wicca. But as in any religion, there is debate about it's meaning. What does the Wiccan Rede really mean for a Wiccan? The word "Rede" means "advice" or "counsel." Therein lies our first issue though: How strictly should a Wiccan adhere to a rule which is described merely as advice? To understand the answers to these questions, we must look deeper into the history surrounding the Rede.


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