In the 1930's, the Englishman Gerald Gardner, borrowing from Jewish
mysticism, ceremonial magic,
folklore and history as well as a great deal of his own inventiveness, created what is now called Wicca. While many of the roots of this new faith were certainly ancient (stemming mainly from Pre-Christian
Celtic and
Teutonic belief systems), Wicca was largely Gardner's
creation, and has gained widespread popularity in the ensuing decades. Wicca has a few basic teachings, though modern practioners have added to and integrated other beliefs into Wicca, these principles have remained the same.
- There is no separation between the Creator and Creation - Thou art God.
- All things are inextricably connected to one another - we each affect our Universe through our actions.
- Sexuality and our bodies are sacred - unlike the dogma that some religions teach, sex is not negative or dirty, but rather quite beautiful and something to be embraced.
- We are each connected to Deity (whichever you choose to acknowledge) - life force is life force is You is God.
- Nature gives religious inspiration, thus Wicca is a Nature religion, one that accepts both the growths and deaths during the endless cycle of life. There is power in this understanding.
- Every Wiccan is considered to be clergy - no middlemen here!
- Magic is real, and we can all harness it. We are each magical beings.
- Any action you commit, comes back to you threefold, both the good and the bad. We are each responsible for ourselves.
And Wicca is a lot more, especially since so much information is available to today's initiates. If You would
choose to learn more, there are a number of valuable sites on the web, such as:
- Witch, Wiccan and Pagan Webring - http://www.witchvox.net/links/webusa_a.html
- Avatar Search, a great search engine of the purely metaphysical sort - http://www.avatarsearch.com
This is just a taste, maybe it's been informative.