Common Misconceptions


Not so long ago, a friend of mine, Opal River, sent me a link to an article on a website written by an extreme religious group. Reading it almost caused me to burst into tears; the person who wrote it obviously had been seriously misinformed about the core values of Wicca. They seem to argue that Wicca's dye their hair red to represent the devil they worshipped, sacrificed animals in rituals, participated in mass orgies and are all destined for hell.
    Firstly, we do not worship the devil! For starters, we don't even believe there is a devil. There is only bad energy that, if used wrongly, can be dangerous. If we don't even believe in such a being as the devil, how can we worship it?
    We worship both a male and female deity. Now, what or who Wicca's worship can differ from person to person. The basic rule is that there is both a God and a Goddess; but whom those Gods and Goddess are is completely up to the individual. They can be Aphrodite and Zeus, or Osiris and Isis. It is all based on which Gods create the most personal connection to you and who you feel most comfortable to worship and let into your life. Imagine it as a disco ball; there is one main ball, which is covered by many tiny mirrors. Each mirror represents the different faces the 'one' can take. Even though we all worship different beings, we still belong to the same religious group.
    Wicca's do condone sex, as we see it as a joining of both the male and female, which symbolises the union between the God and Goddess. Now, I cannot comment on the mass orgies as I am not a member of a Coven; however, I have spoken to many members of Covens and they told me that is depends on the High Priest and Priestess, and what each Coven feels. I know for sure, however that Wicca's do not have sex with thousands of strangers and say it is in the name of religion.
     Dying hair red...that's surely personal preference? And seeing as we don't worship the devil as I explained previously, it cannot represent that!
     Lastly, can we be destined for hell? Does anyone know what happens when we pass on? Is there even a hell? If there is, then the way we have treated life can surely not allow us to go to hell. Wicca's do not believe in hell, we believe that we will be reincarnated until we learn all we were put on this earth to learn. After we have done everything possible, we will go to the 'Summerlands', our version of Heaven where everyone will be happy. We have no concept of hell in the Wicca religion, just like we have no concept of the devil.