Hexagram Gematria - This is a series of short essays about the six-pointed star and what it means in the Wiccan religion. It also looks at the 666 symbolism.
Wiccan Yule - Here are several ceremonies and an essay about Wiccan Yule. If you'd like to contribute one, you may feel free to email to me to share..
Wiccan Wedding - This is one of many ceremonies we have for Wiccan hand-fasting ceremonies. We add to these regularly.
Witchcraft - This is an article discussing the differences between 'witchcraft' and that which is performed by Wiccan.
Wiccan Glossary - This is a glossery of Wiccan terms for those not familiar. If you have any you'd like to add or things you'd like to see added to these definitions, please feel free to email me at amy@ulcseminary.org
Wiccanning an Infant - This is one of many ceremonies that we have for Wiccanning an infant. Wicanning is a form of baptism or naming ceremony. Please feel free to share one of your ceremonies if you'd like.
WICCAN TRAINING PAGES
RITUAL FOR WICCANING AN INFANT
In the following ritual, I have used the names of Cernunnos and
Aradia, however any God or Goddess' name may be substituted.
THE PREPARATION
If the coven normally works skyclad, the decision whether the ritual
shall be skyclad or robed shall on this occasion rest with the parents.
In either case, the High Priestess shall wear symbols of the Moon,
and the High Priest symbols of the Sun.
The Circle is marked with flowers and greenery, and the cauldron
placed in the center, filled with the same, and perhaps with fruit
as well.
Consecrating oil is placed ready on the altar.
Only very light incense should be used--preferably joss-sticks.
Gifts for the child are placed beside the altar, and food and drink
for a little party in the Circle after the ritual.
The parents should choose beforehand a "hidden name" for
the child. (This largely for the child's own benefit; growing up
in a witch family, he or she will almost certainly like having a
a private 'witch name' just as Mummy and Daddy do--and if not, it
can be quietly forgotten until and unless its owner wants to use
it again.)
THE RITUAL FOR A GIRL CHILD
You should cast your Circle according to the regular opening ceremony.
Everyone, including the parents and child, is in the Circle before
the casting, seated in a semicircle close to the cauldron and facing
towards the altar--leaving room for the High Priestess to cast the
Circle around them. Only the High Priestess and High Priest are
standing, to conduct the Opening Ritual. To cut down excessive movement,
which might frighten the child, the High Priestess casts the Circle
with her athame, not the sword; and nobody moves with her, or copies
her gestures, when she invokes the Lords of the Watchtowers. She
and the High Priest carry round the elements.
After the invocation, the High Priestess and High Priest consecrate
the wine. They do not taste it, but place the chalice on the altar.
The High Priest then stands before the altar, facing the cauldron.
The High Priestess stands ready to hand him the oil, wine and water.
The High Priest says:
"We are met in this Circle to ask the blessing of the mighty
God and the gentle Goddess on_________, the daughter of _________,
and so that she may grow in beauty and strength, in joy and wisdom.
There are many paths, and each must find his own; therefore we do
not seek to bind ________ to any one path while she is still too
young to choose. Rather do we ask the God and the Goddess, who know
all paths, and to whom all paths lead, to bless, protect and prepare
her through the years of her childhood; so that when at last she
is truly grown, she shall know without doubt or fear which path
is hers and shall treat it gladly."
"_________, mother of _________, bring her forward that she
may be blessed."
The father helps the mother to rise, and both of them bring the
child to the High Priest, who takes her in his arms (firmly, or
she will feel insecure--too many clergymen make that mistake!).
He asks:
"__________, mother of _________, has this your child also
a hidden name?"
The mother replies:
"Her hidden name is_____."
The High Priest then anoints the child on the
forehead with oil, marking a pentagram and saying:
"I anoint thee,____(ordinary name), with oil, and give thee
the hidden name of ________."
He repeats the action with the wine, saying:
I anoint thee, _____(hidden name), with wine, in the name of the
Mighty God Cernunnos."
He repeats the action with water, saying:
"I anoint thee, ______ (Hidden Name), with water, in the name
of the gentle Goddess Aradia."
The High Priest gives the child back to the
mother and then leads the parents and child to each of the Watchtowers
in turn, saying:
"Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the East (South, West, North),
we do bring before you________, whose hidden name is___, and who
has been duly anointed within the Wiccan Circle. Hear ye, therefore,
that she is under the protection of Cernunnos and Aradia."
The High Priest and High Priestess take their
places facing the altar, with the parents and child between them.
They raise their arms and call in turn: High Priest (HP): "Mighty Cernunnos,
bestow upon this child the gift of strength."
High Priestess(HPs): "Gentle Aradia,
bestow upon this child the gift of beauty."
High Priest (HP):"Mighty Cernunnos,
bestow upon this child the gift of wisdom."
High Priestess(HPs): Gentle Aradia,
bestow upon this child the gift of love."
The High Priest, High Priestess and parents
turn to face into the Circle, and the High Priest then asks:
"Are there two in the Circle who would stand as godparents
to _________?"
(If he and the High Priestess are standing
as godparents, he will ask instead: "Is there one in
the Circle who will stand with me as godparents to________?"
And the High Priestess answers: "I
will join with you." They then face each other and speak the
questions and the promises to each other.)
OR
The Godparents come forward and stand, the godmother facing the
High Priest, and the godfather facing the High Priestess.
The High Priest asks the godmother:
"Do you,_____, promise to be a friend to__________ throughout
her childhood, to aid and guide her as she shall need; and in concord
with her parents, to watch over her and love her as if she were
of your own blood, till by the grace of Cernunnos and Aradia she
shall be ready to choose her own path?"
The godmother replies:
"I,____ do so promise."
The High Priestess asks the godfather:
"do you, ______, promise. . . " etc., as above.
The godfather replies:
"I,___, do so promise."
The High Priest says:
"The God and the Goddess have blessed her;
The Lords of the Watchtowers have acknowledged her;
We her friends have welcomed her;
Therefore, O Circle of Stars,
Shine in peace on_________,
Whose hidden name is_________.
So mote it be."
All say:
"So mote it be."
The High Priest says:
"Let all be seated within the Circle."
All sit down, except the High Priest and High
Priestess, who taste and pass round the alre3ady - consecrated wine
in the usual way and then consecrate and pass round the cakes in
the usual way.
They then fetch the gifts and the party food and drink and sit down
with the others, and the proceedings become informal.
THE RITUAL FOR A BOY CHILD
The basic difference if the child is a boy is that the High Priest
and High Priestess exchange duties. She makes the opening statement
and performs the anointing, the High Priest handing her the oil,
wine and water. She presents the child to the Watchtowers.
The call to the God and Goddess for their gifts of strength,. beauty,
wisdom and love, however, is made exactly as for a girl child, and
in the same order.
The High Priestess calls forward the godparents and takes the godfather's
promise; the High Priest then takes the godmother's promise.
Q: What do Wiccans believe? A: While there is much variation, certain core beliefs are common to most Wiccans:
Belief in the God and the Goddess, the Law of Return (sometimes called the Three-Fold Law), the Wiccan Rede, and Magic. Most would also recognize the Circle, the Book of Shadows, the Pentagram, the Elements, the Wheel of the Year, and certain working tools such as the Athame, the Cauldron, etc.
In general Wiccans share a sense of personal connection to the divine life source, which is open to contact through "psychic power," mysticism, or "natural magic."
Wicca is very welcoming of women, but Wiccans are not exclusively female. Male Wiccans and Witches are called Wiccans and Witches, not Warlocks.
There are no universal Wiccan proscriptions regarding food, sex, burial, or military service.
Wiccans, as a rule, discourage proselytization.
Q: Do Wiccans believe in Jesus? A: Wiccans do not believe in Jesus as Savior since they do not believe that anyone is in need of saving in the Christian sense. The material world is not evil, sex is not shameful, and human actions are not judged by a god with the intent to categorize us for an afterlife, nor are we held accountable for the actions of our ancestors (as in belief in Original Sin).
Q: Can I be a Christian Wiccan? A: The Christian God claims ownership of the One True Way. To worship Him on another path in conjunction with the Goddess (as is the practice of Wicca) is not to worship Him but to disrespect Him and His teaching. While it is perfectly acceptable to choose the god(s) most suited to you, it is inadvisable to incorporate any monotheistic god into a polytheistic practice.
Q: How can Wiccans be ethical or even well-behaved if they don't follow God's laws and obey the Ten Commandments? A: Most non-Christians find this common query offensive. The notion that Christians have a corner on ethics and morality, and that no one can attain either without being pushed to it by the Christian God, is arrogant as well as ignorant. It suggests that Buddhists, Taoists, Confucians, Hindus, and all others who do not follow the Judeo-Christian God are unethical, immoral, and ill-behaved, which I think anyone of intelligence, given a moment's reflection, will surely realize is false. There are many, many non-Christians who behave well in all respects without knowledge of or concern for the Christian God's laws and Commandments.
However, in this case the intent of the question is to know how to regard Wiccan ethics and behavior, and although there is no legalistic codification of behavior for Wiccans, the Rede and the Law of Returns (or the Three-Fold Law) are usually given in response to this query.
For more information, see The Evolution of Wiccan Ethics.
Q: What are the Wiccan Rede and the Law of Returns or the Three-Fold Law? A: The Rede is a long poem attributed to Adriana Porter, but most people who mention it mean only the last eight words, which are most commonly quoted, "An it harm none, do as ye will." While this sounds, superficially, like carte blanche, the common practice of shortening it to "Harm none" gives some indication of how stringently it is generally interpreted. "None" is taken to include the doer, and "harm" is interpreted to include interference, impairment, or other disservice as well as direct physical, emotional, or psychic harm.
The Law of Return is the belief that any action will return like action in this life. This is not karma, not retribution in a future life. The return is in this life, here and now. Some believe the return is three-fold, hence the "Three-Fold Law." The Law is often repeated in a rhyme such as, "Heed and beware the Rule of Three: / Three times thy acts return to thee / This lesson thou must learn and mind / What ye put out returns in kind." Or more succinctly: "Any thought or deed you do, three-fold will return to you."
Some Wiccans regard the Law of Return as bunk and nonsense, a silly refashioning of Indian karma, while others believe in it implicitly. I say if it helps remind people to behave decently, there's no harm in it, at least in the simple "return" form, though I admit the threefold version is tough to swallow.
