:triple_moon_goddess: Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Wicca Traditions & Magick

[BryWisteria]

Merry meet!

Thank you once again to all those who joined in to celebrate the 200th challenge in last week’s Weekly Witchy Challenge ~ Catch-Up

We’re off with challenge #201 - the final stop on our exploration through some of the most popular pagan paths and traditions. This week’s area is less firmly rooted within a single culture or geographic location, and has become a practice recognized around the world - even officially categorized as a religion in the USA.

The theme was suggested by the wonderful @starborn and is…

Exploring Traditions: Wicca

This is the final stop on our spiritual tour of Pagan Paths & Traditions - a series of challenges that hopes to shine a spotlight on some of the widely-practiced magickal traditions we often hear about in the witchy world.

Wicca is a modern-day spiritual and religious practice generally categorized as a Neopagan and nature-centered tradition. It emerged from English covens in the mid-20th century, and is largely based on pagan practices, beliefs, and folklore from pre-Christian Europe (source). While Gerald Gardner is credited as the founder of the first Wiccan practice in the mid-20th century with Gardnerian Wicca, there are many different types and subsects of Wicca in the modern day, including Eclectic Wicca, which may draw from Wicca alongside other magickal traditions.

Today, Wicca is recognized as an official religion within the USA and is also listed as an option for a religious practice by the UK government (source).

While Wicca continues to live on in England and other parts of Europe, it is a tradition and practice that has spread across the world. Please note that you do not have to identify as a practitioner or follower of this tradition/area of magick to partake in this educational challenge. Additionally, you do not need to have cultural or ancestral ties in order to study this area of the practice. However, it is important to note that Wiccan traditions occasionally draw from cultures that still exist (such as Celtic or European traditions) whom deserve respect and mindfulness (for more on the topic of magick and culture, visit the Can we talk about “Cultural Appropriation”? and Spiritual Practices and Cultural Appropriation discussions)

Wiccan history, spellwork, traditions, and folklore hold value for everyone to learn from and find inspiration in - so let’s jump in!

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This week’s challenge is all about Wiccan magick and traditions - but as always, how you do so is up to you!

So are you ready? Because it’s…

CHALLENGE TIME!

Wiccan Altar by Francisco, shared in Wiccan Lord and Lady Statues

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STEP 1 : Exploring Wiccan Traditions, Pantheon & Magick

This challenge is all about Wiccan magick and traditions - but how you choose to take on this theme is up to you!

Still not sure where to begin? To help you get started, here are a few ways in which a witch might approach this challenge…

Please make sure you are logged into your Spells8 Account so you can view all of the resources shared!

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Learn More

Are you new to the magick and traditions of Wicca? Whether it’s Wiccan deities, folklore, old sayings, traditional spells, history, or more - consider learning more about spiritual/religious practices from this area of study! You are welcome to share what you learned as your entry this week.

Wicca 101: What is Wicca?

Wicca: Self Initiation: Introduction to Wicca and Witchcraft

Wicca Level 2: Introduction to Traditional Wicca

The Wiccan Rede

How to Teach Wicca to Children

The Wiccan Afterlife: Summerland

The Wheel of the Year and the Eight Sabbats

The Story of the Oak King and the Holly King

Related resources:

• The Wiccan Book of the Law
• What do Wiccans Believe? Wiccan Values
• Scalar concept of the Wiccan Rede
• How research led me to Eclectic Wicca
• Wiccan Weddings
• Wiccan vs. Pagan vs. Witch
• 4 Types of Wiccan Witches

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Wiccan Deities

The Triple Goddess: The Mother, Maiden, and Crone

The Horned God: Symbols, Correspondences, Myth

The Wiccan God and Goddess

Additional discussions and resources:

• Wiccan Lord and Lady Statues, Altar, & Pentacle
• Praying to the Triple Moon Goddess
• Tribute to the Triple Moon Goddess
• A Tribute to the Horned God

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Wicca Inspired Spellwork

Triple Goddess Incense

Offerings to the Triple Goddess and Triple Goddess Day

Wiccan Magickal Symbols

Wiccan Blessing for a Happy Marriage

Wiccan Blessing for a Friend

Drawing Down the Moon: An Evocation Ritual

Related discussions and resources:

• Honor the Horned God with this Oil

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Explore Your Ties

For your entry this week, consider exploring any ties you have to Wiccan traditions or culture. This may be your family, blood ancestry, adoptive ancestry, past travel experiences, memories from past lives, your work with a deity, a teacher you look up to, etc.

There are no “right” or “wrong” answers here - this is simply an invitation for you to learn more about yourself and any influences that may or may not influence your spiritual practice

Ancestor Work: How to Honor Your Ancestors

Past Life Tarot Spread: “Who Was I in My Past Life?”

Related discussions and resources:

• Ancestry and Modern Collide: My Magickal Roots
• Does your ancestry affect your Craft?
• Your Magickal Roots - Weekly Witchy Challenge
• Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Peering into Past Lives
• Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Teachers of Magick

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… And More!

The suggestions above are just a few ideas to help kickstart your creativity- if you feel called to explore Wiccan magick and traditions in another way, you are welcome to do so!

As always, all witches are encouraged to embrace their own unique practice with how they explore the challenge theme

From Spells8: Wiccan Goddess & God Free Printable Page

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STEP 2 : Share Your Experience

Click here for a note about challenge inclusivity

Everyone is welcome to join the challenge by practicing magick in line with the current theme. For lurkers and those who don’t feel comfortable sharing, it is absolutely okay to follow along with the challenge but keep your entry personal. Feel free to join in spirit and do what feels most comfortable for you!

That being said, please know that if you would like to receive a prize and a public shout-out, it is required that you share your experience.

Getting Your Credit

In order for your entry to be counted, all you have to do is write/share about your experience and label it as your challenge entry. There is a lot of chatting here (which is awesome- chatting and discussion are very welcome!) so please clearly write that it is your entry so I know to count it!

Where Should I Share My Entry?

Click here to learn where to share your challenge entry

You are welcome to post it right here- just click “reply” to this post and write your experience in the text box that pops up!

Alternatively, you could create a new post in the forum (this is good for when you have a lot to share and/or would like to discuss aspects of your entry not related to the current theme)

Note : If you do choose to create a new thread, please add the “challenge-entry” tag and/or add a hyperlink back to this post so that it can be easily found- thank you!

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Deadline

This challenge will close in 6 DAYS

To join in, please share your experience by:

Tuesday, June 25 at 7:00 AM EDT (Eastern US Time)
2024-06-25T11:00:00Z

(Note that the time zone is ET- if you don’t see your time displayed above, you can use this time zone calculator to check for your time zone!)

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Prizes

For their efforts, all participants will receive a special shout-out and a small prize!

Acknowledgments will be given in a Props and Presents Post that will appear in the forums on Tuesday.

After the challenge closes, you are still very welcome to post but please be aware that no additional prizes will be given. This discussion will remain open for about a week after the challenge finishes.

Recipe by @Silverbear: Horned God Oil

A warm reminder that the challenges are designed to be very open- everyone is encouraged to participate in a way that honors and reflects their unique practice

If you have any doubts about if something is acceptable to post or say, please double-check with the Forum FAQ and/or reach out to your friendly Moderator Team.

And for those new to challenges- welcome! Know that the goal of these activities is to help you further diversify and strengthen your abilities and to bring together the Spells8 forum family to inspire and support one another in creative ways

Triple Goddess Pentacle from Spells8: What is Wicca?

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Maiden, Mother, and Crone - all three,
The Wheel of the Year and triplicity,
The Horned God’s revival and so much more-
In Wiccan traditions, there’s lots to explore!

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Blessed Be!

[Artemisia]

Oh fun! I started on the Wiccan path and have since veered off into electric green magick. It will be fun to look back at my Scott Cunningham books and pick something out of there to do!

[stavroula]

I don’t follow Wicca, but, I believe that this challenge will nudge me to finaly make an altar

[starborn]

@Artemisia

electric green magick

I really hope that’s not a typo because the name makes me want to know more!

[tracyS]

Ok, this has sentimental value to me. It was through a wiccan witch that I found my first oracle, and then her beautiful book on witchcraft, Sally Morningstar, and even though Loki stole me away to the Nordic traditions, I have a really special place in my heart for Wicca. If I don’t get time to do this, I’m going to love reading from all you wiccan witches.

Edit: Found my lovely book from Sally, may share something from there.

[john1]

That first pic is from the book Wicca craft by gerina dunwich

I will be using these books also

This is my entry

[Artemisia]

It was a typo but I’m not fixing it now because it’s too funny

[starborn]

Nooooooooooo! I wanted zappy herbs to be a thing.

[AIRAM]

challenge-entry

The Many Faces of Wicca and Witchcraft

Forget your mid-century modern, sexy housewife witch — a submissive Hollywood sorceress who denies her powers for her mortal mate. She and her ilk, including the diabolical femme fatale, a temptress archetype, eternally scheming to lead good men to damnation (think Morgan le Fay of the King Arthur legends), are products of centuries of fantasy and propaganda — all facets of female “original sin” by default.

Other stereotypes, such as Shakespeare’s hags muttering over a bubbling cauldron, are equally fictitious, though likely derived from elderly “wise women” archetypes; village healers, counselors, and keepers of women’s’ secrets.

Today’s witch, or Wiccan, may appear as a cookie-baking British grandmother who, at Beltane, can be found dancing “skyclad” with her coven in the forest. You may also meet a feminist and environmental activist like Starhawk, author of the classic The Spiral Dance , a modern sourcebook on Goddess-based neopaganism. Or a young housewife and mother blogging about Wiccan parenting.
A classic mid-century femme fatale witch

In 1986, Wicca was legally recognized as an organized religion in the U.S. In Britain, ancient anti-witchcraft laws were struck from the books in 1951, officially ending centuries of fear, bloody persecution, and death.

As spirituality has gone mainstream, numbers for those identifying as Wiccans in the U.S. went from around 400,000 in 2008 to roughly 1.5 million in 2014. Younger generations of Wiccans reject stereotypes — many young converts embrace environmental and feminist activism, calling for a re-evaluation of the feminine, from the material to the sublime. According to Starhawk, the trend appeals to women seeking to reclaim sacred feminine power.
While Wicca is a religion with principles and observances, witchcraft is a practice of spellcasting, herbalism, and divination — individuals choose their own disciplines. A Wiccan can practice witchcraft, but a “witch,” or witchcraft practitioner, is not necessarily a Wiccan.

These traditions descend from paleolithic shamanic practices of ritual offerings and dance dedicated to a successful hunt. Evidence in the form of cave art and artifacts can be found in some form on every continent.

The feminine Goddess concept straddles Wiccan and witchcraft models — the ancient Greek Hecate in one form or another. She rules over magic, crossroads and thresholds, and the moon. She is the Goddess of the hedge, a symbol for passage from the material to subtle dimensions. In the ancient Roman novel, “The Golden Ass, ” by Apuleius, Hecate says,

“I am mistress of all the elements and natural mother of all things. At my will, the planets of the air, the winds of the seas, and the silences of hell be disposed. Some call me Juno, others call me Queen Isis. ”

The Many Faces of Witchcraft; Do You Know Your Witches? | Gaia

[Artemisia]

Challenge Entry - Wicca Traditions & Magick

I don’t have many Wiccan book (paper copies) left but I did get myself a copy of the combined books Wicca, Living Wicca, and The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews by Scott Cunningham. It is one of the few books that sits on my main altar.

This challenge got me to pull the book down and flip through it, remembering my first steps into Wicca and magick.

I still remember the first time I read

Thirteen Goals of a Witch

I. Know yourself
II. Know your craft (Wicca)
III. Learn
IV. Apply knowledge with wisdom
V. Achieve balance
VI. Keep your words in good order
VII. Keep your thoughts in good order
VIII. Celebrate life
IX. Attune with the cycles of the Earth
X. Beathe and eat correctly
XI. Exercise the body
XII. Meditate
XIII. Honor the Goddess and God

So many of these are relevant to my current life and practice. Things that I strive to achieve daily.

Flipping further I ran across a section on runes.

And then he lists 12 runes used for divination

(Source - Scott Cunningham’s Wicca / Living Wicca / The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews)

I find it interesting that some of them are elder Futhark runes or modified versions while others are completely different. I don’t remember reading this section and wasn’t particularly into runes until 10 years ago so I don’t think I absorbed the information if I did read it back then.

Paging through the book(s) brought back many memories from when I first started practicing 30-plus years ago. It may have been a self-initiation from Raymond Buckland or Scott Cunningham that I used. I know I didn’t have a BoS then so I wouldn’t have recorded it anyway. I take that back, I just looked up the Self-dedication ceremony in Buckland’s complete book of Magic and I feel sure I used Scott’s ritual.

There was so much about Wicca that was so right for me at the time but there were also rules and beliefs that didn’t mesh with me. I tried for a long time before I began to let macgick completely slip from my life. I don’t blame Wicca by any means. It was my age, the changes going on in my life, many many many moves across the country, so much was happening and changing and I lost sight of myself for a while.

Ever changing, ever growing, ever seeking, ever learning.

[Artemisia]

I thought it would be fun to see what Chat GPT had to say about

Electric Green Magick

Possible Interpretations of Electric Green Magick:

• Eco-Magick with Modern Twist: Combining ecological or nature-based magick with modern technology. For example, using apps to track lunar cycles for gardening, or integrating solar energy into ritual spaces.

• Energy Work: Focusing on the manipulation and direction of energy, possibly visualized as green to represent life force or nature’s energy. This could involve practices like Reiki, chi manipulation, or other forms of energy healing.

• Environmental Activism through Magick: Using magical practices to support environmental causes, perhaps combining rituals with activism, and utilizing technology to spread awareness or organize events.

• Tools and Symbols: Incorporate symbols of both electricity (lightning bolts, circuits) and nature (plants, green colors) into your magical tools and spaces.

• Intentions and Goals: Set clear intentions that reflect the blend of these themes. For example, you might focus on harnessing the energy of nature through modern technology to heal or protect the environment.

[Satans_Helper]

[crystal59]

Challenge entry- Wicca

The Middle-Class British Man That Founded Modern Witchcraft | Britain's Wicca Man | Timeline

By timeline

[Phoenix_Fire]

challenge entry
First thought i had as im not wiccan myself but i have a tarot deck " druidcraft tarot" which combines both druid and wiccan traditions into the deck. Im going to look for a way to use this deck for this challenge.

Ok i found a spread wanted to use. Ive svreen shot the info on the spread and the spread i got plus the meanings related to where each card fell

[Mystique]

Ok, I’m setting my intentions to create an entry for this one! I use to study Wicca and am excited to create something for this one! No procrastination this time!

[MeganB]

It’s very interesting to hear the woman talk at 36 minutes about why people practice witchcraft.

Well, it seems to me that we live in a highly mechanized age in which many people have lost their sense of belonging. Witchcraft brings them back to living in harmony with the rhythms and the seasons…

It seems that some things never change. Back then, it was a “highly mechanized” time. Now, it’s a “highly technological” time. We still find our sense of belonging in our practices, even when everything we seem to do is tied to some sort of electronic.

[Kiara_Astra]

Challenge Entry

This is the very first witchy book I bought, its a first edition

[Kasandra]

Challenge Entry

When I first started practicing (four years ago today!), I planned to follow Wicca in a manner similar to how Scott Cunningham did. But when I realized that I can be eclectic, I began “customizing” my craft.

I follow the rede and celebrate the sabbats, but I never really felt much of a connection to the horned god or the triple moon goddess. I use a wand and an athame, but not very often. My dragon guardian protects me during magickal workings and spells.

Recently, I have been putting the triple moon goodness statue (that I bought a long time ago) on my altar and I have been feeling this sense of peace wash over the way it did when I first felt the call to start practicing.

[bj1]

Challenge Entry - Wicca Traditions & Magic

The pentacle is a symbol of the Wiccan faith.
The pentacle is a pentagram enclosed in a circle. I often see it depicted with a number of symbols within it. I finally found an explanation in Witchcraft for tomorrow, 1978, by Doreen Valiente.

“The five-pointed star or pentagram is one of the oldest signs in the world. It represents, among other meanings, magic itself, the dominion of the spirit over the four elements of the material creation.
The circle which encloses it, being without beginning or ending, represents infinity and eternity. Another meaning of the pentagram is that it bears a rough resemblance to a human figure, as if standing upright with arms and legs outstretched. Hence the pentagram in a circle is a symbol of the human being in relation to the infinite.
The eight-armed figure in the centre of the pentagram represents the Eight Ritual Occasions of the witches’ year, four Greater Sabbats and four Lesser Sabbats. The Greater Sabbats are Candlemas, May Eve, Lammas and Hollowe’en. The Lesser Sabbats are the equinoxes and solstices. The eight of this symbol plus the five of the pentagram makes thirteen, the traditional number of the witches’ coven.
The three X-shaped crosses around the pentagram represent the three anointings of the initiation ceremony, ‘two above and one below’; that is, two above the waist and one below it.
The two spirals or S-shapes represents the ancient symbol of the twin serpents, the dual forces of positive and negative, yang and yin, masculine and feminine, that underlie all manifestation.
The symbols on the three upper points of the pentagram are the crescents of the waxing moon and the waning moon, and the circle of the full moon. Together they represent the primordial goddess of nature, often depicted in triple form as nymph, mother and crone, the three phases of the moon.
The symbols on the two lower points of the pentagram represent the two aspects of the ancient god of the witches. They are conventionalized drawings of a horned head and a skull and crossed bones. The former sign represents the horned god of life and fertility, and the latter the god of death and what lies beyond.”

[Nhaama]

Challenge Entry
I delved into Wicca a few years ago, back when I felt lost and empty. My practice has evolved over time and while I am an eclectic witch nowadays (and very much still learning!), I remember my roots and I still hold some of the core values of Wicca (especially the if it harm none, do as ye will. I never use curses, but I do use binding and reflection spells. Even then, said spells are rare for me to cast since I consider them as a last resort). When I first started out, I was researching everything, to the point where I overwhelmed myself by the overload of information. Eventually I discovered that eclectic witchcraft was a thing and I believe it’s helped me especially since I’m on the spectrum and I burn out easily. With that said, I am grateful for what Wicca has taught me and for being the stepping stone to help shape me into who I am today. Blessed be