The God and Goddess?

[JaDe131b]

A little about my background... I am 30 and was raised in a Spiritual family, and we never followed any true religion.

My Mother is a Scientologist, although she never considered that a religion. She tried to force Scientology on me when I was very young, as young as I can remember and I rebelled at 5 years old. I hated it; it didn't seem right to me, it didn't make sense... so my whole life I've considered myself an Athiest, but a Spiritual one non the less.

I don't believe in God, Heaven or Hell.

I do believe in reincarnation, spirits, energy and magick. I've always been very in tune to energy, both negative and positive, and I am certain I have psychic abilities. I've always loved nature and felt the energies with it.

This past year I have been going through some trying times and have been trying to find a way to shield myself from the negativity in my life stemming from certain individuals. In the midst of trying to find a way to cope, I've been feeling different... It's almost like a switch had been hit inside of me and given me a sense of a new awakening. Lately I've been thinking about my childhood and my past a lot, like it consumes my mind all day and night. Good thoughts though.. I feel like I have a new sense of awareness out of the blue. I felt I needed to delve into this, so I started researching religions similar to my beliefs last month out of curiosity and that lead me to Buddhism, Paganism and finally Wicca. I definitely consider myself a Pagan, and Wicca is what I'm currently studying. However, I'm not sure if it's a fit for me, as like I said, I don't believe in God, and I'm a bit confused about the Dieties in Wicca and what their specific form is.

Can someone explain the god and goddess in Wicca? Is it like believing
In God, that there's someone in the sky looking over you? or is like believing in holy spirits that never take another body and are just around? Are these gods/spirits in everything? I am very new to Wicca, and it's difficult to find specific answers.

Any insight as to what path is more suitable for what I believe or don't believe in?

Thank you all in advance for your input and help

[Xiao Rong]

Welcome, Jade!

Can someone explain the god and goddess in Wicca? Is it like believing
In God, that there's someone in the sky looking over you? or is like believing in holy spirits that never take another body and are just around? Are these gods/spirits in everything? I am very new to Wicca, and it's difficult to find specific answers.

Unfortunately I can't answer for you exactly what the God and Goddess are (as they say, ask a dozen witches the same question, you'll get 13 answers). But like you, I have spent most of my spiritual life trying to figure out my relationship with gods (up until I found Paganism, I was also an atheist). You might be interested in this thread I started a while back about Paganism which is not centered around the worship of deities.

[loona wynd]

I am not Wiccan. Though I have studied it and did practice Wicca at one point in my life. In Wicca there are two specific deities. A Goddess and a God. The names of the deities are only known to initiates of Traditional Wicca, though most refer to them simply as the Lord and Lady. They are the Lord and Lady of the British Isles. They exist in the other worlds but come to this world through the invocations in circle casting.

In Wicca belief is not important. The rites performed give you actual experience of the deities. There is a saying that witches dont believe, that we know and this is true. Through the performance of the rituals and the invocations one gets to experience the mysteries and the Gods and Goddess. It is through these experiences that we know the God and Goddess of Wicca.

Wicca like all forms of religious witchcraft is a mystery and experience based path. This basically means that you don't need to believe in the Gods. The ritual work will give you actual experience with the Gods. Through the ritual work we understand our deities. The 8 sabbats tell the story of the God and Goddess through the cycle of the year. The sabbats provide context for understanding the God and Goddess while the ritual work opens the gate to the other world to actually experience the God and Goddess.

It is also important to know that all Wiccans are priests and priestesses of that God and Goddess. They are clergy. Initiation into Wicca (or dedication into the modern solitary forms) makes one a witch and a priest/ess. So Wiccans serve their Gods. It is a big commitment to being a member of the clergy for that particular faith. If you dont want to be in the priesthood than Wicca is not the path for you.

Now you also asked if they were like spirits. In my opinion Gods are a type of spirit. They are the highest level of spirit. They exist on a level that is really fully beyond human understanding. The experiences through ritual work and the invocations give us insight into their nature and allows us to know and understand them as best as humans can. Deities are mysteries that we must experience for ourselves. Wiccan ritual provides context for understanding those mystery experiences.

As for what path best suits you I don't know. You can be a witch and practice magic and witchcraft without being Wiccan. There are many other witchcraft paths out there. Wicca is just one of the major paths out there. Though many of the books on Wicca try and make it sound like Wicca is the only type and style of witchcraft.

Traditional witchcraft does not deal with deities persay but more with spirits of the land and the underworld. You also are not necessarily a member of the clergy with traditional witchcraft. This is more of an animistic (spirits in all living things and places) path. This is a path that I am working on right now. Though I do worship Gods and Goddesses my focus is more on spirit work than it is being a priestess.

I wrote a post in the Clarity Once and for all thread that explains the different forms of witchcraft I have encountered in my 15 years of practice 5 types and styles of witchcraft. That may help you understand what type of witchcraft to pursue for your practice.

[loona wynd]

You might be interested in this thread I started a while back about Paganism which is not centered around the worship of deities.

This is an excellent thread. It shows ways of being a witch and pagan without the worship and focus on deities that is an essential part of Wicca. Wicca being a clergy based path is very religious while the types and styles of working paganism in that thread are not necessarily religious but more spiritual in practice and origin. In all practices of witchcraft though it is your experiences with the unseen that will eventually color your path.

[JaDe131b]

Thank you so much loona wynd! Such helpful information

[JaDe131b]

Thank you Xiao Rong

[loona wynd]

Thank you so much loona wynd! Such helpful information

I'm glad I could help. Do you have any questions on what I said?

Often for those of us who grew up in a Christian Household the transition from a single God in the sky who is all knowing to deities that are not all knowing can be difficult. Its a switch in worldview for sure. I have found that the real transition is when you notice that you no longer see the world as you used to.

To understand the deities found in various Pagan paths and forms/styles/traditions of witchcraft studying the history of various cultures and their mythology is important. If you study the culture and the mythologies you can understand the Gods a bit more. Both the history and the mythology give context to the various roles and relationships between different deities.

Since traditional Wicca is oathbound the only lore we have to go on is the information found in the sabbat tales but its a start. From there you can start ritual work and experience those Gods. There are some myths we know like the Charge of the Goddess and the Charge of the God. These are shared as an introduction to get you familiar with the deity concept in Wicca. The book The Witches Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar is full of information on these deities and rituals. They also have a book on the Goddess and the God (one for the Goddess and one for the God) which I haven't read yet but is supposed to be very useful in understanding the deity concepts worked with in Traditional Wicca.

I would say in your case it may be best to look at shamanic traditions which work with spirit forces more than deities. Here there is trance work and travel between worlds, but the work is with individual spirits. You already mentioned that you believe in spirits but not necessarily deities. For this reason you may want to look a hedge witchcraft. Its a spiritual style of witchcraft that is less ceremonial based and more based on trance work. It is an animistic path using animism to understand the world around them.

Hedge witchcraft is a shamanic practice. There is a lot of work with herbs and natural items. This is true. The work with the spirits takes place in the other worlds. Travel and trance work is how they meet with spirits. The spirits are the ones who teach and guide you on this path. While you can work with and worship Gods and Goddesses in Hedge witchcraft the focus is more on the spirit work and the individual experiences rather than being of service to the Gods.

[JaDe131b]

To understand the deities found in various Pagan paths and forms/styles/traditions of witchcraft studying the history of various cultures and their mythology is important. If you study the culture and the mythologies you can understand the Gods a bit more. Both the history and the mythology give context to the various roles and relationships between different deities.

I would say in your case it may be best to look at shamanic traditions which work with spirit forces more than deities. Here there is trance work and travel between worlds, but the work is with individual spirits. You already mentioned that you believe in spirits but not necessarily deities. For this reason you may want to look a hedge witchcraft. Its a spiritual style of witchcraft that is less ceremonial based and more based on trance work. It is an animistic path using animism to understand the world around them.

Hedge witchcraft is a shamanic practice. There is a lot of work with herbs and natural items. This is true. The work with the spirits takes place in the other worlds. Travel and trance work is how they meet with spirits. The spirits are the ones who teach and guide you on this path. While you can work with and worship Gods and Goddesses in Hedge witchcraft the focus is more on the spirit work and the individual experiences rather than being of service to the Gods.

This is definitely what I'll look into, it makes a lot of sense. I've been posting and reading through my phone as I've had no time to go on my computer with a hectic work week, but as soon as I do I'll take the time to read, research and let you know my questions. Thanks again!