Mystical Angels

Questions About Wiccanism......?

What is Wicca? What are the different Wiccan types? (keep in mind, im new to all this so please, no hate answers.) How does a normal Wiccan ritual go, and what would I need to do one? What is the history of Wicca? Any good books or sources that I could read? And how do you read Tarot? Where can I get really good, reliable Tarot Cards?

Public Comments

1. Wiki is your friend. It's a good starting point and can link you to a wealth of information. Edit: What? It's where I start when I wanna research something!
2. As for Tarot, I suggest you buy "Golden Tarot" by Kat Black on Amazon.com. BEAUTIFUL deck. Perfect for readings. As for Wicca, I suggest you read the book "The Circle Within" by Dianna Sylvan, and "Wicca for Beginners" by Thea Sabin. I am a Buddhist, but I have studied up on Wicca myself to see what it is about. Good luck!
3. Well there is a wealth of information at your public library. But to answer your questions briefly: 1. A belief system witha core belief in [insert core belief here] 2. The types are [insert types here] 3. Rituals involve prayers, fires, [insert other stuff] 4. Fire, a singing voice, other people to do it with 5. The history is long (but not too long) and rich 6. Wiki the hell out of it 7. Reading is looking at smbols hat represent ideas 8. Online, the cards rely on the user
4. Wicca is an earth-based religion with various traditions that each practice it in different yet ultimately similar ways. Each of the traditions tend to hold a great reverence for the earth, belief in a God and Goddess, and follow the tenet of "An' harm it none, do what thou will," which is known as the Wiccan Rede. Wiccan rituals vary widely according to those doing them, and when I followed the Wiccan path, mine were very simple: I rang a bell to purify the space around me and put on some soft music, cast the circle (made a sacred space to pray in), lit incense as an offering to the Goddess and God, and chanted a prayer or poem I had written and then meditated for the duration of the ritual. Others are much more elaborate, using athames (ritual knives for directing energy), cauldrons, long elegant wands, and many candles as part of their rituals. It's all in what works for you (so long as you take necessary precautions with incense and candles and don't burn down the house). A great book about Wicca that covers all of its beliefs, customs, and history is "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham. It is a wonderful resource and will help answer many if not all of your questions. I highly recommend it. ReligiousTolerance.org has a great section on Wicca and I suggest you look at that if you can't get a copy of "Wicca" to read. I also advise you to stay away from the books by Silver RavenWolf; I've read many of them and I feel they don't properly capture all that Wicca stands for, instead getting hung up on spells and all the cool things it offers people, especially teenagers. As for Tarot, the first thing you should do is never take anyone's advice on which deck to buy: It will almost never be the right one for you. There are practically hundreds of Tarot decks available, so search for as long as you need to until you find the one that speaks to you. You will know it when you find it, trust me. I also suggest going to bookstores and new age shops to look at their collections; if you can feel it, it'll be much easier to sense which is the right deck for you. In the mean time, if you would like to learn more about Tarot before you purchase your own deck, LearnTarot.com is a wonderful resource that teaches you how to read Tarot at your own pace and includes traditional pictures of the entire deck, including the major and minor arcanas. Google searches can also help you find websites that can assist you in finding a wide array of decks to look at and choose from.
5. Wicca is a modern polytheistic religion with ritual gnerally centered upon a god and goddess. More info: http://wicca.timerift.net/wiccans.shtml The two big branches are Eclectic versus Traditional. Since you're not being trained in a coven, you're an Eclectic. Any other adjectives that people sometimes slap in front of "Wicca" past that tend to be more confusing than helpful. Rituals are dependent upon the goal. You would need to learn about what you're trying to do. There's not a checklist. Ritual is about what it does to the participants, not in getting the details right. details don't mean anything unless they mean something to you. For history, I would suggest Ronald Hutton's Triumph of the Moon. Book suggestions: http://wicca.timerift.net/book_recommendations.shtml http://wicca.timerift.net/books.shtml Tarot has nothing specifically to do with Wicca, and the ability to read them has nothing to do with which deck you use beyond whether you can relate to the symbolism. A lot of people find the Rider-Waite deck to work well.