Wicca

Let me start off my apologizing how long it took me to write this. I am a Soldier in Iraq and I kind of put it on hold for a while. But here is what I thought of the Wiccan Basic Training course. The course was really nothing like I imagined. Some of the lessons I found myself engrossed in the lesson and others almost put me to sleep. However, overall I thought it was a very educational course. I did learn a lot of things that I never knew or even thought about, so it opened my horizons with my outlook of life. The first lesson was probably my favorite. I really enjoyed the basic history of Wicca and it motivated me to learn as much as I could about the subject.

Also being from Salem, Massachusetts I felt as if I was a part of it and could relate better. I considered myself a Wiccan before I took the course, but all knew was the basic beliefs of Wicca regarding the Goddess, nothing about spells, magic, etc. Although I consider myself a Wiccan there are certain aspects that I do disagree with. The first being reincarnation. I believe we each have our own individual soul and it is not recycled in another body. Another thing that I disagreed with is how to set up an altar. I believe that the only important aspect of the altar is the pentagram, the rest is pretty much for show. The pentagram represents all the elements of life and I have one tattooed on my arm, so I consider myself my own altar. I have included a picture of my tattoo.

I know there is no right way or wrong way to set up an altar, but I believe my will is the most powerful tool I could use and with the pentagram behind me there is nothing else I need. Dowsing was a very interesting topic that I knew nothing about, I did not attempt to try it however. I do not want to take advantage of the forces, and will only attempt to dowse if I lose something that dramatically affects my quality of life and would recommend the same to others, however that is just an opinion. Not too many people understand what is capable with the human mind, magic, and the forces of nature, which I guess is a good thing, but over using that power can turn something pure into something terrible.

One thing that blew my mind was regarding Halloween and how on that day we tend to be closer to spirits than any other day of the year. The thing that blew my mind was I have felt that way for years before I ever read anything like that. Spells was maybe the part of the course I was looking most forward to. I always assumed that there were set spells, and didn’t know that we could create our own. I mean it makes sense to me now and I can’t believe that I was so naïve to think otherwise. As far as the course affecting my life, I would say it gave me more knowledge on the subject of Wicca and just knowledge in general. Knowledge is power, the more we know the more powerful we can become. In conclusion the course taught me new things, but did not really change my outlook on certain areas.

Rev Jim Stasio Jr.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers hand-fasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Wiccan Studies

What I learned from The Wiccan Studies Class

I really enjoyed the history portion of the class. It is very interesting to see the evolution of ‘Pagan” type religions. Having no previous knowledge of the evolution of civilized religions vs. pagan religion, you article was a real eye opener for me.

I also enjoyed the section on Dosing. I have seen individuals use this technique before and didn’t even realize it was consider part of the Pagan culture.

As I continued to read the lessons, I realized that a lot of what my mother had taught me over the years, had roots in the Wiccan religion! Boy was my mom surprised. My mom was so impressed by what I told her, she actually went out and bought a book to read up on the subject.

I think the holidays were my favorite part. I was surprised to find that there were other names for the solstice holidays and what the belief was behind each one. In our family we have always acknowledged the solstices and for the summer and winter solstice we always have had a celebration. Now I know how to incorporate what I learned about the holidays into our celebrations.

Thank you for a very informative course.

Rev. Dorothy Torres

http://www.castleministries.com

squeak@gci.net

351-6437 Cell

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Wiccan Studies

First let me say how much I appreciate Lord Starwalker for sharing his knowledge and experience on Wiccan studies.

I've been practicing Wicca for 3 years so the first few lessons were pretty basic.

Which it's nice to know how far I've come.

Most of the books I've read always say this goes here, that goes there on your altar.

Rarely do they say, "you can decide for yourself what feels right" like in lesson 4.

This seems to be a common thread in his lessons. Find your own personal meanings.

The energy work in lesson 8 was a challenge that I relished! the focusing, directing, along with the visualization of energy. His description of the elements is an excellent reminder of the power and awesomeness were dealing with.

Lesson 15 was a favorite of mine. Being a Minister or Reverend, one assumes, the writing a ritual will be a needed skill at some point and I loved it.

I found thinking of it like writing a play helped. For each action there has to be a reason for it to happen. No reason = no action. it all goes back to finding person meaning.

I'm still working on the Dowsing, and it may be some time before it all comes together, but it's the journey that matters.

I highly recommend this course.

Rev Lauren Moloney

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Wicca

An Essay On The Wiccan Course, Things Learned

Dear Lord Starwalker, Dear Amy,

I started the ULC Dr. of Wiccan Studies Program in the beginning of January this year and received the final lesson a few days ago. Despite a little glitch of no consequence in the e-mail system, the course was very well delivered and very enlightening.

It is clear that Lord Starwalker is well-learned on the subject of Wicca and Paganism, and he is very good at sharing this information. I appreciated his down-to-earth writing style, which could describe wide range of fairly difficult concepts in a straight forward way. He went directly to the point, making risks and potential pitfalls clear.

I liked the way the course was structured, moving from the history to the philosophy, to the mythology and theology, then to rituals only at lesson 15, and to spells only in the end. I find that a lot of books on Wicca tend to pass very quickly on the more spiritual aspects of the religion and dedicate most of their teaching to rituals. This in my opinion leads people to focus too much on the magic and not enough on spirituality, philosophy and theology. Not so in this course!

I have read quite a number of books on Wicca and Paganism, and this course was at the same time covering a number of topics I had already read on and meditated about, but it also very often put them in a new light. I liked the advices on rituals in lesson 16 and 17. You don't read very often about them, and they are important things to think about when performing rituals. I also found lesson 21 on ethics very important.

The lesson on herbalism and herbology were interesting, but I think that I would need much more reading before I delve into more than only the most risk-free basics. Lord Starwalker did well to include a warning at the beginning of the lesson.

The lessons on the holidays and the sabbats and esbats were very good. They put them into perspective from a historical and practical point of view, and I learned quite a lot there. It is true that the content of the Wiccan holidays can and does change from tradition to tradition and that their description is often different, but I think it is important to know the origins and reasons of celebration to be able to really know what we are doing at that time.

I have not been able to practice the lessons as much as I would have liked, but I have filed them all for further reference and I am sure I will go back to them regularly.

I thank you very much for your time and efforts. Again, this was a great experience. May the Goddess bless you and everyone at ULC.

Baudouin Heuninckx

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers hand-fasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Wiccan Studies

What I learned from The Wiccan Studies Class

I really enjoyed the history portion of the class. It is very interesting to see the evolution of ‘Pagan” type religions. Having no previous knowledge of the evolution of civilized religions vs. pagan religion, you article was a real eye opener for me.

I also enjoyed the section on Dowsing. I have seen individuals use this technique before and didn’t even realize it was consider part of the Pagan culture.

As I continued to read the lessons, I realized that a lot of what my mother had taught me over the years, had roots in the Wiccan religion! Boy was my mom surprised. My mom was so impressed by what I told her, she actually went out and bought a book to read up on the subject.

I think the holidays were my favorite part. I was surprised to find that there were other names for the solstice holidays and what the belief was behind each one. In our family we have always acknowledged the solstices and for the summer and winter solstice we always have had a celebration. Now I know how to incorporate what I learned about the holidays into our celebrations.

Thank you for a very informative course.

Rev. Dorothy Torres

http://www.castleministries.com

*******************************

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Wiccan Studies

I found that the lesson on History was interesting especially since the writings of the “Malleus Malificarum” and the writings of Jean Bodin “De la Demonomanie des Sorciers”, these lead us up to the Infamous Spanish Inquisition of the times (1227-1792) and the “Burning Times” (1550-1600 C. E.

Were it not for Gerald Gardner, modern paganism would not exist. As is

pointed out, he wrote several books on the subject of Witchcraft and paganism in

general with such titles as, “High Magic’s Aid” and “The Witches’ Sabbats”.

Gerald Gardner also wrote “Witchcraft Today”,”Gardner’s Book of Shadows”,

“The Meaning of Witchcraft”, and “Goddess Arrives”.After that the “Neo Pagan”

movement began.

In Lesson 9 on Reincarnation I disagree on several points, First, I’d

like to point out that I know of certain Archangels, namely , Michael, whom I have

seen after my second wife went through her transition and was ascended to be as

she is now, an Angel by the name, ‘Barbarailu”, she is my “Twin Flame”. We were

both created out of the same mold, the “Cosmic Ovid”. Due to our joint Karma, we

were separated from the Godhead, where she began her life here on Planet Earth as

the beautiful daughter of Dioscorus, papal legate to Justinian I at Constantinople.

With the help of Origen, she was later converted to Christianity. She was beheaded by her father c. 235. Barbara was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as St. Barbara. We will again be joined as “one” in the near future. So that you can understand, we are connected and intertwined, intermingled, so to speak, quantitatively speaking. I, myself started my life here on Planet Earth during the time of Seti I, Pharoah of Egypt and father of Ramesses II. This was during the time of Moses. Later, in another lifetime, we again were brought together as husband and wife (c.e. 1979). That is why I know of reincarnation. I remember at least three past lives. I, also was St. Gordanus. c.1190-1237) This time around I know that I must strive to balance my karma. Angel Barbarailu has already balanced most of her karma. All that is needed is 51%.

Lesson 10 on the holidays was quite interesting. I’ve discovered many things about the different holidays or Sabbats. I’ve discovered the traditional names for the Sabbats and Esbats and in lesson 12 I’ve discovered the names of the 13 moons during the course of a year.   In lesson 13 on Wiccan Mythology, I discovered the chart of mythical entities. Also I discovered the Welsh Myth of Pwyll. It was quite interesting. Lesson 14 is about more Mythology.

Lesson 14 on Rituals is very interesting. There are so many rituals out there I will not attempt to write my own without plagiarism. Skipping now to lesson 18 on herbalism.

Lesson 18 - Herbalism was very interesting. I learned abot many different herbs and their uses. I recently read about another herb not mentioned here. It is one called  “Ayahuesca”, a Peruvian plant that causes dreams. It is used by peruvian Shamans.  This is mentioned in the book “The Eagles Quest” by Dr. Fred Alan Wolf. Here, Dr. Wolf attempts to compare Shamanism with Quantum Physics.

Skipping now to Lesson 22 on Spells. There are a lot of free spells that I can uncover, for instance, Llewellyn gives a - Spell - a - Day. I have found out that a majority of these do not work properly. One must work out each spell on their own, and if it works , then it may be recorded in your own Book of Shadows.

Lord Starwalker gives some good advice on perfecting the spells. I have gone through the consecration of the tools and took the self initiation ritual as presented be another source.

This concludes my Final Essay on the Dr. Of Wiccan Studies Course.

Rev. Dr. Gordon S. Reed

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics, as well as courses in Mystical Christianity, Buddhism and Comparative Religion. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

Wiccan Studies

When you say you are Wiccan, people look at you like you are possessed, you are the devil itself. So many people have tainted the name of Wiccans' that now people just believe it is bad. They get it mixed up with being goth, satanism and even a few emo. Although some Wiccans may be Goth or Emo (none are religions) we are not Satanic.

Wicca is about, in short, nature, karma, lunar cycles and your believing. We go by the rule that anything you do will come back to you three fold. That is the karma part. We treat others how we would like to be treated. We do believe in a higher power, some believe in God, some people in many Gods, like the Greeks did. There is nothing wrong with that since so many people before us thought that way.

Emo and Goth are not religions, so you can find some Wiccans that are these. Which is fine. But being Satanic is not the same as being Wicca. Satanism is another religion all together.

Satanism has several definitions. You can be the hardcore one, that does sacrifices, harming others, and living for Satan of the Devil. But a newer kind of Satanism is coming out which is less hardcore, it's living for oneself. Where 'Satan' means me. So Hail Satan would mean Hail Me. They belive that in fact, that the human being is a power all in itself and yet is nothing more than another form of animal.

As with any religion there are the good and bad Wiccans. Or Light and Dark magic. Light magic is anything from helping people, finding something, or anything that doesn't cause harm. Dark magic is anything that causes harm or goes against the person's will.

Wicca is dealing with nature, most of the spells we use are done outside, at a cleansed space (our altar). Some spells even go down to what day they are used at, or what lunar cycle it would be good at, whether on the full moon or the new moon, Monday or Friday. Even during Winter or Spring.

We also have our celebrations, Yule (which some say is the exact same as Christmas), the Equinox, and most are the same as our regular holidays. We thank Mother Earth for allowing such a good harvest for the fall, we thank the Earth for a good spring. We thank nature, which most people over look and take for granted.

We are not evil, we are not dark. We are one with nature, our energies, and Earth. We do believe in God/Gods, fairies and angels. And karma, so we do not do bad unless we want to to come back to us three fold.

Misconceptions

For two thousand years the image of the Witch has been associated with evil, the devil, and blasphemy. These ideas have their origin in Christian myths created to convert members of the Old Religion to that of the new. By making the Witch into a diabolical character of evil and action, the Christian missionaries were able to attach fear to a word that had once meant Healer, Wise One, and Seer.

Witches Do Not Worship Satan

To believe in Satan, one must believe and agree with the Christian dogma. We do not. Wicca does not have any belief in, nor do we worship a concept of evil incarnate. You can't worship something you don't believe in.

Witches Do Not Cast Evil Spells.

(Most)Modern Witches have a very strict belief in the Witches/Wiccan Rede. Whatever we send out into our world shall return to us. The spells that we do involve things like healing, love, wisdom, creativity, and joy. If you see a website, or meet someone claiming to be a witch yet they talk about casting evil spells and hexes, THEY ARE NOT REAL WICCANS.

Are Male Witches Warlocks?

No. There is no such thing as a warlock in witchcraft. This misconception is one of the most popular, it seems. In fact, a warlock is supposedly a "wizard" (according to the dictionary) and in fact, means a traitor, or a devil. It DOES NOT mean a male witch. A male witch is in fact, a witch--just like the female witches.

Rev. Sean Cooper

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.