Category: Articles
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Esbats and Sabbats: Methods and Tools for Timing Observances
Wiccan practice is based on eight solar observances, called Sabbats and known collectively as the Wheel of the Year, and 26 lunar observances, called Esbats, each year. Some people hold very strictly to celebrating the moment, or at least the day, of the observance. Others are more relaxed about the time of the gathering, factoring…
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The Witches’ Pyramid: The Theory of Making Magick
The Four Words of the Magus — to know, to dare, to will, to keep silence — were first written by Eliphas Levi, a 19th Century French occultist. Aleister Crowley added a fifth word later on — to go — and the basis of the Witches’ Pyramid was formed. The Witches’ Pyramid wasn’t referred to…
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Dechristianizing Yourself: Making Peace With Unwanted Beliefs
Categories: ArticlesTags: dechristianizationPaganism is largely a religion of converts, and those converts generally come from some sect of Christianity. While it’s true that Wicca and other Pagan paths are now old enough that it’s possible for children and grandchildren to have been raised in the religion or to have come to Paganism from strong folk-religious backgrounds, that…
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Devotional Deities: Choosing or Being Chosen
Categories: ArticlesAs Wiccans, we worship the Goddess and the God, either as archetypal representations of a Supreme Being or as distinct deities on equal footing with other deities from other cultures and timeframes. Depending on the tradition, these deities may or may not have names. In the beginnings of Wicca, the names of the deities were…
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Dechristianizing Yourself: Making Peace with Jesus
Categories: ArticlesTags: dechristianizationOne of the things that is most difficult for new Pagans about leaving Christianity is the expectation that must they leave behind their relationship with the Christian pantheon. But I have found that this method of thinking is counterproductive at best and willfully ignorant at worst. After all, if you’re entering a spiritual movement that…