Magic and Religion
talex...@aol.com
I send to you possitive earth energies, I send to you acceptance of
yourself and your path. Good thoughts to all that visit and may they
leave with a smile and warm feelings.
BLESSED BE to all who come.
>From the primitive beginings arose all magic and religion, including
Wicca. Dispite current controversy as to the "antiquity" of Wicca, it
is spiritually descended from primal shamanism. Though refined and
changed for our world, Wicca still touches our souls and causes ecstasy
- awareness shifts - uniting us with deity. Many of the techniques of
Wicca are shamanic in origin.
Wicca, therefore, can be described as a shamanic religion. As with
shamanism, only a select few feel compelled to enter its circle of
light.
Today, Wicca has dropped the ordeals of pain and the use of
hallucinogens in favor of chanting, meditation, concentration,
visualization, music, dance, invocation, and ritual drama. With these
spiritual tools, the Wicca achieve a state of ritual consciousness
similar to those attained by the most brutal shamanic ordeals.
Alternate states of conciousness changes in consciousness states aren't
unnatural, but are a deviation from the "normal" waking consciousness.
Wicca teaches that nature includes a broad spectrum of mental and
spiritual states of which most of us are ignorant. Effective Wiccan
ritual enables us to slip into such states, allowing communication and
communion with the Goddess and God.