Another Look at the Wiccan Core Beliefs
In my first essay for Suite 101, "What is Wicca? What is Witchcraft?", I used a set of 10 "Core Beliefs" to help me define Wicca. As I stated in that article, folks on a message board I frequent, The Cauldron, compiled this list. (A link to The Cauldron board can be found on my Links page, in the Message Boards/Email Lists category.) The list came from a discussion on how to define Wicca without describing what Wicca is not. It's a difficult thing to do, because there is no one codified set of Wiccan beliefs set down in authorized scripture somewhere.
I wanted to revisit that list now, to elaborate on the points described and talk a little about how they do or do not work with my own eclectic Wiccan practices. Wicca is a dynamic, evolving religion, and as such there have been (and will continue to be) a lot of growing pains. It's very difficult to put together one specific set of criteria that can serve as the benchmark for what's Wicca and what's not, because of this evolution. I can look at what someone else is doing and say whether or not I feel it's Wicca, based on my definitions of what Wicca is and what the community around me does, and someone else can look at it and completely disagree with me.
At times, I wish there was someone with a final say on what the basic tenets of Wicca are. At other times, I'm in awe of the amount of diverse practices in the Wiccan community because we don't have that. At any rate, the "standards" I present here are more or less a list of common features found in various types of Wicca. You may not agree with all of them. If not, sit down and figure out why. How much of your practice of Wicca is the same as what I write about here? What's different? Why is it different?
I consider myself an "Eclectic Traditionalist Wiccan". While some of what I do is eclectic, the roots of my practices are influenced by the Traditional Wicca (also commonly known as British Traditional Wicca) set down by Gardner and Valiente and other early Wiccans. I often describe it as putting my own unique skin over a standard framework.
[Please note that when I refer to using Traditional Wiccan practice I refer only to what's been published in the early days of Wicca. I'm not currently an initiate or student of a BTW coven. As most BTW lore remains oath-bound to those within those groups, it's really unknown how alike those early published works are to the current workings of BTW groups. If you'd like more information on British Traditional Wicca, try the BTW FAQ at http://newwiccanchurch.net/faq.htm or seek out a BTW group in your area.]
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