Basics of Wicca

Wicca

Aleister Crowley declared that magic was "the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will" There exists no dogmatic moral or ethical code followed universally by Wiccans of all traditions, however a majority follow a code known as the Wiccan Rede, which states "an it harm none, do what ye will" (a variation of the Thelemic abjuration put forward by Aleister Crowley: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law; Love is the Law, Love under Will"). Law of Threefold Return which holds that whatever benevolent or malevolent actions a person performs will return to that person with triple force, or with equal force on each of the three levels of body, mind and spirit,^[44] similar to the eastern idea of karma. mirth, reverence, honour, humility, strength, beauty, power, and compassion.

The Wiccan Rede
 Bide the Wiccan Law ye must
In perfect love, in perfect trust.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
An ye harm none, do what ye will.
What ye send forth, comes back to thee,
So ever mind the Rule of Three.
Follow this with mind and heart
And merry ye meet, and merry ye part.

The Rule of Three states that whatever you send forth, whether positive or negative, will come back to thee threefold. Negative thoughts and actions are painful to all. Wiccans believe you should never harm another for that will anger the Lord and Lady and upset the balance of nature.

The Charge of the Goddess
Whenever ye have need of anything,
once in the month and better it be when the moon is full,
then ye shall assemble in some secret place,
and adore the spirit of me,
who am Queen of all Witches.
There shall ye assemble,
ye who are fain to learn all sorcery,
yet have not won it's deepest secrets;
to them I will teach all things that are as yet unknown.
And ye shall be free of slavery;
and as a sign that ye shall truly be free,
ye shall be naked in your rites;
and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in mine praise.
For mine is the ecstasy of spirit,
and mine is also joy on earth;
for my law is love unto all beings.
Keep pure your highest ideals;
strive ever towards them, let nothing stop you or turn you aside.
For mine is the secret door which opens upon the Land  of Youth,
and mine is the cup of the wine of life,
and the Cauldron of Cerridwen,
which is the Holy Vessel of Immortality.
I am the gracious Goddess,
who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man.
Upon earth I give of the spirit eternatl:
and beyond death I give peace, freedom,
and reunion with those who have gone before.
Nor do I demand sacrifice;
for behold,
I am the Mother of all living
and my love is poured our upon the Earth.
I am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon among the stars,
and the mystery of the waters,
and the desire of the heart of man.
Call unto thy soul, arise, and come unto me.
For I am the soul of Nature
who gives life to the Universe.
From me all things proceed,
and before my face, beloved of gods and of men,
let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite.
Let my worship be within the heart that rejoices.
For behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.
Therefore, let there be beauty and strength,
power and compassion, honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.
And thou who thinketh to seek for me,
know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not,
unless though knoweth the mystery;
that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee.
For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning;
and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.

The Fivefold Blessing
Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways
Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar
Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be
Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty and strength
Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names.

Rules of Conduct

• To use the power you must feel it in your heart and know it in your mind
• Be careful what you do
• Be careful who you trust
• Do not use your power to hurt another. What is sent comes back.
• Never use the power against someone who has the power, for you draw from the same well.

Wheel of the Year

Sabbat	Northern Hemisphere	Southern Hemisphere	Historical Origins	Associations
Beltaine, aka May Eve or May Day	30 April or 1 May	1 November	Celtic paganism (see also Celts)	The full flowering of spring. Fairy folk.[68]
Imbolc, aka Candlemas	1 or 2 February	1 August	Celtic paganism (see also Celts)	First signs of spring.
Litha	21 or 22 June	21 December	Possibly Neolithic	Summer Solstice.
Lughnasadh, aka Lammas	1 or 2 August	1 February	Celtic paganism (see also Celts)	The harvest of grain.
Mabon, aka Modron[69]	21 or 22 September	21 March	No historical pagan equivalent.	Autumn Equinox. The harvest of fruit.
Ostara	21 or 22 March	21 or 22 September	Germanic paganism	Spring Equinox and the beginning of spring.
Samhain, aka Halloween	31 October	30 April, or 1 May	Celtic paganism (see also Celts)	Death and the ancestors.
Yuletide	21 or 22 December	21 June	Germanic paganism	Winter Solstice and the rebirth of the sun.

Infants in Wiccan families may be involved in a ritual called a Wiccaning, which is analogous to a Christening. The purpose of this is to present the infant to the God and Goddess for protection. Despite this, in accordance with the importance put on free will in Wicca, the child is not necessarily expected or required to adhere to Wicca or other forms of paganism should they not wish to do so when they get older.

Handfasting is another celebration held by Wiccans, and is the commonly used term for their weddings. Some Wiccans observe the practice of a trial marriage for a year and a day, which some traditions hold should be contracted on the Sabbat of Lughnasadh, as this was the traditional time for trial, "Telltown marriages" among the Irish. A common marriage vow in Wicca is "for as long as love lasts" instead of the traditional Christian "till death do us part".^[75]

Book of shadows: instructions on how to perform spells along with incantations and poems that are sacred to either the keeper(s) of the book or the spells themselves.It is not something you simply pick up, but instead something you create yourself and pass down through generations.