When trying to reason out personal tradition with regards to Wicca, one of the essential points to ponder involves deity concepts. SC states that no religions would exist if not for notions on higher beings. Throughout human history cultures identify parts of their world as Gods and Goddesses and develop these amazing stories which eventually become myth. These stories provide a base for philosophy, art, literature, morality---in essence: life!
A sticky wicket in this chapter surrounds the idea of Wicca as strictly or almost completely limited to Goddess worship without the God. SC ascribes this problem to previous experiences with other religions which portray a nasty, vengeful and cruel God who will damn a human soul. I believe that this may well be a hurdle for some people. Personally, I did not. Being raised Catholic could easily make one see God as less than compassionate. However, one must sort out the human interpretation and invocation from the personal truth. While it is fairly apparent that in order to control the masses God’s wrath provides a delightful weapon for those who choose to wield it. This concept however has brought nothing but devastation of the human soul and experience. It harms not one, but many. One need simply read headlines about infidels and suicide bombers and religious groups causing pain and suffering at inappropriate moments like funerals to see how religious belief can be twisted into something horrible. This is the premise of SC’s point about the difficulty in shifting to a different image of a God.
This is where personal connection to the deity and personal responsibility for belief enters in. I found asking myself the deeper questions like—do I truly accept that Catholicism is the only way and all these other people will be condemned to Hell? Yikes! That’s a frightening notion. Then I had to ask myself if we as Catholics only believe in God, why am I praying to saints or the Virgin Mary? Hmmm. Then there’s the question of religion for manipulation and the hypocrisy of it all. Go out and build missions to spread the word of God and if the other people don’t submit, kill them. Lovely. If you don’t do this and this and that you will go to hell. The Devil will come and get you and take you away to the fire and brimstone for eternity. It’s a wonder I didn’t run away sooner when I really began to consider the words that I learned to say by rote from the time I was a kid. I know that Catholicism isn’t the only culprit here—please don’t misunderstand. This is my experience though so I can speak to it from that point of view and thereby see the point SC is making. I think people from other world religions could see some aspects at play in their religions as well. It even happens in Wicca.
A few years ago, I heard the story of a parent who described herself as Wiccan. In a meeting with the child’s teacher the parent actually said, “If you don’t start towing the line I’ll curse you and you know what that means.” Is that not tantamount to child abuse in the name of religion? Yes! Does it hurt the view and acceptance of Wicca? Absolutely! Does it happen too often across the world in many cultures and by many religions? Sadly yes. It horrifies me the things that people do in the name of religion.
However, I believe strongly that despite all the ugliness that religions can be beautiful.
I remember that when I was a little girl—not much more than a toddler—that I was very ill. I had a terribly high temperature and they thought it was meningitis and some said cystic fibrosis and the doctor was worried that if my temp got higher I’d have to be admitted to the hospital. My mother was of course very anxious. She was rocking me in the chair to soothe me and at some point during the night I reached out toward the wall in front of us and said, “Baby has no shoes, Mom.” Now Mom got a little worried. What the heck is her daughter on about? There wasn’t anything on that wall except a couple candles in holders and a large stereo from the mid 1960’s up against it. But I kept on about the baby without shoes and couldn’t we give him shoes. My mom kinda freaked. I eventually settled and fell asleep. Then my fever broke. My mom reflected on the events of the evening and reached the logical conclusion provided by her faith which was that I had seen a vision of the Virgin Mary holding Christ and that is why I healed so suddenly. This explanation brought her great comfort and reinforced her religious views. It brought me comfort as well when I was older and she told me the story. I thought that somewhere in Heaven my file read “Watched over by God” and this was some kind of badge that would get me passed Saint Peter when the time came. Now I know it very likely was a hallucination of some kind brought about by the high fever. However, my mom’s explanation was perfectly logical according to her religious views and I believe it demonstrates the aspect of God and Goddess that should be remembered: love.
Now, that’s not to say that the Goddess and the God are without darker aspect. The cycle of life shows us that we are mortal and we will die. However, our loved ones will continue to live and love. A storm or earthquake may devastate a population, but life will go on through the love and hard work of people. Saying that someone died because of God’s wrath or that a culture was destroyed by a tsunami because of God’s punishment violates the simple truth of nature. Death and devastation are part of the cycle. That’s life.
In Wicca, we cannot have life without the interaction of both the Goddess and the God. Life depends on that connectedness of all livings beings. I do not think seeing Them in physical manifestation is necessary for me to accept a Goddess and God. I don’t feel I need to see them physically in order to follow my Wiccan ways. I see Them everywhere and feel Them everywhere. The complexity of life on Earth would not be so exciting if not for the interplay of biology for reproduction, regeneration or exploration. In whatever aspect you know the Lord and Lady you need only look to nature to see Their limitless dimensions. Sure—call on whichever aspect you need for that particular moment. Learn about Goddess and God mythology and belief across cultures. However, to ignore one in favor of the other is not completely in keeping with Wicca. Perhaps praying to Them to help you feel both of Their presences in your life or casting spells to aid in healing from past teachings that caused you harm are necessary, but exclusion of one or the other contradicts the basic framework of what Wicca is. The idea of male and female, the masculine and feminine, exists everywhere in nature from animals, to plants, to sponges and to microbes that provide the building blocks for life. To deny either the Goddess or the God denies the very essence of Wicca and nature itself.
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