A Source of Knowledge
A few questions about the Wicca and pagan beliefs?
The following is a question asked on Yahoo Answers. The comments reflect the views of the individual and not the website as a whole.
Question:
OK I know this guy, and he is known by my friends and I to be a liar and a fabricator to the very EXTREME (I don’t think he believes he is lying sometimes)…he has again started on what I believe to be another fabrication although some things he has said have some merit, the rest…I’m not so sure so I will ask:
First of all he says he is being taught how to use energy and whatnot the REAL way by a guy who is actually licensed to teach Wiccan/pagan beliefs and stuff…as far as I know there is no such thing as a license to teach this stuff, hence my first question…do you have to be licensed?
Second, he says they are having him write entries in a thing called the Book of Shadows…from the information I have looked up, that is used only by high priests…can he do these things?
Third, he talked about wanting to attending a ritual that has his “teacher” summoning the Norse God Odin into his body…I know pagan/wiccan beliefs deal with nature as well as A central God and Goddess (please correct me if I am wrong) and I do not think Odin is included in this worship…(even if you COULD summon some god into your body, why in the world would he or she choose such an inferior person for it?)
Any other info would be appreciated
As far as I know this guy who I have just recently heard of, is in no way any kind of high priest and more than likely doesn’t know jack of his said “profession”…also he is a friend to someone I know who thinks he is a true vampire and lots of other things that are not otherworldly possible…. (note that I am not a skeptical person nor am I close minded, I am actually very spiritual and believe in a lot of things others may think impossible…most of these people’s thoughts just seem so seriously illogical and imaginary)
Related posts:
- a questions about paganism and wicca?
Is there anyone out here who is looking to learn more about wicca and other pagan beliefs?
Questions on Wicca and other pagan religions?
wicca and pagan: questions about the Theban alphabet?
I am fasinated with wicca and pagan beliefs but consider myself a christian, can you be more then one religion?
| This entry was posted by The Good Witch on April 4, 2010 at 9:26 pm, and is filed under Questions About Wicca. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 5 months ago
1. No, you don’t need a license to teach any religion unless you want to teach professionally, and most people don’t get a license to teach in order to teach Wicca just like people don’t usually get a license to teach to be a CCD teacher. Religion isn’t usually taught in order for the teacher to earn a living. A religious teacher teaches his or her religion simply in order to help newcomers to get a feel for it. It’s a charity, not a profession. There are covens that have a degree system, and the teacher may hold a first, second, or third degree within his coven and may be training the guy you know for initiation into the coven. The teacher wouldn’t need to be the High Priest, he would just need to have permission from the High Priest/ess. The guy you know may mean that his teacher has a first, second, or third degree in his coven.
2. Actually, almost all traditions of Wicca encourage individual followers to keep his or her own Book of Shadows. Some covens may have a coven BOS, but the individual members usually have their own as well. It is highly encouraged for all Wiccans (even Solitaries) to keep a BOS. It is a Wiccan’s personal spiritual journal where a Wiccan writes anything that might be related to Wicca. I keep spells, rituals, personal religious ideas, dreams, tarot readings, and other information in mine. A Book of Shadows is not exclusive to a High Priest or Priestess.
3. Okay, summoning a god into your body sounds a little pretentious because why would a god want to enter the body of a mortal? Wiccans don’t usually summon any spirits, let alone a god. We might invoke or invite a god to join our ritual, but never “summon”, and never into our own bodies. We already posess a divine spirit, there’s no room for another and to assume that one can command the gods is ridiculous. As for whether we worship Odin, it depends on the tradition. I am a Solitary Eclectic, and I honor the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian gods, but believe that all of the old pagan gods exist. The guy you know may be entering a Norse Wiccan coven, and so he would worship Odin. Some Wiccans use ancient pagan gods as their idea of the God and Goddess. He may see Odin as the God and maybe Frigga as the Goddess. The Lord and Lady take many forms, and can be called by many names. Odin certainly fits. I prefer to leave Them nameless and worship the other gods as separate beings who posess a piece of Their divine spirit. To me Venus is not the Goddess, but simply my patron goddess who is also a part of the Goddess. The specific way in which each Wiccan views Deity varies from person to person, and there is nothing un-Wiccan about worshipping Odin either as a separate deity or as the God Himself.
Nothing you’ve said screams liar, although some of it seems off in a different way. I’ve never heard of Wiccans “summoning” any spirit into their bodies except from Christian fundies who claim to be ex-Wiccans. I would definitely question what this guy is learning, but I don’t think that he’s lying…just being misled himself. It also seems that he is showing off a little bit, and that makes him look a little fluffy. He seems far too quick to say that one way is “REAL” over another. He may want to watch himself lest we all think him to be a Fluffy Bunny.
Venus Bless
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
about 5 months ago
You pretty much answered your own question in the first paragraph. This guy in a congenital liar and lives in a fantasy world (he probably does believe at least some of his own lies and/or can’t tell when he’s lying or not). From what little I know about Wicca, from info from this site and a bit of readings here and there, he is out of reality.
I think most of his info is based on bits and pieces and that he has no idea of the context. I think you are right that Odin is not in the Wiccan belief system, Odin is a Germanic god, Wiccan is primarily Celtic. And if he does have a “licensed” teacher, I would have to guess that teacher is as ignorant of the subject matter as your friend appears to be.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
about 5 months ago
1. Actually there are people who get “certificates”, how reputable it is is another matter. Most likely just someone trying to scam. [Just like some people get P.h.D's which they can print out on their computer.]
2. No, a “Book of Shadows” is simply a notebook than you record your magic workings in and whatnot.
3. In some religions (Such as Santeria and whatnot) they do invoke gods to possess them. As far as I know, this isn’t common in Wicca.
His teacher is either faking or is going to get his asskicked at that ritual by trying to do that. Odin isn’t exactly a god you want to call on unless you are actually knowledgeable in what you are getting into.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
about 5 months ago
I am not Wiccan so I don’t know about the license but I doubt there is one. I do know many Wiccans use a Book of Shadows so it’s not just for high priests .
One thing I do know a lot about is Norse. Summoning a Norse God into your body is a very dangerous thing to do and not something that should be fooled with by inexperienced people. Wicca can be very dangerous by the way they pick parts from other religions without really knowing what they are doing. Odin is the chief of the Norse Gods and the god of Death, War, and Wisdom among other things. He is the most powerful of the Norse Gods So he is in no way inferior.
Also people who invoke Odin into their lives very frequently tend to have extremely violent deaths. So it would be advised to only do this if you are sure you can handle the consequences.
Edit in :
My honest opinion is the guy is full of S%&^ and is trying to impress people because he read a book once. So now he has read one book he knows everything and is all powerful.
If he is actually successful at summoning the Norse God Odin into his body I agree with Bones he is in for an asskicking and it wont be pretty. Odin likes people he even wanders the earth and visits people to learn and sometimes share wisdom. Even with that in mind he is not a god you would summon to be a show off or try to control. That kind of thing will probably tic him off and when he gets mad heads tend to roll literally.
He is messing with things he really has no idea of and will get himself or someone hurt. I would steer clear of him totally.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
about 5 months ago
There is no licensing for Wiccans or other pagans. Anyone who wants to teach is welcome to. It’s up to students to determine how knowledgeable and credible the person is.
Anyone can have a Book of Shadows, and actually almost all Wiccans DO have a BoS. For solitaries, its a collection of what they have learned. For coven members, its a copy of coven rituals and teachings, and then might also include personal knowledge as well.
Wiccans as a collective worship a vast number of deities. Many Wiccans only work with a god and a goddess, but its different gods and goddesses for different Wiccans. So he and his teacher might very legitimately work with Odin.
The last claim is a little more hokey, although it’s possible that the teacher actually plans on doing this and your friend is honestly repeating it.
Traditional covens have a ritual called drawing down the moon, in which the high priest draws a goddess into the high priestess. It’s specifically done by the high priest and priestess because they are generally the most trained, most knowledgeable, and most prepared to real with the results.
Lots of eclectics/solitaries claim to do the ritual, but they really have no knowledge of it. They just read the charge of the goddess and expect a goddess to miraculously appear.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
about 5 months ago
I’m going to say that this dude is fabricating most of the story. There is no license, but there are people well versed in Pagan beliefs. Wiccan is slightly different and there may be some sort of “requirements” as it is more about witchcraftry etc. Honestly I could call my notepad with a black cover the “Book of Shadows”, so pppfffftttttt. I think we all have that ability to “channel” a power greater than ourselves, so i do believe this last part.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0