Wicca, there is NO ONE WAY to practice this religion.
You must study for yourself or with the help of others
as much as you can to learn about this religion
and then make your own choices as to how you perceive
this to be and make it suit your circumstances as best as you can.

There are some extremely good books and websites
that you can read and visit and get an idea of how to proceed,
however, let me also warn you that there are many books and websites
which publish nonsense,
so it is up to you to make the distinction of what can and cannot help you.
Let 's begin by giving you a brief historical background of Wicca and what it means.
(continued below)

Le Morte D'Arthur
by Sir Thomas Malory, John Matthews (Editor),
A-M Ferguson (Illustrator)

The Druids : Celtic Priests of Nature
by Jean Markale

Druid Magic
by Maya Ph.D

The Mists of Avalon
by Marion Zimmer Bradley



Wicca
Wicca is a neo-pagan religion based on the pre-Christian traditions
of the ancient Celts from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Its origins can be traced even further back to Paleolithic peoples
who worshipped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess.

Cave paintings found in France
(and dated at 30,000 years old)
depict a man with the head of a stag,
and a woman with a swollen, pregnant belly.
They stand in a circle with eleven mortals.
These archetypes of the divine are worshipped
by Wiccans to this very day.
By these standards, the religion that is now called Wicca,
is perhaps the oldest religion in the world.
We cannot say who founded it since it was not really founded by one man,
culture or religious group, it simply was the nature based religion of the ancient Celts.

In 1951, the laws against Witchcraft were repealed in England.
A man named Gerald Gardner was the first to come into the public eye
with a description of what modern witches were practicing.
His information came from the traditions of a coven
called the New Forest Witches,
and from Ceremonial Magic and the Cabbala.
He began what is now called the Gardnerian Tradition of Wicca.
From Gardnerian came Alexandrian Tradition,
and a host of other offshoots that today number in the hundreds.

A Witch's Guide to Gardening
by Dorothy Jacob

Mastering Herbalism
by Paul Huson

Witchcraft: The Old Religion
by Leo Louis Martello

Religion & the Decline of Magic
by Keith Thomas

Witch blood!: The Diary of a Witch High Priestess!
by Patricia Crowther

Misconceptions of Wicca
For two thousand years the image of the Witch/Wiccan
has been associated with evil, heathenism, and blasphemy.
These ideas have their origin in Christian myths
created to convert members of the Old Religion to that of the new.
By making the Witch into a diabolical character of ill intent and action,
the Christian missionaries were able to attach fear
to a word that had once meant Healer, Wise One, and Seer.
These fears are present to this day.

When we think of the archetypal image of the Witch,
we remember the evil enchantress of childhood tales.
We think of an old, wrinkled hag with a nasty wart on her nose.
We think of hexes, and devils, and foul incantations
chanted around a bubbling cauldron.
While modern witches have been known to
stir up herbal remedies in a cauldron, they
are a far cry indeed from the horrifying
Wicked Witch of the West!

Buckland's Complete Book Of Witchcraft
by Raymond Buckland

Advanced Candle Magick
by Raymond Buckland

Techniques of High Magic:
A Handbook of Divination, Alchemy, and the Evocation of Spirits
by Francis King, Stephen Skinner

Ritual Magic of the Golden Dawn :
Works by S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Others
by Francis King

Witches Do Not Worship Satan.
To believe in Satan,
one must subscribe to the Christian mythos.
Wiccans do not.
Wicca does not have any belief in,
nor do they worship a concept of evil incarnate.
All life is perceived as a constant flow of
positive and negative energies,
which intertwine to create the balance of life.

Witches Do Not Cast Evil Spells.
Modern Witches have a very strict belief in the
Law of Return - The Thrice Fold Law -
" Whatever we send out into our world shall return to us,
so even the most ill-tempered Witch would not consider
doing magic to harm another being.
The spells that we do involve things like:
Healing, Love, Wisdom, Creativity, and Joy.
The "potions" that we stir might be a headache remedy,
or a cold tonic, or an herbal flea bath for the family dog.

Laurie Cabot

"Women have innate talents and exceptional abilities that go unnoticed by our society,
and that women themselves often do not fully appreciate..."
Create the life you seek. . . discover a pathway to the powers within.

Power of the Witch:
The Earth, the Moon, and the Magical Path to Enlightenment
by Laurie Cabot, Tom Cowan

Celebrate the Earth
by Laurie Cabot, Jean Mills (Contributor)

The Witch in Every Woman :
Reawakening the Magical Nature of the Feminine to Heal, Protect, Create, and Empower
by Laurie Cabot

Explore how to:
Increase sexuality and bring into your life, and heart, the love you long for
Uncover hidden strengths and overcome fear
Protect yourself and loved ones from physical harm, deception, or betrayal
Retrieve your inborn talent to heal ailments and diagnose disease
Unleash creativity
Enhance communication skills
Sharpen your intuition about others and the world around you
Enjoy healthy, productive dreams

Wiccan Beliefs

Immanent Divinity:
Wiccans believe that the spirit of God/dess exists in every living thing:
in the trees, the rain, the flowers, the sea, and in each other.
This means that we must treat our peers,
and all the beings of the Earth as aspects of the Divine.
They attempt to honor and respect life,
in all its many and diverse expressions.

Nature:
Wiccans learn from and worship nature by celebrating
the cycles of the sun, and the cycles of the moon.
They look into themselves for the cycles within
that correspond to those of the natural world,
and try to move in harmony with the movement of life.
Our teachers come in the form of trees, rivers, lakes,
meadows, and mountains, as well as other humans
who have walked the path before us.
This belief infers a reverence and respect for the environment,
and all of life upon the Earth.
"We revere the spirits of the elements that create our world.
Air, Fire, Water, and Earth combine to manifest all creation.
From these four elements we gain wisdom,
and understanding of how the universe unfolds.
The rhythms of nature are the rhythms of our lives."
Wiccans attempt to dance in step with the pulse of the Earth.

Earth God Rising: The Return of the Male Mysteries
by Alan Richardson.

Women Who Run with the Wolves
by Clarissa Pinkola Estes Phd

Iron John : A Book About Men
by Robert Bly

Drawing Down the Moon :
Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today
by Margot Adler

Wicca's Views On Other Faiths:
Modern Witches believe in freedom first!
They do not choose to look at their path as the "one true right way,"
but as one path among many to the center.
They do not convert new members to the Craft,
nor do we advertise or proselytize.
They believe that anyone who is meant for this path
will find it through their own search.
Wiccans practice tolerance and acceptance toward all other religions,
as long as those faiths do not preach or commit harm to others.

Afterlife:
Most Witches believe in reincarnation of some sort,
whether it be the Eastern version known as the
Transmigration of Souls
(the spirit incarnating one body after another in an effort
to learn all the life lessons that it can),
or Ancestral Incarnation
(where the spirit and life lessons of the grandfather
transmute to the granddaughter, and so on down the genetic line).
The latter is a more traditionally Celtic approach, but both are accepted.

Sin:
In Wicca, they do not have a specific concept of sin.
There is no heaven or hell that souls will go to
based on their worldly actions.
Wrong-doing is governed and determined
by the individual conscience.
With the belief in the Law of Return,
one's actions will determine one's future.
The individual is therefore responsible for his or her own fate,
based on what he or she chooses to do internally and externally in the world.

Ethics:
Wicca has but one law of action and ethics.
It is called the Wiccan Rede or the Wiccan Law,
and can be found under the Reading Room category of the same name.

"And ye harm none"
covers almost everything that the Ten Commandments do:
don't lie, don't steal, don't cheat, etc.
It encourages us to strive not to harm any living thing -
including ourselves - except perhaps to survive.
Whether this means that you must become a vegetarian
or a pacifist is up to the individual.

The Wiccan Law serves as a guideline to action, not a mandate.
The only law that the Ten Commandments express
that is not covered by the Wiccan Law
is that of marriage and adultery.
In Wicca, love itself is sanctified,
with or without government authorization.
As long as two individuals share a sincere bond of love
that does not harm either party,
it does not matter if they are legally joined,
if they are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or interracial.

Scott Cunningham
(1956-1993)

"Wicca is a joyous religion springing from our kinship with nature. 

It is a merging with the Goddesses and Gods,
the universal energies which create all in existence.

  It is a personal, positive celebration of life.
 And now it is available to all."

Cunningham Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs
by Scott Cunningham

Earth Power
by Scott Cunningham

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
by Scott Cunningham

Earth, Air, Fire & Water
by Scott Cunningham

Living Wicca
by Scott Cunningham



Wicca Leadership vs. Hierarch:
There is no Arch Bishop of Wicca.
There is no one person or organization that determines
the practices and beliefs of Wicca as a whole.
Instead, Wicca is formed of small nebulas groups
and solitaries who are charged with the leadership of themselves.
Wicca is a religion of clergy, not followers.
Each person who seriously pursues the Craft,
whether it be through study in a particular tradition,
or through self-teaching and private learning,
has the choice to become a priest or priestess of Wicca.
Most modern traditions of Wicca offer
a three year program of learning
that will bring the student to the level of
High Priest or Priestess.

Churches and Temples:
Wiccans do not usually have churches
created specifically for the worship of the gods.
Their temple is found in nature, among the creations of the divine.
They meet in a circle that represents the Circle of Life,
and the equality that we share.
There is no head, no top, no beginning and no end.
When necessary, their circles take place indoors in houses, apartments,
or wherever they can find a sacred, protected space.
But ideally, a circle will take place in a grove beneath the stars,
with the silver moon shining down from above.

Magic:
Witches believe in the power of magic to create change,
however the magic is within oneself and the magic is
how to change one's attitude toward life in order
to live in balance with nature.

A prominent Wiccan author named Starhawk (see below)
defines magic as
"the art of changing consciousness at will."
By being in tune with the rhythms of life,
we can create change for ourselves and for our world.
They use herbs, oils, colors, stones, crystals, and other
symbolic materials to represent the change we wish to create.
Wiccans believe that the individual is
responsible for his or her own reality.
If there is something that is not healthy,
or conducive to happiness and growth,
we have the power to change it.
As aspects of the divine, we are each Creator and Creatress,
filled with the power to manifest all that we dream of or desire.

Starhawk

What is Wicca?
Wicca is a forest in the light of the silvery moon...
a glade enchanted by the light of the Faery.
It is the dewdrop on the petals of a flower in bloom,
the warmth of the summer sun on the skin,
the fall of colorful autumn leaves,
and the softness of winter snow upon the Earth.

It is light, and shadow and all that lies in between.
It is the song of the wind, and the tune of the tides.
It is the symphony of life!
To be a Witch is to be a healer, a teacher, a seeker,
a giver, and a protector of all things living and alive.
If this path be your choice, may you tread it with honor and with light!

Spiral Dance, The - 20th Anniversary :
A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess:
20th Anniversary Edition
by Starhawk

Circle Round : Raising Children in Goddess Traditions
by Starhawk, Diane Baker, Anne Hill

The Earth Path : Grounding Your Spirit in the Rhythms of Nature
by Starhawk

The Fifth Sacred Thing
by Starhawk

The Pagan Book of Living and Dying:
Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings, and Meditations on Crossing Over
by Starhawk, M. Macha NightMare

Dreaming the Dark : Magic, Sex, and Politics
by Starhawk

A word of caution.
Wiccans are not permitted to harm others
AT ANY COST OR FOR WHATEVER REASON,
this belief is part and parcel of what we they believe in,
and what is written in the Wiccan Rede.

Here is what the Wiccan Rede states:
The Wiccan Rede
(Long form)

Hear now the word of the Witches,
the secrets we hid in the night,
When dark was our destinys pathway,
That now we bring forth in the light.
Mysterious Water and Fire,
The Earth and the wide-ranging Air,
By hidden Quintessence we know Them,
And we will keep silent and dare.
The birth and rebirth of all Nature,
The passing of Winter and Spring,
We share with the life Universal,
Rejoice in the Magical Ring
Four times in the year the Great Sabbat, returns,
And the Witches are seen,
At Lammas and Candelas dancing,
On May Eve and old Halloween
When daytime and nighttime are equal,
When sun is at greatest and least,
The four lesser Sabbats are summoned,
Again Witches gather in feast.
Thirteen silver moons in a year are,
Thirteen is the Covens array,
Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,
For each golden year and a day.
The power has passed down the ages,
Each time between woman and man
Each century unto the other,
Ere times and the ages began.
When drawn is the Magickal circle,
By sword or athame of power,
Its compass between two worlds lies,
In the land of shades of that hour.
Our world has no right to know it,
And the world beyond will tell naught,
The oldest of Gods are invoked there,
The great work of Magic is wrought.
For two are the mystical pillars,
That stand at the gate of the shrine,
And two are the powers of Nature,
The forms and the forces divine.
And do what thou wilt be the challenge,
So be it in love that harms none,
For this is the only commandment,
By Magic of old be it done.
Eight words the Witches Rede fulfill:
If it Harms none, Do what Thou Will!

Wiccans firmly believe and take this very seriously;
that whatever we do, be that harmful, beneficial or neutral,
it returns to us three times as strong,
therefore, those who chose to do harm knowing this Thrice Fold Law,
will reap the harm they themselves send,
thus a true Wiccan does NO harm to anyone willingly or accidentally,
but one must remember that we are, after all, human,
and as such we can make errors in judgment,
but ultimately, we pay for them.

For further study of the Wiccan Rede please travel to the following:
http://www.witchvox.com/basics/rede.html

Sourced by: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pagan-Wiccan-Religion-3207/New-Wiccan.htm