The term Wicca today encompasses a wide range of beliefs, but, like other religions, Wicca has central foundational points shared by most self-identifying Wiccans.
In general, Wicca:
- Is polytheistic, acknowledging the existence of multiple deities.
- Focuses upon dedication to a pair of patron deities, a god and a goddess.
- Is a modern religion developed in the 1940s by Gerald Gardner and which became public in the 1950s.
- Was influenced by a variety of sources including pre-Christian religious beliefs, 19th century Romantic ideals, and various aspects of ceremonial magic.
- Views the spiritual and material worlds as overlapping: the gods are not distant beings but entities whose presence we can experience.
- Stresses personal experience with divinity and developing greater harmony with the larger world.
- Involves understanding the natural cycles of the planet, particularly the yearly solar cycle and, to a lesser extent, the monthly lunar cycle.
- Views the universe as the product of complementary opposites in a system roughly akin to the Chinese concept of yin and yang. These opposites are often considered male and female forces, a practice which can be found in numerous other schools of thought, including for many centuries in Christian Europe.
- Emphasizes balance over extremism.
- Commonly incorporates the platonic elements of Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Spirit into its rituals and worldview.
- Teaches that we all are ultimately responsible for our own actions.
- Encourages us to consider the repercussions of available options before taking action.
Can a person still follow Wicca if they’re atheist? Like I believe that there is some sort of divine power in nature but I don’t believe it is in the form of a deity.
Yes, because Wicca is based in right practice not right belief.
No, I don’t believe so. While Wicca is a flexible religion, you can only change so much before it isn’t Wiccan. As you can see in the first point of this article, members of Wicca acknowledge the existence of deity. So, in my opinion, I don’t believe that you can be Wiccan by the information you gave. Also, you probably aren’t an atheist either, as they believe there is no Devine power in the world. There might be a different religion that better fits you, but I don’t think that religion is Wiccan.
I find myself constantly questioning whether or not I could be “considered” wiccan. Thus far I’ve found no other religion that accurately portrays what I believe, and I’ve dived into some pretty obscure stuff.. I see “divine power” as energy, and that everything is energy that may be differentiated, just like how cells start in bone marrow and when they leave they can differentiate to blood cells or liver cells or whatever. While I can accept gods or goddesses to personify the energy differentiated, I don’t necessarily believe it IS a god or goddess. Or perhaps that the god or goddess is the energy. Also, the only way I can see the God and the Goddess could be the two ways that energy can be manipulated or directed… the “good” and the “bad” way. I suppose I don’t really know where I belong, either.