Wicca Teachings
An Introduction and Practical Guide
Tony Bell
To Tony Anderson, who has stood by me through everything and gives me inspiration every day
To Deborah Buchan, who was a guiding light to me
To Linda O’ Connell, a proper Salem Witch who has helped me so much through the years
And to Richard W Hardwick, a very talented writer and publisher who has made this book and my dream possible
Lapwing Books
31 Southward
Seaton Sluice
Northumberland NE26 4DQ
Copyright 2014 Tony Bell,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by Lapwing Books
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-0-9569-5553-1
The right of Tony Bell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior permission of the publisher.
A catalogue reference for this book is available from the British Library.
Interior artwork by Fanni Károly
Hear now the words of the witches
The secrets we hid in the night
When dark was our destiny’s pathway
That now we bring forth into light
The Witches’ Creed, Doreen Valiente
Introduction
When I first decided to become Wiccan I started to read books on the subject and quickly learned there were many conflicting views and stories about Wicca. There were bulky academic books that were hard to understand or fluffy fun spell books. There were books about covens, books about solitary witches, books about the history of Wicca and books about magic or witchcraft. But there were no straight to the point books that told you how to live your life as a Wiccan and exactly what Wicca was and what Wiccans believed. I became frustrated and sought answers online, joining many Wicca websites and forums but I found people there very impatient and quite harsh to new Wiccans wanting to learn. There was a suggestion that those new to the belief were lazy for not doing their own research, which in turn often led to those in the know being reticent to help. As well as becoming more and more frustrated at the way people coming into Wicca were being treated, I also encountered a great number of sites promoting ‘The Dark Arts’, something which is definitely not Wicca. Others stated, as a matter of fact, that Wicca was a new religion created by Gerald Gardner; again not true.
Throughout the following years though, I learned all I could about Wicca. I found many excellent books and websites, made numerous Wiccan friends and talked to some very learned scholars on the subject - until I acquired a particularly defined view of all Wiccans and the beliefs they held.
I started my own facebook page, Wicca Teachings, dedicated to teaching Wicca to new and experienced Wiccans alike. It’s a page where I gather all the knowledge I’ve learned over the years and simply share it with others. The response has been phenomenal; over two million views per day. just six months later. It’s now a community where Wiccans from all over the world, new and old alike, make new friends and help each other out. But many Wiccans are as frustrated as I was years before. I received hundreds of messages every week stating they’d read all the books and drudged through the many sites and still they did not know what it was to be Wiccan. Eventually, I’d been asked so many times to write a book myself, that I did – and so here it is.
I was raised in a Christian family in the North-East of England. My grandmother was of a much stricter faith than the rest of the family; going to church three or four times every week. As a child, I would go with her most times. The rest of the family only went to church for weddings, christenings or funerals but I’ve always felt very spiritual. From a young age though, I started questioning the church and its teachings. Something never sat right with me. When I prayed to God I would end my prayer to God and Mother Nature, not realising at the time I was actually praying to a God and Goddess. As a teenager I moved away from Christianity and looked into different religions; Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism amongst others. I came upon Wicca by accident, or so it seemed at the time. A friend knew I was spiritual, interested in witchcraft and believed myself to be psychic. She bought me a book on Tarot which I loved, and inside this book the author mentioned Wicca, so I took a book out of the library and it immediately hit me that this is what I was and had always been without even knowing it. I had always been deeply in tune with nature and the seasons. I knew there was a God - and a Goddess, and I believed very much in magic. It hit home with me and I have never looked back since.
I’ve since realised of course, that all those old religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam are actually steeped in a much more ancient Pagan history. And I now know that the roots of Pagan beliefs were taken and warped by these supposedly traditional religions that then cut entirely the root of the divine feminine and replaced it with male control and fear.
I do not tell you this to cause division and anger. I wish peace on everyone, of every faith. But we must realise that our religions run much deeper than we are taught. Our Pagan ancestry goes back to the beginning of time, and all religions lead back to the Gods and Goddesses of old. Once we stop shouting about the differences in our religions and start shouting about how we are the same it will bring peace. When people stop being lied to and truths are revealed we will unite as a common human consciousness.
Wicca can lead the way towards a more peaceful and loving world, into a return to nature, from whence we came and are all still part of. This book cuts out the unnecessary and tells you what you need to know. It tells you what Wicca is and what it is not. I teach Wicca in a very easy to learn way and I will show you what it means to be Wiccan and how to live your life day by day as a Wiccan. I will show you the tools to perform magic spells and potions on your own so you will never need to buy another spell book again. This is exactly the kind of book I needed when I first decided to become Wiccan. And if you’re wondering about Wicca yourself, or different teachings and theories have led you to become confused, then I’m guessing this is exactly the book for you too.
Thank you for reading and Blessed Be.
“The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity.”
Albert Einstein
What is Wicca?
You do not need an altar to be Wiccan. You do not need a cauldron, a broomstick or a wand. In fact, you do not need anything whatsoever to be Wiccan. These items do not have anything to do with the spiritual aspect of Wicca; they are simply material props that help us with our magical workings. You do not need to be a part of a coven and you do not need to be initiated into Wicca, even though many covens or groups follow that procedure. If you believe and hold the God and Goddess in your heart, if you are at one with nature and the elements and if you believe there is magic in everything, then you are Wiccan. It really is as simple as that.
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