Wicca Gaia Etc

[Theland]

What underpins the beliefs in Wicca, Gaia etc?
Watching people at Stonehenge for the Solstice, I wonder do they think they have had a revelation or is it all based on wishful thinking?
Is there a spiritual claim and dimension to it?

[woofgang]

Same as underpins any other unprovable belief set

[andy-hughes]

It's wishful thinking, I'm sure you understand that as a basis for belief

[rowanwitch]

For some it is a belief in different deities, for some it is simply the rituals, for some it is just a pathway where the rules make more sense and it isn't necessary to believe in gods at all. For some it makes sense to celebrate the rebirth of the new year at winter solstice, and the equinoxes in the same way non Christians celebrate christmas and Easter (Even the name Easter is pagan in origin Eostre). They say and it is probably close to the truth that there are as many types of paganism as there are pagans,even Wicca has nearly as many faces as there are Wiccans.

I see it as a structure for a spiritual pathway, I dont worship gods or goddesses as I don't believe in them, but I do feel that it helps me connect to the Earth and its rhythms, to live more kindly, and minimise my impact on the planet. We are creatures not solid but of energy, it seems possible to me that it is at that level we are connected with the universe

[Theland]

Thank you.

[nailit]

After my deconversion from fundamental Christianity, I studied Wicca (not to be confused with witchcraft) in some depth...some here will be familiar with the works of the Farrars, Scott Cunningham, Ramond Buckland & others...and while not becoming a follower, Wicca made a lot more sense than Abrahamic/Bible based religions.
I had a friend (Wiccan) who viewed the gods as both archetypes & personified forces of nature. Not persons per se.
The beliefs of Wicca were a world apart from what I had been taught as an evangelical Christian.

[Theland]

What did you learn from your studies?

[nailit]

//What did you learn from your studies?//
I learnt not to take things on faith and to question everything.
;-)

In addition (and maybe thanks to my deconversion from a rigid belief system)
I learnt to just simply BE.

[Theland]

That sounds good.

[Atheist]

Nailit; what is a 'personified force of nature'? Do you mean that we give a natural phenomenon an imaginary personness or immanent beingness so as to make it understandable?

[Theland]

Certainly nothing with creative powers I would guess.

[nailit]

//Nailit; what is a 'personified force of nature'//
Probably take a month of Sundays to explain it properly (took me a while to wrap my head around it)
And not saying that I agree with it either, just saying that I can understand where Wiccans/Pagans are coming from.

[nailit]

//Certainly nothing with creative powers I would guess//
Doesn't nature have creative powers?
Did God create Covid then?

[Atheist]

Thanks, Nailit, I haven't met any but they don't sound too bad. I presume they don't evangelise and execute non-believers? My wife is a Quaker, and they sound a decent bunch - don't even have to believe in Jesus if it doesn't sound reasonable.

[nailit]

//My wife is a Quaker, and they sound a decent bunch - don't even have to believe in Jesus if it doesn't sound reasonable//

The Evangelicals and JWs will be along shortly to tell you that your
wife is hell-bound/destined for destruction in an everlasting torment

[nailit]

Theland, while you are active on this thread
I wish that you would be honest enough to tell us what you think is the eternal destination of unbelievers!

[Atheist]

Nailit, their pronouncements are always so heavily coded in bib quotations that I never really understand what they are all about.
I'm currently rading John Barton's A History of the Bible, and it's a refreshing look at what the book is all about. He is I think a C of E whatsit, but also a very open-minded academic and his discussions of the dates and sources of the multitude of writings which formed the Bib are very interesting to me.

[nailit]

Atheist,
The Bible can be a really interesting read if read in the light of history etc.
The way Fundies read it is abysmal.
There are hundreds of different different churches with a hundred different theologies.

If only people can recognise that the Bible was written by a hundred different people, each with a different theology (idea of god) then it would make more sense.

When I was an Evangelical, Fundy, Christian, it was taught that the Bible was a collection of books, written over 1500 yrs, by over 40 authors and all telling the same story.

It turned out to be no such thing!

[Theland]

Nailit - Covid? That is an example of micro evolution.

Unbelievers? You have answered the question yourself.
Think about it.

[rowanwitch]

When I consider the old deities in my practice it is the idea of what they represented not a sense of the divine. I might meditate on the idea of the mother goddess before starting a creative work as she represented creation as well as birth. This simply brings my mind to a place where creativity can flow. I spend a lot of time "in" the aspect of the crone as I enter that phase of life. I Rarely use rituals but the when I do it is normally to clarify my thoughts and bring focus onto a major task. The process of collecting the things needed, the working out of the right time etc build up to the start of a change process. It is not "becoming" that goddess of god, but allowing the human version of their characteristics to come to the surface.

A human parallel a generally quiet man becomes a confident and able to assume authority when he puts on his police uniform. I
A shy woman who is terrified of strangers who changes when she becomes a nurse

[Theland]

Rowan, that I a truly interesting post.
I think my Christian faith is maturing and changing, and has some aspects in common with your experiences.
For example, having an open bible and lighting a candle, (Light of the world), when praying, (meditating?), is an aid to calmness and connection.
I understand what Nailit is saying about Fundamentalism. Can be a bit of a turnoff.