The Wicca acknowledge a supreme, divine power, unknowable, ultimate, from which the entire universe sprang. In accordance with the principles of nature, the supreme power was personified into two basic beings: the Goddess and God. Every deity that has received worship upon this planet exists with the archetypal God and Goddess. The complex pantheons of deities which arose in many parts of the world are simply aspects of the two. Every Goddess is resident within the concept of the Goddess; every God in the God. In the past, when the Goddess and God were as real as the Moon and the Sun, rites of adoration were unstructured – spontaneous, joyous union with the divine. Later, rituals followed the course of the Sun through its astronomical year (and thus the seasons) as well as the as the monthly waxing and waning of the Moon. The Goddess and God are equal; neither is higher or more worthy of respect. Religion based entirely on feminine energy is as unbalanced and unnatural as one totally masculine in focus. The ideal is a perfect balance of the two. The Goddess and God are equal, complementary.
As the Wicca know her, the Goddess is often of three concepts; the Maiden, Mother and Crone, symbolised in the waxing, full, and waning of the Moon. Many symbols are used to honour and represent Her. A few include; the cauldron, sup, labrys (double headed axe), five-petalled flower, mirror, necklace, seashell, pearl, silver and emerald. Her creatures are varied and numerous. A few are the rabbit, bear, owl, cat, dog, bat, goose, cow, dolphin, lion, horse, wren, scorpion, spider and bee. The Goddess has been depicted as a huntress running with Her hounds; a celestial deity striding across the sky with stardust falling from Her heels; the eternal Mother heavy with child; the weaver of our lives and deaths; a Crone walking by waning moonlight seeking out the weak and forlorn, and as many other beings. But no matter how we envision Her, She is omnipresent, changeless, eternal.
The God is neither the stern, all-powerful deity of Christianity and Judaism, nor is He simply the consort of the Goddess. God or Goddess, they are equal, one. We see the God in the Sun, brilliantly shining overhead during the day, rising and setting in the endless cycles which governs our lives; as the tender of wild animals – the Horned God – connected to the beasts; the fully ripened harvest, intoxicating wine pressed from grapes, golden grain waving in a lone field, shimmering apples hanging from verdant boughs on October afternoons. The God’s domains include forests untouched by human hands, burning deserts and towering mountains. Symbols used to depict or to worship the God include the sword, spear, candle, gold, brass, diamond, the sickle, arrow, wand, trident, knife and others. Creatures sacred to Him include the bull, dog, snake, fish, stag, dragon, wolf, boar, eagle, falcon, shark, lizard and many others. With the Goddess he also rules and celebrates sex. The Wicca don’t avoid sex or speak of it in hushed words. Since it brings pleasure, shifts our awareness away from the everyday world and perpetuates our species, it is thought to be sacred. The God lustily imbues us with the urge that ensures our species’ biological future.
There are some who say we are worshipping Satan. Not that we know it of course; Satan is too tricky for that, according to these experts. Such people can’t believe that any religion but their own can be meaningful, fulfilling, and true to its adherent. So if we’re worshipping the Goddess and God, they say, we’re denying all good and are worshipping Satan, the embodiment of all negativity and evil. Such beliefs have incalculable bloodshed and the rise of the hideous concept of the holy wars. The basis of this misconception seems to be the concept of a pristine, pure, positive being – God. If this deity is the sum of all good, worshippers believe that there must be an equally negative one as well. Thus Satan. The Wicca don’t accept such ideas. We acknowledge the dark aspects of the Goddess and God as well as the bright. Yes, the Goddess and God have some dark aspects, but this needn’t scare us off. Look at some of the manifestations of Their powers. From a ravaging flood comes rich soil in which new plants thrive. Death brings a deeper appreciation of life to the living and rest for the transcended one. “Good” and “Evil” are often identical in nature, depending in one’s viewpoint. Additionally, out of every evil some good is eventually born.