Wiccan study pages
Things every wiccan should know
The following are written pieces about or for Wicca and Wiccans.

Before Time Was

Before time was, there was The One; The One was all & all was The One.

And the vast expanse known as the Universe was The One, all wise, all-pervading, all-powerful, eternally changing.

And Space moved. The One molded energy into twin forms equal but opposite, fashioning the Goddess and God from The
One and of The One.

The Goddess & God stretched and gave thanks to The One, but darkness surrounded them. They were alone, solitary save
for The One.

So they formed energy and gases into suns and planets and moons; They sprinkled the Universe with whirling globes and so all
was given shape by the hands of the Goddess and God. Light arose and the sky was illuminated by a billion suns, and the
Goddess and God, satisfied by their works, rejoiced and loved, and were one.

From their union sprang seeds of life, and of the human race, so that we might achieve incarnation upon the Earth.

The Goddess chose the Moon as her symbol, and the god the Sun as his symbol to remind the inhabitants of Earth of their
fashioners.

All are born, live, die and are reborn beneath The Sun and Moon; all things come to pass thereunder, and all occurs with the
blessings of The One, as has been the way of existence before time was.

(Wicca - Scott Cunningham)

The Witches Creed

Valiente's Creed of the Witches

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.
Mysterious water and fire, the earth and the wide ranging air,
By hidden quintessence we know them, and will and 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 return's and the witches are seen,
At Lammas and Candlemas dancing, On May Eve and old Hallowe'en.
Whe day time and night time are equal, when sun is at greatest and least,
The four lesser Sabbats are summoned, and witches gather in feast.
Thirteen silver moons in a year are, thirteen is the coven's array.
Thirteen times at Esbat make merry, for each golden year and a day.
The power that was passed down the age, each time between woman and man,
Each century unto the other, ere time and the ages began,
When drawn is the magical circle, by sword or athame of power,
In compass beween two world's lies, in land of the shades for that hour.
This world has no right then to know it. And the world of beyond will tell naught.
The oldest of Gods are invoked there, the Great Work of magic is wrought,
For the two are mystical pillars, that stand at the gate of the shrine,
And two are the powers of nature, the forms and the forces divine.
The dark and the light in succession, the opposites unto each,
Shown forth as a God and a Goddess: of this our ancestors teach.
By night he's the wild wind's rider, the Horn'd One, the Lord of the Shades.
By day he's the King of the Woodland, the dweller in green forest glades.
She is youthful or old as she pleases, she sails the torn clouds in her barque,
The bright silver lady of midnight, the crone who weaves spells in the dark.
The master and the mistress of magic, that dwell in the deeps of the mind.
Immortal and ever-renewing, with power to free and to bind.
So dring the good wine to the Old Gods, and dance and make love in their praise.
Till Elphame's fair land shall receive us, in peace at the end of our days.
And Do What You Will be the challenge, So be it Love that harms none,
For this is the only commandment. By Magic of old, be it done!

From Doreen Valiente's "Witchcraft For Tomorrow"


Rule of Three

Ever mind the Rule of Three
Three times what thou givest returns to thee
This lesson well, thou must learn
Thee only gets what thou dost earn!

(Wicca - Scott Cunningham)


The Law

We are of the Old Ways, among those who walk with the Goddess and God and receive Their love.
Keep the Sabbats and Esbats to the best of your abilities, for to do otherwise is to lessen your connection
with the Goddess and God.
Harm none. This, the oldest law, is not open to interpretation or change.
Shed not blood in ritual; the Goddess and God need not blood to be duly worshipped.
Those of our ways are kind to all creatures, for hurtful thoughts are quiet draining and aren't worth the loss of energy.
Misery is self-created; so, too, is joy, so create joy and disdain misery and unhappiness. And this is
within your power. So harm not.
Teach only what you know, to the best of your ability, to those students who you choose, but teach not to those who would
use your instructions for destruction or control. Also, teach no t o boost pride, forever remember: She who teaches out of
love shall be enfolded in the arms of the Goddess and God.
Ever remember that if you would be of our way, keep the law close to your heart, for it is the nature of the Wicca
to keep the Law.BR>If ever the need arises, any law may be changed or discarded, and new laws written to replace them, so long as the
new laws don't break the oldest law of all: Harm None.
Blessings of the Goddess and God on us all.

(Wicca - S. Cunningham)


The Charge of the Goddess

As presented in the Alexandrian Book of Shadows

Listen to the words of the Great Mother, she who of old was also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione,
Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Danu, Arianrhod, Isis, Bride, and by many other names. Whenever ye have need of me,
once in a month and better it be when the moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of me,
who am queen of all Witches. There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not won it's deepest
secrets; to these I will teach things that are yet unknown. And ye shall be free from slavery; and as a sign that ye are truly free
ye shall be naked in your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music, and love all in my presence. For mine is the ecstacy
of the spirit, and mine is also the joy on Earth. Keep pure your highest ideal, strive ever towards it; let naught stop you or turn
you aside; for I am the gracious Goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man. Upon Earth I give the knowledge of
the spirit eternal; and beyond death I give peace unutterable. Nor do I demand aught in sacrifice, for behold, I am the mother
of all living, and my love, is poured out upon the Earth. From me all things proceed, and to me all things must return. Let my
worship be in the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. Let there be beauty and strength,
power, and compassion, honour and humility, mirth and reverence within you. And thou who thinkest to seek for me, know
thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knowest this mystery; that if that which thou seekest thou findest not
within thee, then thou wilt never find without thee. For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning; and I am that with is
attained at the end of desire.

The Horn'd God

Listen to the words of the Horn'd God, the Guardian of all things wild and free, and Keeper of the Gates of Death, whose Call
all must answer: I am the fire within your heart. The yearning of your Soul. I am the Hunter of Knowledge and the Seeker of
the Holy Quest; I who stand in the darkness of light; I am He whom you have called Death. I the Consort and Mate of Her we
adore, call forth to thee. Heed my call beloved ones, come unto me and learn the secrets of death and peace. I am the corn at
harvest and the fruit on the trees. I am He who leads you home. Scourge and Flame, Blade and Blood these are mine and gifts
to thee. Call unto me in the forest wild and on hilltop bare and seek me in the Darkness Bright. I who have been called; Pan,
Herne, Osiris, and Hades, speak to thee in thy search. Come dance and sing; come live and smile, for behold: this is my
worship. You are my children and I am thy Father. On swift night wings it is I who lay you at the Mother's feet to be reborn
and to return again. Thou who thinks to seek me, know that I am the untamed wind, the fury of storm and passion in your
Soul. Seek me with pride and humility, but seek me best with love and strength. For this is my path, and I love not the weak
and fearful. Hear my call on long Winter nights and we shall stand together guarding Her Earth as She sleeps.

The White Goddess

All saints revile her, and all sober men
Rules by the God Apollo's golden mean-
In scorn of which we sailed to find her
Whom we desired above all thing to know,
Sister of the mirage and echo.

It was a virtue not to stay,
To go our headstrong and heroic way
Seeking her out at the volcano's head,
Among pack ice, or where the track had faded
Beyond the cavern of the seven sleepers:
Whose broad high brow was white as any leper's,
Whose eyes were blue, with rowan-berry lips,
With hair curled honey-colored to white lips.

Green sap of Spring in the young wood a-stir
Will celebrate the Mountain Mother,
And every song-bird shout awhile for her;
But we are gifted, even in November
Rawest of seasons, with so huge a sense
Of her nakedly worn magnificence
We forget cruelty and past betrayal,
Heedless of where the next bright bolt may fall.

by: Robert Graves

Journey into Light (1997)

The dancer in the sun sings
with a voice of light
To the Enchantressof soft hue, the Moon.
The wild ones of the forest run free
in realms of pure imagining
as the earth grows old with human kind.
And, we, the inheritors of truths grown cold
gather in a spiraling circle of light
to witness the miracle of transformation
as the Lady and Lord of Life
enter our sacred grove clothed in golden robes of fire
to reveal to us the measure and the truth
that is our ancient birthright:
the right to walk free on earth;
to listen to the stillness of flowers
and humming bees in spring;
to breathe the salt of oceans,
and gather mushrooms in the wet glens at dawn;
and see the white mountains of winter sparkle,
and black sands of summer gleam;
to know and be at peace in the center of this great mystery!