Rosewicket Wicca Coven

I've noticed that people through history have been persecuted for what they believe and some forced or killed in order to make a statement. From this I remembered Chritianity and hell, how if your a bad person who hasn't accepted Jesus as your lord and savior  your going to burn in eternal flames. This is where my question comes to light for everyone. Wiccans have no hell but even so-. If you were a good person who was as bright and kindhearted as possible and you knew that you would still get hurt from others who were ignorant of your beliefs would you still be a Wiccan? If so, how would you act if we did live in a time like that? Live your life? And worship? Feel free to take up as much space as needed. Thank you all. 

Most wiccans have come to terms with this question before - it's why many of us choose to remain "in the broom closet" for a while. Ultimatly, somewhere along the line, we are all hurt due to what we believe. By those who share our faith or those of other religions.

To be honest, I have been very hurt by other Wiccans before, but not so much with people of other faiths. Apparently I'm not alone here.

I know some people who have real horror stories. I know someone why was physically beaten in a "ritual". I also know people who have been sexually abused in ritual or outside of a ritual by their "teachers" (sometimes as "payment", and sometimes because it was part of their "learning"), and told is was "normal" or "the way it was done". Most of them were told that the way they were being treated was the way The God and Goddess intended - that they were not permitted to speak against it because it was "tradition", "the way of the coven", ect., ect. And on top of that, lots of people are just mean... I've had my beliefs shot down by "real" wiccans before.

And, by now I'm sure you all know I don't often call myself "Wiccan", but despite all this, I still believe what I believe. I don't believe I can change by beliefs on a whim - they have always followed a general pattern and only changed in execution. Even so, I know that there are flaws and hate within people of any religion, and mine is no different.

That is truely sad. Why did they put you down?-The "real Wiccans" that is.

Well the "real wiccans" are sometimes wiccans who are initiated into covens whos high priests and priestess' come origonally from Gerald Gardners coven, alot of initiated wiccans get annoyed that people who arnt in covens call themselves wiccan and well alot of them get very vocal about this fact, they say that your not wiccan unless your initiated into a coven that origionally descends from Gerald Gardners coven. I was told i wasn't wiccan on another site because im not initiated which i don't agree with even in the slightest people who arn't initiated are refered to as "neowiccans" by alot of initiates which i dont think is right because we all follow the main beliefs as each other, its like saying catholism is the only true christianity well umm sorry about my rant lols.

MoonAlphena hit the nail right on the head - somewhere along the line, there's usually someone there to tell you that you aren't "Wiccan enough".

I have had this happen for many reasons, a few being that (1)I was not initiated into a coven, (2)I had never participcated in coven ritual sex, known as "the great rite", (3) My patron Deity is not an angelo-saxon deity, (4) because I was just a teen supposedly "following a fad", (5) I'm not straight and therefor couldn't appreciate the union of the God and Goddess, (6) I came from a non-wiccan family... and so on, and so forth.

Yeh happened to me quite recently which then had medoubting myself hence the origion of the question i asked about initiation lols but now (thanks to you guys <3) i dont really care what they think.

Plus you can just initiate yourself into Wicca and even besides that its not a mandatory thing if you dont want it to be. As long as you knowin your heart that you want to follow the Wiccan path then oblivion to what other people say who you are and aren't. You identify yourself and what other people say or think is secondary and be taken as lightly as a wisp of smoke.

DeShadara, while I agree with you on a lot of levels here, realize that solitary Wicca is a really new concept. As in, only a few decades. It would be like if a bunch of Catholics said, "Wait! What do we need a Pope and Church for!?" (You can imagine, that wouldn't sit well with lots of people).

And, techincally, "self initiation" is an oxymoron. What we call self-initiation is actually mroe of a dedication or solitary right of passage. By the definition of initiation, you need someone else to initiate you.

I agree that solitary practice is a lot better for some people than coven work (I, for example, have to work as a solitary); but there are advantages and disadvantages to both.

And, if you are a solitary, you have to work with what you've got. You can't be initiated (or at least, not by yourself or by another Wiccan; but perhaps by a divine force, deoending on what you think) but maybe you can do something else which serves the same purpose. You can't do coven type rituals, but maybe your solitary rituals can have the same (but different) benefit.

Methods of learning are hundreds of times as diverse as the paths there are out there.

Oh, I see now. Even so, aren't alot of Wiccans get their start as solitaries? Did you? For me I believe that I'm going to stay solitary because being in a coven with people who could possibly have skills that could hurt me makes me nervous to say the least. Because of that I'm too afraid to join one and due me not really knowing the type of person that they are in private and public  gets me creeped, they could just have a mask to get whatever their goal is with out me knowing. Of course, I know not everyone is like that but because I can't look and tell for myself has me weary.

Traditionally, you would be taught by a coven before being initiated. Solitary work may or may not be required prior. But that has changed somewhat today.

I agree with you in some ways, DeSahadara, I will never be in a coven. But the simple fact is, everyone has the skills to hurt you - not just by coven means. Non-Wiccans are just as capable of magic as anyone. You can learn the terms and specifics, but it's something that many can just "do". Non magical people can curse us just as easily as a high preistess. Not everyone may have a nack for it, but a gifted person can come from anywhere.

Perhaps for teens, it's good thing to be afraid of covens, because many of them are immature and unsafe. But when you get to be an adult, it's easy to spot a bad coven.

Do you have any recomendations for protecting yourself from such harm? Also, is there a way for you to test how protected you are?

How did you start out on your path when you were a beginner if I may ask? What lead you to this road of the path of the wise?

Anyone who has the power to think has the power to hurt you. Mentally, emotionally, physically, or spiritually. If you are afraid of being hurt in such a way, the first way to protect yourself if so strengthen yourself in each of these ways.

If you are emotionally weak, slowly strengthen yourself in that area. The same with your mental, physical, and spiritual health.

To my experience, non-physical protection can work in many ways to strengthen all areas in addition. Such as meditating, energy work, or pathworking specifically designed for protection.

As for a test, I don't believe you need one. If you are weak in an area, you will know it. The world tosses trials at us every day, each time different kinds and different amounts of difficulty, while some are the same each day. And people have the ability to inflict harm on eachother, every single day, and even unintentionally harm can be inflicted on you.

So, if you are weak, then, you will know. Because every day is a day which tests and eitehr improves or decreases your spiritual health. 

What lies behind every spell (in thus case a curse), is the intention (hate, sadism, jealousy, ect.). Every human is capable of these, and in some degree you are faced with each every day (some more than others).

So in short, if you are afraid that a power hungry teenage coven member will curse you, your 'test' is to see how much damage you take spiritually in the daily life, and how you need to improve your spiritual health. That is your first defense. The second is being able to diffuse bad energy, or manipulate it such that there is less of a  threat - but that often goes alont with improving your spiritual health.

But this is all in my experience.

As for how I started - It's tough for me to even tell where I started. I began at my beginning and what lead me here is everywhere that I have been.

I'm sure that's not the answer you're looking for, but my "path of the wise" is different from yours, is different from MoonAlphena's, is different from Kohanna's, is different from Felicia's. All the things that have taught me valuable lessons are the things I naturally gravitated towards and had a thirst to learn from. I've lost count of what I have studied - Herbalism, Natural Living, Wicca, Chakra work, Energy work, respecting the earth, Buddhism, meditating, Hindu, magic, Christianity, healing, mythology, polytheism, theoretical science, divination....

But most importantly, is the way they all fit together. All of these things have respectable similarities and differences, and all of them fit together in a way that made me ultimatly a better person. 

Wow, what a life you have. Its not everyday you meet someone that has studied that many things in any given period of time.

I have another question for you:

I know that in the Wiccan Rede it is said how, and I quote:

..When the Sun has reached it's height, time for Oak and Holly to fight....

What exactly do they mean by that? Who are these Oak and Holly beings and do you perhaps know the folklore behind them?Sorry about battering you with questions but I have an intense thirst for knowledge.

Well i kinda have an idea of what this means. Depending on belief at samhain its believe that either the god dies to be reborn or another belief in that at this time the oak and holly king fight to rule and for the favour of the godess each god is one in the same they both rule for 6 months and die(withdraw) for 6months one from samhain to bealtaine the other from bealtaine to samhain.Well i think thats how it goes anyway i've only read about this once of twice.

oh okay

Okay, the weirdest thing happened to me yesterday. Me and my little brother were arguing because I was looking at TV and i wanted him to go in his room and do his homework so he wouldn't be distracted. We went back and forth and then I got mad and told him one last time to go in his room. Right then and there, believe it or not, the light between us shut off. You could hear as the light switch physically flipped down, turning the light off. So I was wondering, could that have been me or something else?

I really have no clue. Could anything else in the room have possibly turned it off? Does it happen often?

Other than that its pretty much unexplainable.

Well this happens to a friend of mine, she's destroyed like two tvs and a microwave not reallu sure how she wasnt even using them,and another friend of mine she tends to burn out light bulbs alot when shes near them,im not even sure if its coincidence or it really is them but i have heard of other cases like this.

It could have been your own energy shift or a passing spirit or it really is just a weird light. I've had all three, 

Kohanna: No actually this is the first time that that light switch has done that and nothing could have possibly done that sine i was looking in its direction.

MoonAlphena: Wow! Thats like awesomness! So do you think it could possibly be controlled? If so could you tell me how?

FlyAway: Could you tell me of your experiences buddy?