What is a Wiccan? When do you become a Wiccan?

Honestly, I am not sure what the title of this post should be but that sounded good enough to me.  I have been thinking a lot about this lately.  What is a Wiccan?  What is a Witch?  Why would I claim a name for myself that brings fear to the heart of so many.  And then I look around me and I realize that so many more people live the life of a Wiccan than would ever claim to be a Wiccan.

The witches of old were the ones with the knowledge of the earth and the herbs.  They knew which herbs could cure a cold, keep parasitic bugs away, or even mix potions to combat the signs of aging.  The old witch was the one who the villagers would go to when they needed help.

Over the last year I have started diving into herbs and potions in a way I never thought I would be able to.  What has made this more possible is the prevalence today of clean living.  On its face, clean living is about giving up chemicals and embracing natural substances.  Therefore, the number of recipes available to be used as research for household cleaners, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and serums are amazing.

Often when I find these they are associated with a person who has one of two things in mind.  The first is to live frugally.  It is true that the money we spend on commercial products is staggering. These people are simply trying to find a way to make ends meet.

The second are those people who do this because they are Christians who wish to live closer to God's creation.  It is true that God put everything on this earth that we need to survive.  We really don't need  most of the chemicals of science.  Please don't take this to mean I am anti-medicine or anti-science.  I will be the first to take my child to the doctor when they are ill and come away with a prescription if needed.  I love our doctors.  I will also not hesitate to use raw honey to cover a wound or to mix my own cough medicine for them when an over the counter remedy is needed.  I digress...as I read these blogs diving into clean living it amazes me how many Christians are truly practicing the ways of Witchcraft.  They mix potions as well as the rest of us.

At first, I felt a little odd putting my mixes for face cream, eye oil, cleaners and whatnot into my Book of Shadows.  It felt odd but strangely right.  And then as I started reading over them it started to make sense to me why it felt right.  Looking among them, citrus works for cutting grease.  Rosehip is a fantastic facial oil.  Rosemary and lavender have both preservative and cleansing properties.  As I was putting them in my book I was learning.  Learning what these herbs could do and how I could use my garden to live closer to nature and God/dess.

I look out now and I see so many witches who would never call themselves witches.  But it is what they are practicing.  Devout Catholics, Lutherans, any denomination you can imagine; they get together in groups to discuss the latest they have found on how these herbs and oils work.  They mix their potions and share the finer points.  It is amazing to me.

To be Wiccan is not to give up your God/dess or any belief you currently have.  It is simply to live as one with nature and to see the Divine in nature and yourself.  The Bible states that our bodies are the Temple for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).  What more does one needs to see it is not an abomination to believe that God/dess lives in each of us.  When a Christian accepts our Brother Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells within and we become part of our Creator!  We are not equal to but we are a part of our God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  How well the life of the Christian Witch all fits together!

Every person has their own path and their own tolerance level for labels.  But that is all these are is labels.  If the word Witch or Wiccan did not have such a negative connotation how many of these people would embrace the path that others are persecuted for?  And giving the basis, why are they persecuted at all?

Homemade hand soap

I do love making my own products because then I almost know what is in them.  Ny husband sometimes doesn't like them but that never stops me from trying to switch out our commercial brands for ones that are more natural.  A few years ago we bought several foaming hand soaps.  It was just what we could find at the time.  I have wanted to switch over to my own castile based hand soap.  I may now have found a compromise.  We will see how this works:

Fill a bottle 1/3 with liquid castile soap.  Add 10 drops of an antibacterial oil (thieves or tea tree).  Fill the rest with water.

Done.

A Lammas Ritual

Lammas (July 30 at sunset through August 1 at sunset) -

Lammas is the first of the harvest festivals.  The grain is gathered in and loaves of bread are made and shared in celebration.  The God is needing to return to His place in the Heavens while the Goddess remains near the Earth to guide mankind as She may.  He spends more time away from Her and His light is felt less on the earth, but as a protector He always remains.

History -

Lammas was celebrated as a festival of the harvest.  The first of the grain was cut on this day and the first loaves of bread would be made for the coming year.  This has come to be a day to honor the work that our ancestors would pursue in order to sustain themselves through the year.

In the Christian faith some of the loaves of bread that were baked would be brought to the church and dedicated to the church to serve as the eucharist for the coming year.

The intent was always the same, to start to celebrate the fact that the hope of planting is now realized and to revel in the thought that one's family would have enough to eat for the coming year. 

Decorations -

Gardening and harvesting tools, grain, oats, corn dolls, fruit and vegetables, green, red, and yellow

Ritual -

You will need:
a red candle
a yellow candle
a white candle
bread

Set your altar for ritual.  Open your circle, call the corners, and spirits as you normally would for your tradition.

Light the yellow candle and say:
Lord above, we thank you for your continued light as we progress through the year's journey.  It is with your light that our harvest grows and we reap the bounty of our Mother Earth.

Light the red candle and say:
It is within your light that the fire burns, warmth is created.  It is without your light that we move toward the harvest, where green changes to red and orange; the heavenly fires dim and those in our hearths grow stronger.

Light the white candle and say:
It is through the purity of your goodness and creation, one with our Mother Goddess, that we are able to celebrate the harvest and what you have each provided for us.  Together you see us through the year in a cycle unending.  Together you brought forth your Son to guide us along your path.

Take the bread and say:
Your Son, Jesus, chose bread to represent him on earth through the Last Supper.  Again, I/We, dedicate this bread to you and to him.  May it continue to fulfill and sustain through the coming year, bringing me/us closer to you through the coming year.

You may thank and release the spirits and those called forth and close your circle as you see fit and then use the bread as part of your post ritual meal.  Or, you may quietly consume the bread in the circle and meditate on the coming season.

As always, this is merely an outline for a ritual.  Please adapt it to what you need.  If you are comfortable or your traditions allow, I don't see why you couldn't celebrate a full Christian communion within the circle.  It is after all the day to dedicate your bread to the God and Goddess and their Son.