INFORMATION ON WICCA FOR CHRISTIANS
1...What is Wicca?
2...What is its view of Christianity
3...How organized is it?
4...Is it in our communities?
5...How is it related to Christianity (is it?)
6...What about satanic rituals (Do they engage in them?)
7...Sex Magick (Does anybody really believe in it?)
8...How do I witness to a 'Wiccan'.
9...What sacrificial tools (if any) do they use?
10..Is it okay to experiment with Wicca?
What is Wicca? Wicca is a pagan religion that predates Judaism by centuries. It primarily focuses on nature and the forces that run nature. There is a primary belief that Magick is just the force which makes everything hang where its supposed to and that manipulating it is natural (indeed they believe that to not manipulate it is unnatural). Wicca sometimes employs the use of a God AND Goddess because it shows the balance of nature and not just the male angle of it ('though in Christianity it's widely recognized that God has both 'male' and 'female' characteristics(warrior, nurturer etc.)) The belief in these Gods in more just symbolic than actually believing that they exist as real persons. Imagery is usually everything in this religion and so most rituals in this religion are made bizarre by the exaggeration of imagery.
What is its view of Christianity? Wiccan people are as much into 'their' history as we are to ours. They are not quick to forget the slaughter of hundreds even thousands of pagans and suspected pagans by supposed Christians. Although most respect Christ as a man of great teachings (but just a man) few really respect the church of Christ . They see all to clearly the bickering and backstabbing that goes on in supposedly Christian sects and to put it mildly think we are idiots at times It is important to note that it is from such things as sexual assaults by church members, extreme and harsh judgment by Christian radicals, and a general misunderstanding of Christ's character arises Wiccans even Satanists (although I strongly hesitate to compare the two).
How organized is it? Wicca has always been a 'make it up as you go' religion. Although some covens do actually have time honored values and rituals, Wicca has never been a completely organized religion with a central belief like a bible etc. Wicca organization is further hindered by the fact that most of their peoples and written history were wiped out in the height of their organization . Much in the way of history and rituals was lost (which may make Christians happy but is far more harmful to Christ's cause than to theirs). Wiccan covens are on a rise but there isn't a great amount of organization just yet although wiccans are pressing very much towards this end.
Is it in our communities? In a word YES. I have absolutely no doubt that it is in every neighborhood in America. Don't worry, wiccans are not out to 'take over the world' and most could care less what religion you are, let alone waste their time with trying to change your mind. The only thing that makes this dangerous to Christians is that it is widespread and when someone strays from the church it is an easily found outlet for the frustrations that sometimes builds up in the church. As we all know spiritual death is the real danger on earth.
How related is it to Christianity? Much of Christian ritual (Christmas, Halloween etc.) is taken from pagan roots and made to be Christian so that we could attract Wiccans to our church. Mary was taken from a symbol of obedience to our lord and made to be the Christian "Goddess". This is not to take any credit away from Mary (surely the mother of Jesus would need to be an exceptional servant to fulfill Gods will). Christmas for all of its glory to God was taken from a pagan ritual to the Sun (Dec was when the sun was the furthest from the earth and it was believed that a ritual made it come back). Wicca has many other similarities in the worldly sense . Do unto others is equivalent to the threefold law which says "whatever you do unto another will return to you threefold" This might also reflect the sentiment "what you sow you shall reap". Wiccans marvel at the wonder of creation and the value of it in the same way any true Christian would. A true wiccan would tend to act in much the same way as a true Christian, with love compassion understanding and respect for all the creations brought forth. The main difference (and for Christians this must not be minimized) is that wiccans do not believe in sin (as such) and do not believe they need forgiveness other than to the person they wronged. Without this realization even a belief in God will not bring them to the saving grace Jesus has provided for them. This does not make us better than them, indeed we need to die to all pride and act in love, acceptance and prayer BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING.
What about Satanic rituals (do they engage in them?) Wiccans mostly believe that Satan is something a guilty Christian thought up as a scapegoat after he had sinned. If Satan does exist he is, to a wiccan, most probably bad karma returned to them for something they did to someone else. So performing rituals to Satan would be as laughable to them as setting a trap for the tooth fairy would be to us. Wiccans have a lot of rituals that are similar to 'Satanic' rituals because when early Satanists began to form actual covens they borrowed rituals from the pagans (who better to borrow rituals from than the very people the Christians were trying to fight?). But in respect to sacrifices very few wiccans do these, as it is contrary to their respect for nature to do so.
Sex magick (do they really believe in it?) There is a 'fertility' festival called beltain which is annually celebrated. In the days of old, this was basically a massive orgy. Today's witch does not engage in this much at all because of the shaping of their religion by Christian ideals and the simple fact that being pagan doesn't mean you are any more or less sexual than a Christian. Some couples do attempt to gain 'energy' through sex because of the belief that there are only so many ways to bring up your adrenaline level (which they believe increases magick energies), and making love is more enjoyable and possibly less dangerous than some of the alternatives.
How do I witness to a Wiccan? You have already taken the first step which is know what you are dealing with. The second is DO NOT try to change a wiccan. The church has tried to change them their whole lives and it is quite possibly the reason they turned to wicca to begin with. They will be VERY sensitive to this. Instead of trying to jam Jesus down their throats just talk. Wiccans are just as eager to share wicca with you as you are to share Jesus with them. You will get a chance to further understand what they believe and will get a chance to share the beliefs you hold. If you do not present everything with "This is the way it is" and present it as "That's interesting, here is how I see that..." you will be pleasantly surprised at how much they will listen AND you will not be written off as some closed minded moron, FURTHER you will most likely be given more chances to share Jesus in the future. And pray, above all pray. A wiccan could have 1001 bibles and have each version memorized and it wouldn't matter one bit if Jesus wasn't there to bring them to him. This isn't a fight to make them believe as you do, this is a chance to let Jesus do his miracle in their life. If Jesus isn't the reason for you talking to them then who cares what religion they are.
Sacrificial tools (do they use any?) In short NO. There are some that use them but they are in the minority. There is a ceremonial sword called and ATHAME that is used for drawing lines but if it is ever used to cut organic matter (like for cooking etc.) it is considered unfit to be used for such a ritual.
Is it okay to experiment with wicca? What's to experiment with? It is a philosophy not a toy. If you believe in it you do ,if you don't then consider yourself officially not wiccan. The only things you could experiment with is the rituals, and there is a good rule of thumb for this question. If it will take you away from God in any way don't do it. To put it another way (and this may be a bit extreme) if it wont bring you closer to God why are you doing it?
A FINAL NOTE: Wiccans use a pentacle as their symbol. The star is right side up which symbolizes the spirit over the flesh (as opposed to the Satanists upside down or inverted star (flesh over the spirit)) No symbol is evil in and of itself.