Kirstie Watson Wicca Heresy Paper
History
Wicca can be seen as either the oldest religion or as a relatively modern religion depending upon how one looks at it. Scholars identify three people who worked to found and solidify the religion known as Wicca today. In 1899, Charles Leland wrote Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches. Margaret Murray, who also contributed to solidifying Wicca as a religion, authored books about the period in time where witches were burned at the stake. She presented that these witches were remainders of an ancient religion. Gerald Garner was the one who put into writing rituals, symbols, rites of passage and other things that helped bring together everyone who was following the religion. ("The History of Wicca")
Experience
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Starhawk, a popular witchcraft writer, said that witches find their truth within, contrary to other world religions such as Islam and Christianity which find their truth outside of themselves in Holy Books. Wiccans also give experience authority and say that each individual must pursue their own truth. Truth as defined by wiccans is personal, subjective, and based on experience and feelings. Something is said to be true because one experienced it or it feels right. Another common idea held by many witches is that everything a person experiences is to some degree real and true. Some witches will push this idea further saying that everyone has a portion of the truth but not all since we all operate from a limited, subjective perspective. This leads many witches to think that one view is as equally valid as another, which is why another value of wiccans is tolerance. (Hawkins …show more content…
While tolerance is important, there is a time and a place to speak what one thinks to be true even if it is offensive. I would point out to my Wiccan friend that if they value tolerance so highly how could they ever truly speak what they believe to another person? I doubt there is another person who believes exactly the same things they do about everything, therefore they would always run the risk of offending and being intolerant. While dialoguing with my Wiccan friend I would want to continually remind them that I love them even though we do believe differently, because many wiccans have had poor experiences with the Church and that is what led them to