Most Wiccans believe that a creative force exists
in the universe, which is sometimes called "The One" or
" The All". Little can be known of this force.
Most regard
the Goddess and the God as representing the female and male
aspects of the All. These deities are not "out there somewhere;" they
are immanent in the world.
Many regard various pagan Gods and Goddesses (Pan, Athena, Diana,
Brigit, Zeus, Odin, etc.) as representing various aspects of the God
and Goddess. The term "Wicca" normally implies that the person's
religion is based upon Celtic spiritual concepts, deities, and
seasonal days of celebration. Some Wiccans include beliefs, practices
and symbols from ancient Pagan religions (e.g. Egyptian, Greek,
various mystery religions, Roman, Sumerian) or upon Aboriginal
religions (Native American Spirituality, Shamanism).
Some Wiccans are actually agnostics, who take no position on the
existence of a supreme being or beings. They look upon the Goddess and
the God as archetypes, based on myth.
It cannot be stressed enough that Wiccans have no supernatural
being in their pantheon of deities who resembles the Christian-Muslim
Satan.
Respect for Nature: Wicca is a natural religion, grounded in the
earth. All living things (including stars, planets, humans, animals, plants,
rocks) are regarded as having a spirit. Many Wiccan rituals deal with
bringing harmony and healing to nature. Wiccans tend to share a great
concern for the environment.
Gender equality: Wiccans celebrate the sexual polarity of nature.
For example,
the fertilizing rain is one manifestation of the male principle; the
nurturing earth symbolizes the female. Females are respected as equal (and
sometimes at a slightly higher rank) to males. A priestess is often the most
senior person among coven -- a local group of Wiccans. They aim for a female-male
balance in most of their covens (local groups), although men are typically
in the minority.
Human sexuality: Sexuality is valued, and regarded as a gift
of the Goddess and God, to be engaged in with joy and responsibility,
and without manipulation. Wiccans generally accept the findings of human
sexuality researchers that there are three normal, natural, and unchosen
sexual orientations: heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality.
Some Wiccans celebrate "the Great Rite" which involves ritual
sexual intercourse. However, it is consensually performed by a committed
couple in private.
Afterlife: Wiccans have a wide range of beliefs.
Some believe in ancient legends of a Summerland where souls go
after death. Here, they meet with others who have gone before, review
and integrate their previous lives on earth, and are eventually
reincarnated into the body of a new born. Some believe that after many
such cycles -- perhaps some as female and others as male; some lives
with a high standard of living and others in poverty; some in
positions of power and others suffering oppression -- that the
individual accumulates sufficient experience to go on to another level
of existence about which we know nothing.
Some see an individual's personality, memory, abilities, talents,
etc. as functions of the human brain, which degrades and disintegrates
at death. They no not anticipate any form of continuity after death.
Other Wiccans anticipate continuity after death in some very
narrow senses:
That the molecules that go to make up our bodies may in turn be
incorporated in other living entities;
That our influences on children, friends, and society in general
will continue to have influences on the next generations.
Three-fold Law (a.k.a. the Law of Return) The law states that:
"All good that a person does to another returns three fold in this
life; harm is also returned three fold."
This belief strongly motivates each Wiccan to avoid attempting to
dominate, manipulate, control, or harm another person.