Part 2 -
A few other random points –
There are some practitioners of Wicca who are somewhat eclectic and will work concepts or teachings of other religions (including Christianity) into their practice. One can’t be, for example, Catholic and Wiccan, but one may incorporate some of the concepts/practices of Catholicism into one’s own practice(s)/beliefs.
As mentioned, Wiccans pray too. The nomenclature and methodology are often different depending on when/how it’s done. What Wiccans refer to as ‘spell work’ or ‘spells’ is a form of prayer, though done in a more formal (and often ‘ritualized’) way. Indeed, I think an argument could be made that a “spell” is just a more formal, ritualized form of prayer.
How many people might say a quick little prayer over a lottery ticket just bought before placing it in one’s pocket, or taking it out just before the drawing. How many people recite a quick prayer to find a lost object…the list goes on and on. In the Wiccan world, you’re spellcasting. Different name, but essentially the same concept.
I do NOT mean this to be disrespectful in any way, but as viewed through a Wiccan perspective, one could regard the prayers a priest recites right before transubstantiation takes place as “casting a spell” to change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood. It could be argued that the priest, by reciting the prayers (“casting the spell”), is essentially bending the rules of the Universe to his will. Ultimately however, the priest doesn’t affect the change; God does. It’s not the priest’s will that works the mystery/miracle, it’s God’s.
Wiccan spell casting is sort of the same concept; one tries to bend the rules of the Universe to one’s will “for the good of all and harming none”, but ultimately, it’s up to the Divine whether or not the desired outcome will be attained. And, as with Christian prayer, the petition may be answered, but not always in the way one hopes it might be.
Just as there are patron Saints for just about everything under the sun from whom many people ask intercession, so there are (for some Wiccans) many various deities associated with various things. The difference is that, at least in theory, a Catholic is asking for intercession from the Saint while a Wiccan would be praying to the specific deity.
In looking at it this way, I can see how Protestants incorrectly associate this practice to assert that Catholics are engaging in Pagan practices by “praying to Saints” (which, of course, is not true).
I can’t speak to all varieties of Wicca, but for the most part, the above descriptions are the general way it works.
Calling forces that Wiccans draw upon as being somehow demonic just because they are not the same forces a Christian calls upon is, again, a rather religio-centric view. Would the same be said for Hindus or Buddhists?
