Questions for practicing Wiccans?

Question

Do any of you practicing wiccans have trouble with evil spirits or "demon" possession? My husband is scared that if I do any wiccan or pagan based activities that we are inviting in evil entites.

Answer 1

how come more christians answered and the asker asked for praticing wiccans? go figure christians cant read and yet they talk all bout this book. . . if they cant read a simple question how did they ever get thru the bible?

Me, as a pagan, I choose not to go near the pratices that involve "negitive" things. . . and I keep karma and the three fold rule in mind at all times. sry but having a holiday party and making special foods and playing games with your family isnt evil.  it's human. (then again you can make the argument that humans are evil. ..  but we wont go there)

if your intersted read read read read .... and read some more, go to a "pagan" night at a local coffee shop or shop that holds "classes" (not really like school, but just teaching different areas of pagan pratices) I use the word pagan because wiccans fall under them and I'm a pagan who is a religious mutt, wiccan just happens to be part of my faith/pratices.

good luck..knowledge is power.  

Answer 2

The only people who believe in demons are Christians.

The only people who worry about "evil spirits" are Christians.

They simply are not part of Wicca whatsoever.

And as far as cults are concerned, since many, many Wiccans are solitary, we donate no money, and we don't have any hierarchy, I do not see how we could be considered a cult.

Any "leader" that tries to run his/her followers lives is going to quickly find him/herself with no followers at all.

Answer 3

Your husband is right. My daughter is still suffering from that stuff. Be a good idea to find a good, loving, Christian based church...

Answer 4

Not at all.. Never seen or interacted with demons while I was Wiccan. Tell him that is the realm of the Christian occult. The most that will happen is that you become empowered... that might bother him.

Dana S, So you read a book, if you believe anything the Frosts have to say, then you are a neo-wiccan. Of course, you know that,  no one in the pagan community calls anyone a neo-wiccan... the proper term is neo-pagan.

I am an Occultist of 30 years. The only time I dealt with anything chaotic was when I was following the dictates of YHWH, as a ceremonial magickian.

The Frosts.. bleh... just in it for the money. You be sure and support them.

Frickin' IRAB

Answer 5

He's right!! I think?!

Answer 6

answer: No, you won't be inviting "demons" in, no matter what superstitious Christians think.  Ever notice its ONLY Christians (or those raised with the Christian fear) get possessed?  Pagans don't (despite what hysteria some Christians are trying to sell here).

Ignore them - Wicca and paganism have some beautiful holiday celebrations.  We have the original 12 days/nights of Yule and Puritans brought the idea of Thanksgiving here from left-over pagan traditions of Harvest Home from England.

Celebration does not invite negative energy, let alone "demons" (which don't exist).

To Explore Wicca/paganism

1) Ignore the fundies saying you’ll go to h**l and are opening yourself up to demons. We don’t believe in either.

2) Get the book: Wicca, a Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham (Amazon.com used books is a great resource)

3) Avoid Silver Ravenwolf, DJ Conway and most Llewellyn books

4) Do NOT pay for lessons over the internet.  You can’t ask for references.  Do NOT give out personal information to anyone over the internet.  Get a PO Box.  

5) www.witchvox.com  www.wicca.timerift.net

6) Learn and keep learning about various paths in paganism.

7)  get the book: "Drawing Down the Moon" by Margo Adler (an older book that's a little dated, especially concerning Asatru but a good resource) - it gives an overview on a lot of pagan traditions.  

Answer 7

As a Wiccan for over 12 years I have never, ever had any "trouble with evil spirits or demon possession" nor have I ever heard one legitimate claim of such a thing from a Wiccan.

Wicca has nothing to do with evil spirits or demons. Those are not concepts found within Wicca. Wicca is about honoring our gods. Those who say that Wicca will lead to contact with evil entities are people who believe that anything that is not Christian is of the devil. Wicca has no "Satan" or "devil" in our belief system, nor do we invoke any "evil" entities or spirits. Unfortunately, there are several people giving answers here who are spreading these lies. Either they are very confused or they are intentionally lying. There is also no such thing as "neo-Wicca." There are people who were never Wiccan and there are people who aren't very intelligent Wiccans. There are also Wiccans who are initiated into traditions and there are solitary Wiccans, but a Wiccan is a Wiccan. Sadly, some people find Wicca interesting just long enough to get really misinformed about it, and then go off to spread bad information about it.

If you are interested in the religion, I would suggest the following sources for good, accurate information.

http://wicca.timerift.net

Scott Cunningham's Wicca:Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

Ronald Hutton's Triumph of the Moon (excellent resource for the history of Wicca)

Stay far away from Silver Ravenwolf, and for goodness sake, the Gavin and Yvonne Frost.  

Answer 8

Belief in evil spirits and inherent evil is generally part of the Christian construct of Satan. Wiccans do not believe in Satan, and therefor also do not believe in evil spirits, or demons.

"Satan - Satan has no place in Wicca. Satan is an embodiment of evil, and supernatural powers within a Wiccan content are intimately a part of nature. The acknowledgment of Satan within a Wiccan context would imply that some part of nature is inherently evil, which Wiccans deny."

(http://wicca.timerift.net/christianwicca... )

The reason Christians seem to think that Wicca has something to do with Satan is because of their belief that Wicca is witchcraft. Witchcraft is the practice of magic, and is not necessarily an evil practice, though Christians claim that it is since in their beliefs, witchcraft is of Satan, and is condemned by the bible. Whatever your beliefs about witchcraft, be it an evil practice or not, the important thing here is, witchcraft is NOT Wicca; Wicca is a religion focussed mainly on spirituality, and a connection with the Wiccan deity. It is no more evil than other non-Christian religions such as Buddhism, or Hindu, or Judaism.  (http://wicca.timerift.net/witch.shtml )

For more info on Wicca, check out http://wicca.timerift.net

Since you are particularly interested in the holidays, be sure to read http://wicca.timerift.net/sabbat.shtml

To clarify on what someone said about casting circles:

To cast a circle in the Wiccan practice is NOT to keep out evil entities or negative energy. That is a misconception. Wiccans do not believe in evil entities!!! The circle is cast in order to create sacred space; a more accurate term would be "erect sacred space", not "cast a circle". This sacred space is erected for the same reason that a Christian will enter a church for mass. It is a separate area, outside of the distractions of day-to-day ordinary life, where you can more clearly focus on a connection and communication with deity. IT is not meant to keep anything out; it is meant to be a point of focus.

Answer 9

One word says it all..........NO.

You may consider your association with Jehovah's Witnesses to have been "cult" oriented, but Wiccans consider their  own religion their faith. Those of other religions may call it a cult, but that seems rather short-sighted and uneducated. Your husband is reacting in a very common way to something he is not well informed on. As has been mentioned, Cunningham, Adler, Starhawk..........all these authors can give good information in an easy to grasp format, emphasizing what Wicca is and does, and the historical implications of pagan practice. They are not, nor are Wiccans in general, Satan worshipers, demon summoners, Buffy or Charmed fantasizers, or any of the other derogatory characterizations that those of non-pagan faiths often insist they are. Wicca is a religion, different from Christianity, as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or any of a great range of other "-isms" are different from Christianity. No "evil spirits", no "demons".

Answer 10

Yes, spirit possession is possible.

Aleister Crowley was a powerful sorcerer who once invoked a spirit named Chronozon out in the desert. It said the spirit kicked sand on the protective magick circle and entered in and possessed Crowley. People who knew him say he aged 20 years over night and was possessed by the spirit for the rest of his life.

Magick is part of Wicca. So, yes, it's possible when you're practicing magick. People that say otherwise are kidding themselves. Just give them a carrot and send them on their way.  

Answer 11

Your husband is talking wisdom.

Answer 12

I talked to a wiccan once before I became wiccan and she talked about being attacked by a demon and the salt circle didn;t work so she bathed in salt.

As an ex-wiccan, I tried to get demons out of my house and so did my voodoo housekeeper, it did not work. I had already had satan stalking me anyways from being int he cult the mormon church, but that was probably because my ancstors messed around with witchcraft in the past.

Answer 13

You will be inviting evil. Why are you taught not to summon something larger than you can contain?

Answer 14

I am Wiccan and have never had an experience with an evil entity of any sort. Ditto for the hundreds of Wiccans I know. What exactly are the "Wiccan based activities" you're doing?

[Edit}

If you're going to explore the possibilty of performing rituals and honoring Nature and/or your God/Goddess on the Sabbats, there is definitely nothing to worry about. And as an fyi, Wiccan isn't a cult. We all share basic beliefs but acknowlegde that everyone has a path that is exclusive to them.

Answer 15

Never had that problem. Then of course that is what drawing the circle and calling the quarters are about. It keeps out the negative energy as well as keeps that energy you are working with contained.  You also do a cleansing ritual before and after. Hope that helps.

Edit: FYI, usually when you have problems with Evil, it is because secretly you want it to come.  Evil seems to feed on fear and ignorence. Wicca does not recognize demons or satan since this came from the early Christian beliefs and is not a part of our (I should say MY path, since I can not speak for all of Wicca.)

Cunningham is a good place to start.  I like that he puts thing into easy to digest/understand terms.

Blessed Be.

Answer 16

If you read the Good Witch's Bible by the Frosts, you'll read that yes, it is a possibility. That's why I tell people Wicca isn't a game.

Neowiccans will tell you "No, not at all". That's because they don't actually practice Magick.

Answer 17

Sounds like someone's married to a fundamentalist Christian who needs to be more sceptical.

Answer 18

Yes, if you're not careful. Just as in Voodoun. People get possessed in Voodoun all the time. If you're interacting with spirits, it's a possibility.

Answer 19

Though I no longer consider myself Wiccan I will answer.   I've never had anything that could be considered evil happen.  I've never had a demon or anything "bad" drawn to me.  Like energy attracts, so if that's what you want to attract then that's what you will.  

Your husband doesn't know, so he is worried.  The answer is no you won't draw anything evil to you.