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Originally posted by LUVBUGZ
Hey Els, long time no see. Back to my questions. So, w/in your coven what deities to you "worship" and what do they symbolize?
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We sort of pick 'em as we need 'em, I guess. Different deities symbolize different things, depending on their originating pantheon (i.e., Vulcan as God of the Forge...we use him when we want to boost creativity, or make something, be it physical or more evanescent; we choose Mercury if we want to improve communication, or Venus if we ask for assistance in becoming more loving). There is always the Goddess and the God, the male and the female creative and life forces, though, no matter what specific sort of spellwork we are doing. I guess the answer to your question is that we basically worship the Goddess and the God, in whichever form a person chooses to visualize that energy/force/deity.
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Catholics say it is a sin to worship deities and you'll go to hell for doing so. I'm assuming they don't, but do witches believe in life after death and that they may spend that afterlife in hell if they sin in life? Or, do they believe they'll get the "thrice over" thing in life and when the body dies that's the end of the story? [/b]
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Kind of odd for a religion with more saints than you can shake a censor at, isn't it?
Reincarnation is central to the Wiccan faith. We believe that all things are cyclic...it is based on the notion of birth, death and rebirth that we see as the seasons change. Celtic religions believed in the Summerlands, a place where you went after death where your spirit would walk forever amidst green, sun and plenty. That would certainly have seemed like a big improvement over the cool, damp Northern European/British Isles climates during the periods from which these beliefs arise. Basically, we believe that all of existence is an endless cycle, our own physical bodies included. Our spirits, we believe (as do many other religions, in fact), are timeless.
As for Hell...that's a Christian concept, not a Wiccan one. We don't do Satan, Hell or any of the other permutated visions of damnation, evil and punishment that Christians have concocted out of older, less malign light/dark concepts. So, the "Law of Three" applies to this life, I guess...although I suppose there's nothing preventing you from getting your comeuppance in the next incarnation.
