This started as an idea, a curiosity of mine. I’ve worked with kids with Wiccan backgrounds and there’s a fair amount of it in our area. Then I have talked back and fourth a bit with Jerome over mine and his blog (about different topics). Jerome is a Wiccan. So I asked him to write this guest blog. I wanted to have a better understanding about what led him down this path. I’m not going to argue or try to change his mind. I told him he could have this space. I’m not going to interject or change what he said. I just wanted to understand better his journey. I wanted a better understanding so I could better reach kids. My intent is not to start a fight here and I expect you guys to be nice as well. Feel free ask questions in the comments section, he’ll be checking these and responding.

Why do I identify as Wiccan?

My spiritual path has been a winding one. Feeling disenfranchised by mainstream Christianity, I began studying Native American spirituality and ceremony under an elder of that tradition when I was 18. For the first time, I felt like I had found my spiritual home.

This tradition’s godhead, the Creator, is not distant and unknowable like I perceived the Christian God to be. The Creator is within us and all around us. Nature’s inhabitants have lessons to teach us about how to live in balance, if we stop, observe, and listen. Nature’s cycles teach us about the phases of life – birth, youth, maturity, death, and rebirth.

I felt empowered by these new perspectives – something that never occurred during my involvement with Christianity. I felt like I mattered, instead of feeling like “just another body in the pews.”

When I was 20, I moved to the Seattle, Washington area to attend school. About a year later I was introduced to a gentleman who studied and practiced East Indian meditation techniques. I began taking classes from him, and continued doing so for a couple years. The principles he taught were also empowering. For example, that the Source’s (i.e. God’s) Love is universal and meant for all, and that truth transcends religious doctrine (i.e. no single religion has a monopoly on truth). These teachings reaffirmed what I already believed - that all organized religions, though built on a foundation of spirituality (or “the direct experience of God”), often toss out spirituality in favor of man-made doctrine and politics.

A few years later I began to take an interest in Wicca. Very generally speaking, “Wicca” is a term used to describe the pre-Christian spiritual practices of western and northern Europe. Wicca “fits” for me for these reasons:
• It espouses the truths of the Native American and East Indian traditions that most resounded with me (i.e. God is present in all things, God’s love is accessible to all rather than strictly those of a particular religion, and nature is to be respected and revered).
• Personal responsibility is paramount. I am solely responsible for the consequences of my actions and inactions. There is no one else to blame if I make a poor choice (saying “I was tempted by Satan” is not an option) and nobody to scold and sit in judgment of me (like a priest).
• Sex is seen as a sacred act to be celebrated and discussed openly (rather than in hushed tones and dark corners). Sexuality is a gift from the Divine, not something to be ashamed of or to pass judgment on others about.
• Though not completely free from politics and power plays, these are less prevalent because the religion has fewer adherents and is largely unorganized. I don’t have the time or patience for religious politics. Religion is about communion with the Divine, not pushing my views on others.

Thanks Jerome! I appreciate your willingness to share.