Wicca - My Top Tips for Beginners

Wicca can seem really overwhelming when you’re just starting out, there’s just so much to learn! I remember not knowing where to start and feeling like I could never possibly learn everything I wanted (and I still feel this way sometimes). While I’m still young on my own personal Wiccan journey, I feel as though I have a few tips to share with new baby Wiccans that may be of some help.

First, a very brief description of Wicca to help you get your head around it - Wicca is a nature based religion in which you celebrate holidays marking the changing seasons, called Sabbats, and the cycles of the moon, called Esbats. Many Wiccan practices have roots in witchcraft traditions, and some make witchcraft a part of their Wiccan practice, however it is important to understand that Wicca and witchcraft are not the same thing and can very much be practiced without the other. I’ll write a further post about witchcraft for those interested.

Now, here are my top tips for starting out on your own Wicca journey:

1. Tune into the seasons. This is at the core of the Wiccan religion. There are 8 celebrations that mark the changing seasons, and these are located at different points around the Wheel of the Year. Research these celebrations one by one as they occur in your hemisphere. There is so much to learn and so many different ways to celebrate, but start small as a beginner. The most important thing is that you notice nature, its changing seasons, and the ways they affect you and your life.

2. Tune into the moon. Go outside at night and look at the moon. Notice what phase it is in. If it’s a cloudy night or the moon is obscured from your vision, it’s easy to look up your current moon phase online. Start to research the different meanings of each moon phase and notice your moods and what’s going on in your life. See if you can find correlations and notice how the moon cycle is influencing you (this is particularly powerful if you are a woman, and I’ll write a further post about linking the moon cycle with your monthly cycle as a woman).

3. Respect and care for nature. This is another fundamental aspect of living a Wiccan lifestyle, as the religion is centred entirely around celebrating and revering nature. Living a more environmentally life one small step at a time is, I believe, an essential part of showing your respect and care for Mother Nature.

4. Learn the Wiccan read and try your best to live by it, “If it harms none, do what you will”. What this means is not only that you may do whatever you like as long as you are not harming anyone, but so may everyone else. This saying fundamentally speaks of causing no harm and of not judging others for their actions either. Even if you would not personally partake in a certain lifestyle choice, if someone else chooses to live that way and they are causing no harm by doing so, the Wiccan reed asks that you accept others and allow their differences in opinions and choices.

Doing your best to cause no harm is just as important here, and this saying will mean different things to different Wiccans. For some eating a vegan diet makes the most sense to their Wiccan lifestyle, as it is reducing the harm they are causing while here on this planet. Again, respecting and caring for nature is a fundamental way of living by the Wiccan reed. Practising respect and kindness for your fellow human, for animals, and for the earth is what really makes you an excellent Wiccan and, in my humble opinion, and excellent person.