Blessed Bees * last updated September 21, 2000
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F.A.Q.
Below is a list of the most common questions I get asked and my most common answers. If you have further questions not answered here, please send me an e-mail.
What
is Wicca anyway?
What are some good books on Wicca?
What are some good references for Christians to understand
Wicca?
How do I find other Wiccans?
What is Jewitchery?
Are they any books on Jewitchery?
Wicca is a neo-Pagan religion. A neo-Pagan religion is a modern religion that harkens back to the religions that existed from antiquity, drawing from folklore, mythology and our own creativity to create something new. Wicca is a religion that workships a Goddess and a God.
For further help, visit these links on the Covenant of the Goddess website:
About Witchcraft
Commonly Asked Questions
So you think you've found a teacher...
What are some good books on Wicca?
The list I always recommend is off of the Covenant of the Goddess website:
What are some good references for Christians to understand Wicca?
If you want or need to interact with Christians who want or need to understand Wicca (your family or friends), here are some links that describe Wicca in ways that are quite approachable from a Christian perspective:
An article by James Taylor entitled, "A Christian Speaks".
About Witchcraft, from the Covenant of the Goddess
The United Religions Initiative is a central point where many different paths, religions, spiritualities and philosophies are coming together to understand each other and to treat each other with truth and respect.
The URI site talks about the various Neopagan religions
A section on the URI site regarding Wicca
The best way to find other Wiccans or Pagans in your area is to want to meet them. Look for herb shops, metaphysical bookstores, and other similar places and see if they have bulletin boards with flyers advertising open circles.
Additionally, decide you want to meet other folks of the Craft. Walk with awareness, state your intent and relay your openess to the world around you - then go out and start looking.
There are also many excellent networking resources on the web - I'd start with COG and The Witches Voice, two reputable sources for excellent references.
Jewitchery is an invented term used to describe the practices of Wiccans of Jewish heritage.
Are there any books on Jewitchery?
There are no books written directly to a practicing "Jewitch". There are, however several good books that explore the feminine in Judaism and the pagan roots of Judaism. Additionally, the Kabbalah is a mystical aspect of Judaism that bears looking at, particularly for the emphasis on the Shekinah as the feminine face of God.
Books I recommend:
The Hebrew Goddess, by Raphael Patai
- Explores the idea that the feminine cannot be suppressed and how it
has remained and been retained in JudaismGuide To Jewish Holy Days, by Hayyim Schauss
- an older text that mentions the pagan origins for each holy dayThe Women's Haggadah, by E.M. Broner w/Naomi Nimrod
- not wonderful, but an interesting attempt to write a more feminine
Haggadah for PesachThe Sabbath in the Classical Kabbalah, by Elliot K. Ginsburg
- start to see the Sabbath as the Bride of God, treat her as a priestess
and you'll sense her presence as a goddess in her own rightMiriam's Well, by Penina V. Adelman
- a book written for and by Jewish women who wanted to have their
own ritualsMiriam's Tambourine, by Howard Schwarz
Lilith's Cave, by Howard Schwarz
- two excellent collections of Jewish folktales - the story of Miriam's
Tambourine still brings me to tearsOrigins of the Kabbalah, by Gershom Scholem
Sefir Yetzirah, by Aryeh Kaplan
- two excellent texts for a classical understanding of Jewish KaballahI'd also look at the Shabbat ritual itself and try to personalize it as a ceremony between you and Shabbat as a goddess. See where it takes you.
Melissa Oringer, all rights reserved