I would like to start by telling you a story. Eight years ago my best friend lost her ex-husband, the father of her two children to murder. For three months her oldest child would not speak. You see her children were in the house asleep when their father passed. This event happened in August. In October of the same year, October 31st to be exact, I held a healing ritual for the family and friends. When it came time for the family to speak the young son stepped forward and spoke. He was able to release the sorrow, fear and negative feeling he had been holding inside him since his dad died. He is now 16 years old and a very well rounded young man who still remembers the day he was able to forgive his father for leaving. This was a Wiccan ritual. Today I would like to tell you the true story of Wicca, my faith, my belief, my life. I have followed this path for the last 19 years and I am considered a Crone to my peers. I am the teacher, judge, and wise one of our coven. I will inform you of who introduced modern day Wicca, the “Law” true Wiccans live by, the holidays we celebrate, and lastly what I believe happens when we pass on. Wicca is not the “Evil” negative religion that most think it is.

Dr. Jill Carroll stated “The history of Wicca is under dispute. It is either one of the oldest or newest religions in the world depending on how you look at it.” Gerald Gardner is considered to be the father of modern day Wicca. Mr. Gardner, a British author, introduced Wicca in the United States in the late 1950’s. Wicca is a nature based religion that recognizes both the female and male aspect of Deity. While based on old Celtic practices it has a modern spin. Today Wicca is no longer practiced in secret. You see people every day wearing pentagrams and other symbols of Wicca. Rituals are held in public for most holidays. Even those who practice solitary Wicca will find a group to celebrate with.
The six major holidays that are practiced by most Wiccans are Shamian better known as Halloween or the Witches New year. This is the most important day of the year. Then you have Yule that is celebrated on Dec 21. Then Embolc, Ostara, Beltane, and lastly Maybon. These holidays are called Sabbats and are usually celebrated near the turning of the seasons. With the exception of Shamian and Beltane, these two holidays are celebrated as the end of the “Gods”, life and the beginning. My personal favorite is Shamian as it is a celebration of our ancestors and often entails an elaborate ball with a special ritual. A lot of groups use this ritual to combine different believes. At the Witches ball you may see a Solitary Witch dancing with a Druid. The one thing that they all have in common and any true follower practices, is the one law, called the