The Significance of Symbols in Modern Witchcraft essays

The Significance of Symbols in Modern Witchcraft essays The Significance of Symbols in Modern Witchcraft Witchcraft, also known as wicca, is a religion with ancestry in an ancient Pagan religion of Northern Europe which pre-dates the Christian era (Simms 30.) It is an earth religion and its main deity is a goddess. Most participants worship the earth and belong to a coven, or group of believers, run by a high priestess. Most covens meet on days determined by solstices and equinoxes or on seasonal or full moon rituals(Luhrmann 46.) During such rituals, many symbols emerge so important that the ritual would not exist without them. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of modern witchcraft is that of the Goddess. She is very different from that of the Judeo-Christian god. She is considered both a deity that controls the earth and she is the earth itself. The Goddess is the personification of nature and is ever changing as the earth is ever changing. The Goddess is symbolized by the moon. It is said that each phase of the moon symbolizes a different time in the Goddesss life or in the cycle of life. The new moon phase symbolizes the Goddess giving birth to the Sun Child and new light is born. The first quarter phase signifies the point just before life bursts forth and the chains of winter are broken. The full moon phase indicates the joining of the Sun King and the Queen of Summer, a time of abundance ad fulfillment. The last phase in the lunar cycle is the last quarter phase which designates a time of harvest, joy, and thanksgiving (Simms 148.) Another important symbol used in witchcraft is that of the pentagram. Often viewed by Christians as satanic, it was not always seen as such. Early Christians viewed the five pointed star as symbolizing the five wounds of Christ. The pentagram originated as the symbol of a Goddess who was worshipped over an area which extends from present-day England to Egypt and beyond. Her name was Kore. Kore's sacred fruit is the apple. Whe ...