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CMG Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Wicca? What is Witchcraft?

Wicca is a nature-based, dualistic religion that worships both a God and a Goddess. It fits under the "umbrella" of neo-Pagan religions. It is often referred as "the Craft of the Wise", or just simply "the Craft".

Witchcraft is a system of Magick working that, generally speaking, is more nature-, elemental- and spell-based, ie. candle-magick, poppet magick, etc. and it is practiced by "witches". This is as opposed to "high magick" practiced by "magicians", which is more based on numbers and words and is less physically oriented and more intellectually oriented.

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What is Neo-Paganism/Paganism?

Neo-Paganism and Paganism are often used interchangeably to describe modern nature-based or magick-based religious systems. Neo-Paganism is more correct, as most of these religious systems are new reconstructions or creations, including Wicca.

Do all Wiccans practice magick? What is magick? Why do you spell it with a "k"?

Not all Wiccans practice magick. Some Wiccans prefer just to worship the Lord and the Lady, without using magick. You can also practice magick and be a Witch without being a Wiccan. Most Wiccans, however, do practice magick. Here are two popular definitions of magick:
  • Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will. - Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley (1929)
  • Magick is "the art of changing consciousness at will." - Starhawk
Some people do magick with fancy tools, robes and spells, some with only visualization or meditation and everything in between. The way you do it isn't as important as end goal. That goal is, or should be, to change *yourself*, which will then change the world around you. Wiccans often, but not always, spell magick with a "k" when they are referring to metaphysical or occult magick, as opposed to stage magic. According to Wicca: For the Rest of Us (http://wicca.timerift.net/magic.html) Alastair Crowley is the one who first started using the "k" in magick.

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Who founded Wicca?

Wicca was founded by Gerald Gardner in the 1950s in England after the repeal of the Anti-Witchcraft Laws. Gardner claimed that he came from a long line of witches who had existed "underground" from ancient times. While the validity of these claims is suspect according to modern research, Gardner still had brought forth a religion that resonated with many people, most especially in the fact that it included Goddess worship.

Doreen Valiente was one of Gardner's High Priestesses and she did a great to make Wicca what it is today. If Gerald Gardner were the father of Wicca, Doreen would be the mother. She wrote or improved on much of Gardner's work, giving us the Charge of the Goddess as we now know it amongst other things. It was her influence that helped grow Wicca from a small curiosity to a viable religion.

This started the first Tradition, or Trad, of Wicca. There are many, many Trads in the world today, including Chantrian (our Tradition), Gardnerian (practicing Wicca as Gardner practiced it), Alexandrian (based on the teachings of Alex Sanders, who based his variation on Gardner), Eclecticism (take from many different sources to create a whole), Lycian (shamanic Wicca), Dianic (female/Goddess only Wicca) and many, many, many more.

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What do Wiccans believe?

Wiccans believe in a God and Goddess, usually referred to as the Lord and the Lady. They believe in a balance of all things, that both light and dark are equally important, that life and death are both part of the cycle of life. Men and women are considered equals, neither one more important than the other.

Wiccans generally follow two liturgical statements:

  • The Wiccan Rede - An it harm none, do what ye will
  • The Rule of Three - Whatever you do will come back to you threefold
They also have some pieces of liturgy they generally agree on, such as the Charge of the Goddess, and the Principles of Wiccan Belief.

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Do you worship Satan/the Devil?

NO! Satan is a Christian deity. He is the polar opposite of the Christian God. He has no place whatsoever in Wicca, and we do not worship Him, any more than we worship the Christian God. We have our own deities, thank you very much.

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How/When do Wiccans worship?

Wiccans gather about 21 times a year to celebrate, 8 times for Sabbats, or sun holidays, and 13 times for Esbats, or full moons. Some Wiccans also gather for either New Moon Esbats and/or Diana's Bow (about 3 days after New Moon when you can again see the moon), but the Chantry of the Green Mountain does not.

When we worship/celebrate we generally will cast a circle, and invoke the elements and invite the Lord and Lady to attend. We do whatever we are there for - i.e. magickal working, celebrating the holiday, healing, etc. Once that's done, we have cakes and ale (i.e. food and drink - the traditional name is cakes and ale, but we've had everything from bread and juice to lollipops and lime-green Kool-Aid as our "cakes and ale"). Then we close the Circle with thanks to the Lord and Lady, and the elements that attended. In our Circle we then have a potluck dinner.

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What are the Sabbats?

Yule/Winter Solstice - on or around December 21. - This is a time for introspection of the year past and planning for the upcoming year. The Goddess is Crone at this time of year. This is a holiday of lights and candles, as we face the darkness and the bitter cold and know that the sun is returning, even though we cannot tell from the way things look just now.

Imbolc/Candlemas - February 2. - Believe it or not, as nasty as this time of year often is, here are the stirrings of Spring. The Goddess is Maiden here, young and inexperienced. Here we plant the seed for the shape this year will take in our lives. This is a good time to make important changes in your behavior.

Ostara/Vernal Equinox - on or around March 21. - First day of Spring, trees are beginning to bloom, grass is starting to turn from brown to green, Life is awakening all around us. Open your eyes to the newness in yourself, and nurture it. Prepare your garden for planting or begin something new.

Beltane/May Day - May 1. - This is a day of Sacred Love, of the joining of the Lord and Lady. This is a day for fertility of all kinds, whether creativity or trying to have children. This is a great day for Maypoles, as twining the ribbons around the pole represents the joining of the Lord & Lady.

Litha/Summer Solstice - on or around June 21. - Midsummer, a time for Faeries and Little People. This is the longest day of the year, and a great day to honor those unseen spirits that so enrich your life. Let your heart be full of passion and fullness on this day, as full and firey as the Sun is this day.

Lammas/Lughnassadh - August 2. - The first of the three harvests. A time to assess what you have done and what you still have to do this year. The scents of baking bread and late summer fill the air. Grain and corn hang heavy on the stalk, bees buzz merrily on their way through the gloaming of a summer afternoon.

Mabon/Autumnal Equinox - On or around September 21. - The time has come to harvest apples and squashes, before the frosts begin. We are starting to look at the coming winter and prepare ourselves. We stock up things that will last us through the Winter and start to use up that which will go bad before Spring comes again. It is a time of business and preparation. This is a great time for housecleaning, and changing over to Winter wardrobes.

Samhain/Halloween - October 31. - Our most solemn holiday. The last of the fruit and grain has been harvested. It is a time when Death walks near, looking for the weak and the sick. It is a time when the veils between worlds grows thin, much like the other Sabbats, but in this case the veil is between the living and the dead. We honor our ancestors for bringing us to where we are today, and mourn our year's dead. Still we dance in the face of Death, celebrating the fact that we still live.

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What is the Chantry of the Green Mountain?

The Chantry of the Green Mountain is a Wiccan coven based in Frederick, MD. We are the second daughter group of the Silver Veil, which is based in Alexandria, VA. Our sister coven is the Circle of the Silver Phoenix. We are also a granddaughter of The Nomadic Chantry of the Gramarye which was based in Mitchellvile, MD before the death of our Tradition head Rosemary Kooiman on March 5, 2006. The Chantry of the Green Mountain was founded on June 22, 2005 and hived from the SV on September 18, 2005. However, we are still building our core group. The Nomadic Chantry was incorporated as a church in the state of Maryland in 1992 and the Silver Veil is a 501c3 organization.

Linda T. is the High Priestess of the Chantry of the Green Mountain. She is an Adept (Third-Degree) in the Chantrian Tradition and is a legally ordained High Priestess as of September 18th, 2005. She has specialized in the Tarot and palmistry. Her favorite hobby is reading. She is owned by her two cats, and she lives happily with her significant other of more than eight years in Frederick, MD.

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What is the difference between a Circle and a Coven?

In our context a Circle is open to all visitors and includes teaching. A Coven is closed to members (or invitation) only and may or may not include teaching. The difference is purpose and goal. Circles often serve as a starting place for the new Wiccan. It's an excellent place to meet new people and learn new things. One downside to a Circle can be that with a constant influx of new people it is hard to get past an intermediate level. Another is that the size of a Circle is usually in flux, so it is hard to plan rituals in which everyone can take part.

A Coven is often a short or long term commitment to a specific group of covenors. The benefits to a coven is that since you work with the same people all the time you can learn to trust and know each other very well. You can also try new things without worrying that people won't be able to follow along. The downsides can be that without new blood from time to time you can stagnate. Also, politics can become more of an issue since people start to have more invested in the group and may want the group to go in the direction they wish it to rather than the direction another covenor may want.

Neither a Circle nor a Coven is better than the other. They both have their place and their time. If one kind of group doesn't work for you, try another. One of the wonderful things about the Wiccan religion is that it holds all Paths as valid and acknowledges that not every Path is right for every person.

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Will you teach me?

There are two questions you need to answer first. One, are you local to Frederick, MD? If no, why not check out your local listings at the Witchvox (http://www.witchvox.com) to find a teaching group in your area. If so, proceed to question two.

Two, are you over twenty-one (21) years of age? If so, great! Drop us an email introducing yourself and we'll talk. If no, not until you're over 21. Why, you ask? For your protection as well as ours. See below for more information.

See our Classes Page for an overview of our curriculum.

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Why won't you teach someone under 21?

Many teens are very interested in Wicca for many reasons, some good, some not so good. This is great for the religion as they bring vitality and new perspectives. It poses a serious dilemma for teachers, though.

Paganism is not yet well accepted in the mainstream religious community. Many people, with the best intentions in their heart, firmly believe that no matter what actual, practicing Pagans say, Paganism in all its forms is evil. It is their right to believe this, but it makes it hard when you're the kid of someone who feels this way, and you feel pulled to a Pagan Path.

When a minor requests teaching of a legal adult, they put that teacher in danger. Yes, danger. The teacher risks everything from being sued or arrested to losing their jobs or getting beat up in a back alley. Does this sound drastic and fantastical? Yes. Does it happen? Yes. Parents who feel that Wicca is evil are not going to sit quietly while their precious son or daughter goes off to study it, and their anger is likely going to be focused on the person "facilitating" this, or in other words, the teacher.

Aside from dangers to a teacher, there are good reasons for any teen to wait to find a teacher. When you are a teen it is a time of growth and exploration. You are learning to be a grown-up, a person with interests and opinions all your own. This is a time when you should be trying all sorts of things to find out what they're like. Do you really want yet another person telling you what to believe and how to feel about the world?

If you really feel called to Wicca, then here is what we recommend. These recommendations work for non-teens, too.

Read. Read everything you can get your hands on, fiction, non-fiction. Read mythology, physics, biology, history and chemistry. These five subjects actually correspond to the five elements. Earth=biology, Air=history, Water=physics, Fire=chemistry and Spirit=mythology. They will give you a good, solid understanding of the world around you, and remember we're a NATURE-based religion, so if you want to understand Nature, you have to study Her. Another good reason to read in these five subjects is that none of them are "overtly Pagan", so if your parents don't approve, they won't necessarily realize what you're reading is part of the fundamental base of your Pagan studies. If you can get away with it, try reading a few comparative religions books, and attending services of as many different churches and religions as possible.

Spend as much time as you can outside. Observe the world around you. Write and/or draw in a journal what you see, the people, the plants, animals, buildings. Watch the cycles of the changing seasons. Learn the feel of the Earth around you. If you can, plant a garden. Even for brown-thumbs like me, growing a plant gives you a wonderful sense of accomplishment and connection. I like Pothos since they're almost impossible to kill. :)

All of this will give you a solid, healthy basis for beginning classes on the Wiccan religion. In fact, it'll probably put you miles ahead of most people!

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What books do you recommend?

There are a lot of good and bad books out there on the Craft. I highly recommend that you read everything you can get your hands on and then come to your own conclusions. However, as a starting place, here are a few books that we recommend.
  • Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham
  • Spiral Dance by Starhawk
  • Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler (I found this one a little dry, but it’s a good overview of different types of Paganism)
  • Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wicca & Witchcraft by Zimmerman & Gleason
  • A Witches’ Bible Compleat by Janet & Stewart Farrar (This book includes both The Witches’ Way and Eight Sabbats for Witches. It’s very Alexandrian/Gardnerian Wicca, but its value far exceeds the historical context that it gives to Wicca. There’s a lot of really good info in here.)

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Other FAQs

Please note, the Internet is a very fluid environment. No guarantee is made with regards to the content or activeness of the below links. These are just other places to find more information. Also, none of these links/sites are affiliated with the Chantry of the Green Mountain.

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