FAQIs McBride a Wiccan religion?
No, McBride is not a Wiccan tradition. McBride is strongly influenced and grateful for the work and history of Wiccan traditions, but does not abide by the Wiccan Rede. It is a pagan religion and a witchcraft tradition. What is Wicca? Wicca is an organized religion based on the worship of nature and nature based deities. It is based on an ecclectic gathering of Western European magical traditions and Eastern philosophy. Wiccans worship the Goddess, the manifestation of the creator as the giver of life in 3 stages; Maiden, Mother & Crone. Many traditions, such as Gardnerian Wicca, also worship male deities in the form of the Warrior God or Green Man. Wiccan religions abide by the Wiccan Rede, which is usually summed up by "An ye harm none, do as ye will". What does being a pagan religion mean? A pagan religion is one that worships the divine in nature - gods of trees, rivers, the sky, etc. In McBride, both genders of deities are worshipped. Female divinity is recognized in the stages of Maiden in Blossom, Mother of Nature, and Crone who Reaps. Male divinity is recognized in the stages of Son of Pleasure, Knight of Protection and Alder of Sacrifice. The balance between female and male is a constant dance. What does being a witchcraft tradition mean? Witchcraft is any tradition or collection of traditions in which practitioners practice magical rituals, ceremonies and do spell work. The way magic is taught, rituals are performed and the associations used in spell work is what makes up the tradition. In McBride there is a balance between ceremonial work and wild magick. It is a loose form of ceremonial magic where adherence to procedures, and recording practices of what has worked and doesn’t, is encouraged so rituals may be a refined science. Practitioners are encouraged to experiment with different ways to perform magical work once they have mastered the traditional method. This way new information can be learned and rituals and ceremonies refined for the betterment of the community. Why be a McBride Witch? The purpose of McBride is for the practitioner to come into, and remain, in harmony with themselves and nature so the practitioner may enhance their life, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Is there set doctrine? In McBride additional teachings are added to our knowledge base, but only High Priestesses can adapt the traditional doctrines that are passed down by their covens. Wiccan traditions often incorporate customs and traditions from the practitioners own witchcraft traditions, such as the addition of the Gypsy practice of tarot reading. As an ecclectic tradition, McBride incorporates and teaches witchcraft customs and techniques from several lineages. Is there a heirarchy like in the Catholic Church? In most traditions of Wicca, there is not a strict hierarchy in which one High Priestess (HPS) is over another HPS, and no central authority. This has changed with some traditions, such as the Dianic setting up of Queendoms. Chain of command is strictly confined to the individual coven with the HPS as leader. In a coven the HPS is the leader, the High Priest is her second. There is a strictly defined heirarchy in the McBride tradition so that individuals can work in roles that best suit their talents. Some are better at teaching, administration or book keeping than they are at archiving, ritual and spell writing, or leading. What do members of a coven do? In short, the High Priestess teaches and holds & guides the energy of group work together. The High Priest assists her in this and guards the Circle from inward and outward disturbances including counseling. Both the HPS and HP are seen as mentors. The Maiden is the High Priestess' helper, and the Knight the High Priest's helper. Are there do's and don't's? There are not rules to govern the live's of individuals as we believe each person is wise and knows right from wrong. Personal responsability, justice and wisdom guide each McBride. To prevent disputes and resolve issues when disputes do happen, we have a set of Laws that govern the tradition. Each Law is followed by an explanation known as the Spirit of the Law. We do teach the Threefold Law and Law of Attraction. The Threefold Law - that which you put out returns to you thrice over. Which is great if you bless someone, but horrible if you curse someone who didn't deserve the punishment. The Law of Attraction - that which you focus on will be drawn to you. This means that if you constantly think of negative and horrible things happening to you, the universe will pay attention to how much energy you're sending out for those horrible things and send them your way. Luckily the same is true for positive and wonderful things. |