Hi everyone, I'm brand-new here, and I hope it's okay to just kind of... launch right into things. I have a question... or.. well a problem, and I'm seeking advice
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But then, my scientific side says there's no proof of any such thing and any perceived effects are purely caused by the human mind being more that capable and willing to trick itself and makes us feel/see what we want.
Now, I of course have no idea what your version of Wicca is like (particularly since I see you posted in the solitary community as well). But the version I was taught, and which I teach, is orthopraxic. That is, it's defined by what we do, and what people may or may not believe is utterly irrelevant. The foundation of Wicca is the personal experience. As long as the practitioner gets the kind of experience they need from the practice, who cares if it's because of something supernatural, confirmation bias, placebo effect or random chance? If it works, it works.
The problem with this is, it leaves my at a very odd place. Because it means that I don't know if prayers or rituals or anything really have any kind of effect.
Well, did you experience an effect? Then the prayer/ritual/anything had one. If not, it didn't. Note that "made you feel spiritually fulfilled and/or generally better" does count as an effect.
If you were one of my students, I'd tell you to stop worrying about those large-scale cosmic questions. They're fundamentally unanswerable, and thinking about them is at best an amusing pastime. At worst its a destructive spiral of doubt and uncertainty. Instead, focus on now and here. On what you do, and what it gives you. If what you do gives you something you need, fine. Keep it up. Do it more, if you want. If it doesn't give you what you need, change what you're doing until it does.
There are atheist wiccans, although they are rare. Agnostic ones, on the other hand, are downright common.
Now, I of course have no idea what your version of Wicca is like (particularly since I see you posted in the solitary community as well). But the version I was taught, and which I teach, is orthopraxic. That is, it's defined by what we do, and what people may or may not believe is utterly irrelevant. The foundation of Wicca is the personal experience. As long as the practitioner gets the kind of experience they need from the practice, who cares if it's because of something supernatural, confirmation bias, placebo effect or random chance? If it works, it works.
The problem with this is, it leaves my at a very odd place. Because it means that I don't know if prayers or rituals or anything really have any kind of effect.
Well, did you experience an effect? Then the prayer/ritual/anything had one. If not, it didn't. Note that "made you feel spiritually fulfilled and/or generally better" does count as an effect.
If you were one of my students, I'd tell you to stop worrying about those large-scale cosmic questions. They're fundamentally unanswerable, and thinking about them is at best an amusing pastime. At worst its a destructive spiral of doubt and uncertainty. Instead, focus on now and here. On what you do, and what it gives you. If what you do gives you something you need, fine. Keep it up. Do it more, if you want. If it doesn't give you what you need, change what you're doing until it does.
There are atheist wiccans, although they are rare. Agnostic ones, on the other hand, are downright common.
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