Shven

I never said it wasn't 'silly.' I am fully aware that you consider my beliefs to be ridiculous and it doesn't bother me.

Because the large number of atheists who turn up in NARP and say things like 'hur hur hur. All religion is dumb' regardless of its relevance to what ois being discussed can be incredibly tiresome. and that wasn't me being defensive. Me being defensive would be claiming it wasn't silly. what I said was that we accept that you think we are silly and dont care.

radagast

Given that your stated opinion won't change anyones belief, then why post it to a public forum knowing there are those who follow that belief present?

I don't follow Wicca, nor any system requiring belief. However, I see no point in trying to insult others.

Glenn

Nostalgic Pushhead

I think it was very clear that you were refering specifically to the kids. They got caught doing something stupid and muttered some excuse about "witchcraft". The newspaper just assumed from that that they were real "wiccans" or whatever.

EverLastingGodStopper

Anyway, back to the OP: "Is raising the dead part of Wicca?" No. I have never heard of Wiccans talking about raising the dead (or trying to).

radagast

Though it's not Wiccan, I've heard of a spell that is quite effective. Hmm, yes it's the Viagra spell.

newtype_alpha

Depends. Did one of the Wiccans have a cybernetics laboratory? was the corpse a dead police officer named Murphy?

It just occured to me......... how come nobody ever asks Christians this question? If anyone had a ritual for raising the dead you'd think they would :huh:

MadOphelia

Wicca is only taken seriously if its adherents are serious about it. Its those damn fluffy bunny people that make it silly. I started off as one, but it was just before it got more popular. I had quite a few people (mostly girls from school) ask about it after seeing my pentagram but their interest in it was just above childish and silly. Now all you have to do these days is by a wicca kit for teens by Silver Ravenwolf and BAM! you can call yourself wiccan.

Anyway, sounds like these kids saw Practical Magic or something. I remember they tried to bring back Nicole Kidman's dead boyfriend or something in that one. Can't stand that film. The ending made it even worse when they jumped off the roof in pointy hats and green and black striped tights! :angry:

Felt good to rant. Move along now, nothing left to see. :wave:

SqueezetheShaman

The beliefs of many wiccans is actually a lot less silly than you may believe. Many look at the gods as simply archetypes. When they perform rituals, they are simply "speaking" to their "higher self" to perform the "magic" just a fancy but effective way of meta programming.

About the op...
Necromancy is the only form of raising the dead that you hear about commonly in the occult world, in my experience, and the dead body isnt' necessary for it. Re-animation isn't common (attempted) practice for wiccans, I don't believe.

nermal

It strikes me as ironic that practitioners of a religion that is documented to be made up from whole cloth criticize others for not practicing it the "right way." How is people believing in the Practical Magic, Charmed, etc. any less serious than practicing rituals pulled out of thin air in the last 60 years?
The inescapable fact is that "serious" wicca is no more substantial, no more serious than the fluffy bunny stuff. It's different in kind, not depth.

Ed

newtype_alpha

Not neccesarily. You can rather think of it in terms of an art form--say--graphic design or dancing, or even martial arts. There are those who just get in on it because they think it's something cool to do, screw around with it for a bit until they get bored and then move on; and then there are those who start up in it (maybe screw around with it at first) then start to learn the nuances of it, basics, fundamentals, then more advanced forms until they actually get an understanding of it. The "fluffies" are basically akin to somebody who watches a Bruce Lee movie and then goes out and buys a karate uniform, reads about some moves on the internet and pretends to be a black belt. Meanwhile someone actually serious in learning martial arts actually invests time and energy into training, practice, discipline and study. The ones who are serious devote a great deal of study and consideration into it, and (unlike most fluffies) dont get bored and move on to something else come graduation time.