[Chado2423]

OCT 6th

I was up late tonight after preparing my tentative dialogue between my Wiccan associates, so I decided to come back on here and give another word... So The second Wiccan Word of the Day for Oct 6th is

prayer... yep, that's right, the word of the day is "prayer" and not "spell"...

Some people would be surprised to learn that Wiccans often pray in much the same manner that Christians do and don't just sit around casting spells all day. While spells are often a form of ritualized prayer, Wiccans do pray to the God and Goddess (or Great Spirit... God) without the ritualized form. Sometimes they may draw a quick pentagram like a Catholic who may do a Ritualistic Cross... If you ask a Wiccan if they pray, some may say yes and some may say no. This does not mean that one does not pray if they say, no however. This seperation is mainly dealt in semantics and terminology, rather than definitive definitions of words. This is because, in general, many Wiccans do not use the word "pray." When hearing the word "pray", many Wiccans think of formal prayer, such as the Christian Lord's Prayer or Buddhist prayer, for example.

Prayer is also any private conversation with your deity. Some people, Wiccans included, converse with their deities daily, almost as if they were a friend. Other people only speak to their deities when they want to bargain for something, and others still don't talk to them at all. Wiccans also use invocations and evocations as a sort of prayer. Invocations are chants and poems used to appeal to or praise the Lord and Lady, or a specific deity. Sometimes they are improvised, and sometimes pre-written invocations are used. An invocation to the Lord and Lady is usually spoken at the start of a ritual. An evocation is a usually used to call upon power from other sources, such as spirits or from the universe in general. Evocations are most often found in spells, or as part of the casting of the circle for a ritual.

IN AMERICA...

There is often much confusion about Wiccan prayers in governmental settings... The permeance of Judeo-Christian prayers before or after Court Sessions are usually very apparent... The current body of the Supreme Court prays openly on the steps prior to many Court Sessions. It has been said by some that the body of any prayer on any governmental property may actually violate the principle of the seperation of Church and State. So why therefore would Wiccans argue for Wiccan prayer by Respected Wiccan Clergy in governmental agencies? The reason is not so much as the concept of seperation of church and state, but one of equality! It is religious opression in a place where other religions are allowed to stand free. Perhaps the correct route would be to allow no religious prayer on governmental property from any faith group... or perhaps the correct route would be to allow all religions the right to pray on governmental poperty. It is really difficult to say which is right, but if a Christian is allowed to pray freely and to honor his nations ideal of religious freedom, a Wiccan is quite confused why they cannot do the same.