Reincarnation and Necromancy in Wicca

While there's no one belief or practice shared by all Wiccans, there are some hallmarks you'll commonly find in Wiccan spaces. These include a belief in reincarnation and the practice of necromancy--but those two things don't look like they go together. Here, I talk through the tension between reincarnation and necromancy, a couple of approaches to resolving that tension, and why I think having tension is a good thing for Wiccan practice.
Buy QABALAH FOR WICCANS:
bookshop.org/p...
Leave a review on Amazon:
www.amazon.com...
Buy TAROT FOR REAL LIFE:
bookshop.org/p...
Leave a review on Amazon:
www.amazon.com...
Pre-order QUEEN OF ALL WITCHERIES:
bookshop.org/p...
Check out my Tarot blog:
jackofwandstar...
Follow me on Twitter:
/ jack_of_wands
Find me on Facebook:
/ jackofwands

[@vijnananath]

I like that you maintain focus on the complexity of the topic. While I have my own explanation of these things (coming, as I do, from a broadly Tantric/Yogic angle, and specifically a Natha perspective), it's usually best to wear such explanations lightly. To clarify a point: the koshas are more directly to do with Vedanta than with Tantra, though some tantrikas do adopt the koshas because they are useful. In any case, the koshas are not explanatory so much as phenomenological; they help to locate subjective experiences. They are not "parts of the soul"; the word "kosha" means "covering" and is often translated as "envelope" or "veil". The koshas are layers of conscious experience from gross to subtle and subtle to gross, with the physical body itself (annamayakosha, "covering made of food") being the densest. I don't know anyone who takes the koshas entirely literally; the Vedanta swamis I've read or spoken with use them as a model for discussion and usually point to them as a way of tracking one's own inner capacity to distinguish between the experiences of the body, of the subtle energy system, of the emotions, etc. They're not separate chunks but a way of examining gradients of a whole.

[@JackChanek]

Thank you for this!

[@Alexander-wq7qo]

In Phillip Pullman's his Dark Materials, souls would go to the Underworld after death till they found the portal back to the land of the living. Then they would become dust (magic, the Anima Mundi) however these souls could still act as their former personalities even when taking new forms in nature.

[@AndrejGardner]

wicca in wicca

[@bhagavansatanicparamahansa1568]

Let's say this, I don't know if the objective truth regarding a person being reincarnated is true because in any case it could be some advanced simulation and as a chaos magician I avoid the fallacy of belief, though I would say in effect, regardless of whether the person objectively exists from their original form, we can collectively define a repeatable and observable experience of a person being reincarnated, temporarily at least, through mediumship which is at least as convincing as the real thing. And for those who offer a different perspective, as in it's the work of Satan, some demon, or simply a great excuse to get someone hopped on Ritalin in a psych ward for a little quick money for the pharmacists, I hear there are a lot of decaffeinated brands on the market just as tasty as the real thing.

[@tyson7687]

In this video, you mention the cyclical nature of the Gods (in a few videos but my question is formulated here) and I have had a running thought that I cannot seem to shake out. If you (or a reader) would be willing to share some thoughts, I would appreciate it. My query goes as such: The Goddess and God help to represent the cycles and seasons we experience on Earth. Obviously, other planets do not experience our cycles and in many cases, other planets do not even have life on them. It feels as though the Goddess and God are linked to our experiences, here on Earth, and the relevance beyond that is not there (in my limited view). If we assume the Goddess and God are beyond this universe or perhaps part of a different dimension, why focus on our planet? How would you recommend working through this? If it is something you've struggled with, how do you manage it? I realize my questions are larger than a KZbin response. However, I have felt stuck for some time and appreciate the help. Thank you, Tyson

[@VizAnyaMSC]

I think it's human nature to try to put oneself in the middle of the story. So we focus on this planet, these seasons, and our experience. It's likely that we would have a different practice and perspective on a different planet, but we hope that we are tapping into universal truths. In Wicca, we tend to focus on the duality of day and night, light and dark, life and death, and the dance between the two because that dance plays itself out in our lives and seasons. But we also recognize that those energies blend and that there are energies beyond and separate. Just like early cultures played out a story of the gods, often in relation to the celestial bodies, we have other energies that have a pull on this planet to a lesser degree than those we tend to place focus on. We tend to focus on the seasons of the Earth and Moon for ritual, but that doesn't mean that we aren't also aware of Mars (Aries), or Mercury (Hermes), or any other number of planetary influences in our lifes.

[@templeofarcadia2076]

Because we live on this planet. The gods don’t “help to represent the seasons” - the seasons/cycles reflect the gods in the world around us.

[@JackChanek]

Personally, I'd disagree with the premise that the Goddess and God are beyond this universe. To my thinking and in my experience, they are very much immanent in this world.

[@tyson7687]

@@templeofarcadia2076 I appreciate your response and your view. Your point would then tie into my query about why most other planets do not also reflect the Gods.

[@tyson7687]

@@JackChanek Thank you for your response. I suppose that would raise the question about other planets. If the Gods, as we know them, are immanent in this world, do other worlds have deities that are immanent within those worlds? Your response actually opens a can of questions about the nature of the Gods. I know that can be personal and vulnerable.