5 Reasons why Teens want to become Wiccan...

In our society today, there are a lot of teenagers (13-16) who claim that they follow an ancient Path of the Goddess. These teens sports around their black outfit, dark make-up and a plate sized Pentacle telling people that they Witches and a high priest/priestess at that-after reading a book on Witchcraft.

When I was younger, Wiccans are not that many in the country. There are a few people who follow Wicca as their religion since the internet is confined on internet cafes at 60 pesos per hour. I could still remember a phase in my life where the Gothic fashion enticed me, however, I did not relate the Gothic fashion into my Wiccan faith. For me, there is always a distinction between the worship of the Gods and the fashion statement.

Times really changed, with the advent of information technology and easy access to online materials more and more teenagers are lured by the call of the magick and the fad that the movies and TV series created.

Now lets list down five possible reasons why teenagers nowadays:

1. They are fascinated by magick- Teenagers experience a lot of problems; from love, school, their parents and peers etc. to make one's problem disappear is a lure that is really hard to resist. If one is able to do everything with a snap of his or her fingers, then it is something that these curious teenagers would like to try. Even though they do not have enough knowledge about the operation spells and magick they would be very glad to summon whatever god from the pits of Tartarus to get what they want.

2. Peer Influence- Teens nowadays are very sociable age group. They operate by packs and think using their own collective consciousness. When one dresses up with one style, everyone in the pack follows. That is the reason we have teenagers who develop their own pop culture- fashion, hair style, tattoos and piercing as well as interests and "practices." If one in the "collective" expresses the interest in practicing magick, almost everyone will follow without even knowing the consequences of their actions.

3. The IN Thing- Over the internet, the television and the movies, Witches and other magickal practitioners are always depicted as people who has control over the elements and the forces of both creation and destruction. Most of the time though they are portrayed as crazy (Nancy from the Craft) or just outright evil ((Morgan Le Fey). For teenagers, being a popular is also a concern especially during high school, when only the pretty and the popular "exist". These teenagers probably thought that being a Wiccan would make them fit into the crowd.

4. Power- With magick comes power. The power to control people, the elements and the best thing of all, destiny is perhaps the greatest lure of all. Many of the "Wiccans" that I knew before are into the power. To get even with their enemies and punish their foes. With the knowledge they learned, they can fend for themselves against those people who offended them. The control people with Power is a very tempting to ignore.

5. an Act of Rebellion- Though not always the case, some of the teenagers who are into Wicca are doing it as an act to rebel to the system, parents and religion. While exploring different spiritual paths is always a very rewarding experience, to do this out of rebellion doesn't really make it fulfilling.

While not all teenagers are into Wicca for the reasons mentioned above (because there are always sincere Seekers), majority of these teens who "practices" the Craft would tire out of it after a few months or years at the most. The reason for this is they have explored the practical side of the religion, the spells and the rituals rather than the spiritual side of it. Some of them are also unguided and would continue with their practice without a mentor or a teacher to assist them therefore "dabbling" into the Sacred Arts.

Without the foundation of belief, the philosophy that governs the practice, and the reverence and worship of the Goddess and the God all "Wiccan" practices that they do would eventually vanish. When the need is not that great or the magick does not work anymore.

Seek first the Path, tread on its crossroads and brave through it in Darkness and in Light. In the end of the journey, you will see the Goddess and the God welcoming you in the Mysteries...

Art by: Jillian Atienza, Concept by R.F Rubin- Mysterium Philippines