mydnyte asked this question on 5/14/2000:

Is there such a thing as an afterlife in Wicca? How does it, if it exists, compare to the views of Christians or Moslems? If it doesn't exist, what do Wiccans see as reason to live a good or fulfilling life?

Strix gave this response on 5/17/2000:

Good question, the afterlife and Wicca. Ok, Those who practice Wicca have a general belief of reincarnation. Also for many people death is a morbid subject rarely touched upon. Through out many religions the after life is thought to be Heaven, Hell, or Reincarnation. In those same thoughts though, many dont wish to think about death as they are fearfull of it happening to them. It is our opinion that death should not be feared, it is a cycle of our life. We are born unto the earth, we grow with knowledge, most of us live out full lives, and then our bodies die. The Cycle of life is the same in nature as it is for humans, with the exception of time periods. In Wicca, most believe in some form of reincarnation. Wicca does not hold boundaries in After Life beliefs however.

Through out the following pages Reincarnation will be heavily discussed. This is not the only option in the After Life. If you are unsatisfied with the Idea/Belief of reincarnation, you need to look into something you know is right for you. Maybe you believe in becoming a faery when you die, or perhaps you believe in heaven. Whatever the case may be dont limit your options of what you feel the after life is.

The summerland is where the pagan souls go after their bodies have died. There are bits and pieces of litterature on the summerland. The way we have it understood is this . . . Your soul rests in the summerland until it is time to be reincarnated. It is a place of bliss and relaxing, where you can collect all your thoughts togeather from the live you just recently lived. After re-thinking the life, you choose your new one. The point of this is to gain insight on the things you feel must be learned still. While in the summerland you can choose your sex, color, parents, lovers, lifestyle, financial well-being, children, and so on. After creating the new life, you are reincarnate into the new body, thus leaving the summerland. And in a cycle this goes, such is life. A recent film we watched gives a somewhat ok example of the summerland. The movie has some christian depications in it but over-all gives a bit of an idea. The movie is entitled below.

Ah, the old belief in reincarnation, finally we meet.

Reincarnation, the belief that most pagans hold true to the afterlife. The majority, but not all believe in our bodies being reincarnate unto another body. There are many different forms of reincarnation. The most popular being that when humans die, they are taken to the summerland to wait while they decide on what there next life will be like. The soul is the reincarnate into another body (baby). Some people believe that the souls can be thousands of years old, and after traveling through life many times, they get it right and continue on to the next spiritual level.

Another form of reincarnation that many hold true to there hearts is the belief in energy shape shifting. For example ---> Everything is made up of tiny particles of energy, our bodies, our plants, animals, plastic, etc. Energy can never die, science has proven that. So the energy must go somewhere. That means are energy can be reincarnate unto the earth, plants, another spiritual plain and so on. There is so much to read on all the different facets of reincarnation. So paganism.org recommends that you visit your nearest bookstore if any of the above sounds likely to you.

The spirit plains are where the spirits roam, astral guides are found, and meditation is done to reach it. The spirit plains come from early shamanism. The native americans and shamans have held these beliefs for ever. Spirit Plains also known as Spirit Realms were held as a sacred belief to the Celts. The celts did not believe in reincarnation, but believed the physical body died and was reborn in the other world. The celts also believed it was possible for humans to evolve into gods, who then would re-enter the earth as great, divine teachers to help the advancement of the human race.

Though the belief in the body dying and the soul flowing to the spirit plains is not the only thing they are for. It is widely practised by shamans to under go heavy meditation to reach there spirit guide which is from the spirit plains. The spirit guide or guardian spirit is the source of the shamans powers. All the above information is curtosey of http://paganism.org/edu/

The average rating for this answer is 5.

mydnyte rated this answer a 5.

Very cool