**I’ve edited this entry to remove potentially controversial content, because if my husband didn’t understand what I was trying to say, then I suspect no one will. It is better to take out anything that tempts people to read into it something I don’t mean.**

I recently received an email from a teen who occasionally writes me asking questions about Wicca. This time she asked me about the Lord and Lady, because she said that they weren’t explained well enough in the two books she is reading. (Yes, Silver Ravenwolf books.) Below is essentially the answer I wrote her.

The Lord and Lady, or god and goddess, are the deities of Wicca. They are Who we worship, like God to the Christians or Allah to the Muslims. It might be more accurate to say that Wiccans honour the Lord and Lady. They are there to guide us, like gentle, loving parents.

I’ve written about them a little bit on my website: “http://lotuspond.silentblue.net/wicca/wiccadeityconcepts.html”:http://lotuspond.silentblue.net/wicca/wiccadeityconcepts.html

Your next question might be “What are Their names?”, which actually opens up a big kettle of fish. Some say Their names are Lord and Lady, some say Pan and Diana/Aradia, and some say it depends on the tradition. In my case, I use Lord and Lady when referring to the idea of a male and a female deity, something that encompasses male and female divinity as a whole but is not every god or goddess. (Clear as mud, eh?) And when I meditate or pray (yes, Wiccans pray, we just don’t beg for things), I pray to my patron and matron deities who are a god and goddess who have spoken directly to me, and whom I honour deeply.

Not all Wiccans have patron and matron deities. And, generally speaking, They find you, not the other way around.

You might want to read the chapter on deities in Scott Cunningham’s “_Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner_”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0875421180/lotuspond-20, or Vivianne Crowley’s “_Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Millennium_”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0722532717/lotuspond-20, or Kaatryn MacMorgan-Douglas’ “_All One Wicca_”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0615150942/lotuspond-20. All of these books are much, much more useful than those written by Silver Ravenwolf.