What is Wicca?

I’ve mentioned Wicca a lot in my post because well, I’m Wiccan. But I was thinking the other day about what my first thoughts were about Wicca when I first heard about it and I thought that a lot of people here on Progressive U might be thinking some of the same things that I did when I didn’t know anything about it other than what I’ve heard here and there. So, I figure that I should set the record straight as much as I can by explaining what Wicca is, what we do, and what we don’t do. There’s a lot more to Wicca than what’s written here in this blog, so please, if you have any questions, either ask me and I will get an answer for you or hit the Internet.

I would like to start off by saying that nothing mention below is said to be the “truth” or the “only way” by me or by Wiccans alike. We believe that spirituality is something that’s supposed to be personal to each and every person, so with that said, we know that Wicca isn’t for everyone nor do we ever claim that it should be. Our spirituality is filled with myth and lore, but we know and accept that fact. We enjoy the myths and stories and we hold those dear to our hearts. They help us to be more spiritual and that’s what it’s all about. Believe in the tooth fairy and fairies all you want if that’s what does it for you spirituality. We believe that as long as you’re not pushing your beliefs, hurting yourself or others, then it’s all good.

Wicca is a spirituality practice that falls under the umbrella of Neo-Paganism. I say “Neo” because it really wouldn’t be correct to claim that we are Pagans (without the Neo). Pagans would be those people who actually practiced the ancient Pagan religions. Sometimes in normal conversation, many Neo-Pagans will leave off the Neo, but most know that the correct way to refer to ourselves is to include the “Neo”. Neo means “New”, so to say that Wicca is a “new” religious movement, would be absolutely correct. No matter what others may tell you, Wicca is new. A lot of people (Wiccans) will say that Wicca is ancient, but either they are badly mistaken, or what they really mean is that Wicca is a spirituality practice that includes ancient Pagan “practices”. The religion itself was started in the 50’s by a man of the name of Gerald Gardner and he is definitely not ancient.

Gardner was a British civil servant who is credited with bringing back what he called “a survival of an old Witchcraft religion” and what he called Wicca. Gardner had been practicing for a long time, but wasn’t able to bring Wicca to surface until the European Witchcraft Act was repealed in 1951. Yes, there were actual Acts against the practice of Witchcraft that started in the early 1401’s and lasted through 1951. Once the Act was repealed in 1951, this finally opened the door (legally) for Gardner to publish books (that he had been writing for many years) and practice Wicca openly without the fear of legal prosecution.

Wicca is an earth-based spirituality practice that honors a God and a Goddess, the earth, the elements, and everything that makes up our universe. The elements that I refer to are earth, air, fire, water, and of course…spirit. Each element represents either the God or Goddess and directions. For instance; Earth and Water represent North, West, and the Goddess, where Fire and Air represent South, East, and the God. Depending on the tradition of Wicca, these can sometimes be different. Wicca was definitely styled with the influence of late Victorian era occultism and the spiritual aspect was inspired by ancient Pagan faiths. The spiritual aspect is also heavily influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism.

Wicca could probably be most closely compared to Native American spirituality more than any other in America. Wicca is made up of a variety of Witchcraft / magickal practices and concepts. Most Wiccans refer to themselves as Witches. Not all forms of Witchcraft necessarily fall under Wicca. There are many Witches out there that do not claim the Wicca religion. So just like the saying that “all Wiccans are Pagans, but not all Pagans are Wiccans”…you could also say that “all Wiccans are Witches, but not all Witches are Wiccan”. The best way to explain the difference between Witchcraft and Wicca is that Wicca is the actual religion and Witchcraft is the practice of the religion. And a Witch can be defined as “one who practices Witchcraft”.

The word “Wicca “before modernized was originally “Wica” and was used by Gardner to refer to the adherents of his tradition of Witchcraft, not the actual religion. Wica seemed to have origins with an Old English word Wicca, which meant “male witch” or “wizard” and seemed to predate the modern English version of the word “Witch”. The exact origins of the words Wicca, Wiccan (plural), Wicce (female), and Wiccecraft (Witchcraft) are really unknown. There are numerous theories of their true meanings and probably the most common or most used meaning of the word “Wicca” is “craft of the wise”.

Wicca has no central authority, nor does it contain a canonized doctrine that everyone follows. There are tons of books out there on Wicca, but they really only serve as guides. Typically, the main principles of Wicca are shared , but at the end of the day, spirituality is something that should be personal to you; therefore many Wiccans have many different ways in which they worship.

Wiccans generally don’t proselytize. When dealing with covens (a gathering of Witches) and whatnot, it has been known for covens to even turn people away. This is a religion of the heart and is many times highly discouraged for anyone under the age of 18 to be officially involved. This happens because many Wiccan groups or covens want people who are of the age to make the decision for themselves as to what they want in life, especially when it comes to their spirituality. This doesn’t mean that those under 18 aren’t allowed to practice Wicca, but as far as a coven goes, usually the rule is 18 or older.

Eclectic Wicca is probably the most popular form of Wicca right now. It combines the basic principles of Wicca with numerous traditions within Wicca and with other practices that fall under the Neo-Paganism umbrella. I consider myself to be Eclectic. The main reason that most people like this is for the simple fact that being Eclectic allows you to practice in any way, shape, or form that you want. Again, the principles are usually the same, but that’s basically it. Anything else that you want to add or take away is up to you.

To Wiccans, Deity is usually considered “The Source”, “The All”, “The One”, etc… Deity is really unknowable, but Wiccans are able to see and realized that Deity isn’t just male or female, but both. This is where the worship of the God and Goddess comes in. The God and Goddess are normally seen as primal beings who are the source of everything, yet they are also considered to be familiar in such a way that they are there for you on a personal level. They are usually seen as complementary of each other (male and female). The God and Goddess can be seen and worshipped in many different ways and in a room full of fifty Wiccans, you could probably get just as many different ways in which they choose to worship the God and Goddess.

Some Wiccans believe in the monotheist belief that there is only one Deity. Others may subscribe to the Polytheist belief that there are multiple Deities (Gods and Goddesses). There are also Wiccans who believe in a Pantheist belief systems, which states that all things created in the universe equals Deity. Many also believe in an Animist belief, which states that all things created (animate and inanimate) are filled with the Divine and/or has a soul. And many believe in a combination of two or more of the beliefs above. Although many believe in one Deity, they will break down Deity into multiple Gods and/or Goddesses. This is done to make interaction with Deity easier and on a more personal level. To me this is no different that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit aspect of Christianity. You can’t communicate with “God” directly, so that’s what Jesus is there for. Jesus was created to give people someone who they could relate and talk to. There’s also Pantheons. Pantheons are collections of Deities, such as the Roman or Greek Gods / Goddesses that many Wiccans and Pagans call to in order to have their prayers answered on an even more personal level. (Example: The Titans or The Olympians)

The bottom line is that no matter what way a Wiccan chooses to worship Deity (God and Goddess), they are still ultimately only worshipping One Force. Everything that I mentioned above (Pantheons, Gods, Goddesses, etc…) are only aspects of the “One”. This can be hard for some to grasp, so I like to use the diamond analogy. If you look closely at a diamond, you will see that the diamond has many different facets to it. Those facets together make the diamond whole. This is just like how Wiccans look at Deity. Deity is the whole diamond, but in order to be on a more personal level with Deity, many Wiccans only focus on either one or a small handful of the facets.

The primal God and Goddess are viewed very similarly by many Wiccans. The God is usually viewed as a Horned God (not the devil) of hunting, magick, and death and is the ruler of the underworld (also know as the lower or otherworld). The Sun is a symbol of the God to Wiccans and many Pagans alike. The God takes on different roles throughout the year, as does the Goddess. The God is known to have three aspects to his life (trinity). The first is the Page, which is when the God is said to be in his young and courting stage of life. The second is called the Father, which is when the God is in his caring and fatherly stage. The last aspect of the God is called the Sage, which is when the God is said to be most powerful and wise.

The Goddess is usually view as Mother Earth and the Eternal Virgin who gives birth to the God (who brings life to everything) every year at Yule (22 Dec / Winter Solstice (sound familiar?) The Moon is the symbol for the Goddess for Wiccans and many Pagans alike. The Goddess is also known to have three aspects (trinity). The Maiden is the first aspect, which is when the Goddess is said to be in her young and courting stage of life. The Mother is the second aspect, which is when the Goddess is carrying the seeds (the God) that will eventually be born and bring life to the earth again. And finally, the Crone is the third aspect and this is when the Goddess is said to be most powerful and wise.

Wiccans don’t view the God or Goddess as being more important than the other, but the Goddess is seen as pre-eminent since everything is of her, but the God is the “Spark of Life”, her lover, and the child that is born of her every year, so one cannot survive without the other.

The most famous symbol of Wicca is known as the pentacle, which is a five-pointed star (top spire facing upwards) with a circle around it. There are many different explanations on what the symbol stands for, so I will give you the one that I like to use. The area inside each point of the star represents one of the four elements, with the top point representing spirit. The circle around the star represents the circle of life and infinity. Kind of how a wedding band is symbolic of never ending love, the circle around the star is kind of the same thing. In some traditions, once you reach a certain point in your training, your pentacle is turned upside down. This has nothing to do with the devil or anything like that. It’s supposed to be symbolic of a time when a person is looking inward and exploring their inner self. Eventually the pentacle will be turned right side up again (where spirit belongs). This is only done by certain traditions of Wicca.

The Wiccan Rede is basically our code of ethics and morality. There are different versions of the Rede, some short and some long, but no matter which version you read, you will always find eight words which are the heart of our faith. “An ye harm none, do what thy will.” Really no different than the “Golden Rule” or any other code of ethics and morality from any particular religion. The origin of the Rede is not really known, but now it seems to be a part of Wicca that will be with it forever.

There’s also a Law of Threefold Return that many if not most Wiccans believe in. The Law of Three is basically like Karma. The belief that what you do comes back times three really isn’t the point. The point is that, whatever you do in life (physically, mentally, or on a spiritual level) will eventually come back to you in some way, shape, or form, whether it be positive or negative. This is where the Law of Attraction comes in to play as well. Many Wiccans also follow a set of eight virtues; and those virtues are: mirth, reverence, honour, humility, strength, beauty, power, and compassion.

So what about magic? Well for starters, many Wiccans use the spelling magick (with a “K”) to show the difference in the magick that Wiccans perform and the magic that you might see on stage at some show in Vegas. Magick and spells are used by Witches all the time, but to tell you the truth, everybody uses magick and cast spells…even Christians. Other people just call it something different. Spells are basically the same thing as a prayer. Christians pray for healing and Wiccans do too, but sometimes we do some extra things. These things can be called magick and/or spellwork.

A very simple spell that one may use, would be for healing. I would venture to say that a great percentage of our spellwork is done for healing. So, a healing spell might look / sound something like this. First, I take a candle that is the right color (different colors represent and mean different things). I might use some essential oil to “dress” the candle in (basically put oil on the candle). The oil used would also have healing properties. Ok, so far I have a blue candle and I’m using peppermint essential oil to dress the candle. Then I might spread some actual peppermint herbs on a plate and roll the candle in the herbs. Again, herbs have different qualities about them and peppermint is known for it’s healing properties. Now that the candle is dressed in oil and herbs, I will place it somewhere safe (alter or wherever you want). I like to have a picture of the person that I’m sending the healing energy to on my alter. This helps to focus on that person. Then I sit down, light the candle, and pray or meditate on seeing that person well again. So, it’s really not all about potions and puffs of smoke like you see in the movies. It is usually a very well thought out process and almost 100% of the time is accomplished for the benefit of others. One thing that I must mention is that the rule for performing magick and spells on other people requires that person’s permission. Maybe the person that I want to see healed, doesn’t want to be healed. Then I would be messing with someones free will and that is against what Wicca is all about. So no, we don’t do hexes on people and negative things like that. Everything we do is usually for the greater good.

The term Wicca use to be reserved only for those who were initiates of one of the traditional branches of Wicca (Gardnerian or Alexandrian), but today it is more accepted for even those who don’t belong to a coven at all to call themselves Wiccan. These practitioners are called solitary practitioners. I actually prefer the solitary route as opposed to the others. The others come with dogmas that I might not like, so being an eclectic solitaire is the way to go for me and many, many others.

Even though I’m an Eclectic Witch, I have still found time to enroll in a traditional Witch School. Many traditions have a three degree system that people can follow. The first degree is usually to earn the title of Witch or to gain membership into a coven. The second degree is usually setup to earn the title of High Priest or Priestess. The third degree is usually reserved for clergy only. But again, you do not have to go through these steps to call yourself a Witch. These are just very formal ways of earning degrees and becoming extremely educated in the ways of Wicca.

Many Wiccans enjoy the Ritual aspect that comes with the territory of being a Wiccan. Again, not all Wiccans do ritual, but most do. A ritual can be very elaborate or it can be very simple. It can be a few candles setup on a table or the use of an alter with tools that represent the elements, symbols that represent the God and Goddess, etc… Rituals are usually performed to celebrate the Sabbats, Esbats, to perform Magick, or sometimes just for meditation. The God, Goddess, and the Guardians of the four elements are usually called in to be present during a typical ritual. A sacred circle is cast during most if not all rituals, which is basically creating a sacred place to worship, just like what a church is except Wiccans can create sacred space any where and any time.

During a ritual, one might choose to have tools present to represent different things. Some of these tools are; the Athame, which is a dagger that is never used to cut anything. The Athame is usually used to cast the sacred circle. It represents the God (phallic symbol), the element of Fire, and South. The Wand is also a very popular tool that you may find on a Wiccan’s alter. The Wand also represents the God (again a phallic symbol), the element of Air, and East. The properties of the Wand and Athame are sometimes opposite depending on the person or the tradition. Next you might find a Chalice or something that holds water. This tool will be used to represent the Goddess, the element of Water, and West. You may also find crystals on an alter that are there to represent the Goddess, the element of Earth, and North. The pentacle can also be used to represent the Earth, but is also used to represent the Spirit. These are just a few tools out of the many different kinds that may be found on an alter. Nothing stated above is set in stone either. Some people like to use the tools mentioned above for South as the tools for the North. It’s all about personal preference.

So what do Wiccan’s wear during their rituals? This ties into one of the myths about Wicca, in that we do everything in the nude or “Skyclad”. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I would say that most Wiccans out there do not do their rituals in the nude, especially those who are in covens. Some traditions of Wicca are more known for going Skyclad during ritual, but it’s pretty rare among most. Many Wiccans choose to wear robes, many just wear street clothes, and some even wear renaissance like attire. There isn’t a set way to dress or “undress” in a Wiccan ritual. Again, it’s all about the tradition and/or the persons involved.

As mentioned above, Wiccans usually perform rituals when they celebrate the Sabbats. There are eight Sabbats that Wiccan celebrate and these eight Sabbats make up what is called the Wheel of the Year. The Wheel of the Year follows the cycles of the Sun. The Sabbats are: Samhain, which is on Oct 31st and is a time when we celebrate death, remember our lost loved ones, and ancestors. Samhain is the most sacred Sabbat in the Wheel of the Year and it is also known as the Witch’s new year. The next Sabbat is called Yule. Yule is the Winter Solstice and is celebrated around the 21st of Dec. This is the shortest day and longest night and is when we celebrate the “birth of the Sun” because after Yule, the days begin to increase in length again. This gives everyone hope that the earth will once again warm up and provide for us like she always has before. Next is Imbolc, which is celebrated on Feb 1st. This Celebration has also been called Candlemass and is a time when we celebrate the coming of Spring. After Imbolc is Ostara. Ostara is celebrated around 21 March and is the Spring Equinox. This is when day and night are once again equal and the day light hours once again last longer than the night hours. Ostara is a celebration of the beginning of spring, fertility and rebirth. The earth is now in full bloom and the signs off life renewed are everywhere. Next is Beltane. Beltane is the second most sacred of Sabbats second only to Samhain. Beltane is a celebration of fertility. This is when the God and Goddess are said to join as one when the perform the sacred rite (otherwise known as sex). After Beltane, we move into Midsummer. Midsummer is celebrated around June 21st. Midsummer is the Summer Solstice and is the longest day and shortest night. After midsummer, the days begin to shorten again. Next is Lughnasadh, which is celebrated on August 1st. Lughnasadh is celebrated as the first harvest or the beginning of the harvest season. We then move into Mabon, which is celebrated around 22 September and is the Autumn Equinox. Again, day and night are equal on this day and after the Equinox, the days will again be shorter than the nights. And finally we end back at Samhain where it all began. To learn more about the Sabbats, you can look on the internet and find all kinds of information on each and every one of them.

Esbats are a bit different than Sabbats. Esbats mark and celebrate the full moons. Rituals are conducted during these times as well. There are many different celebrations of the moon, but the full moon celebrations are probably the most popular. Waxing, waning, new, and dark moons are also celebrated. It all depends on your magickal purpose as to which moon you want to “use” or celebrate.

Another ceremony that you might hear about or witness in the Wiccan community is called Handfasting. Handfastings have been around a lot longer than Wicca has been around, but they are very popular among the Wiccan folk. A Handfasting is basically a wedding ceremony. This ceremony is a trial marriage though and it last for a year and a day. This ceremony can also be referred to as “bondings”, “joinings”, or “eclipses”. Some Wiccans and/or Pagans use the Handfasting ceremony as their actual wedding instead of a trial marriage. Again, personal preference is what it’s all about.

There’s also a ceremony called a Wiccaning, which is basically like a Christening that is performed on an infant. The purpose of the Wiccaning is to present the infant to the God and Goddess. This is done more for protection than it is for anything else. This procedure does not “make” the child a Wiccan. It is just done for protection. Most if not all Wiccan children are encouraged to use the free will that has been given to them, even if that means they end up not choosing the Wiccan path later in life. Children are not expect to make a decision on what path they want to follow until much later in life.

There are many different traditions that fall under Wicca. Some of them are: Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Dianic (Feminists Wicca), Seax, Correllian, Blue Star, Faery, Kemetic, and Obyssean just to name a few.

Wicca and the afterlife. Most Wiccans believe in reincarnation in place of going to heaven or hell once you die. This makes a lot of sense to a lot of us, but might not work for everyone.

There are many different myths that surround Wicca and I would like to take up a few lines here to dispel as many myths that I can think of that haven’t been mentioned already above.

Is Wicca Satanism? Well that depends on who you ask. Wiccans all know that Wicca isn’t any where close to Satanism, but if you ask a Christian, they might say it is because to Christians who truly follow the bible; any religion outside of Christianity is of the devil. So again, it all depends on who you ask. Wiccans do not believe in the devil. Satan is a Christian creation and has nothing to do with Wicca. Many Wiccans don’t even believe in “evil”, but that’s a whole separate story. Satan and Witchcraft were linked together by the Christian Church during the “Burning Times” of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. They continue to be linked together due to the fact that the church won’t correct its mistakes of the past.

Witches can be male and female. Over the ages, Witches have always been described as female, but this isn’t the case at all. Many say that male Witches are called “Warlocks”, but again this is false. A Warlock is said to be a Witch (male or female) who has betrayed the principles of Wicca or who betrayed his/her coven. The image of the Witch that you know today (female, old, ugly, green hag who rides around on a broom) are images created by the Church. Movies still use images such as these not knowing or not caring that they are offending an entire religion.

Tabias-

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