What is Wicca>?

Question

WHAT IS WICCA? i want to learn so i can practice. i would like to learn the rules of wicca. i want to be wiccan. please and thank you. blessed be! :D

sorry if i sound ignorant but, i have spent a lot of time so far researching the meaning of wicca. and so far i do not believe that i have truly found it. i wish to know the meanings of it so i can learn to (maybe) practice. i did not mean to make it seem like i just want to jump into it unwisely. i have another question about the wiccan religion and once again, would like to know more. so please if you would be kind enough to help me. i would be grateful. than you and blessed be.

Answer 1

I will share the question – if you do not know what Wicca is then why do you want to be Wicca yourself, or more precisely how do you know you want to be Wicca? Wicca itself is a priesthood and as such is highly formal, it does not have 'rules' but it does have aspects that define it quite specifically.

Wicca is a henotheistic religion, which recognises its own specific gods, while not denying the existence of gods and goddesses from other pantheons. Wicca itself is a 'hard polytheistic' religion, meaning that Wicca see their deities as specific individual beings. The gods of Wicca are known as the Horned God and Great Mother, these are outer court references meant to be used as place holders for the real names of their gods until the Seeker is initiated and taught those names. Some people refer to Wicca as 'earth-based' however although Wicca is pantheistic in some sense by large Wicca tend not to learn towards this definition of their faith, but seem to learn more towards an attitude similar to that of Asatru.

Wicca was founded by Gerald Gardner in around the 1930's, although the exact date is open for discussion, also open for discussion is whether Gardner founded Wicca entirely or whether it was an already existing spirituality which he merely re-introduced and re-invented (there are Wicca groups that do not have lineage back to Gardner, but to the coven whom initiated Gardner), either way he is considered the founding father of Wicca. Gardner brought together Paganism with influences from many sources including the rituals and teachings of Freemasonry and Golden dawn resulting in a unique orthopraxic religion. Wicca embraces it's early Pagan roots in history, the history of Pagan faiths and the gods whom they followed and worshipped, Wicca also introduces eastern philosophy into it's primarily western path, along with this possibly one of Wicca's best known features, that of religious witchcraft.

Wicca is gaining much attention due to a change in peoples approach to religion and the increase in public awareness of the religion through media attention and with this attention there has come much change to the face of Wicca with many forms:

WICCA is an initiate only mystery tradition, or more precisely a priesthood, where one can trace their lineage back to Gardner. Initiation is the only way into Wicca, and is carried out by a Wicca coven, initiation into a coven requires formal training after which initiation and a system of degrees is followed.

Wicca follows a strong set of doctrines, one who takes on the name 'Wicca' is also taking on these doctrines as well as practices and beliefs of Wicca, the title of 'Wicca' implies more than that you are a member of Wicca, but also that you have worked long and hard to earn that title.
Seekers are those who wish to become Wicca however have yet to find a Wicca coven. Wicca covens can be hard to find let alone become a member of, often those whom are without a coven continue to study Wicca and surrounding subjects while seeking a Wicca coven to join.

Often Wicca is described as 'Traditional Wicca' or 'BTW:British Traditional Wicca'.

NEO-Wicca is a new phenomenon, which is usually wholly eclectic, however like Wicca there are various different traditions. Neo-wicca often learn on their own terms, from books and other sources, but have little or no formal training and no initiation into Wicca. The beliefs of Neo-wicca are generally similar to that of Wicca however the details can often vary greatly as it follows the new age idea of personal belief/spirituality over formal religious doctrine. Neo-Wicca have varied views of the divine, either following soft-polytheism seeing all gods and goddesses as one god/goddess, polytheism working with gods and goddesses from various pantheons or pantheism working with a single divine present in all.

The 'Neo' in Neo-wicca refers to the New Age approach taken by Neo-wicca that puts emphasis on personal spirituality or belief over the organized religion of Wicca. It also refers to a new take on Wicca, this has less to do with the age of the religion but the idea that this is a belief system which may have come naturally from Wicca if it was allowed to evolve in it’s own time, media influences have brought about Neo-wicca, it develops paralleled to Wicca, but is not part of Wicca.

Often Neo-wicca describe themselves as 'Eclectic Wicca' or 'Solitary Wicca', although not actually Wicca.

Although Wicca is heavily influenced or based upon witchcraft it is not the main belief behind Wicca, the terms 'Wicca' and 'witch' are not interchangeable. The practice of witchcraft fits well with the Wicca way of prayer and ritual, which often involves a highly personal relationship with the divine, the witchcraft of Wicca also works well with how Wicca views the universe as working, however it should be noted that witchcraft can be practiced by many religions as well as by Atheists and Agnostics.

Wicca is not dogmatic, much of the morality and ethics of Wicca are in fact determined by the individuals take on a given situation. Often followers of Wicca will incorporate utilitarianism, which means that an act is carried out for the greater good or elements of their own morality rather then seek to find suitable behavior based on Wicca doctrine.

The rede plays a large part in the morality and ethics of Wicca, there are many takes and much documentation on the rede that can be found in many places, the rede however in itself can be clearly understood by the quote below given by Gardner himself.

"[Witches] are inclined to the morality of the legendary Good King Pausol, "Do what you like so long as you harm no one". But they believe a certain law to be important, "You must not use magic for anything which will cause harm to anyone, and if, to prevent a greater wrong being done, you must discommode someone, you must do it only in a way which will abate the harm." Gerald Gardner, The Meaning of Witchcraft, p 127 in the 1982 and 1999 printings

Another aspect of the Wiccan ethical philosophy is that of the 'law of return' often known as the 'three fold law' which is similar to that of western karmic philosophy, that anything you do either good or bad will come back to you in terms of cause and effect. Law of return is often more closely associated with magic ethics rather than the everyday ethics covered by the rede or other Wiccan ethical beliefs, however is often thought of as cause and effect. This is also often referred to as the 'rule of three' or 'law of three'.

Reliable sites on Wicca;

http://amberandjet.spiralpaths.org
http://www.cyprian.org/Articles/gardchron.htm
http://www.wargoddess.net/index.php
http://wicca.timerift.net
http://www.starkindler.org
http://www.asiya.org
http://www.whywiccanssuck.com
http://www.newwiccanchurch.net
http://members.tripod.com/~Moonpfyr/gardnerian.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/2416/wildrose.html
http://members.shaw.ca/stoneandcauldron
http://www.oldeenchantments.com/coven
http://www.geocities.com/DesertHenge
http://www.geocities.com/firestonecoven
http://draknet.com/proteus/proteus.html
http://belladonna.hypermart.net/Sage-and-Sickle/index.html
http://paganwiccan.about.com
http://www.cogcoa.ab.ca
http://www.chasclifton.com
http://www.ravenwood.com/coven.htm
http://www.avalonia.co.uk
http://www.rosemoon.com
http://www.geocities.com/k_garber/wicway.html
http://www.wildideas.net/temple
http://www.candledark.net/silver
http://www.thewellhead.org.uk
http://dasa.on.ca/qs
http://www.gis.net/~nagel/grovepage
http://www.geocities.com/gwydionfl
http://www.geocities.com/reikihealer2001
http://www.nectw.org
http://www.doreenvaliente.com
http://www.boniface.us/CTW/index.html
http://www.pagansunite.com
http://www.geocities.com/thespiraloak
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4177
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sjgavula/wiccahist.html
http://geocities.com/sphinxmuse/wicca/index.html
http://davensjournal.com/index.htm?Header.xhtml&0
http://www.pangaeasanctuary.org/darkwood
http://www.wicca.utvinternet.com
http://www.tryskelion.com
http://www.mothersmagic.net
http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/religions/wicca/faq
http://www.allonewicca.com
http://www.cuew.org/cffn/index.html
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/index.htm
http://www.paganspath.com
http://www.rantingwitches.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca
http://janus.spawnfar.net
http://www.hiddenmuse.com
http://www.geraldgardner.com
http://beaufort.bravepages.com/index.html
http://www.tradwicca.org/beginnings.html
http://www.waningmoon.com/ethics/rede.shtml
http://www.glasstemple.com/home
http://www.witchipedia.org

Answer 2

Jadea's answer is one of the best, most accurate, I've ever seen. Kudos Jadea! I disagree with the "Gardner made it up" stance but I also disagree with the whole "Universal-before-the-dawn-of-time" nonsense!

Despite what most will tell you, Wicca is not a do-it-yourself / fill-in-the-blanks religion. Actually there is no religion called Wicca at all. Wicca is the name of the practitioners, not the practice. To properly claim the title you must be initiated by a valid practitioner in a prescribed fashion. Period. You can not "self initiate". If you are serious about pursuing the path, find a legitimate BTW and put in the time. There are no short cuts.

Answer 3

Wicca is a Neopagan religion and a religious movement found in many different countries, though most commonly in English-speaking cultures. It was first publicised in 1954 by a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner[1] after the British Witchcraft Act was repealed. He claimed that the religion, of which he was an initiate, was a modern survival of an old witch cult, which had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-Christian Paganism of Europe. Wicca is thus sometimes referred to as the Old Religion. The veracity of Gardner's claims cannot be independently proven, and it is thought that Wiccan theology began to be compiled no earlier than the 1920s. Various related Wiccan traditions have since evolved, or been adapted from, the form established by Gardner, which came to be called Gardnerian Wicca. These other traditions of Wicca each have specific beliefs, rituals, and practices. Most traditions of Wicca remain secretive and require members to be initiated. However, there is a growing movement of Eclectic or Solitary Wiccans who claim to belong to the religious movement, but do not believe any doctrine or traditional initiation is necessary in order to substantiate the claim.

Answer 4

Wicca is an Earth-based religion that worships the forgotten Gods and Goddesses and the Elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. Wicca is not evil in any way! We believe in the three-fold law which is to harm none and what you give comes back on you three times good or bad. Our spells are like Christian prayers only using nature as our guide.

Answer 5

Wicca is a pagan religion, an earth based faith in the Goddess. If a person claims to be a practicing witch, they are usually into this stuff.

I don't know much more about it but if I were you I would research it and THEN decide if you want to practice. Doesn't sound like you are prepared to check it out before you jump in.

Answer 6

I have to ask how you know you want to be Wiccan if you dont know what it is. I can give you websites and videos that will show you the basics. In the links I show you, make sure to look at the recommended book lists and the 13 Principles of Wiccan belief.

Also, there is an online school where you can learn the Ways of The Craft for free (mostly). Ill post it below.

Answer 7

Wicca is a nature based religion. We believe that what goes around comes around[karma]. We also believe in the God and Godess.If you would like to know more visit BellaOnline, it has alot of info on Wicca.

Blessed be!!!!

Answer 8

wicca is as all reglions/paths is in the heart of the person. to be a wiccan one most simplily beleif one tentant which is the core of wicca its self " all gods one god.,all goddesses one goddess ,and the god and goddess are one

Answer 9

There are many classes of wicca. Check on your search engine and get a list for starters.

Answer 10

white witchcraft
search on google under wicca

Answer 11

here's a good link for an explanation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca