what is Wicca and what do they be live in?

Question

i just read something about wicca and i don't know anything about them.
can anyone tell me what this is?

Answer 1

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.

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, 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. 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'.

Wicca has faced changes with it's growing popularity, many feel that Neo-wicca is appropriate for the way in which we are living now, some feel that it is important to keep the mystery and tradition of Wicca, either way Wicca and it’s many traditions and paths has become one of the better known of the pagan faiths.



WICCA LINKS:

http://amberandjet.spiralpaths.org - Amber & Jet
http://www.cyprian.org/Articles/gardchron.htm - Gardnerian Chronology and Bibliography
http://www.wargoddess.net/index.php - Enyo`s Workshop
http://wicca.timerift.net/ - Wicca: For the Rest of Us
http://www.homecircle.info - Homecircle
http://www.starkindler.org/ - StarFire Rising
http://www.asiya.org/ - Asiya`s Shadows
http://www.whywiccanssuck.com - Why Wiccans Suck
http://www.newwiccanchurch.net - New Wiccan Church International
http://members.tripod.com/~Moonpfyr/gardnerian.html - Gardnerian Tradition
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/2416/wildrose.html - Wild Rose Outer Grove
http://members.shaw.ca/stoneandcauldron/ - Coven Of The Stone And Cauldron
http://www.oldeenchantments.com/coven/ - The Hollywood Coven
http://www.geocities.com/DesertHenge - Desert Henge
http://www.geocities.com/firestonecoven/ - Firestone Coven
http://draknet.com/proteus/proteus.html - Proteus Coven’s Webspace
http://belladonna.hypermart.net/Sage-and-Sickle/index.html - Sage & Sickle Coven
http://paganwiccan.about.com/ - PaganWiccan
http://www.cogcoa.ab.ca/ - Covenant of Gaia
http://www.chasclifton.com/ - Chas Clifton
http://www.ravenwood.com/coven.htm - Ravenwood
http://www.avalonia.co.uk – Avalonia
http://www.rosemoon.com/ - Rosemoon
http://www.geocities.com/k_garber/wicway.html - The Wiccan Way
http://www.wildideas.net/temple/ - The Temple
http://www.candledark.net/silver/ - Pour Down Like Silver
http://www.thewellhead.org.uk/ - The Wellhead
http://dasa.on.ca/qs/ - Quicksilver Site
http://www.gis.net/~nagel/grovepage/ - Page of the Mists
http://www.geocities.com/gwydionfl/ - Pagan Place
http://www.geocities.com/reikihealer2001/ - NFTD
http://www.nectw.org/ - N.E.C.T.W.
http://www.doreenvaliente.com - Doreen Valiente 1922-1999
http://www.boniface.us/CTW/index.html - Compact of Traditional Wicca
http://www.pagansunite.com/ - Witch/Pagan Resources
http://www.geocities.com/thespiraloak/ - The Spiral Oak
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4177/ - Manor-House For Wiccan Studies
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sjgavula/wiccahist.html - History of Wicca in England
http://geocities.com/sphinxmuse/wicca/index.html - Wiccan Religion
http://davensjournal.com/index.htm?Header.xhtml&0 - Daven`s Journal
http://www.pangaeasanctuary.org/darkwood/ - Darkwood of PanGaea
http://www.wicca.utvinternet.com/ - Wicca na hErin
http://www.tryskelion.com/ - Tryskelion
http://www.mothersmagic.net/ - Breathless Noon
http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm - Wicca, the religion
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/religions/wicca/faq/ - Wicca FAQ
http://www.allonewicca.com/ - All one Wicca
http://www.cuew.org/cffn/index.html - Coven of the Far Flung Net
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/index.htm - Gardnerian Book of Shadows
http://www.paganspath.com/ - The Pagan`s Path
http://www.rantingwitches.com/ - The Ranting Witches
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca - Wicca
http://janus.spawnfar.net/ - The Janus Gate
http://www.hiddenmuse.com/ - Hidden Muse
http://www.geraldgardner.com/ - Gerald Gardner
http://beaufort.bravepages.com/index.html - Beaufort House`s TradList
http://www.tradwicca.org/beginnings.html - A Traditional Alexandrian Coven
http://www.waningmoon.com/ethics/rede.shtml - The Wiccan Rede
http://www.glasstemple.com/home/ - Glass Temple
http://www.witchipedia.org - Witchipedia

Answer 2

Wicca was created circa 1950 by Gerald Gardner. He was a disciple of Aleister Crowley, a man who called himself the "Great Beast, 666". Gardner was a nudist & masochist, and basically created wicca so he could be beaten by strong willed women. After his death many "traditions"mediately sprang up. The worst is probably Gavin and Yvonne Frosts "Church of Wicca" in Hinton West Virgina. Thier book "The Good Witch's Bible" is little more than a manual for pedophiles and wife swappers.

Most Wiccans believe in a revised history, partly due to faulty scholarship of authors like Gardner, Frazer, quack anthropolgist Margret Murray and others. One example is the so-called "Burning Times" which Wiccans say was a Wiccan "holocaust" involving anywhere from 9 million to 13 million Wiccans. The reality is it probably involved 40,000 people at most over a 500 year period...and these people were mostly Christians killed by other misguided Christians, and some Satanists, like LaVisoin. We know from modern historians like Ronald Hutton that Paganism had vanished from Euorope...probably even the most remote parts...by the 12 century A.D. And even Wiccans who acknowledge that their religion is a recent invention still call it "the Old Religion" and love to rant "Never Again The Burning Times!" On Wiccan website the owner spelled Christian as "xtian", Jesus as "jesus" and said this was "to ease the pain of centuries of persecution"(!) One might understand this misguided view if he were a 12 year old girl who joined "the Craft" after watching an episode of "Charmed" but it was a man in his 40's who has been in Wicca for sometime. Without the shock value of being called a "witch" or being able to delude themselves into thinking they are part of a "holocaust", most probably wouldn't be in it.

The word "witch" does not mean wise. It's equivalent has a nefarious meaning in every culture on earth (as well as it does in English, until Wiccans tried to hijack it). Oddly enough, while Wiccans defend the word "witch" they have disdain for anyone who calls themselves a Warlock, because means "traitor".

Followers of Wicca claim they have have magical powers, but they don't. If you meet one, you'll realize this.

Answer 3

Wicca is an Earth-based religion that appreciate 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.

Hope this helps you to get a better understanding about our religion!

Blessed Be!!!!!

I will give you some sites for more info on Wicca.

Answer 4

Jadeas answer is correct. I would make one exception, not every Wicca traces their lineage back to Gardner. Central Valley Wicca is considered BTW but they trace lineage back to the New Forest via means other than Gardner. Those dowline from Sybil Leek are also considered Wicca but trace lineage back to New Forest through her, not Gardner.

Answer 5

It is an earth bases religion dating back to the old religions of the past before Christianity.

Here is a website that explains something of what Wicca is.

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

The religion has nothing to do with sexual orientation. Homosexuals may chose to follow the religion just as they can any other religion it is not primarily a religion for homosexuals.

Answer 6

Wicca is a religion that worships the mother earth and is open to both males and females. Though most wiccans are female. Wiccans are usually people who care about the earth and don't take advange of it.

Answer 7

Check out this link:
http://www.wicca.com/celtic/wicca/wicca.htm
Wicca is based on witchcraft but is different.

Answer 8

They are a bunch of lesbian witches. If you're into that sort of thing, may God have mercy on your soul.

Answer 9

another name for witchcraft..........covens, yada yada