What is Wicca?

Question

I am just curious.

Oops. Shoulda said this is for a a report I'm doing at school. Is anyone a witch, BTW?

OK, for anyone who says they are a witch, I have this test: I am looking at an object right now, if you can tell me what I am looking at, I might believe you have powers. Name the object.

LOL! C'mon give me some credit. It's not the computer screen. I'm going to look at it again for 5 minutes to see who can read my mind. A real witch should be able to do this.

That's not true Seph. I've skimmed through some books on Wicca that say Wiccans can develop psychic powers, so you can't have it both ways.
Either you can or you can't. Maybe it's not me that's deluded, witch.

That's not true Seph. I've skimmed through some books on Wicca that say Wiccans can develop psychic powers, so you can't have it both ways. Try some scrying. Try some automatic handwriting.
Either you can or you can't. Maybe it's not me that's deluded, witch.

Answer 1

Any Wiccan website will be biased, including the religioustolerance.org website. It's a front for 2 Neopagans and an agnostic. They don't list certain unpopular Wiccan groups like the Frost's "Church of Wicca" but call the racist murder cult, the Manson Family, "a group with Christian beliefs"!

You will probably want to read "Triumph of the Moon" by Ronald Hutton. He is a Professor of History at the University of Oxford where he holds a chair. That is probably the most scholarly book on Wicca written so far that is still in print.

Gardner would be better described as the "creator" of Wicca rather than it's "discoverer". If anyone tells you they come from a long line of "witches" going back centuries, their story likely isn't true.

Adian Kelly wrote a book on the history of Wicca called "Crafting The Art of Magic" in the 1980's. It's out of print, and it's really not a book for someone your age anyway. Wiccans had a fit when it was published, and pressured Llewyllyn to take it out of print. It was supposed to be the first in a series of books. I think Adian Kelly probably summed it up best when he said this about the Gardnerian "Book of Shadows", the closest thing Wicca has to a sacred book:

" [M]any of the Book of Shadows rituals did not exist in 1954 (when Witchcraft Today was published) but instead were still being written. [T]he major sources from which the rituals had been constructed included: (a) Mather's edition of the Greater Key of Solomon; (b) Aleister Crowley's Magic in Theory and Practice; (c) Leland's Aradia (d) some Masonic rituals akin to those described by Duncan and those of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (aside from those transmitted by Crowley; and (e) Margaret Murray's The Witch Cult in Western Europe. There were also bits and pieces from other works by Leland, Jane E. Harrison, Gilbert Murray, James Frazier, and other great classicists from the 19th century. That accounted for EVERYTHING in the rituals! There was nothing left that differed in any important way from what you can find in those sources- - but that is NOT at all what Gardner had claimed!"

You should be able to find Triumph of the Moon. The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology by R.H. Robbins is another good one. It's about witchcraft in the Middle Ages, not Wicca. Wicca is only about 60 years old or so.

Answer 2

I met some wiccans and I was curious about what thy believe. I tell you what I found out. To me wicca seems like just an excuse to have wierd sex, and not much else.

Theres some wiccans that opened a witchcraft store not far from where I live right on highway 27 near Lake Placid in Florida. For some reason, it has a big plastic purple octopus out front.I don't know what that has to do with thier religion, I guess its for decoration. If you ask anyone in Lake Placid, they can tell you where it is. It's called the Green Man. I went in to see what it was like. It was scary! They had a human skeleton hanging up on the wall. They had one of those dry ice things that made fog for sale. There was all kinds of bottles of potions and books on the occult. They had all kinds of weird sculpchures of dragons and weird idols. They had was a monster head with a nazi helmet on it. Who would want such a weird thing? I asked the guy and he said some people like them for decorating their house. The guy was skinny and looked kinda scraggly. The girl was bony and pale and both coulda used a bath. They dont let you take pictures of the place inside, I guess their afraid people will see what they got in there. The cops need to go in there.

I didnt stay real long after I saw the skeleton! It could have been fake, but it sure looked real. I didn't ask them how they got it. I don't care what they say, it's black magic! What do they need a skeleton for? And they had copies of the Satan Bible for sale in their too, I thought they didn't believe Satan. Why do they sell it for then?

So I did some research of my own and here is what I come up with:


http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ahba7oY4lkiu4G70r2vtAsTsy6IX?qid=20060905175758AAZFpBp

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060914182152AAoxnXM

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060831155056AAkmPb5

Triumph of the Moon was a good book too. I checked it out at the library. I'm still reading it. Its really something the things people will make up. Wiccans say they go back thousands of years, but they don't. I think Dr. Boom Boom gave you the best answer,I don't think theres much else to say, except that thier all kinda strange and like to have sex a lot. Its probably something a young girl shouldn't study.

All they want to do is pretend their witches. Their not white witches, their just perverts. Nobody's going to be able to read your mind either, they can't do no spells. But I guess thats why you said that didn't you? LOL! You are a very smart young girl! It's all an excuse to have wierd sex. I hope more wiccans don't move into our county. Last year we had two churches burned by arson, and I don't think its no coincidence. Sorry if that makes somebody mad, but thats just what I think.

Answer 3

Not to be mean, but it's a safe bet most of these people aren't real Wiccans. Anyone that lists a zillion websites or wekipedia is probably clueless.

What you need to do is get any book by Gerald Gardner or Gavin and Yvonne Frost. Here some good ones:

The Good Witch's Bible by the Frosts
The Magic Power of Witchcraft by the Frosts
Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson
What Witches Do by Janet Farrar
Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler
Witchcraft The Old Religion by Leo Martello (even though he didn't like the Frosts, still a good book)
The Meaning of Witchcraft and Witchcraft Today
both by Gardner

That should keep you busy. Real Wiccans belong to a coven, there are no "solitary Wiccans", and most people who say they're part of a "fam trad" aren't for real.

And it looks like I offended a fluffy. One defense of fluffies is to call everyone else who has a more traditional form of Wicca a fluffy. It's kind of cute really. "My wife and I are solitaires, and our beliefs are as strong or stronger then many of the coven practioners we know." Dearest, two people are not "solitary". Get a dictionary and look up the word. Solitary means one person. LOL! Hate to break it to you, but your a coven of two. Those who can do...

Good luck with your paper! Yo go miss thang! Have fun and shake yo' booty! Blessed Be!

Answer 4

Most of the answers you have received here are pretty spot on except for the last one I read. Wiccans do not, repeat DO NOT worship an entity known primarily to Christians - that entity being Satan. To be a satanist you must first be a christian. You must first know a white mass before you can practice a black mass.

Please. Get this straight. This lie is the fundamental reason why so many pagans were murdered during the Inquisition. We do not need a repeat of this particular Holocaust in the 21st. century.

Answer 5

"Not to be mean, but it's a safe bet most of these people aren't real Wiccans. Anyone that lists a zillion websites or wekipedia is probably clueless.

What you need to do is get any book by Gerald Gardner or Gavin and Yvonne Frost...

Real Wiccans belong to a coven, there are no "solitary Wiccans", and most people who say they're part of a "fam trad" aren't for real.

Source(s):

21 years of being part of a real Wiccan family! "

I disagree here. You are practicing tradition, not religion. Being a long time practioner of Wicca I believe that there is no one way to do so. To say so is to be completely closed-minded, which goes completely against the teachings of Wicca.

We call these people "Fluffy Bunnies". The primary definition of a Fluffy Bunny is one who refuses to learn, refuses to think, and refuses to consider the possibility that they could possibly ever be wrong. Generally, they find one or two books, one or two authors or websites and follow them as if it were the holy word of Wicca, frequently denouncing anything that disagrees with it as obviously false. Fluffy Bunnies rarely get past the defense of "Because [insert favorite author here] says so." when they are called to task to defend their position in logical and intellectual debate.

My wife and I are solitaires, and our beliefs are as strong or stronger then many of the coven practioners we know. It's funny that many will find Pagan religions as they move away from rigorously structured religions like Christianity, and then build-in the same infra-structure into their new religion, then claim that anyone that doesn't do it their way is doing it the wrong way.

Wicca is accredited to Gerald Gardner who published 'Witchcraft Today' in 1954. However much of what Gardner purported to have received his training in and from has never been proven. However is ideas were solid and and meaningful. Gardner may be the beginning of Wicca (although he never used that term himself in his published works) as we know it, but he is by no means the be-all-end-all of Wicca. Wicca is a living religion that changes and develops with the times.

Wicca certainly bears the influence of older pagan (and non-pagan) traditions, but they are pieces fit together into new meanings and context. It is basically a new way to practice an old religion. However, some Wiccans feel they are baseless without an ancient foundation beneath their practices. The truth is your base is pretty shaky if it depends upon ancient pedigree for you to consider it legitimate. It is not that Wicca has no foundation. That foundation is simply somewhere other than where some once thought. All religions are new at some point. Wicca's foundation (at least it's public, non-oathbound face) is Gardner, with roots that snake out and draw upon all manner of source material, including considerable connections with the 19th and 20th century occult revival, which in turn have complex roots in older traditions.

Gardner's Wicca was initiatory, and Gardnerian Wicca continues to be so to this day - if you're not a member, you can't participate (much like the Freemasons of which Gardner was a member). Other Traditions also emerged, and Gardner embraced them as being branches of the Old Religion up to his death in 1964.

It is this arrogance and exclusiveness that many of today's Wiccans are trying to change. The belief that there is only one way to practice Wicca is ridiculous. Gardner was just scratching the surface of something much, much greater then he, and I think he would be very proud to see what it is becoming and very frustrated with the closed-end religion some are trying to make it.

Answer 6

You don't know how magick works. Not everyone has the same gifts. You have magick inside you just as I do inside me. But not everyone is a natural psychic, Even Natural psychics aren't like that. If you are doing a report for school you should look at religioustolerance.org and witchvox.com

I will also give you links to some instructional videos on Wicca and Paganism.

Answer 7

Most of the answers above were pretty good - Jadea's has a *lot* of resources, that's a good hit.

But I noticed no one else went after that last question, so I'll take a shot at it. Not a witch, but I'm gonna guess you're looking at a computer screen right now. :D

Answer 8

If you are doing a report on Wicca, you may also be interested in learning about the founder of Wicca, Gerald B. Gardner.
A short bio on Gardner:
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/g/gardner_gerald_b.html
An article on the history of Wicca:
http://www.geraldgardner.com/History_of_Wicca_Revised.pdf
The description of Wicca in the US Army Chaplains' Handbook:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_usbk.htm
This page contains a lot of information such as biographies of various witches (near the bottom of the page):
http://www.controverscial.com/index.html
History of the Wiccan Rede:
http://www.waningmoon.com/ethics/rede.shtml

Answer 9

Wicca is basically witchcraft. They worship nature and the all mighty being as they see it is a mother figure. They use terms like blessed be and so be it. They use charms, spells and have covens.

Back in my days of being the prodigal son I dated a Wiccan Witch for almost five years. I would sit in on ceremonies and even did some of my own spells and things like that before we dated.

But they had a solstice festival that they broke bread, drank wine and blessed it using the symbol of the cross with a dagger. I refused to eat or drink because I just couldn't desecrate the sacraments like that. After that I was banned from any coven get togethers.

Answer 10

Wicca means Wise.

Wicca is a religion that has a goddess and a god and draws upon diverse parts of the pagan traditions, depending on the particular tradition of Wicca.

Wicca is the fastest growing religion in the West, doubling about every 3 years.

There are several major traditions (they would be called denominations in Christianity or sects in most other religions) in the US alone, each have several hundred thousand adherents. In this area (Albany NY area) -- you are beginning to see the purchasing of buildings by Wiccan congregations and the establishment of a more formalized worship structure for the "outer court" people -- people like my partner who have no interest in ever actually practicing "witchcraft" (Wicca means Wise, and Wiccans often call themselves Witches, after the ancient pagan practitioners of magic) themselves, or becoming priests and priestesses -- but want to worship the god and goddess in a formalized context. I think that is likely to spread. Wicca has been gaining adherents in a major way since the early 1970s, it has gone beyond fad now, to established religion. I think it will continue to grow.

Regards,

Reynolds Jones
Justice Service/Albany: http://www.rebuff.org/justice/
[e-mail]

PS I myself am a mainstream Christian - but I am Wicca friendly, as they say.