Does anyone know anything about the religion "wicken"?

Question

My friend sayd she is and a few people I knoe but I want ti know what it really is. Like what do they belive and who or what do they worship? I am pentecostal and love my church but I just was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about being wicken so ? I could see why my friend chooses to be one. And please if you really don't know then don't say "no" as an answer for points. I take my religion and other peoples religion very seriously and I just want actua answers coming from a person who actually knows what they're talking about. Thank you to anyone who can help me!!

Answer 1

Your thinking Wicca.
Wiccan is a person, an adjective.
Wicca is basically the worship of the Goddess (the moon) and the God (the sun) and the elements: earth, wind, fire, and water.
Many people beleive this is a satanic religion, however, that is a huge misundertanding. wiccans have no "one source" of evil, as christians do. Good and evil reside in the deities, as with humans. no one person is completely "good" and completely "bad".
Wiccas beleive that whatever you shall do, it come back threefold.
so if u do something good, it comes back to you, bad, back to you as well. reap what you sow, karma, blah. thats wicca in a nut shell. heres more detailed info if u feel like reading it.
another great site to get info is modernwiccan(dotcom)
it has a forum. spells. links. everything u need to know...

I got this from wikipedia:
"Wicca is a Neopagan religion and a religious movement found in various countries throughout the world. It was first popularised in 1954 by a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner[1] after the British Witchcraft Act was repealed.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 witchcraft religion, 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 written 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 distinctive beliefs, rituals, and practices. Many traditions of Wicca remain secretive and require that members be initiated. There is also a movement of Eclectic or Solitary Wiccans who do not believe that any doctrine or traditional initiation is necessary in order to practice Wicca. The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey estimated that at least 134,000 adults identified themselves as Wiccans in the US, and there has been some speculation that Wicca will be the third largest religion in the United States by 2012 (possibly fourth due to Atheists/Agnostics)[19] due to large numbers of students converting. [2]"
"Because there is no centralised organisation in Wicca, and no single "orthodoxy", the beliefs and practices of Wiccans can vary substantially, both between individuals and between traditions. Typically, the main religious principles, ethics and ritual structures are shared, since they are key elements of traditional teachings and published works on the subject.


[edit] Wicca as a magical religion
Wicca is a religion, and although its adherents often identify as witches, Wicca and witchcraft are not necessarily the same thing.

Wiccans worship a goddess and a god; they observe the festivals of the eight Sabbats of the year and the full-moon Esbats; and they have a code of ethics that most live by. Wicca is thus distinct from witchcraft, which may or may not imply any specific religious, ethical or ritual elements, and is practiced in various forms by people of many religions, as well as by some atheists. [verification needed]

Wicca incorporates a specific form of witchcraft, with particular ritual forms, involving the casting of spells, herbalism, divination and other forms of magic. Wiccan ethics require that magical activities be limited to good purposes only.

According to Gerald Gardner, the religion derives from a secret but widespread witch-cult of early modern Europe, which incorporated all of the key religious beliefs and ideals and the distinctive ritual structures found in modern Wicca. While this historical interpretation is now much criticised, it is difficult to conclusively say whether Wicca is a religious form of witchcraft or a religion incorporating witchcraft.

While most Wiccans practice magic, a few neither practice magic nor identify as witches. Similarly, many Wiccans, though not all, call themselves Pagans, though the umbrella term Paganism encompasses many faiths that have nothing to do with Wicca or witchcraft.


[edit] Wiccan views on divinity
Wicca as a religion is primarily concerned with the priestess or priest's relationship to the Goddess and God. The Lady and Lord (as they are often called) are seen as primal cosmic beings, the source of limitless power, yet they are also familiar figures who comfort and nurture their children, and often challenge or even reprimand them.

According to Gerald Gardner the gods of Wicca are ancient gods of the British Isles: a Horned God of hunting, death and magic who rules over an after-world paradise, and a goddess, the Great Mother (who is simultaneously the Eternal Virgin and the Primordial Enchantress), who gives regeneration and rebirth to souls of the dead and love to the living.[3] Gardner explains that these are the tribal gods of the witches, just as the Egyptians had their tribal gods Isis and Osiris and the Jews had Elohim; he also states that a being higher than any of these tribal gods is recognised by the witches as Prime Mover, but remains unknowable, and is of little concern to them.[4]

Gardner's explanation aside, individual interpretations of the exact natures of the gods differ significantly, since priests and priestesses develop their own relationships with the gods through intense personal work and revelation. Many have a duotheistic conception of deity as a Goddess (of Moon, Earth and sea) and a God (of forest, hunting and the animal realm). This concept is often extended into a kind of polytheism by the belief that the gods and goddesses of all cultures are aspects of this pair (or of the Goddess alone). Others hold the various gods and goddesses to be separate and distinct. Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone have observed that Wicca is becoming more polytheistic as it matures, and embracing a more traditional pagan worldview.[5] Many groups and individuals are drawn to particular deities from a variety of pantheons (often Celtic, Greek, or from elsewhere in Europe), whom they honour specifically. Some examples are Cernunnos and Brigit from Celtic mythology, Hecate, Lugh, and Diana.

Some Wiccans, particularly in feminist traditions, have a monotheistic belief in the Goddess as One. Still others do not believe in the gods as real personalities, yet attempt to have a relationship with them as personifications of universal principles or as Jungian archetypes.[6] A unified supreme godhead (the "Prime Mover") is also acknowledged by some groups, referred to by Scott Cunningham as "The One";[7] Patricia Crowther has called it Dryghten.[8]

According to current Gardnerians, the exact names of the Goddess and God of traditional Wicca remain an initiatory secret , and they are not given in Gardner's books about witchcraft.[9] However, the collection of Toronto Papers of Gardner's writings has been investigated by American scholars such as Aidan Kelly, leading to the suggestion that their names are Cernunnos and Aradia. These are the names used in the prototype Book of Shadows known as Ye Bok sic of Ye Arte Magical.[10]

For most Wiccans, the Lord and Lady are seen as complementary polarities: male and female, force and form, comprehending all in their union; the tension and interplay between them is the basis of all creation. The God and Goddess are sometimes symbolised as the Sun and Moon, and from her lunar associations the Goddess becomes a Triple Goddess with aspects of "Maiden", "Mother" and "Crone" corresponding to the Moon's waxing, full and waning phases.

Some Wiccans hold the Goddess to be pre-eminent, since she contains and conceives all (Gaea or Mother Earth is one of her more commonly revered aspects); the God, commonly described as the Horned God or the Divine Child, is the spark of life and inspiration within her, simultaneously her lover and her child. This is reflected in the traditional structure of the coven, which is led by a High Priestess and High Priest in partnership, with the High Priestess having the final word. In some traditions, notably Feminist branches of Dianic Wicca, the Goddess is seen as complete unto herself, and the God is not worshipped at all.

Since the Goddess is said to conceive and contain all life within her, all beings are held to be divine. This is a key understanding conveyed in the Charge of the Goddess, one of the most important texts of Wicca, and is very similar to the Hermetic understanding that "God" contains all things, and in truth is all things.[11] For some Wiccans, this idea also involves elements of animism, and plants, rivers, rocks (and, importantly, ritual tools) are seen as spiritual beings, facets of a single life.

A key belief in Wicca is that the gods are able to manifest in personal form, either through dreams, as physical manifestations, or through the bodies of Priestesses and Priests. The latter kind of manifestation is the purpose of the ritual of Drawing down the Moon (or Drawing down the Sun), whereby the Goddess is called to descend into the body of the Priestess (or the God into the Priest) to effect divine possession.


[edit] The elements
The classical elements are a key feature of the Wiccan world-view. Every manifest force or form is seen to express one of the four archetypal elements — Earth, Air, Fire, and Water — or several in combination. This scheme is fundamentally identical with that employed in other Western Esoteric and Hermetic traditions, such as Theosophy and the Golden Dawn, which in turn were influenced by the Hindu system of tattvas.

There is no consensus as to the exact nature of these elements. Some hold to the ancient Greek conception of the elements corresponding to matter (earth) and energy (fire), with the mediating elements (water, air) relating to the phases of matter (fire/earth mixtures). Other exponents of the system add a fifth or quintessential element, spirit (aether, akasha).

The five points of the frequently worn pentagram symbolise, among other things, the four elements with spirit presiding at the top.[12] The pentagram is the symbol most commonly associated with Wicca in modern times. It is often circumscribed — depicted within a circle — and is usually (though not exclusively) shown with a single point upward. The inverse pentagram, with two points up, is a symbol of the second degree initiation rite of traditional Wicca.[13] In geometry, the pentagram is an elegant expression of the golden ratio phi which is popularly connected with ideal beauty and was considered by the Pythagoreans to express truths about the hidden nature of existence.

Each of the four cardinal elements (air, fire, water and earth) is typically assigned a direction, a color, and an elemental race. The following list shows a common categorisation, but different traditions of Wicca may use different "correspondences":

Air: East, Yellow, Sylphs
Fire: South, Red, Salamanders
Water: West, Blue, Undines
Earth: North, Green, Gnomes
Some variations in correspondences can be explained by geography or climate. It is common in the southern hemisphere, for example, to associate the element fire with north (the direction of the equator) and earth with south (the direction of the nearest polar area). Some Wiccan groups also modify the religious calendar to reflect local seasonal changes; for instance, most Southern Hemisphere covens celebrate Samhain on April 30th and Beltane on October 31st, reflecting the southern hemisphere's autumn and spring seasons.[14]


[edit] Morality
Wiccan morality can be summarised in the form of a text that is commonly titled The Wiccan Rede. The core maxim of that text states "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." ("An" is an archaic word meaning "if".) The origin of the Wiccan Rede is ambiguous, its earliest mention being at a meeting held by the witchcraft magazine "Pentagram" spoken by Doreen Valiente.[15] Gerald Gardner suggested[16] that it was taken by witches from the legendary ethic of the fabled King Pausol[17] which was "Do what you like so long as you harm no one". Nevertheless, the similarity of the phrasing of the Rede (and explicit and verbatim phrasing of other texts) suggests that this statement is partly based on the Law of Thelema as stated by occultist Aleister Crowley.[18]

Many Wiccans promote the Law of Threefold Return, a belief that anything that one does will be returned to them threefold. In other words, good deeds are magnified in like form back to the doer, and so are ill deeds.

Gerina Dunwich, an American author whose books (notably, Wicca Craft) were instrumental in the increase in popularity of Wicca in the late 1980s and 1990s, disagrees with the Wiccan concept of threefold return on the grounds that it is inconsistent with more than one law of physics. Pointing out that the origin of the Law of Threefold Return is traceable to Raymond Buckland in the 20th century, Dunwich is of the opinion that, "There is little backing to support it as anything other than a psychological law."[citation needed] Her own personal belief, which differs from the usual interpretation of the Threefold Law, is that whatever we do on a physical, mental, or spiritual level will sooner or later affect us, in either a positive or a negative way, on all three levels of being.[citation needed]

Many traditional Wiccans also follow, or at least consider, a set of 161 laws, commonly called the Ardanes. A common criticism of these rules is that they represent outdated concepts and/or produce counterproductive results in Wiccan contexts. Modern authors have also noted that these rules were the byproduct of inner conflict within Gerald Gardner's original coven over the issue of press relations.[19]

Many Wiccans also seek to cultivate the Eight Wiccan Virtues as a guideline for their deeds. These are Mirth, Reverence, Honour, Humility, Strength, Beauty, Power, and Compassion, and are found in a phrase from Doreen Valiente's Charge of the Goddess,[20] where they are ordered in pairs of complementary opposites, reflecting a dualism that is common throughout Wiccan philosophy.

Homosexuality is accepted in most traditions of Wicca: see Homosexuality and Wicca.

A recurrent belief amongst Wiccans is that no magic should be performed on any other person without that person's direct permission (excepting pets, which obviously cannot give explicit permission for such an act). This may stem from the Rede's declaration of "An it harm none, do what thou wilt", in that a person may not wish to have a spell cast upon them, and doing so without first obtaining permission interferes with their free will, which falls under the Rede's conception of "harm". This especially applies to love spells. Most Wiccans do not believe in performing magic on anyone in any circumstance without permission, although some believe that white magic may be performed with or without permission (healing spells, etc).


[edit] Secrecy and initiation
Some practitioners of traditional initiatory Wicca consider that the term 'Wicca' correctly applies only to an initiate of a traditional branch of the religion (Gardnerian or Alexandrian Wicca, or their offshoots such as Black Forest Wicca) because solitary Wicca or eclectic Wicca are different in practice from the religion established by Gardner. However, the term has increasingly come to be adopted by people who are not initiates of a traditional lineaged coven. These non-initiatory Wiccans may undertake rituals of self-dedication, and generally work alone as solitary practitioners or in casual groups, rather than in organised covens. Thus non-initiatory Wicca shares some of the basic religious principles, ethics and the ritual system of 'traditional' or 'initiatory' Wicca, but not the organisational structure, or the belief that Wiccan initiation requires a transferral of power from an initiator. Therefore, some practitioners of traditional initiatory Wicca have adopted the term 'British Traditional Wicca' to differentiate themselves from this movement.

Within traditional forms of Wicca there are three degrees of initiation. First degree is required to become a witch and gain membership of a coven; those who aspire to teach may eventually undergo second and third degree initiations, conferring the title of "High Priest" or "High Priestess" and allowing them to establish new covens.


[edit] Organisation within Wicca
Initiatory Wiccans are most often initiated and trained in a coven environment, while "eclectic" Wiccans are more often solitary practitioners. Some solitaries do, however, attend gatherings and other community events, but reserve their spiritual practices (Sabbats, Esbats, spell-casting, worship, magical work, etc.) for when they are alone. Some Wiccans work with a community without being part of a coven.

A commonly quoted Wiccan tradition holds that the ideal number of members for a coven is thirteen, though this is not held as a hard-and-fast rule. Indeed, many U.S. covens are far smaller, though the membership may be augmented by unaffiliated Wiccans at "open" rituals.[citation needed] When covens grow beyond their ideal number of members, they often split (or "hive") into multiple covens, yet remain connected as a group. A grouping of multiple covens is known as a grove in many traditions.

When someone is being initiated into a coven, it is also traditional to study with the coven for a year and a day before their actual initiation into the religion. Some solitary Wiccans also choose to study for a year and a day before dedicating themselves to the religion. Wiccans can also be "promoted" into higher ranks such as head priestess or head priest. Rank may be shown through coloured cords[citation needed]. Initiation ceremonies can include a dramatic aspect, such as a dramatic re-enactment of a myth (also known as sacred drama), a pageant, or a dramatic reading.[citation needed]


[edit] Ritual

A handfasting ceremony at Avebury in England, on Beltane, 2005.In typical rites, the Wiccans assemble inside a magic circle, which is marked using various means, in a ritual manner followed by a cleansing and then blessing of the space. Prayers to the God and Goddess are said, and spells are sometimes worked. At the start of a ritual of spell or even just a meeting and tradition is to cast a circle, wherein one asks for blessing from the Goddess and God and envokes the Guardians of each direction (the Guardians of the North, South, East and West), to be conveyed through pointing (usually using a wand or Athame) An altar is usually used during a meeting, ritual or spell, on which items that represent the need for circle are placed. Before entering the circle, some traditions[Please name specific person or group] fast for the day, and/or have a ritual wash. After a ritual, spell or meeting has finished, the God, Goddess and Guardians must be thanked, the circle must be cleaned, and the area used is to be left the way it was prior to ritual.[citations needed]

[edit] Tools
Many Wiccans use a special set of altar tools in their rituals; these can include a broom (besom), cauldron, chalice (goblet), wand, Book of Shadows, altar cloth, athame (used in rituals to channel energy; it can be pronounced as AH-thom-AY, a-THAY-me, etc.), boline (or a knife for cutting things in the physical world), candles, stones, crystals, pentacle and/or incense. Representations of the God/Goddess are often also used; these may be direct, representative, or abstract. The tools themselves are just that — tools — and have no innate powers of their own, though they are usually dedicated or charged with a particular purpose, and used only in that context. For this reason, it is usually considered rude to touch another's tools without permission.


[edit] Ritual attire
A sensationalised aspect of Wicca, particularly in Gardnerian Wicca, is that some Wiccans practice in the nude, also known as skyclad. Though many Wiccans do engage in rituals while skyclad, others do not. Some Wiccans wear a pure cotton robe, to symbolise bodily purity, and a cord, to symbolise interdependence and rank.[citation needed] Others wear normal clothes or whatever they think is appropriate. Robes and even Renaissance-Faire-type clothing are not uncommon. Still others wear robes with stoles which represent their tradition and/or standing within the tradition.


[edit] Ritual occasions
Wiccans typically mark each full moon (and in some cases new moons) with a ritual called an Esbat. They also celebrate eight main holidays called Sabbats. Four of these, the cross-quarter days, are greater festivals, coinciding with old Celtic fire festivals. These are Samhain (pronounced sow-en or sow-ain), May Eve or Beltane (or Beltaine), Imbolc (AKA Imbolg, Oimelc) and Lammas (or Lughnasad, which is pronounced LOO-nah-sah). The four lesser festivals are the Summer Solstice (or Litha) and Winter Solstice (or Yule), and the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, sometimes called Ostara (or Eostar or Eostre) and Mabon. See also the Wheel of the Year.

The names of these holidays are often taken from Germanic pagan and Celtic polytheistic holidays. However, the festivals are largely only similar in name, as they are not reconstructive in nature nor do they often resemble their historical counterparts, instead exhibiting a form of universalism. Ritual observations may display cultural influence from the holidays from which they take their name as well as influence from other unrelated cultures.

Wiccan weddings can be "bondings", "joinings", or "eclipses" but are most commonly called "handfastings". Some Wiccans observe an ancient Celtic practice of a trial marriage for a year and a day, which some traditions hold should be contracted on Lammas (Lughnasadh), although this is far from universal. This practice is attested from centuries ago in the fourth and fifth volumes of the Brehon law texts, which are compilations of the opinions and judgements of the Brehon class of Druids (in this case, Irish). The texts as a whole deal with a copious amount of detail for the ancient Celtic tribes in the Isles.[21]

Some perform a ritual called a Wiccaning, analogous to a Christening for an infant, the purpose of which is to present the infant to the God and Goddess for protection. In accordance with the importance put on free will, the child is not necessarily expected to choose a Pagan path until growing older.


[edit] History of Wicca

[edit] Origins
The history of Wicca is much debated. Gardner claimed that the religion was a survival of matriarchal Pagan religions of pre-historic Europe, taught to him by a woman known either as "Dafo" or "Old Dorothy". Doreen Valiente identified these as a single person, Dorothy Clutterbuck,[22] however modern researchers such as Philip Heselton have theorised that Dafo and Clutterbuck were two separate individuals.[23] It has been posited by authors such as Aidan Kelly and Francis X. King that Gardner himself invented it, following the thesis of Dr. Margaret Murray and sources such as Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches by Charles Godfrey Leland,[24] and incorporating practices of ceremonial magic. While Clutterbuck certainly existed, Ronald Hutton concluded that there was no evidence for her involvement in Gardner's Craft activities.[25] Philip Heselton, citing more recent evidence, concludes that while Gardner may have been mistaken about the ancient origins of the religion, his statements about it were largely made in good faith. Gardner's account is as follows: After retiring from adventuring around the globe, Gardner encountered Clutterbuck and her New Forest coven in the region, and was initiated into the coven in 1939, where he stayed for years until England's witchcraft laws were repealed. At this point, and later claiming to fear that the Craft would die out,[26] he worked on his book Witchcraft Today, releasing it in 1954, followed by The Meaning of Witchcraft in 1960. It is from these books that much of modern Wicca is derived.

While the ritual format of Wicca is undeniably styled after late Victorian era occultism (even co-founder Doreen Valiente admits seeing influence from Crowley), the spiritual content is inspired by older Pagan faiths, with Buddhist and Hindu influences.

Due to historical suspicions, it is seems very likely that Gardner's rites and precepts were taken from other occultists and was not in fact anything new to the world. There is very little in the Wiccan rites that cannot be shown to have come from earlier extant sources. The original material is not cohesive and mostly takes the form of substitutions or expansions within unoriginal material. Roger Dearnaley, in An Annotated Chronology and Bibliography of the Early Gardnerian Craft,[27] describes it as a patchwork.

Philip Heselton, writing in Wiccan Roots and later in Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration[23], argues that Gardner was not the author of the Wiccan rituals but received them in good faith from an unknown source. (Doreen Valiente makes this claim regarding the "basic skeleton of the rituals," as Margot Adler puts it in Drawing Down the Moon.) He notes that all the Crowley material that is found in the Wiccan rituals can be found in a single book, The Equinox vol 3 no. 1 or Blue Equinox. Gardner is not known to have owned or had access to a copy of this book, although it is certain that he met Crowley towards the end of the latter’s life. Gardner admited "the rituals he received from Old Dorothy's coven were very fragmentary, and in order to make them workable, he had to supplement them with other material."[28]

Some, such as Isaac Bonewits, have argued that Valiente and Heselton's evidence points to an early 20th century revival predating Gardner, rather than an intact old Pagan religion. The argument points to historical claims of Gardner's that agree with scholarship of a certain time period and contradict later scholarship. Bonewits writes, "Somewhere between 1920 and 1925 in England some folklorists appear to have gotten together with some Golden Dawn Rosicrucians and a few supposed Fam-Trads to produce the first modern covens in England; grabbing eclectically from any source they could find in order to try and reconstruct the shards of their Pagan past." Crowley published the aforementioned Blue Equinox in 1919.

The idea of primitive matriarchal religions, deriving ultimately from studies by Johann Jakob Bachofen, was popular in Gardner's day, both among academics (e.g., Erich Neumann, Margaret Murray) and amateurs such as Robert Graves. Later academics (e.g. Carl Jung and Marija Gimbutas) continued research in this area, and later still Joseph Campbell, Ashley Montagu and others became fans of Gimbutas' theories of matriarchies in Old Europe. Matriarchal interpretations of the archaeological record and the criticism of such work continue to be matters of academic debate. Some academics carry on research in this area (such as the 2003 World Congress on Matriarchal Studies). Critics argue that such matriarchal societies never actually existed and are an invention of researchers such as Margaret Murray. This is disputed by documentaries such as "Blossoms of Fire" (about contemporary Zapotec society).

The idea of a supreme Mother Goddess was common in Victorian and Edwardian literature: the concept of a Horned God — especially related to the gods Pan or Faunus — was less common, but still significant.[29] Both of these ideas were widely accepted in academic literature and the popular press at the time.[30]


[edit] Later developments
Wicca has developed in several directions since it was first publicised by Gerald Gardner. Gardnerian Wicca was an initiatory mystery religion, admission to which was limited to those who were initiated into a pre-existing coven. The Book of Shadows, a workbook that contained the Gardnerian rituals, was kept secret and was only obtainable from a coven of proper lineage. Despite the fact that several versions of the Book of Shadows have now been publicly published, many traditions of Wicca still maintain strict secrecy regarding the book and certain other aspects of the religion.

Raymond Buckland introduced modern Wicca to America after moving to Long Island. Buckland enlarged the Book of Shadows, adding further degrees of initiation which were required before members could found their own covens. Interest outstripped the ability of the mostly British-based covens to train and propagate members; the beliefs of the religion spread faster by the printed word or word of mouth than the initiatory system was prepared to handle.[31]

Other traditions appeared that gradually brought more attention and adherents to the extant Neopaganism movement.[citation needed] Some claimed roots as ancient as Gardner's version, and were organised along similar lines.[citation needed] Others were syncretic, incorporating aspects of Kabbalah, romanticised Celtic Pagan concepts, and ceremonial magic. In 1971 "Lady Sheba" (self-styled "Queen of the American Witches") published what she claimed was a version of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows, although the authenticity of this book has never been validated. Increasing awareness of Gardner's literary sources and the actual early history of the movement made creativity seem as valuable as Gardnerian tradition.[citation needed]

Another significant development was the creation by feminists of Dianic Wicca, or feminist Dianic Witchcraft. This is a specifically feminist, Goddess-oriented faith that had no interest in the Horned God, and discarded Gardnerian-style hierarchy as irrelevant. Many Dianic Wiccans felt that witchcraft was every woman's right and heritage to claim. This heritage might be best characterised by Monique Wittig's words on the subject: "But remember. Make an effort to remember. Or, failing that, invent." This tradition was comparatively (and unusually for that time) open to solitary witches. Rituals were created for self-initiation to allow people to identify with and join the religion without first contacting an existing coven.[citation needed] This contrasts with the Gardnerian belief that only a witch of opposite gender could initiate another witch.[citation needed]

The publications of Raymond Buckland illustrate these changes. During the early 1970s, in books such as Witchcraft - Ancient and Modern and Witchcraft From the Inside, Buckland maintained the Gardnerian position that only initiates into a Gardnerian or other traditional coven were truly Wiccans. However, in 1974, Buckland broke with the Gardnerians and founded Seax-Wica, revealing its teachings and rituals in the book The Tree: The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft. This tradition made no claims to direct descent from ancient Saxons; all of its then-extant rituals were contained in that book, which allowed for self-initiation. In 1986 Buckland published Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft (colloquially known as "Uncle Bucky's Big Blue Book" or simply "The Big Blue Book"), a workbook that sought to train readers in magical and ritual techniques as well as instructing them in Wiccan teachings and rituals. Unfortunately, even after Buckland wrote his revised edition of this book there were still many errors from his original work that were never updated.

The first Wiccan Wedding to be legally recognised in the UK (by the Registrars of Scotland) was performed in 2004.[32]


[edit] Etymology
Gerald Gardner is credited with re-introducing the word Wicca into the English language, although he himself used the spelling 'Wica' in his published work of 1954[1], and that only sparingly, usually just calling his religion 'witchcraft'. The spelling 'Wicca' is now used almost exclusively, Seax-Wica being the only major use of the four-letter spelling. The word's first appearance within the title of a book was in Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner in the late 1980s.[citation needed]

Wicca was previously an Old English word (pronounced 'witcha'), meaning a male witch or wizard; wicce was a female witch (see also Völva), wiccan a plural equivalent to "witches", and wiccecræft was witchcraft. Its earliest known use is in the circa 890 Laws of Ælfred.[33][34][35] Earlier origins of the word are uncertain, however, and are much disputed.[36]

The most likely derivation is through the Old English word wigle (sorcery, divination) from the Indo-European root *weg (liveliness, wakefulness).[37][38] Gardner and other writers on Wicca have proposed a relationship with the Old English words wita 'wise man' and witan 'to know', asserting that witches had once been regarded as the "wise" people;[39][40] Wicca is often called the "Craft of the Wise" in allusion to this derivation. Still others claim a derivation from the Indo-European root *wei which connotes bending or pliance (from which we get the words 'wicker' 'willow' and 'witch-elm'), suggesting the concept of magic as a "bending" of forces of nature.

The word wicca is associated with animistic healing rites in Halitgar's Latin Penitential where it is stated that

Some men are so blind that they bring their offering to earth-fast stone and also to trees and to wellsprings, as the witches teach, and are unwilling to understand how stupidly they do or how that dead stone or that dumb tree might help them or give forth health when they themselves are never able to stir from their place.
The phrase swa wiccan tæcaþ ("as the witches teach") seems to be an addition to Halitgar's original, added by an eleventh-century Old-English translator.[41]"

Answer 2

I am a christian. here are a few of the most convincing reasons I can think of to belive in a religion: Apart from a minority condemmed by other belivers, religious people tend to lead happier, more law abiding lives. I know there are examples where this has gone horribly wrong but you know what I mean. the prioncipals on which religion is based were not made up by selfish human beings. Jesus. whether or not you belivie him to be the son of god, the man existed. there are litteraly thousands of original documents which talk about him (more than mention cesar). either - this man was mad (he said he was the son of god quite a lot), or - he was a very good con man who endured teribble hardships eg being crucifed, even though denying this would have save his life, or - he was actually the son of god (the bible explains this although since we ran out of first centuary jews it has become difficult to understand). Testimonials, many non Christians have not heard of these. they are basicaly peoples stories about being christians (i dont know about other religions). often strenght which comes from no where when people ask god for help is mentioned or people experiancing overwhelmiong emotion. this is VERY common. If you ever ask about testimonials in a church there will probably be a few and they often include events which cannot be explained logically. Love. not logical not scientific, wonderful. where has this come from? Finally, I would like to ask any atheist do you not belive in what cant be explained? in Stephen Hawkins book a history of time he says how some thibngs in the universe cannot be explained. he puts these things down to devine intervention.

Answer 3

Wicken

Answer 4

It is Wicca and it is a pagan religion. I can't tell you much because I am just learning myself. But if you do a google search on Wicca, you should come up with a lot of interesting information.

It is the modern form of witches. Some people think it is devil worship, but I don't think that is the case. The Wiccan Temple that I just started attending also offers classes on psychic phenomenon. Dowsing, remote viewing, spells, and some other "weird" stuff.

The book "Everything Paganism" gives a good overview of most of the pagan religions.

Answer 5

Well, I could just say it is a Pagan religion and leave it at that, but it would not answer your question very well. Wicca is actually a name of a wide ranging earth-based, sometimes polytheistic religion. There as many different types of Wiccans as there are Christians.

Some of the basic precepts of Wicca are 1) the belief that the spiritual and the physical are not all that separate, 2) both the masculine and the feminine are sacred, 3) each person is responsible for their own conduct and that what you do, for good or ill, will come back to you.

One of the biggest draws for Wicca is the belief that woman have just as much right as men to be religious leaders. There is also a predominant belief in the sacred found in nature.

There is lots more that I could say, but there many others that could say it better.

Answer 6

Wiccan is a new age revival of the old time religion. Dating back prior to Christianity. We are an Earth & nature based people. We celebrate life and our oneness with nature & the Universe. Only one law for us..."...and it harms none, do as you will."
Blessed Be... ; )

Answer 7

www.wicca.com has tons of information about the Wiccan religion. Wiccans generally worship a Goddess and a God and revere nature.

Answer 8

Damn! Can you post a longer answer? You should tack on War and Peace to the end. The bottom line is that people will believe anything. You people need to start believing in yourself and if you still need a religion pick one that has been around for awhile.

Answer 9

It is really paganism and has been around as a form of idol worship since way back when.

Answer 10

Wiccan is white witchcraft.

Answer 11

I think you mean "Wiccan". I don't know much about it.