What is Wicca?

Answer 1

Wicca is a very complex faith which embraces widely varying practices and many different Traditions. The following, however, is what I consider to be "the basics".

Wicca is about years old, with roots in Masonic practices, ceremonial magic, and the Romantic era's ideas of classical religions. It is in many ways a postmodern faith, embracing religious relativism, and one that resonates powerfully for increasing numbers of people.

The central tenet of the Wiccan religion is the Wiccan Rede: "If you harm none, do what you will." This is a deceptively simple "commandment" which can take a lifetime to contemplate and to master. Many Wiccans also believe in the Law of Threefold Return, sometimes called the Rule of Three: “Whatever you do, for good or ill, will come back upon you three times over.”

Wiccans honor Deity as both male and female, God and Goddess -- or at the very least as Goddess. Many Wiccans believe that the universe is the body of God/dess, and therefore that all things contain Divine energy and that the world itself is sacred. Some Wiccans are polytheists (many God/desses); others are duotheists (God and Goddess, of whom all other Gods and Goddesses are simply aspects); others are monotheists (God and Goddess Themselves are simply aspects of an unknowable Source).

Wiccans generally do not believe that God/dess is separate from the world; therefore, we have no concept of salvation, since God/dess is present to all and always. Many Wiccans believe that God/dess is too big to fit inside one religion -- all religions/spiritual paths are ways of reaching the same goal, and atheism and agnosticism are honorable perspectives on the mystery of life.

Each Wiccan operates as their own priest/ess. We do not have a distinction between clergy and laity. Therefore, each Wiccan is responsible for their own personal development and for forging their own relationship with God/dess. Some Wiccans practice in covens, which are generally initiatory and require a long period of study (traditionally a year and a day) before entering. Others practice in loosely affiliated groups of solitaries, which are Wiccans who practice outside of traditional coven structure. Others simply practice alone.

Wiccans do not usually have churches. We create sacred space as and where needed, by casting "circles" of energy which function as temples. When inside those circles, we invite the spirits of the four Platonic elements (air, fire, water, and earth) to join us, as well as the Goddess and the God (or at minimum the Goddess).

Many Wiccans practice witchcraft, which we see as working with the Divine energy that permeates the world to bring about change. In accordance with the Wiccan Rede, the vast majority of Wiccans will not curse or perform magic to bring harm upon anyone else.

A relatively objective (non-Wiccan) set of articles on what Wiccans do and believe:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm

Another useful article:

http://www.religionfacts.com/neopaganism/paths/wicca.htm

A good site by Wiccans:

http://wicca.timerift.net

And the US Army Chaplains Handbook excerpt on Wicca:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_usbk.htm

If you're looking to do some reading, I'd recommend "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham, and "Triumph of the Moon" by Ronald Hutton. I advise you to stay away from anything by Silver Ravenwolf, for reasons outlined in the following essay:

http://wicca.timerift.net/ravenwolf.shtml

If you have any further questions, please feel free to email me.

Answer 2

The Wiccan religion was created in the 50s by Gerald Gardner and is largely based on solomonic ceremonial magick. He and some other occultists got together and brought back what they believed to be ‘brushed under the carpet’ for centuries,Wicca They believed that they were making it known once again. Gerald was the first to create the first branch of wicca, he called it “wica” derived from the old English word meaning “wise one” Gardnerians commonly refer to themselves as “The Wicca/Wica” There is some propaganda going around that “wicca” came from the word meaning “to bend” that wiccan is a twisting of reality. I do not believe this.

We wiccans believe that everything is related and intertwined with each other. We worship a God and Goddess we believe that they are so universally related to everyone that they are too big to fit into just one religion, we believe that everyone is correct in their beliefs, as long as it is for good. We believe that the God and Goddess are just two different aspects of a greater being; some choose to believe that they can take form of any thing. Some believe that they are just different forces acting in different ways to help and teach.

We believe that everything happens for a reason, we believe in the rule of three (karma) that whatever we send out returns to us three fold whether it be good or bad. We understand that sometimes times it may comeback when ever we least expect it or it may come back to when we do. We know that it will in some way, when you are good to others it will be repaid to you.

We celebrate the Wheel of The Year:

Yule, (Dec.21)
Imbolic falls on Feb. 2.
Ostara, the Spring Equinox (when the day and night are equal, usually around March 21),
Beltane (May 1)
Litha, the Summer Solstice (around June 21)
Lughnasad (Aug. 1) Also spelled Lughnassad and referred to as Lammas.
Mabon, the Fall Equinox (around Sept. 21)
Samhain(Sow-win, Oct. 31), Witches' New Year

We do cast spells, they are much like prayer to Christians we try not to harm people, we follow the Wiccan Rede:

"Bide ye the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love in perfect trust
Ye nust live and let live, fairly take and fairly give.
Cast the circle thrice about, to keep unwelcome spirits out.
To bind the spell well every time, lep the spell be spoken in rhyme.
Soft of eye and light of touch, speak ye little and listen much.
Deosil go by waxing moon, chanting out the Wiccan runes.
Widdershins go by waning mon, chanting out the baneful tune.
When the Lady's moon is new, kiss the hand to her times two.
When the moon rides at her peak, then the heart's desire seek.
Heed the North wind's mighty gale: lock the door and trim the sail.
When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss the on the mouth.
When the Moor wind blows from the West, departed spirits have no rest.
When the wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast.
Nine woods in the cauldron go, burn them quick and burn them slow.
Elder be the Lady's tree, burn it not or cursed ye'll be.
When the wheel begins to turn, let the Beltnne fires burn.
When the wheel has turned to Yule, light the log and the Horned One rules.
Heed ye flower, bush and tree, by the Lady, Blessed Be.
Where the rippling waters go, cast a atone, the truth to know.
When ye have and hold a need, hearken not to others' greed.
With a fool no seasons spend, or be counted as his friend.
Merry meet and mtrry part, bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Mind the Threefold Law ye should, three times bad and rhree times good.
When misfortune is enow, wear the blue star on thy brow.
True in love ye must ever be, lest thy love be false to thee.
These words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
An ye harm none, do what ye will."

Originally Written by Gerald Gardner, Revised by Doreen Valiente.

I sorry if there are typos, I copied it from my own copy here at school.

I hope this helps you understand what we are. It took me forever to type.
BB
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Answer 3

The term Wicca refers to western European earth based religions. Wicca is a "new old" religion that combines surviving folk traditions, rituals and more modern elements. It is loosely based on European pagan (pagan is derived from the Latin paganus, "meaning people of the earth"), rites and rituals that have been performed for centuries before, during and after the time of Jesus-- such as reverance of nature, observance of the cycle of the seasons, celebration of the harvest and doing magic.Wicca is a living evolving religion which makes it hard to define it completely. It is basically whatever you make it.

Answer 4

It is an earth-based religion born in the first half of the 20th century. Wicca generally worships a Goddess and a God but many groups worship just the Goddess. They practice witchcraft and call themselves witches. They are nice folks and usually pretty warm and fuzzy. They have one "commandment" called the Wiccan Rede, some version of 'An it harm none, do what ye will. You can find a lot online about it. I would start with Witchvox.

Answer 5

Wicca is a nature based religion that worships the ancient Gods and Goddesses. There are many different forms of Wicca.

Some great websites about Wicca:

http://www.wiccaforums.com/forums/index.php?act=idx

http://www.paganforum.com/index.php?action=forum

http://www.mind-n-magick.com/forum/YaBB.pl

Answer 6

Wicca is a Neopagan religion and can be traced back to Gardnerian Witchcraft which was founded in the UK during the late 1940s.
Wicca is based on the symbols, seasonal days of celebration, beliefs and deities of ancient Celtic society.it is a religion whose roots go back almost three millennia to the formation of Celtic society circa 800 BCE.

Answer 7

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usfl&c=white&id=1938
http://www.mdpagans.com/wiccaisnot.html

* 8 Holidays centered around the Solstices and Equinoxes and their cross quarter days.
* Belief in God AND Goddess
* Yes we cast spells, just like other religions Pray.
* No, it isn't the movie "The Craft" or like Charmed.
*We DON"T believe in the Devil.
*First rule is HARM NONE.
*No, we're not sacrificing anything to anyone.
*No orgies (Contrary to popular belief.)
*Yes, men can be Witches, too.
*we don't try to convert people

Answer 8

Occult-Witchcraft

Answer 9

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Wicca is a contemporary spiritual religion, based on and reviving the ancient pre-Christian pagan religions of Europe. Wiccans believe in a divine force or power as the source of all. It is both immanent and transcendent while encompassing the whole universe. Therefore the world and all aspects within the world, "nature" and "life itself" in particular, are considered sacred.

Wiccans use ancient and modern ceremonies, rituals and shamanic practices to attune themselves to the natural rhythms of nature, the world, and the universe in their efforts to commune with this divine force.

To communicate with the force, Wiccans believe it to be manifest in the form of a Goddess and God. As they emanate from the same source, both retain equal power, hence equal status. By manifesting the power in two deities (Goddess and God), the natural balance of opposites, cause and effect are retained, e.g. Summer/winter, light/ dark, life and death etc. Each opposite is essential to maintaining the balance and rhythm of life on earth.

During ritual ceremonies and while working with magick, Wiccans call on many other deities. All other deities (the names of which are endless) are in essence merely differently named aspects of the same Goddess and God. See "Gods and Deities".

Wicca has no high authority, no single leader, no prophet and no bible to dictate its laws and beliefs. Every witch is as important as another and all share equal status. Most wiccans are solitary practitioners known as "Hedge Witches" (see "Traditions"), but there are also many “Covens”. Covens include groups of up to 13 people, which is equal to the 13 phases of the moon during the year. Covens are normally presided over by a Priest or Priestess who has had years of practice in magick and ritual techniques. The Priest or Priestess is respected as an Elder and teacher of the craft.

All Wiccans adhere to one overriding ethical precept as stated in the"Wiccan Rede":

"Though it harm none, Do what thy wilt".

This is not a license to do whatever they want, more that it allows them the freedom of thought and actions to ascertain the truth, to communicate with and experience the divine and to determine how best to live their lives, if by doing so they cause no harm. See "Wiccan Rede".

This can also be taken as a cautionary reference to the one fundamental law governing magick and its use.

"The Three-Fold Law".

This states that whatever they do - be it for good or for evil - it will be returned to them, but magnified three times over. Therefore witches accept responsibility for all their own actions and are especially careful about how they use their magick, for to hurt someone or to cause distress, a spell is returned to sender three times better or worse. See "The Three-Fold Law".

Wiccans celebrate 8 major rituals each year called "Sabbats" (see "Sabbats"). There are 4 major and 4 minor Sabbats. The major Sabbats include: Imbolc (February 2nd), Beltane (April 30th), Lughnasadh (August 1st) and Samhain (October 31st), while the minor Sabbats are: Ostara (Spring Equinox, March 21st), Litha (Summer Solstice, June 21st), Madon (Autumn Equinox, September 21st), and Yule (Winter Solstice, December 21st).

The Sabbats are solar rituals marking the points of the sun's yearly cycle, and make up half of the Wiccan ritual year. The other half is made up with "Esbats", the Full Moon celebrations. There are 13 full moons each year symbolizing the goddess, wisdom and the inner self of the individual.

Wiccans and Pagans are ordinary everyday types of people and come from all walks of life, from all spectrums of society and from all over the world. Most are individuals seeking a personalized practical religion that can be adapted to suit their own needs and criteria. Wicca is a wonderfully diverse religion that meets those needs.

There are many differing paths and traditions contained within Wicca, each with it's own brand of ritual and magick. See "Traditions". But perhaps the single most common theme among all these traditions, is an overriding reverence for life, nature, and the environment, as seen through the Goddess and God.

Answer 10

i believe that it is a form of witch craft