What is Wiccan/Wicca?

Question

I keep seeing it on this site(y!answers) and i want to know what it is.

Answer 1

You have gotten some good answers already, but I thought I'd throw my hat in.

Wicca is one of several Neopagan Religions, including but not limited to Wicca, Druidism, Asatru, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian Reconstructionism. Wicca is the most well known Neopagan religion, and is often the first path a new Pagan finds. Wicca is sometimes also referred to as Witchcraft, but while all Wiccans are Witches, not all Witches consider themselves Wiccans.

While most Wiccans today try to reject heavy dogma, Wicca distinguishes itself from other Neopagan religions, and other types of Witchcraft/Magick, by the following characteristics;

1) Wiccans only have two gods -- The Goddess and the Horned God. All Gods are seen as aspects of the Horned God, and all Goddesses are aspects of The Goddess. Other Pagan religions practice true polytheism, where there are multiple gods, and they are each separate and unique personalities.

2) Emphasis on Magickal Morality -- there is the Wiccan Rede, and the Threefold Law, as well as prohibitions against casting curses and person-specific love spells. Not every Pagan follows the Rede and the Threefold Law, these are pretty specific to Wicca.

3) A ritual structure based on Ceremonial Magick, where a circle is cast, and guardian spirits are called in each quarter to watch over the circle during the ritual.

4) Eight High Holy Days, called the Eight Sabbats, or Wheel of the Year.

These four things are the core beliefs of Wicca, so pretty much anyone who calls themselves Wiccan will follow all four of them in some form. Again, there are other Magickal paths and Neopagan religions which may differ from these four things. What all Neopagan religions tend to have in common is an appreciation for Nature, polytheism, and a love of ancient mythologies and pre-Christian gods. The role that Magick plays in Neopaganism may differ from tradition to tradition. In Wicca, Magick is fairly central.

Answer 2

Wicca/wiccans do not necessarily use spells or perform witchcraft. Some do, some do not. It is not accurate at all to lump them all together because it is not always the case. Some are in covens, but many are solitary practioners. It is an earth based religion as has already been pointed out, with deep respect for nature. They focus mainly on the Goddess although they also recognize her counterpart, the God. There are many Gods and Goddesses in Wicca, each representing a specific aspect of the main God/Goddess. They are peace loving people and follow the Wiccan Rede witch states to harm none. It is a relativly new 'religion' which takes its teachings from much older Pagan roots.

Answer 3

A Wiccan is someone who practices the religion of Wicca.

Wicca is a Earth based religion as opposed to being an Abrahamic (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) religion. Wiccans honor the Earth instead of a book. We attempted to reconnect ourselves to the Earth and the cycles of Nature to better find our place within it. Unlike the Abrahamic faiths that have several rules and commandment, Wicca has but one rule, the Wiccan Rede (law) which states "An it harm none, do as you will". This may sound simple but in reality it isn't, we strive to not harm others and ourselves.

I hope this answer and the other positive answers you have recieved help you. If you are interested in a more lengthy description I would highly recommend you read, "The Truth About Witchcraft Today" by Scott Cunningham.

Blessed Be )O(

Answer 4

The last two or three answers a really good.
Wicca is not a Gaean Religion in general, but there may be some Wiccans/Covens who are. It is a nature based spirituality.
And when will people stop calling male witches warlocks??? A male witch is a witch, period. A warlock is another word for betrayer. It used to refer to someone who would "infiltrate" a village, then report back to the Priests which villagers practiced folk magic, healing, herbalism, midwifery etc. These were the people who were considered witches at that time.
Wizards have nothing to do with Wicca or Witchcraft.
And one last thing Wicca and Witchcraft are NOT the same thing, though they may have some similarities.

Answer 5

Hmmm. It depends on whether you mean Wicca as it was founded, or Wicca as it is practiced by many these days.

Wicca was designed to be an initiatory Coven-centric system, a priesthood that had a hierarchy that one had to be brought into: High Priestess and High Priest, Priestesses and Priests and Witches. As I have heard it put, Wicca was the "High Church" of witchcraft.----- Before I get jumped on about calling Wicca "High Church" please look up what the term means -------- Wicca was set up this way so that all the people in it would know all the rituals used by any other Wiccan coven they happen to find themselves with.

Wicca as it is coming to be known is whatever a person or group of people want to call Wicca. This has to do with the influx of books that tell folks things like "No one can define Wicca for you" which in the sense of a religion makes as much sense as someone saying "No one can define Islam for you"

Please notice, there are no how to books for becoming a Rabbi, an Imam, a Catholic, Hindu, or Buddhist Priest. Why do you think that is?

Answer 6

Wicca is a modern Pagan religion based off of older beliefs. There are several different types of Wicca and it seems to be mainly known for the practice of witchcraft. However, there are those Wiccans who don't practice magick, as well as many non-Wiccan people who do. It is mainly a peaceful religion and is (like many other Pagan religions) nature based. In this religion, the Three-Fold Law states that "whatever you do comes back to you threefold" and the Wiccan Rede states "an ye harm none, do as ye will".

Answer 7

Wicca is a nature-based religion and is a Pagan religion, which means they worship more than one God. Wiccan means someone who practices Wicca. Now each individual Wiccan or group of Wiccans (called a coven) practices differently, so know that there is no "right" way to practice or believe when it comes to Wicca. Generally Wiccans believe in the God and Goddess, masculine and feminine representations of energy. As most Pagan religions, Wicca is a fertility religion. I also see it as a religion of balance in all things. Most practice magick, which is simply using natural energies to manifest a desire, kinda like prayer. Typically, Wiccans follow what is called the Wiccan Rede, which states "an it harm none, do what thou wilt". This is like the goldne rule and prevents you from doing anything that will harm anyone, including yourself. They also have their own holidays called sabbats and esbats, but I'm not gonna include them here. Also, some Wiccans call themselves Witches (including me). Some will tell you that Witches & Wiccans are not the same, but really it depends on the person, so that's not necessarily true. The following website as lots of good info on Paganism/Wicca/Witchcraft, etc. Also know that Wicca is not something that is quick &/or easy to learn. It takes years of hard work & practice. I also just want to say that while this looks lengthy, its actually a brief overview of Wicca.

Answer 8

The above poster is right in many ways. Books saying "no one can define Wicca for you," are not good books, and usually DO go on to define Wicca fro you anyways.

Because of the very sad knowledge gap in Wicca, when someone says they are Wiccan, unless they tell you their denomination (Tradition) you really can't know what they mean....

Wiccans range from people who do whatever feels good and call it their religion to actual practioners of established religious groups. The group I belong to defines Wicca as follows:
http://www.cuew.org/whatiswicca.html

That being said, not all Wicca that is not lineaged and not oath bound is inferior Wicca. Those that define Wicca in rigid, narrow terms are generally as wrong as those that define it in overly broad terms....especially as those narrow-definition traditions only started using the term Wiccan when it because popular. :)

Answer 9

it is a neo-pagan religion that worships nature. we have a God and Goddess. they are both united. our God represents the sun and Goddess the moon. the Goddess is concidered "Mother Nature" as some people call her and God is "Sky Father"

Wiccan spells are the same as prayers. we all pray....most of us. they are just more of an enchanted prayer. we believe in the 5 elements.

Spirit, Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. these are situated on the pentacle. pentacles are not ment for satanism. we do not believe a Satan or Devil exists. all Wiccans use their energy to do things. every heard of Criss Angel. well, all those illusions were done with his spiritual energy. research it more

Answer 10

I would recommend books by Scott Cunningham. He has great info on the Solitary Wiccan.

In general it is a non-mainstream religion (aka Paganism) that has many branches and is commonly referred to as "witch craft"