What exactly is the difference between Wicca and Witchcraft?

Question

I had always thought that they were basically the same but now I've been reading there is a difference, although its subtle. My friend, who does a lot of research, says that Wicca is more structured and Witchcraft is more geared towards the individual and less regimented. I'm not sure that really makes sense nor sure I agree with that. What do other Pagans and Witches think?

Answer 1

There is a great deal of debate on when and how to use the term 'witchcraft' and this debate is likely to go on for some time. The following is accepted by some, rejected by others.

Wicca is a Pagan religion which has some of its roots in pre-Christian Europe, and some in contemporary Pagan practices. It involves the worship of the Goddess and the God, a reverence for nature, etc.

Witchcraft itself is not necessarily a religion, but tends to refer more to certain magickal practices. One can be a Wiccan witch (this is quite common), but one can also be a witch that follows a different religion. Some choose to call themselves 'witch' simply because they practice magick, other think that the term 'witch' should be reserved for those Wiccans/Pagans who choose to practice magick. Other think that 'Witch' is a term to refer to all Wiccans. Ultimately, within the Pagan community, it comes down to a matter of opinion.

Answer 2

Wicca is a more structured version of practices long called "Witchcraft". Witchcraft incorporates on many levels the whole of Magickal acts- Healing, Divination, Casting and conjuring and many other Esoteric skills. Witchcraft is the action of focused will where as Wicca is more a belief system focusing on the reverence for Nature and the dual aspects of Gods / Goddesses, the Elements and the Natural order of life cycles.

Witchcraft also shares this same respect for Nature, the Gods & Goddesses and the Elements. But where Wicca is structured and regimented, Witchcraft is more of an art form- The practitioner / the Artist, their tools / the paint -and the outcome of hard work and expressed will / The desired work of Art.

Answer 3

Witchcraft is basically folk magic, this encompasses a lot of things which are neither spells or magic; herb lore, midwifery, potions and oils, and astrology are a few of the none magical crafts. In the "Good Old Days", anyone practicing any of these was usually labeled a Witch.

Wicca was codified as a Witchcraft based religion, a witchly priesthood as it were by Gerald Gardner, who built it from a variety of sources, and honed with the help of Doreen Valiente and others. Up until Gardner's death there was only BTW, British Traditional Wicca. It was not until after Gerald's death that Eclectic and Solitary Wicca came into being.

Answer 4

As I am sure you have seen now, you ask such a question and you get at least 20 different answers from 10 different Wiccans/Witches.
IMO, Wicca is the religion, Witchcraft is the craft. Wicca is the beliefs, Witchcraft is the practice, the traditions, the ways of doing things.

Answer 5

Historically, the word "witchcraft" WAS used to represent evil practices: specifically malevolent magic. Workers of benevolent magic might be respected in a community and were not called witches. However, most historic witches are fiction. People thought they were executing people who were magically blighting crops, causing sterility, etc., but in fact the victims were generally innocents swept up in a panick hysteria. The modern use of the term "witchcraft" is morally neutral. It is a form of magic. Good and evil comes from how the witch uses it. Many, but not all, witches have very stringent ethical guidelines by which they work. Not causing magical harm is a common (although not absolute) rule among witches. Wicca is a polytheistic, modern religion that acnkowledges the existence of magic but doesn't require practical applications of its use (i.e. spells). Witchcraft is a magical practice generally focusing on practical applications. Witches may or may not be religious and may or may not include religion in with their magical beliefs. Lord and Lady were originally the Outer Court names for the Wiccan deities. Those who had not yet been initiated would not know the proper names of the coven deities but instead would refer to them simply as Lord and Lady. Today, some people prefer to just address their deities by such terms, or they use it as a general placeholder, recognizing that we all follow a Lord and Lady, but their identities differ from Wiccan to Wiccan and coven to coven.

Answer 6

Wicca is a religion roughly 60 years old. Witchcraft is not a religion and it's been practiced for a very very long time. There's confusion about this because a lot of Wiccans practice Witchcraft, and often newbies (who can never seem to shut up about how happy and bright my religion is) tell people that they are the same thing.

Answer 7

Wicca and witch are two branches of an old word, Wicce, which, in its time, meant Wise woman. In a way you could call Wiccan and Witches a kind to trinty as 3 is a sacred number. There are Witches and Wiccan Witches and Wiccans. Witches are actually people of the crafts. They have taken the evil out of the Christian meanings of Witch.
Wiccans are an organized government recognized religion.

A Witch may just do work with Herbals or they may work in Magick and divination. They may even believe in the God and Goddess or The Christian Trinity and even Allah or the Hebrew God.

I believe that spreads it out enough to be understood.

Answer 8

Witchcraft is the practice of changing and influencing events in the world through will, more specifically attributed to supernatural and/or unconventional means. There are many different examples that fall into this category, and it goes as far back as humankind's first organized ceremonies.

Wicca is a particular religion, created by Gerald Gardner in the 20th century, that incorporates (among other things) witchcraft. Practitioners might identify as "witches", but they never had a monopoly on the term, and never will.

I suppose it's analogous to the difference between "meditation" and "Buddhism".

Answer 9

My take on it is that Wicca is a religion while witchcraft is not. Many witches, for instance, are Christians, some Buddist, many Lutherans. It is not a conflict of interest although some who believe in the incorrect translation of the Bible are convinced that it is. You always have to remember that everything in the bible is politically motivated and, as in King James time, translated to support the current regime.

Answer 10

Wicca is an organized religion (like Christianity). Witchcraft is merely an element (such as prayer). Think of Wicca like Christianity, and witchcraft like prayer.

I would say that I practice witchcraft, but I am most certainly not Wiccan. Its like how some people will pray, but won't go to church or participate in a religion.