Tell Me About Wicca?

Question

No, really...what is Wicca to you?

Answer 1

Well, a religion created by Gerald Gardner in the 1940s-1950s. Basically a mish-mash of Celtic reconstructionism and Golden Dawn teachings. It's vaguely polytheistic, involves respect for nature (and deification of nature) and ancestors.

Wicca is a mystery religion, meaning that it can only be learned through initiation. (Though there has been a movement to solitary practice and self-initiation in the past decade or so, this is not a part of Gardnerian or Alexandrian Wicca.) Each coven has a Book of Shadows which initiates copy and use, as well as add to on a personal level. There are degrees of initiation, to correspond with increased knowledge and abilities.

Since I'm a generic Pagan, it doesn't mean a whole lot to me. Except that I have to keep explaining to people that I'm not Wiccan.

Answer 2

Well, for me :~

Wicca is a religion which falls under the 'umbrella' of Paganism. It is one of many nature based religions, but has an emphisis on the use of magic.

Wicca as it is known now came about from the revival of the older 'witchcraft' {which translates as 'craft of the wise'}, created by Gerald Gardener.

These days, it has branched out from the structures formed in Gardinian and Alexandrian Wicca, and has many different paths.

I myself am an eclectic Wiccan, with leanings to Celtic and Norse beliefs.

Answer 3

Wicca is a duotheistic, polarity/fertility pagan religion with oath bound initiatory roots, revealed/defined/created by Gerald Gardner and associates in England in the 1930s-1950s (depending on what events are considered significant). The Rede "An' ye harm none, do what ye will" is fundamental to Wiccan ethics (as well as to some other nonWiccan pagns). Honoring the earth, celebrating sexuality, respecting individual freedom and responsibility are also values key to Wiccans (and some others). "Tourist" interest in Wicca has been high especially in America for the last decade or so, causing some interesting challenges for education, training, and lineage plus considerable diversity and creative pressures. Some individuals and groups within Wicca are more or less scholarly, Reconstructionist, familial, environmentally or socially concerned, heirarchical, classic "High" magic practitioners. Misrepresentation or mischaracterization of Wicca is frequent.

I like 'em, and practice with them at times.

Answer 4

What is Wicca to me? The end of a very long search for the right path for me! I spent over 19 years of my life looking at various religions, learning about their belief systems, their ceremonies, their common practices, but none of them struck a chord with me. Until I stumbled upon Wicca. To me, it felt like coming home after a very long journey! It felt so gratifying to finally realize that there was a name to attach to all the beliefs that I had had for all those years, to realize that I was not alone in those beliefs, and to feel free to continue to learn more.

Any one can tell you the facts and practices and history of Wicca, but that's not what you asked. Your question was far more personal than that. What is Wicca to me? A bright light at the end of a long dark tunnel. It is hope!

May the God and Goddess help all their children to find their own paths in their own time!

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

Answer 5

Wicca is a pagan earth religion. It is polytheistic, meaning there are many Gods and Goddesses. Particitioners are also called witches and practice magic and ritual. The Wiccan reed states, "Do what you will but harm none, including self."

Answer 6

Funny answer jiteng :)) but seriously...for me Wicca is a comforting approach to spirituality, a loving Mother Goddess in place of a judging Father God. It gives us a place in the universe, along with other animals, plants, trees, the stars etc. It shows us how to use the universal life force to bring about good things. It shows us the balance between yin and yang, male and female, dark and light, life and death. It comforts us at the moment of death, making us part of the rhythm of life and the seasons. It enables our life force and the stages of existence, virgin, mother, crone..it enhances our sexuality, and helps us to discover the "why" rather than the "how" , which is the province of science. Blesséd be.

Answer 7

Wicca is a polytheistic modern religion.

Answer 8

It involves a search through the possibilities of the unknown (spiritual world) rather than a decision of "who's right" (among human philosophers/clergy) and forcing said dogma.

Answer 9

yes the first answer is funny....

and

Wicca is a religious organization that practices paganism....i think. Not bad magic but good magic.

Answer 10

The following is my "Basics of Wicca" writeup; it pretty much covers my opinion on the subject.

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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 60 years old, with roots in Masonic practices, ceremonial magic, and the Romantic era's ideas of classical religions. Its founder was a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner.

http://www.geraldgardner.com/essays.php

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).

Wiccans have celebrations which are timed to both the solar and lunar calendars. The solar festivals -- held at the solstices, the equinoxes, and four points in between them -- are called sabbats.

http://paganwiccan.about.com/library/basics/blsabbats.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_year

The lunar holy days are called esbats, and are held at the full moon each month, and sometimes at the new moon as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbat

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 "The 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