What IS Wicca?

        Stemming from a Y!A question, I thought I'd have another go at explaining Wicca. While I have a nutshell explanation within my FAQ's above, I don't think I really have full a post on what Wicca is...most of the time I re-direct people to Wicca for the Rest of Us. It has a better explanation of Wicca from an actual Wiccan who has practiced for a LOT longer than I have. I have come to respect the author of this site (as she also frequents Y!A as well) and trust in her information.


So, What IS Wicca??



        Wicca is a 20th century polytheistic, earth-based, fertility religion that focuses on the worship of Pagan Gods.

What do these words mean?
Polytheistic: The belief in multiple deities, either one God and one Goddess, or multiple Gods and
                      multiple Goddesses.
Earth-Based: Wicca focuses on the here and now; what happens down here on earth. They believe
                        that the deities are eminent; close to us, if not within us, not floating around on some
                        cloud waiting for you to die to tend to you in the afterlife (of which there is no
                        guarantee of its existence)
Fertility: The worship of consorting deities; Gods who are lovers, whose story is told throughout the
                year, with the God being born at Yule, and dying at Samhain.


        First off, let me say that Wiccans acknowledge the fact that Wicca is only roughly about 70+ years old (or a 20th century religion). No real practitioner believes Wicca is an ancient, pre-Christian religion. They DO, however, acknowledge that it is BASED on (pieced together, mind you) pre-Christian Pagan systems and some ceremonial/folk magic. The fact that Wicca is only about 70+ years old, though, doesn't diminish it's validity. Every religion in the world was 70+ years old at some point in their history.

        Now, the main focus of Wicca is the worship of Pagan deities. This focus can vary from practitioner to practitioner. Some choose to worship one God and one Goddess; some choose to worship many Gods and many Goddesses...still some will worship one Goddess and no God at all (though this would defeat the purpose of Wicca, to be unbalanced in such a way, but we'll discuss this a bit later).

        The original intention of Wicca was to be a traditional religion in which practitioners were admitted to the religion through initiation into a group, called a "Coven". Once in the coven they, within a year and a day, learn the basics of the religion, the history and the "Why's" of practice. In this "Coven"...they will attend regular gatherings and meetings, and learn the names of the deities, known to us only as "God" and "Goddess" or "Lord" and "Lady". The reason being that only within the Tradition are practitioners allowed to know the TRUE names of the deities. Outsiders are not permitted this knowledge. The information found within a coven is oathbound (meaning you must take an oath of secrecy), and to break that oath is grounds for expulsion from the coven, never to return.

        The more famous Traditions of Wicca include Gardnerian and Alexandrian. Perhaps the oldest traditions of Wicca, only because so-called "Garnderian Wicca" was the starting tradition, being led by the founder of Wicca, Gerald Gardner. Alexandrian is a branch of Wicca, consisting of many of the same traditions and practices as Gardnerian, with a few minor alterations, and was created by Alex Sanders. Naturally there are more and more "Traditions" popping up these days, but there are far too many to list.

        Certainly, though, one can practice Wicca as a solitary, though many a traditionalist will have a problem with this. They believe that Wicca was intended to remain traditional and only revealed through an initiated processes and kept "mysterious" as Wicca is called a "mystery religion" (for more reasons than one). Solitary practice (though becoming more and more popular, and more and more accepted) consists of many of the same practices you would find within a coven and traditional practice, the difference is, the source information comes from public sources (which could be good or bad depending on the source...if you read a book that begins with spell work, that would constitute a bad source, as Wicca's focus is more on deity worship...all else are "elective" practices, though traditionally, witchcraft was a integral part of Wicca...many practitioners opt to remove the craft from Wicca and solely focus on the worship), and practitioners are free to add what makes sense, and remove what doesn't (though to add or remove too much distorts the religion until it is no longer recognizable, so one should be VERY careful what they choose to add and/or remove).

        Similar practices within both traditional and solitary work include Sabbat celebrations. Sabbats are more or less "holidays" in which practitioners celebrate different points in the year that are important to the religion. Just like Christmas is an important part of Christianity because they celebrate the birth of Christ...Yule is an important part of Wicca because it celebrates the birth of the God from the Goddess. Each point from there celebrate a milestone within the relationship of the God and Goddess.

        Naturally, the Sabbats also have other celebratory meanings. Not only do Wiccans celebrate the birth of the God at Yule, they also participate in many modern customs such as feasting and gift giving. Another "Sabbat" celebrated is the ever popular Samhain (pronounced "sow-in", not "sam-hain"), also known as "Halloween". However, Samhain isn't a time of celebrating ghosts and goblins and casting malevolent spells; it's a time of reflection on the past year, memorializing loved ones who have passed, communication with the "other side" for guidance, and preparation for the coming year (as it is often seen as a "New Year's Eve" so to say, to many Pagans). This is a time when many Pagans will "begin anew", by either starting a new book of shadows (or journal if they use one), starting a new area of study, OR novices may start their brand new Pagan studies, etc. Some people even celebrate the harvest, as Samhain originally was the last harvest festival before winter. It wasn't until the church came along and turned it into a night dealing with the dead, that it took on it's negative connotation (of which they themselves condemn).

        Now, a lot of misconceptions about Wicca seem to include the worship of the Earth. Just because Wicca is an "Earth-Based" religion doesn't mean they worship the Earth (or the moon, or the stars, etc). Earth-based simply means (as stated above) that the practitioners focus on what happens here and now; down here on earth, as opposed to what happens in the heavens or off on a cloud somewhere. Wiccans, while revere nature, do not worship it. Wiccans understand that nature is important for life, they don't believe it's a deity figure in need of worship. Reverence simply means they hold great respect for it. Nothing more. So for someone to say they're interested in Wicca because they feel "close to nature" is irrelevant. You can be Christian and still feel close to nature...there's no pre-requisite anywhere that states you need to be "close to nature" in order to join a religion. Your feelings towards animals and nature are personally yours and have little to do with which system you choose. To use this as an excuse to join a religion signals that you have no real idea why you want to be a part of a spiritual system, and are more interested in it based on popular media and science fiction.

       As for ethics...Wicca DOES have ethics, but it's not as simple as many people believe it to be. Wicca has one popular ethic, entitled the "Wiccan Rede". Firstly, Rede means advice; guideline. It doesn't mean it's a rule that everyone MUST follow (lest lightning strike them down where they are). The Rede simply means that you can take it as advice, but it's entirely up to you if you want to follow it. There are no "Wiccan Police" wandering around making sure you're following the Rede as a rule.

       Now, The Wiccan Rede is eight simple words (not a long, lengthy poem): "An it harm none, do as thou will". A LOT of people misconstrue this to mean "harm none", seeing as these are the only words that sound like they make sense. It's impossible to "harm none". While sitting here, writing out this extremely LOOOONNNNGGGG blog post, I am causing harm to millions upon millions of creatures. My body's immune system is fighting off any potential disease, bacteria or germs that might make me ill. Swallowing any food into my stomach will cause any microbes, bacteria and other nasties to be incinerated by my stomach acid. When someone says "harm none", little do they realize the MAJOR pressure they put on people. When they ignorantly say "harm none", they aren't meaning don't harm only things you can see. "Harm none", means Harm None. And thinking it over seriously, one would realize what an impossible feat this actually is.

        The Wiccan Rede tells practitioners that they are free to do as many harmLESS things as they wish. They're also allowed to do harmFUL things, but they need to accept the responsibility and consequences for those actions. The Wiccan Rede advises that one should try to be as harmless as you can in this life, while acknowledging that harm is inevitable. If you harm, resolve the issue, and accept the consequences. Simple as that.

       Wicca is not a religion that stresses "follow this way, as it is written here in this book". Wicca doesn't subscribe to the idea that you need to sit as a spectator in a crowd while some guy up at the front altar does all the spiritual experiencing for you, then tells you about it later. Wicca allows each and every individual practitioner to experience spirituality and the divine THEMSELVES!! One cannot maintain faith in something if they don't experience it for themselves. Going off of someone elses experience through second hand observation doesn't assert that those experiences are valid. I can say I saw the divine in a dream...that doesn't mean everyone will be lining up at my door praising me as some sort of prophet; the only one privileged enough to see the divine. Wicca allows each practitioner the ability to see the divine for themselves, as everyone is entitled to communicate and experience the divine...or God. It's not just for the privileged few.

        For some reason, there seems to be a lot of misconception that Wicca some how is for women only. This is not true. There are PLENTY of male Wiccans out there (I know a few). Wicca stresses balance. They worship consorting, polar opposite deities. Wicca was also created by a MAN. The ONLY reason it seems as though Wicca is a religion strictly for women could be that many women flock to Wicca after leaving the misogynistic attitudes of other religions, who view women as property; beings who should be seen and not heard, and only do as they're told. Spirituality should allow for one to experience spiritual fulfilment and satisfaction. One cannot be satisfied and fulfilled if they are suppressed into thinking they are unimportant to society. Wicca allows women (and men, too) the freedom to express themselves freely. There's no suppression, oppression or misogyny. Women are honored on the SAME level as men: equally. For without women, there would be no men, and without men, there would be no women. And without each other, there would be no society or species that is humanity. Wicca is about balance, for Wicca to be soley feminine or masculine throws off that balance...hence why Wiccans worship both Gods AND Goddesses. When a Wiccan worships one or the other, that throws off that balance, and they are no longer practicing Wicca.

        One more misconception is that Wicca is Witchcraft. While in the beginnings of the religion, Wicca incorporated MANY elements of Witchcraft, it is not, itself, Witchcraft. Witchcraft is a practice; a craft; a set of skills developed over a period of study, and application of that study into practice. All forms of art can be influenced by and can influence religion, but that doesn't make that art or craft a religion itself. Wicca and Witchcraft, while together create a complimentary practice, are not one in the same thing. They are indeed separate practices, but you are free to combine them if you so choose. There's nothing wrong with that.

        Surely, this isn't the end-all, be-all of Wicca. If it were, Wicca would be a blah religion and interest would fizzle out very quickly. If one is truly interested in Wicca (especially after reading this loonngg, drawn out blog post (lol)), its important to read good quality material. There are LOTS of books on the subject of Wicca, especially by good, reputable authors. To begin with Wicca, you should start at the beginning and read sources such as Gardner, Buckland, Sabin, Hutton and Cunningham. These are EXCELLENT authors who will steer you in the right direction (though I caution that Cunningham may include elements of spell work. Only include them if you want to incorporate this into your practice).

        I sincerely hope this has been helpful, and I encourage further research into the religion with an open mind. Wicca isn't about converting people or cavorting with demons and supernatural boogie-men. It's a respected religion offering nothing more than an opportunity to bring spiritual fulfilment and satisfaction to those who seek it in an alternative way.