Wicca ?is a Neopagan religion and a form of modern witchcraft. Often referred to as Witchcraft or the Craft, its adherents are commonly referred to as Wiccans, or as Witches or Crafters. Developing in England in the first half of the 20Th century, Wicca was popularized in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica." From the 1960s onward, the name of the religion was normalized to "Wicca."
Not exactly. It's not a form of modern witchcraft... Wicca is a religion... witchcraft is exactly what it states it is - A Craft... which can be used by Anyone in Any religion. Some do refer to Wicca as "Witchcraft", but it isn't. Most of the Wiccans I know don't practice witchcraft at all.
Gerald Gardner started out in the 30's actually (check out the book Fifty Years of Wicca - it's written by one of Gardner's own people). It came to the States in the 60's. But there is evidence of some covens already existing in America, some of which used witchcraft, but were definitely NOT Wiccan.
Wicca is an earth based religion which relies on the images of The Goddess and her consort, The God. It has 4 Sabbats and 4 Esbats (all holidays), as well as a mix of other holidays depending on which culture the followers adhere to - such as Dianic Wicca would lean more towards Roman and Greek holidays... where as one who follows Cerridwen would be more inclined to follow Celtic holidays.... but they could all call themselves Wiccan.
I am uncomfortable with the 'Neopagan' part but essentially the rest is almost correct.
Wicca under various names is way older than the early 20Th century, it predates Christianity by about 5000 years. After the witch hunts of the 1500s to 1800s Gerald Gardener did bring Wicca into the light in the 50s
Wicca does not automatically equate to witchcraft. There are Wiccans who do not also practice witchcraft. And there are plenty of witches in the world that don't also follow the religion of Wicca.
"Wicca is a paganGanlytheistic religion" would be the simplest of definitions.
Sorry Wiccan Warrior, but I must disagree. While Wicca draws from various pre-Christian sources and beliefs, Wicca itself does not predate Christianity and is most certainly a neopagan religion.
First of all, that's not really a definition. That's a summary of it's history.
Second, I find it highly erroneous to call it a form of witchcraft. "Witchcraft" is a word that has always denoted a magical practice, while Wicca is a religion. The only reason people ever claimed that Wicca was witchcraft was because of the mistaken belief that "witchcraft" was actually an ancient pagan religion that survived in secret during the Christian period...which it isn't. That claim is complete rubbish, and it's been debunked now for 40 years.
Here is the short explanation I give here on Y!A for people who ask what Wicca is:
Wicca is a modern, polytheistic religion with ritual generally centered upon a patron god and goddess. It stresses polarity and balance, as well as responsibility for ones own actions. Wiccans see the physical and spiritual worlds as being intimately connected. Wicca is an esoteric religion, with the real truths of it being learned through experience, rather than through instruction. The various practices of Wicca are to help people find those experiences and lessons. Wicca has no prophet and no holy books.
Wicca is most certainly a paganGanligion. However, for people seeking a basic definition, they'd probably also need that word defined as well.
You're pretty close. Despite what some here have said, Wicca HAS NO PROOF to be any older as a religion than Garald Gardener's conception of it. There is absolutely no, and i mean NO, proof that it is an ancient religion in any way, nor is it likely to be older than the 20Th century. Anyhow, most would say that because Garald Gardener intended witchcraft to be practiced in Wicca, it would be incorrectly portraying Wicca if one does not consider themselves a practitioner of the craft. Those who say that Wicca can exist without witchcraft aren't lying, but they aren't practicing one of the core values of that religion. Also, not all witches are Wicca- most are not in fact.
Is this the correct definition of Wicca ?
