Wicca

"Wicca is a deep appreciation and awe in watching the sunrise or sunset, the forest in the light of a glowing moon, a meadow enchanted by the first light of day. It is the morning dew on the petals of a beautiful flower, the gentle caress of a warm summer breeze upon your skin, or the warmth of the summer sun on your face. Wicca is the fall of colorful autumn leaves, and the softness of winter snow. It is light, and shadow and all that lies in between. It is the song of the birds and other creatures of the wild. It is being in the presence of Mother Earths nature and being humbled in reverence. When we are in the temple of the Lord and Lady, we are not prone to the arrogance of human technology as they touch our souls. To be a Witch is to be a healer, a teacher, a seeker, a giver, and a protector of all things. If this path is yours, may you walk it with honor, light and integrity” (Celtic Connection N.d.).

History of Wicca

Wicca is a pagan belief system that believes in the practice of witchcraft. Modern Wicca comes out of the writings of Egyptologist Margaret Murray. Regarding witch trials in early modern England, she differed from the typically accepted theory that women were accused and executed due to tumultuous economic and social conditions, and that there was no witchcraft actually being practiced. Instead, Murray asserted her “Witch-Cult Theory”: “that there really had been a religion which the Christian authorities of medieval and early modern Europe had wanted to eradicate, but that it was not Satanic in nature, instead being the survival of a pre-Christian fertility religion centred [sic] on the worship of a Horned God” (Doyle 2014:63). Based on Murray’s theory, anthropologist Gerald Gardner popularized the religion further and began several covens that would go on to spread Wicca globally (Doyle 2014:64).

A Wiccan altar, featuring a pentacle symbol.
(“Wicca.” Wikipedia.)

Wiccan Beliefs

As a nature-based, pagan religion, Wicca’s core beliefs are spiritual and often individual. BBC’s article on Wicca lays out the basics of the belief system: “Wicca honours the Divine in the forms of the Triple Goddess, whose aspects of Virgin, Mother, and Wise Woman or Crone are associated with the waxing, full and waning phases of the Moon, and as the Horned God” (2002). The Triple Goddess and the God make Wicca primarily duotheistic, even though the Goddess represents three different parts. Since there is no governing body or head of Wicca, many beliefs held by Wiccans are sorted out on a person level.

The Triple Goddess.
("Triple Goddess [Neopaganism]")

A primary practice of Wicca is magic. Pamela A. Moro writes of this contemporary magic, “Consistent with anthropology's long interest in magic as a mode of thought, some researchers in recent years have considered magic in relation to subjectivity as a way to understand personhood or as a clue to human consciousness. Examples of such studies may trace connections between magic and self‐conceptualizations—for example, by studying dreams—or may consider magic and healing as avenues for power and agency” (2018:10). In this way, many Wiccans use magic as a personally spiritual outlet rather than believing them to be actual acts of sorcery. Modern magical practices can involve rituals, music, spells, charms, divination, and more. Natural elements such as plants, crystals, water, and fire are also implemented in Wiccan magic (“A Wiccan Guide to Magic”).

Pentagrams and pentacles are often employed in Wiccan imagery. While the terms are used interchangeably, it is generally agreed upon that the pentagram is the five-pointed star while the pentacle is the star encircled. This symbol represents the five elements that make up humans: fire, water, earth, air, and spirit. It has been revered in many cultures and is known to symbolize "life, love, light, unity, wholeness, and quest for divine knowledge" ("Pentacle Symbol").

Wiccans sometimes come together in covens, groups of about 13 witches who worship and practice together. Traditionally, these groups have included a High Priest and Priestess to represent the God and Goddess, but in recent years many covens have moved towards more loosely-led, egalitarian structures (“Wiccan Covens, Circles, and Solitary Practitioners”). Additionally, many Wiccans practice solitarily.

Wiccan Holidays.
(Grimes 2020)

A collection of natural elements used in spells/altars.
("Wicca" 2018)

Learn More

“The Celtic Connection”: https://www.wicca.com/index.html

Tanenbaum “Wicca”: https://tanenbaum.org/religion-at-work-resource/religions-of-the-world/wicca/

“Wicca” History: https://www.history.com/topics/religion/wicca

“Wiccan General Practices”: https://cdn.website-editor.net/823296b744f646a3878bfde7d20b2c88/files/uploaded/Wiccan%2520General%2520Practices%25202.pdf

Works Cited

“A Wiccan Guide to Magic: What is Magic? And What is Magick?” Wicca Living. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2020 (https://wiccaliving.com/what-is-magic/).

Celtic Connection. “What is Wicca?” Retrieved Oct. 1, 2020 (https://www.wicca.com/wicca/what-is-wicca.html).

Grimes, Megan. 2020. “Wiccan Follower on Campus: Piper Arrington.” The Anchor. Image. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2020 (https://anchor.hope.edu/lifestyle/wiccan-follower-on-campus-piper-arington/).

Moro, Pamela A. 2018. “Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Magic.” The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2020 (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1915).

"Pentacle Symbol." Ancient-Symbols.com. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2020 (https://www.ancient-symbols.com/symbols-directory/pentacle.html).

"Triple Goddess (Neopaganism)." Wikipedia. Image. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2020 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Goddess_(Neopaganism)).

White, Ethan Doyle. 2014. “Devil's Stones and Midnight Rites: Megaliths, Folklore, and Contemporary Pagan Witchcraft.” Folklore 125(1):60-79. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2020 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/43297733).

“Wicca.” BBC. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2020 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/subdivisions/wicca.shtml).

"Wicca." 2018. History. Image. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2020 (https://www.history.com/topics/religion/wicca)

“Wicca.” Wikipedia. Image. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2020 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca).

“Wiccan Covens, Circles, and Solitary Practitioners.” Wicca Living. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2020 (https://wiccaliving.com/wiccan-covens-circles-solitary/).

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