Wicca is the name given to the fastest growing religious movement in the world, particularly in the U.S. and England. It is a modern version of the ancient pre-Christian nature religions, with completely different mores and beliefs than either Judaism or Christianity.
Unlike the latter two mainstream religions, both of which are monotheistic, Wicca is not patriarchal and women are treated as complete equals. In fact, the religion is not organized along political lines in the manner of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions, although many support groups do exist across the globe.
The meaning of the word "Wicca" has come under dispute, its two most common translations meaning "Craft of the Wise," or from the Celtic term "to bend," which makes mention of Wiccans using magick to bend the laws of probability and nature to their own will.
Officially identified in 1954 with the publication of Gerald Gardner's book Witchcraft Today, Wicca spread rapidly as the modern successor to the ancient religions that practiced Witchcraft, a loving and spiritual form of magick that has been utilized in one form or another for thousands of years.
There are many different traditions of Wicca, most of which stem from Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca, and new traditions are formed with a high degree of rapidity. Other popular forms of Wicca besides Gardnerian and Alexandrian include Dianic, Faerie, Faery (distinct from Faerie), Celtic and Norse, but the largest number of Wiccans appear to be Eclectic (i.e., not adhering to a specific tradition). All Wiccan traditions are Pagan religions, meaning that they are descended from the pre-Christian nature religions and have no connection whatsoever to Christianity or Judaism. Although Wiccans are very divergent in their thoughts and opinions, there are the following commonalities among most, if not all, Wiccans:
1. A duotheistic belief in the Goddess and God. Wiccans (except for Feminist Dianic, who are strictly Goddess-oriented, and are not considered true Wiccans by many) worship both aspects of divinity equally, rather than the patriarchal, distinctly male God of Christianity and Judaism.
2. Respect for feminine power...many Wiccan groups follow a High Priestess as well as a High Priest, and female strength is revered, but not generally considered superior to masculine power.
3. Unlike the three main monotheistic religious tendencies, Wiccans do not generally seek political power, or attempt to legislate their beliefs into law (many U.S. laws, particularly the socially destructive Prohibition Laws, are definitively based on Judeo-Christian ethics).
4. The celebration of Sabbats and Esbats (to be described in a different section), which are special holidays which metaphorically mirror the four seasons embodied in the Wheel of the Year, revolving around the Full Moon of each month.
5. Revere and respect nature, and believe that divinity is inherent in all things in the universe, both living and non-living. This belief is referred to as pantheism, and is not ascribed to by those of monotheistic faiths, who believe that their conception of God is above nature, rather than nature itself.
6. Believe in the doctrine of reincarnation and the principle of karma, which teaches how positive and negative actions return to reflect upon the person performing them, either in this physical incarnation or the next.
7. Believe in a beautiful afterlife realm called Summerland, which is seen as a way station of sorts between one physical incarnation and the next.
8. Do not believe in Satan, or the Devil. This is a major misconception of the Pagan religions in general. The Devil is strictly a creation of the Christians from the New Testament, which served both political purposes of controlling the masses and as an artificial archetype with which to defame Pagan deities as being evil. Thus, Witchcraft has no connection whatsoever to the fictional "gothic Satanism" of devil-worship described by the Roman Catholic Church since the Inquisition (which is very distinct from the actual religion of Satanism, also nevertheless completely unconnected to Wicca or Paganism; see the FAQ section). In fact, Wiccan theology has no need for the Devil; instead, we believe in both light and dark aspects of the Goddess and God.
9. Do not believe in proselytizing (i.e., actively converting other people to our faith). Instead, we believe that people must discover the Craft on their own.
10. Practice a form of magick commonly known as Witchcraft. Pagans believe that magick is neutral, and not an evil force any more than other natural forces, such as electricity or precipitation, are inherently evil. We believe that whether magick is "evil" or not depends upon how it is utilized. Due to Wiccans' respect for the Law of Threefold Return (described in the section detailing the Wiccan Rede), Wiccans generally never practice magick to harm, manipulate, or control another human being. Magick is often defined as utilizing natural energy in the universe or from other planes of existence, often referred to as mystical energy, to make changes in our lives based upon our will or desires. Although magick (which is spelled with the "k" at the end to distinguish it from the stage magic and slight of hand done by the likes of David Copperfield) can be used for protection and banishment, all such magick is used defensively, not offensively, by the witch.
Many Christians believe that magick is evil, despite the fact that all Christians say prayers to God and the saints in order to make needed changes in their life. Prayer is simply an unfocused version of magickal rituals. Others believe that magick shouldn't be used for personal matters, but Wiccans believe that as long as no one is harmed in the process, there is no reason why magick cannot be used to better your own life. Witchcraft is but one form of magick. Ceremonial Magicians, who need not be Pagans, also perform magick of a type known as High Magick, or Ceremonial Magick.
Mystical energy can be drawn from many different sources, and individual Wiccans often specialize in different areas: we can draw the energy from our own life force (this is often called personal energy) call upon various deities, fairies, angels or other supernatural entities to lend some of their power to our own, draw down energy from the Moon and the stars, or utilize the natural energy within stones and herbs. Wiccans of various stripes even utilize rune stones and Tarot cards for magick, utilizing the archetypal symbolism on these items to "program" the mind to perform various tasks. Magick is also often used for divination (i.e., predicting the future)...this takes many different forms, but Pagans tend to prefer the aforementioned rune stones, Tarot cards or I Ching coins for such purposes, though scrying mirrors and crystal balls can also be used.
11. Wiccans tend to favor diversity of thought and action, and have no set way for people to act or believe, unlike Christianity and Judaism, which prefer conformity and strict adherence to doctrine. Wiccans do not utilize notions of "burning in Hell" or "sin" to control how people act. In fact, instead of espousing the politically oriented Ten Commandments, Wiccans instead follow one single dictate, called the Wiccan Rede (pronounced "read") which states "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." In other words, you are free to indulge in whatever pleasures or pursuits that one chooses, as long as these things are not harmful to others, or to yourself (see the section elsewhere on this site which deals with the Wiccan Rede in much greater detail).
12. Wiccans tend to be left wing in their political beliefs, unlike Christian groups like Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition, which is very right wing in its beliefs (though there are many liberal and progressive Christians). Wiccans espouse such things ranging from woman's rights, minority rights, gay rights and ecologically friendly laws (due to our religion's divine reverence for the sanctity of nature) and many Wiccans today eschew the two main political parties of big business and instead seem to support the Green Party for it's stance on protecting the environment, among many other major changes in the way our class-divided society runs [this author, however, is a socialist, as I believe this economic system itself, and not simply the way it's run, is the source of our environmental problems, as well as poverty, crime and all the rest of our sweeping social problems; a broader discussion of politics and economics is outside the focus of this web site, however, and those curious about the nature of genuine socialism may check out my web site on it, a link to which can be found on the main page]. We believe in individual freedom, and not the type of repressive laws often found in class-divided societies such as capitalism and Leninism/Stalinism (i.e., the old Soviet system of "state capitalism"). We believe in sexual freedom, as well as youth empowerment, which is for children and adolescents having more civil rights (a sentiment not shared by many Modernist Pagans at this time, however, as support of youth rights have not yet reached popular momentum at this date). Hence, many women and youths are being drawn to Wicca in resounding numbers to escape the oppressive hands of Christianity, and Judeo-Christian laws and cultural taboos.
As you can see, Wicca is a quickly growing religious movement, and it's often criticized by Christian televangelists who deplore Wicca's stance of individual liberty, diversity and drawing women away from the servility of men. Many feminists and gay rights activists are now being drawn to Wicca, as are many political revolutionaries (such as myself). Wicca is an integral part of the New Age movement, which has its roots in the 19th century Spiritualist movement, but really stems from the explosive interest in the occult and alternative spirituality that essentially got rolling in the 1960's. Also, the New Age is another name for the much-regaled Age of Aquarius, that time foretold by many prophets (and primarily by no less a personage than Jesus Christ himself, one of the greatest prophets in the history of the occult, and whose name Christianity evokes as its deified symbol of worship) to be a golden age of brotherhood and enlightenment for the human race, when poverty, war, crime and many other social evils are finally eliminated. Wiccans realize that these things are not "necessary evils" (as the current political and religious mindset attempts to instill in us), but can be eliminated by the human race with the assistance of modern science, including a major and complete change in our economic way of life, and a lot of spirituality as well. As a result, Wicca (and the other re-emerging Pagan religions) represent the hope of the future, when the era of Judeo-Christian dominance will finally end, and with it, the treacherous Age of Pisces under which we now live.
Wicca and other growing Pagan religions, such as Asatru and Neo-Druidism, may very well become major players in the 21st Century, and once again become a major influence on Western culture and philosophy.
