What is Wicca?

The following is from a "article" I wrote for a project:

                                                                What is Wicca?

This is a question that can bring about different answers. Some might tell you it’s an ancient religion, as old as time. Others may say that it’s a Devil Worship Cult. And then there are those who simply say that it is a nature based religion.

Before I can tell you what it is, I will tell you what it is not. It is Not a Satanic/Devil Worship Cult. We don’t believe in (nor worship) the Christian concept of the Devil/Satan.

You may hear Wicca being referenced to under the label of Paganism. Which, is basically how some people label anything that is not Christian. Well, now you may be wondering about another question, “What is Paganism?” Paganism is one of the oldest systems of religious beliefs known to humanity. It’s origins lie in European pre-history, and its traditions are premised on a view that nature is sacred, an attitude which was widely represented in the deification of the Earth as the Great Mother Goddess. Pagan comes from the Latin ‘pagani’, meaning “people of the land”, since the ancient traditions of Goddess-worship and Nature spirituality were held longest by the rural populations of Europe. Another term that gets associated with Wicca is Witchcraft. Again, there are those who may be wondering “What is Witchcraft”? Witchcraft is the survival of an ancient form of spirituality that existed in Western Europe in pre-Christian times. The original witches were healers, midwives, seers, herbalists, and sorcerers who lived among European tribal societies. In short, Witches performed the role of tribal shamans among the Pagan cultures of Europe. 

By mentioning Shamanism, a question might come to mind. “Is there a connection between Paganism and Native American religions”? In many ways, Witchcraft and Paganism are the European equivalents of Native American spirituality. Pagan practices and beliefs are extremely close to most of those found among the religions of indigenous peoples of this land. The main differnece is cultural, since Paganism has a specifically European background. In the same vein; the practices of Witches are very similar to those of “medicine people” among American Indians.

Those questions and answers were found in the course Wicca 101 from the Millenial Kingdom. There are many books that are either dedicated to answering the question “What is Wicca”? , or simply, have a section which discusses it. Let’s take a look at the book “All One Wicca” by Kaatryn MacMorgan, Wicca is a religion based on the indigenous beliefs of the ancient peoples of Europe. Like all religions, Wicca is a set of mores and a relationship with the Divine. It did not develop in a straight line from indigenous beliefs, but rather has a long, tangled history with roots in the British spiritual movements of the late 19th century. It owes its lineage to Thelema, Theosophy, Buddhism, Egyptology, Greek and Roman mythology, Celtic romanticism, and fiction and fact about the pre-Christian world of Europe. Wicca is not the modern practice of the ancient religion of one group of people, instead, it combines portions of many different religious beliefs from many different European tribes with many of the rational ideas that have evolved in the past 200 years.

Despite its ancient roots, Wicca is a modern creation, a religion of an information culture, requiring that its members be gifted with the skill of telling myth from history, nad fact from metaphor. Many Wiccans speak in myth and metaphor of the roots of their religion, fostering the concept of a mystery faith. The dedicant, the initiate and the scholar know Wicca to be modern, while acknowledging the power and appeal of the stories claiming it as the oldest faith known to man.

Wicca is new, but not “New Age”. While many Wiccans practice the arts of the New Age movement, like tarot and crystallomancy, Wicca itself is neither New Ager nor an art. Many Wiccans also practice medicine and ceremonial magick. The presence of Wiccans in these fields does not magically elevate Wicca to the status of medical scince  or metaphysical system.