Wicca Spirit Newsletter Wicca and Witchcraft

If you’re reading this page, chances are you’re either a Wiccan or Pagan, or you’re someone who’s interested in learning more about the modern Pagan movement. You may be a parent who’s curious about what your child is reading, or you might be someone who is unsatisfied with the spiritual path you’re on right now. Perhaps you’re seeking something more than what you’ve had in the past. You might be someone who’s practiced Wicca or Paganism for years, and who just wants to learn more.

For many people, the embracing of an earth-based spirituality is a feeling of “coming home”. Often, people say that when they first discovered Wicca, they felt like they finally fit in. For others, it’s a journey TO something new, rather than running away from something else.

Paganism is an Umbrella Term

Please bear in mind that there are dozens of different traditions that fall under the umbrella title of “Paganism”. While one group may have a certain practice, not everyone will follow the same criteria. Statements made on this site referring to Wiccans and Pagans generally refer to MOST Wiccans and Pagans, with the acknowledgement that not all practices are identical.

Not All Pagans are Wiccans

There are many Witches who are not Wiccans. Some are Pagans, but some consider themselves something else entirely. Just to make sure everyone’s on the same page, let’s clear up one thing right off the bat: not all Pagans are Wiccans. The term “pagan” (derived from the Latin paganus, which translates roughly to “hick from the sticks”) was originally used to describe people who lived in rural areas. As time progressed and Christianity spread, those same country folk were often the last holdouts clinging to their old religions. Thus, “pagan” came to mean people who didn’t worship the god of Abraham.

In the 1950s, Gerald Gardner brought Wicca to the public, and many contemporary Pagans embraced the practice. Although Wicca itself was founded by Gardner, he based it upon old traditions. However, a lot of Witches and Pagans were perfectly happy to continue practicing their own spiritual path without converting to Wicca. There is a great deal of debate among the Pagan community about whether or not Wicca is truly the same form of Witchcraft that the ancients practiced. Regardless, many people use the terms Wicca and Witchcraft interchangeably. Paganism is an umbrella term used to apply to a number of different earth-based faiths. Wicca falls under that heading, although not all Pagans are Wiccan.

Therefore, “Pagan” is an umbrella term that includes many different spiritual belief systems – Wicca is just one of many.

Think of it this way:

Christian > Lutheran or Methodist or Jehovah’s Witness

Pagan > Wiccan or Asatru or Dianic or Eclectic Witchcraft

As if that wasn’t confusing enough, there are a few Wiccans who embrace the Christian god as well as their own Wiccan goddess – the Christian Witch movement is alive and well!

FAQs about Wicca:

What is Wicca?

Wicca, sometimes called "The Craft" or "The Craft of the Wise" is one of many earth-based religions. The religion which is closest to Wicca in America is probably Native American spirituality. Traditional Wicca was founded by Gerald Gardner, a British civil servant, who wrote a series of books on the religion in the 1940's. It contains references to Celtic deities, symbols, seasonal days of celebration, etc. Added to this were components of ceremonial magic and practices of the Masonic Order. A more recent form is eclectic Wicca which involves a combination of Wiccan beliefs and practices, combined with other Pagan and non-Pagan elements. The various traditions of Wicca are part of the Pagan or Neopagan group of earth-based religions

Who are the Goddess and God in Wicca?

According to David Barrett et al, editors of the "World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of churches and religions - AD 30 to 2200," there are 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many tens of thousands of smaller ones. Each of the 19 world religions has a different concept of deity or deities. Even among the main Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there are very different views of deity. Conservative Protestant, Roman Catholic, liberal Protestant, Islam, Reform Judaism, Orthodox Judaism, and Conservative Judaism all call their deity God, but conceive of their God in different terms. They teach that God requires different behaviors and beliefs from his followers.

Many Wiccans believe in a deity that is largely unknowable -- sometimes called "The All" or "The One." However, they believe that they can comprehend the male and female aspects of the deity, whom they call the God and the Goddess. Sometimes, they commune with "The Goddess" or "The God." Other times, they link with specific Pagan deities from the past. Instead of "the Goddess," they might relate to Athena, Brigit, Ceridwen, Diana, Hecate, Ishtar, Isis, Venus, etc. In place of "The God" they may link to Adonis, Apollo, Dionysus, Odin, Osiris, Pan, Thor, Zeus, etc.

How do Wiccans worship the God and Goddess?

Some Wiccans pray to their God or Goddess. More Wiccans probably feel that they have more of a partnership with the God and Goddess than the God/worshiper relationship found in Christianity and other world religions. They need the Goddess and God; the God and Goddess need them. They welcome communion with the God and Goddess; they don't really worship them in the same way as followers of other religions do.

Is Wicca a form of Satanism?

The short answer is "No." The long answer is "It depends."

To some conservative Christians, all religions other than their own are forms of Satanism in which followers worship Satan or one of his demons. So, they view Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Wicca, and dozens of other religions as varieties of Satanism.

However, most people recognize that there are over many dozens of religions in the world, with different beliefs about deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. One of these is Wicca. Another is Satanism. These two religions have entirely different beliefs about deity, different rules for ethical behavior, different expectations from their membership, different views of the universe, different seasonal days of celebration, etc.

Wiccans do not recognize an all-evil deity or quasi-deity like Satan. Christianity and Islam are the main religions that teach of Satan's existence, either as an evil principle or as an all-evil fallen angel with supernatural powers.

Wicca and Satanism are not at all similar religions. However, the Christian church did link them in the past -- particularly during the Witch burning times of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. They regarded Witches as Satan worshipers.

Some Christian denominations have not been particularly thorough in correcting mistakes of the past. So, Wicca and Satanism continue to be linked in many people's minds. This problem is rapidly fading as more Wiccans come out of the closet and become public with their faith. Although the words "Wicca" and "Wiccan" are relatively well defined at this time, such terms as Satanism, Paganism and Witchcraft have many meanings.

Confusion over the definitions of religious terms is quite common. Even the term "Christian" is defined differently by various groups. The sentence: "Ann was raised a Roman Catholic but became a Christian later in life" might be quite understandable to an Evangelical Christian, but wholly confusing and probably quite insulting and distressing to a Catholic.

Some people sincerely believe that over 75% of the human race (including Wiccans) are followers of Satanism. Others, including Satanists, Wiccans, religious historians, many theologians, those mainline and liberal Christians and individuals who are knowledgeable about minority religions, etc., consider Wicca and Satanism to be two unrelated groups of religious traditions. They share few points of similarity. In fact, many of their beliefs and practices are diametrically opposed to each other.

There is no right or wrong definition in these cases. Groups simply assign very different meanings to the same English words. The sentence: "Wicca is a type of Satanism" is neither right nor wrong. Debate is useless. It is a true statement to one group and false to another.

Wicca, as viewed by Neopagans, etc.:

Wicca is unrelated to Satanism. It is a group of religious traditions: some are highly structured, while most are eclectic.

Many, perhaps most, Wiccans are solitary practitioners. They are, in many ways, directly opposite to Satanists:

Wiccans worship a Goddess and her consort, a God.

They do not recognize Satan or any other all-evil supernatural entity.

Their prime symbol is the exact opposite to the symbol used by Satanists. It is the upright pentagram -- a 5-pointed star with two points downward and one up. Sometimes it is enclosed by a circle to form a pentacle.

Their groups are called covens, not grottos or temples.

Their rule of behavior is called the Wiccan Rede: "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." i.e. do whatever you wish, as long as it harms no one, including yourself. Unlike Satanists, Wiccans are not allowed do dominate, manipulate, control, or harm others.

They believe that they worship neither the Christian God nor the Christian devil. They worship a Goddess and a God. Neither is at all similar to Satan. Wicca, and other forms of Neopaganism, are as different from Satanism as Hinduism is from Christianity.

Is Wicca a form of Paganism?

"Pagan" is one of those religious terms which has so many conflicting definitions that the word is meaningless. "Neopaganism" is a better term. It refers to a group of many religious belief systems that are reconstructions of (or patterned after) ancient Pagan religions. Wicca is one Neopagan religion, as are Asatru (Norse Neopaganism), Druidism, Shamanism, and ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek and other religions.

Do Wiccans have rituals like communion, baptism, etc?

Yes. However, it generally involves a direct encounter with the God and Goddess, rather than an indirect experience routed through a priest, minister or other clergyperson.

Many Wiccans observe a Wiccaning service for newborns which is vaguely like a Christian infant baptism. It welcomes the newborn into the community. However, it does not obligate the infant in any way. Wiccans feel that a person must mature before they can make their own decision about religion; an infant cannot make such a choice.

There are initiation rituals where a person becomes a Wiccan. Some are self-initiation rituals where a person declares themselves to be a Wiccan. There are other initiation rituals performed in a Wiccan group, often called a Coven.

Many Wiccans write rituals for themselves or their coven to recognize life passages, like the onset of puberty, graduation, marriage, purchase of a house, divorce, healing, death, menopause, etc.

Many Wiccans observe Esbat rituals at the thirteen or so full moons each year, and occasionally on the new moons as well.

There are eight Sabbats: four minor Sabbats at the solstices and equinoxes, and four major Sabbats each year.

The religion of Wicca is sometimes called "witchcraft." But the terms "witch" and "witchcraft" have at least 17 different meanings. Most of them are unrelated to each other.

Witch: a follower of Witchcraft. It has so many conflicting meanings that it should be used with great care (or perhaps never at all) in public, in order to avoid confusion. common meanings are: …

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You will be amazed at the misconceptions and misrepresentations that have been passed down through generations!

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