MISSION AMONG THE POOR International, Inc.

I  Introduction

Wicca is a Neopagan earth-centered religion. Depending upon how we look at Wicca, it is either one of the newest or one of the oldest religions in the world. Wicca is a recently created, Neopagan religion. The various branches of Wicca can be traced back to Gardnerian Witchcraft which was founded in the UK during the late 1950s (1954). Gerald Gardner claimed that the religion, of which he was an initiate, was a modern survival of an old witchcraft religion, which had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-Christian Paganism of Europe. Wicca is based on the symbols, seasonal days of celebration, beliefs and deities of ancient Celtic society. It is a religion whose roots go back almost three millennia to the formation of Celtic society around 800 BC.

A follower of Wicca is called a Wiccan. Wicca and other Neopagan religions are currently experiencing a rapid growth in the US, Canada, and Europe. This is seen particularly among some teenagers, who are rejecting what they feel is the autocracy, paternalism, sexism, homophobia, and insensibility to the environment that forms part of some more traditional religions. Many North Americans of European descent, who are keen to discover their ancestral heritage, are also attracted to this religion.

II  Roots of Wicca

20th century Wiccans draw their religious ideology from the Mother Earth cults of the Celtic and Nordic peoples of the pre-Christian Europe. The religion is traced to ancient Celtic and Northern German people who practiced human sacrifice. The Roman historian, Tacitus, records, that the ancestors of the English speaking peoples, the Angles, sacrificed to the Mother Earth goddess. In his Germania, "On the Origin and Geography of Germany" , Tacitus describes this gruesome ritual as "a ceremony practiced by slaves who are immediately afterward drowned in the lake".

Many of the ancient Pagan and Mother Earth cult religions required human sacrifice. Although most witches today deny using human or animal blood sacrifices, cases of witches who used blood letting and sacrifice are replete throughout history even to the present day. According to a recent Ms. magazine, "[T]here are 200,000 women and men practicing the Old Religion in the United States". The Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, California, claims that "Witchcraft and Paganism are the fastest growing religions in the country countering the rise of Christian fundamentalism".

III  Terminology

The spelling 'Wica' first appears in the writings of Gerald Gardner. He used the word as a mass noun referring to the adherents of his tradition of witchcraft ('the Wica'), rather than the religion itself. He referred to the religion as witchcraft, never 'wica'. In the Anglo-Saxon, 'wicca' is masculine, and 'wice' is feminine. Wicca is a corruption of 'witga', commonly used as a short form of 'witega', a prophet, seer, magician, or sorcerer, and in 1921 etymologist Ernest Weekly noted the possibility of a connection between 'witch', the Gothic 'weihs' ("holy") and the Germanic 'weiham' ("to consecrate"). The spelling 'Wicca' was not used until much later, but it is now the prevalent term to refer to followers of Wicca.

IV  Wicca, Witchcraft, & Paganism

Wicca is a religion drawing on the ancient practice of Witchcraft. The term 'witchcraft' literally means the craft of the wise. In its original usage, witchcraft was practiced by those persons, generally female, who had knowledge of herbal lore, the law, psychology and physiology. The term didn't have much to do with religion until the Inquisition linked Paganism with witchcraft--and ever since, the two have been inseperable. The main difference between Witchcraft and Wicca is: while Wicca is a religion which involves communion with the Earth, and communion with a god/goddess, Witchcraft is what people practice.

Terms relating to Wicca are confusing, as they are with so many other religions: (1) Wiccans often refer to themselves as 'Neopagans'. The term'Neopagan' includes all faith groups which are based on attempted reconstruction of ancient, extinct religions. However, not all Neopagans are Wiccans; (2) Wiccans often refer to themselves as 'Pagans'. Unfortunately, this term has at least six different meanings, some of which are rather negative. "Pagan" is often used as a general-purpose snarl word to attack others. In its positive sense, Paganism includes Neo-Paganism as well as many other religions; (3) Some Wiccans consider Wicca and Witchcraft to be synonyms; (4) Others differentiate between Wicca, which they view to be a religion, and Witchcraft, which they perceive to be the practice of magic. Under this definition, Witchcraft is not a religion and thus can be performed by members of any religion; and (5) Most Wiccans practice magic. However, some do not and concentrate on the spirituality of the Wiccan religion.

V  Wicca and Satanism

Because of extensive religious propaganda dating from the late Middle Ages, Wicca has often been linked to Satanism. There are three points of similarity between Satanism and Wicca:

• Both use a five pointed star as a symbol. Satanists align it so that two points are upwards. Wiccans orient their star with two points downwards, except in special cases;
• Both generally perform their religious rituals within a circle marked on the floor or ground; and
• Most Wiccans and Satanists engage in magic; however, Wiccans are limited to non-manipulative, consensual, positive magic

Satanist practices come to mind as an example of negative magic. A Witch in the Wiccan religion is someone who has studied very hard, committed the Pagan ways to memory, and has given his/her life over to the Goddess for protection and guidance.