Witchcraft has most likely been around since the beginning of time as changed drastically since its creation and has molded into many new forms. The modern form of the controversial witchcraft is the neopagan religion, Wicca. Over the years, Wicca has spread and become popular all over the world. It is a neopagan religion and is a part of the New Religious Movement. It was founded by Gerald Gardner, and its followers, known as either Wiccans or witches, believe in a god/goddess pair,and the powers of nature and magic. It is often broken down into three forms or schools of Wicca; Gardnerian, Alexanderian and Farrarian Wicca.
Occasionally crystals or other mystical objects may be used by Wiccans to receive magic. Wiccans cast spells and perform rituals in an attempt to connect with nature or their deity. The divinity of females is a major belief among Wiccans, where females tend to be held in higher esteem than they are in other religions. Wicca was founded by Gerald Gardner in 1950, and made public in his book Magic Today in 1954. Gardner was an Englishman who claimed that he had been initiated into a coven by an ancient witch. The ancient witch was known by the name Old Dorothy by the people of the local English community.
Gardner created Wicca by adapting a variety of other religions such as, Crowleyan Magick, Freemasonry, and Asian religions (Siegler 50). So, Wicca has a few aspects of several different religions that make up the religion. Similarities can often be found among them because of this. The religion was named by its creator after the AngloSaxon term meaning “to bend or alter” (Matthews 114). Due to its background and belief in a Horned God, Wicca is often confused with religions such as Satanism and is deemed to be satanic. Wicca does not have anything to do with Satanism even though it is often misinterpreted as such (Siegler 51).
There are not any connections at all between Satanism and Wicca as they are two completely different religions with different belief systems. Although all Wiccans are classified as being neopagan, all neopagans are not Wiccans so one should not confuse the two as being one in the same (Matthews 111). Neopagan is somewhat of an umbrella term that includes various pagan practices still used today. Wicca is the largest tradition in Neopaganism (Siegler 50). Possibly because of the practices of Wicca being so enticing to some, it has been able to spread more rapidly and gain more followers.
There are three variated forms of Wicca which include, Gardnerian, Alexanderian, and Farrarian (Matthews 114). Gardnerian comes from the original format of Wicca that was created by Gerald Gardner. The Alexanderian school of Wicca was started by Alex Sanders (Matthews 114). Sanders was initially a part of a Gardnerian coven and later came up with his own perceptions of Wicca. Thus, the Alexanderian school of was formed from a further development of the original Wiccan system. This new system of Wicca was presented to Janet and Stewart Farrar, who then developed yet another system of Wicca.
This new system became known as Farrarian Wicca. Along with the Farrarian school of Wicca, Farrar also wrote The Witches Bible (Matthews 115). The Witches Bible along with Gardner’s Magic Today are notably important sources in Wicca. In Wicca, the Horned God and the Mother Goddess are most often worshipped, but occasionally divinity and worship may only be considered towards the Mother Goddess depending on the type of witchcraft being practiced. The Horned God is often depicted as looking similarly to that of a goat and can be considered the male counterpart of the Mother Goddess.
He is confused with the Christian representation of the devil which causes people to often mistake Wicca for Satanism even though in most accounts neither religion actually worships the devil. The Mother Goddess is the goddess of fertility and is often connected with nature and the divinity of the female. The Mother Goddess may also be referred to as Mother Earth by Wiccans because of their belief in the divinity of nature. Although Wiccans may be considered polytheistic, they may consider themselves to be monotheistic, duotheistic, pantheistic, polytheistic, or even atheist (Matthews 115).
Wiccans hold a strong connection with nature and believe it to be divine. The idea of the Great Goddess dates to preChristian Celtics that worshipped similar deities (Matthews 113). Since some of the Wiccan traditions came from that of Celtic and Norse religious backgrounds similarities are often found among them, including the gods and goddess that may be chosen to be worshipped. For example, some Wiccans may only worship the Great Goddess instead of the pairing, which would include the Horned God. This is due to the Wiccan belief of female divinity.
Women are important in Wicca because of the mother representation and the idea of creation. In Wicca, the Mother Goddess, also referred to as Mother Earth, is the source of creation and has birthed the beautiful earth that everyone lives on. The idea is similar to the way women give birth to children and nurture them. Wiccans as well as other neopagan religions have holidays related to the seasons of the year. Some Wiccans may even have celebrations for lunar events such as a new moon or a full moon. Wiccans have eight holidays called Sabbats that include the equinoxes and the solstices that occur each year.
The eight Sabbat holiday cycle, “derived from a combination of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon sources” (Matthews 120). Wicca seems to have revitalized and altered mostly ancient celebratory practices and made them their own. To Wiccans quarter days are, “true beginnings of each season” and last from winter to autumn (Matthews 121). Solstices and equinoxes are considered holidays and are celebrated as such. The vernal equinox takes place on March 21, the autumnal equinox is on September 21 and the summer and winter solstice takes place on June 21 and December 21 respectively.
During the holidays, sometimes a witch will write on a piece of paper a negative thought and then put the piece of paper over a lit candle and burn it (Matthews 122). The idea behind this ritual is to rid the mind of bad thoughts, so when the paper is burned the thought disappears. It is like a fire cleansing of the mind. The followers of Wicca, known as either Wiccans or witches, are often a part of a coven. Members of a coven will often worship in small groups commonly led by a priestess and a priest (Strmiska 55). The priestess may commence the meeting with a blessing on the members of the coven and give thanks to the Mother Goddess.
Coven meetings will usually take place on, “full moons, solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days” (Strmiska 55). Various rituals may take place during these meetings or even celebrations if the meeting takes place during the solstice or equinox holidays. Worship in Wicca is usually centered on, “ecstatic union with the deities” (Strmiska 55). Unification between the follower and the deity is an important factor in Wicca. Magic is often an important feature of worship and may involve the power of crystals or other objects.
The magic performed may be in an attempt to reach out to the Great Goddess, the Horned God, or the moon goddess. The moon goddess is mentioned in one of the most important texts to Wiccans, The Gospel of Witches (Strmiska 56). The text contains spells that may be used to summon the moon goddess if need be. Occasionally, witches will summon the moon goddess to help with the casting of spells. Spells casted will be documented for future reference so that they may be casted again if needed. Although there are not any clarified Wiccan Scriptures, Wiccans are encouraged to read a variety of literature and to keep an open mind.
During the educational period that Wiccans go through on the road to becoming a bonified witch, Wiccans may be instructed to write in a diary type book called Book of Shadows or a Grimoire (Matthews 115). In the Book of Shadows, witches will often write down experiences they have had and spells they may have casted whether the spell worked or not. Along with spells that were used, witches may also write down information about crystals, herbs, or incense that may have been used during the spell that may help with the flow or strength of the magic.
Witches may often read various mythologies of old religions such as Greek, Roman, Celtic, and Germanic (Matthews 114). These readings, as well as folklore, help to further educate witches of the old ways and keep their minds open to new ideas that may surface one day. Wicca is a religion that has gained mass popularity over the years since its founding in 1950. Wicca is a neopagan religion that was founded by Gerald Gardner and has been shaped into other variations. Gerald Gardner envisioned a religion that captured the old religions of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon traditions.
There are three schools of Wicca; Gardnerian, Alexanderian, and Farrarian. The followers of Wicca, witches, believe in the use of magic, crystals, incense burning, and the use of herbs spells. Most Wiccans believe in a god and goddess pairing. The Horned God and the Great Goddess, or simply Goddess, are the primary deities in Wicca and are believed to have a direct connection with nature and are also associated with fertility and the divinity of women. Wicca has picked up an immense following all around the globe and continues to attract new followers.