In Modern English, the term Wicca (/ˈwɪkə/) refers to Wicca, the religion of contemporary Pagan witchcraft.[nb 1] It is used within the Pagan community under competing definitions. One refers to the entirety of the Pagan Witchcraft movement, while the other refers explicitly to traditions included in what is now called British Traditional Wicca.[1]
Although pronounced differently, the term Wicca is a modern derivation of the Old English word ƿiċċa, which referred to sorcerers in Anglo-Saxon England and has yielded the modern English word witch. In the early 1950s, English Wiccan Gerald Gardner, founder of the Gardnerian tradition, referred to the Pagan Witchcraft community as the Wica. He claimed to have learned the term during his initiation into the New Forest coven in 1939. By the late 1950s, Gardner's rival Charles Cardell, founder of his own tradition, had begun referring to the religion's followers as Wiccens, and possibly used Wicca in reference to the religion itself.
The inclusive use of the term Wicca—referring to the entirety of Pagan Witchcraft religion—has been traced to Britain in the early 1960s, when it was used by various groups and publicised through use in adverts, magazines, and other literary sources. It was later adopted by figures like Alex Sanders and Gavin and Yvonne Frost, who took it to the United States. There, practitioners of British Traditional Wicca adopted it exclusively for themselves as a means to differentiate their practices from those of other Pagan Witches. This exclusive meaning was countered by its popularisation as a generic term by prolific authors such as Raymond Buckland, Scott Cunningham and Silver RavenWolf. As it entered popular culture, it gained an increasingly eclectic character in its usage. During the 1990s, some attempted to distance themselves from it by utilising the term traditional witchcraft.
^ abDoyle White 2010, p. 203.
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In Modern English, the term Wicca (/ˈwɪkə/) refers to Wicca, the religion of contemporary Pagan witchcraft. It is used within the Pagan community under...
scholar of religion and Wiccan priestess Joanne Pearson noted that while "the words 'witch' and 'wicca' are therefore linked etymologically, […] they...
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witches across Europe met in groups of thirteen which they called "covens". In Wicca and other similar forms of modern pagan witchcraft, such as Stregheria...
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size can vary depending on the purpose of the circle, and the preference of the caster. Some varieties ofWicca use the common ceremonial colour attributions...
of the yearly Sabbats of their Wheel of the Year, following Ostara and preceding Midsummer. Unlike Celtic Reconstructionism, Wicca is syncretic and melds...
the Key of Solomon. Pentacles are also used in the neopagan magical religion called Wicca, alongside other magical tools. In the Hermetic Order of the Golden...
kris knives of Malaysia and Indonesia, may have contributed to the tool's central importance in modern Wicca. The athame stands as one of the four elemental...
Dianic Wicca, also known as Dianic Witchcraft, is a modern pagan goddess tradition focused on female experience and empowerment. Leadership is by women...
Alexandrian Wicca or Alexandrian Witchcraft is a tradition of the Neopagan religion ofWicca, founded by Alex Sanders (also known as "King of the Witches")...
Wicca in South Africa. Cape Town: Zebra Press. pp. 79–86. ISBN 978-1868726530. Bodsworth, Roxanne T (2003). Sunwyse: Celebrating the Sacred Wheel of the...
(2010). "The Meaning of "Wicca": A Study in Etymology, History and Pagan Politics". The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies. 12 (2):...
author of several books on Wicca and various other alternative religious subjects. His work Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, is one of the most...
Samhain. Due to early Wicca's influence on modern paganism and the syncretic adoption of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic motifs, Wheel of the Year festival names...
Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in Wicca and some related forms of Neopaganism. The term Horned God itself predates Wicca, and is an early...
views of divinity are generally theistic, and revolve around a Goddess and a Horned God, thereby being generally dualistic. In traditional Wicca, as expressed...
Gerald Gardner, the creator ofWicca, to incorporate the wand and various other ritual objects into Wicca. The creators of the Golden Dawn got their idea...
effect, a wedding ceremony called "hand-fasting" in Wicca." Hans Holzer, Heather: confessions of a witch, Mason & Lipscomb, 1975, p. 101. Kennealy, Patricia...
use of the term Witch and Witchcraft in her teachings and writings, by this time the term Wicca was becoming more fashionable to use in place of Witch/Witchcraft...
Popular Dictionary of Paganism. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd. p. 80. ISBN 9780700715916. Raven Grimassi (2000). Encyclopedia ofWicca & Witchcraft. St Paul...
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