What is Wicca?

Wicca is a word that comes from an Old English root word "wicce" which meant female witch. It's modern meaning is "a nature-based Earth religion that incorporates male & female energies, uses magick for positive purposes, and practises thru rites and rituals based on need, moon phases, and solar and lunar celebrations." Wicca is a pagan religion in which there is not one god, but many gods & goddesses. The emphasis of wicca is a balance of male & female energies. Wiccans see the god & goddess in all of nature, in the heavens, in the stars, and in themselves.

The term "witch" is often used by those who practise wicca to describe who they are. There are many practising "witches" who do not use the term "wicca" to describe their religious practises. This may sound confusing. Wicca, as the general populace knows it, is fairly new as a religion. It was brought into the public eye by Gerald Gardner in 1954 when he published his book "Witchcraft Today".  This began the modern movement of the Wiccan religion. Witchcraft has been practised for thousands of years, even surviving the "burning times" when witches were hunted and burned at the stake. The Art of using magick thru spellwork, raising energy within a circle, and working with goddess and god energies has been dated back to the earliest of civilizations. This Art is also a craft. Those who practise the Art pass this knowledge to others, especially in their family and it becomes a tradition and a craft. This is where we get the term witchcraft, or the craft of the wise. Many witches prefer not to use "Wicca" as the name of their religion or path due to the fact that "Wicca" is considered a new religion. There are many paths that fall under the "Wiccan" umbrella. Some traditions have their roots established before the Gardner era of the 1950's. These traditions may have been family or underground traditions practised many hundreds of years ago, before the term "Wicca" was ever invented. Nevertheless, modern witchcraft, old witchcraft, and Wicca are pagan oriented, nature based religions. 

 Wiccans celebrate through ritual for the moon phases, and the 8 sabbats. The basic moon phase rituals consist of new moon, full moon, and dark moon. The goddess in the maiden ( young woman ) form is communed with at the new moon phase. The mother goddess is communed with at the full moon phase. The crone ( old woman ) is communed with at the dark moon phase. The 8 sabbats consist of 4 greater and 4 lesser sabbats. The wiccan year ends at Samhain, and begins with Yule.

Yule, or winter solstice, is celebrated on December 21st. This is the longest night of the year and marks the suns return toward the longest day of the year. This is a lesser sabbat.

Imbolc is celebrated on February 2nd. This is a greater sabbat and also marks the half-way point between winter and spring.

Ostara is celebrated on March 21st and is also known as the beginning of the spring season. This is a lessor sabbat.

Beltane is celebrated on May 1st. This is a greater sabbat and also marks the half-way point between spring and summer.

Litha, or midsummer, or summer solstice, is celebrated on June 21st. This is a lessor sabbat and also marks the beginning of the summer season. This is the longest day of the year.

Lughnasad is celebrated on August 2nd. This is a greater sabbat, and also marks the half-way point between summer and fall.

Mabon is celebrated on September 21st. This is a lessor sabbat and also marks the beginning of the fall season.

Samhain is celebrated on October 31st. This is a greater sabbat, and also marks the half-way point between fall and winter.

There is so much more information about the sabbats that if I were to include even a fraction of what I know, I would have 500 pages describing them! Please check the suggested reading list at the end of this page for more info on the sabbats.