What is Wicca?

Wicca is a neo-pagan religion. Pagan means “of the land”, referring to people who work on or with the land. All Wiccans are pagans, but not all pagans are Wiccan, in much the same way that all Catholics are Christian but not all Christians are Catholic. Wiccans believe that all life is sacred and interconnected, and celebrate life through all of its cycles and nature’s changing seasons. Some Wiccans choose to work only within specific cultural contexts such as Celtic, Norse, Egyptian or Greco-Roman, but others follow a more eclectic or generic path.

The term Wicca is said to come from the Old English word “witta” or “wicce”, meaning wise, and this word also serves as the root for the word “witch”. Wicca is known as “the craft of the wise”, and is commonly referred to as Witchcraft. Wiccans, or witches, not only celebrate life’s cycles and seasons, but also harness the energy around them to work magick (the “k” at the end of this word is added to distinguish it from sleight-of-hand magic tricks). In working with these energies, the guiding principle is the Wiccan Rede, which states “Do What Ye Will and Harm Ye None”. We abide by this rule because of the interconnectedness of all things; anything anyone does affects everything else. Witches also believe in the Threefold Law, which states that whatever you do will come back to you threefold. In other words, whatever energy you send forth will return to you and affect your mind, body and spirit accordingly.

In Wicca, magickal practice may involve asking for help or blessings from a particular Deity, or working with the elemental forces of air, fire, water, earth or spirit to bring about beneficial changes. It may also involve divination, meditation, or a variety of other ritual activities such as dancing, singing or drumming. Witches may do rituals with groups called “covens”, or work on their own as solitary practitioners. They especially celebrate the cyclical changes in the natural cycle of the year, marked by the eight Sabbats. Please refer to our glossary and other tabs on our website for more information.

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