What Are the Elements of the Wicca Religion?

The pentacle, or five-pointed star, is considered an important symbol by many Wiccans.

Wicca is a neopagan religion which originated in England in the 1950s, drawing on earlier beliefs and practices. Exact figures on how many people practice Wicca worldwide are difficult to reach, but one estimate, derived from a range of available sources, puts the number at approximately 800,000. Wicca is a diverse faith, but many adherents share the same core principles.

Origins

Wicca originated in the New Forest region of England in the 1950s. The key figure in the origin of Wicca was Gerald Gardner, who wrote several key texts, although Gardner himself did not use the name "Wicca." Gardner claimed that he was initiated into an existing witchcraft religion, although historians have not been able to identify it. Gardner's work spread throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Other influential figures included Doreen Valiente, Gardner's High Priestess, and Alex Sanders, who founded Alexandrian Wicca with his wife Maxine in the 1960s.

Diversity

From the beginning, Wicca lacked a central body to regulate belief and practice. Wiccan groups drew on the traditions of earlier groups but often added new elements from ancient religions, ceremonial magic, or personal inspiration. As a result, there are many different strands within Wicca, ranging from large traditions with hundreds or thousands of members to self-taught "solitaries," who practice Wicca by themselves. Wiccan beliefs are therefore very diverse, although most share some basic similarities.

Theology

Most Wiccan traditions view the divine as being divided into a God and Goddess. These are sometimes considered to be separate beings, but other groups view them as two aspects of a single divine force. These deities represent the powers of the natural world and of the male and female principles. Some Wiccans worship the gods and goddesses of historical pagan religions as expressions of these beings. As with all Wiccan beliefs, practice varies from group to group.

Many Wiccans also believe in magic. Magical rituals, often known as "workings," serve a variety of purposes, including ensuring good health and fertility, bringing good luck, or protecting the practitioner from negative spiritual influences.

Spiritual and Moral Teachings

Many Wiccan traditions teach a rule of moral conduct based on a short saying called the Wiccan Rede. This appears in a number of different forms, but a common form is "An it harm none, do what ye will." Other sources for Wiccan moral teaching include Doreen Valiente's "Charge of the Goddess," which exhorts Wiccans to develop the virtues of mirth, reverence, honor, humility, strength, beauty, power and compassion. Many Wiccan traditions also teach a reverence for nature and the natural world, which they view as sacred.

Rituals

Ritual practice is central to much of Wiccan worship. Wiccan ceremonies take place on important calendar dates, with eight major seasonal festivals, or on the full or new moon. Many such ceremonies involve ritually purifying a circular area. Worshipers then use this area for prayer, ritual invocations, and magical workings. As with all elements of Wicca, the details of ritual practice vary greatly from group to group. In some cases, seasonal festivals may be celebrated by large groups with music, dancing and a communal meal, while solitary practitioners may celebrate with a period of quiet prayer before a small altar.

References

• Adherents: Wicca
• Geraldgardner.com; Gerald Brosseau Gardner
• Religious Tolerance; "The Wiccan Rule of Behavior: The Wiccan Rede"
• Doreenvaliente.org; "The Charge of the Goddess"; Doreen Valiente
• New Wiccan Church International; "About British Traditional Wicca"
• The Celtic Connection; "What is Wicca?"

Resources

• "The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft"; Ronald Hutton; 1999