Wicca Modern Pagan

Witchcraft in Ancient history was considered as `The Craft of the Wise’, since those who followed the path were in tune with the elements of nature, had adequate knowledge of herbs and medicines, capable of giving council, were of great value to the village and community as Shamanic leaders and healers.

Wicca is a modern pagan, witchcraft religion which was developed in England in the first half of the 20th century. It was introduced in 1954 to the public by Gerald Gardner who was a retired British civil servant. It is an earth based religion with the belief of two deities, the god and the goddess who are honoured in various forms namely, Isis, Demeter, Astarte, Pan, Apollo, Mercury. Zeus etc.

The term Wicca first received acceptance while referring to the religion in the years 1960s and 70s and before which the term Witchcraft was widely used. Application of the word Wicca underwent a great deal of disagreement and Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca were often termed as British Traditional Wicca while most of their practitioners considered the term Wicca only to the lineagetraditions while still others did not use the word Wicca but preferred to be referred as Witchcraft and others believed that all modern witchcraft traditions were considered Wiccan.

Wicca – Gerald Gardner/Doreen Valiente

Some consider Wicca the religion of pre Christian Europe that was forced underground by the Christian church which was not acceptable by the historians. Modern Wicca is dated to the work of Gerald Gardner together with Doreen Valiente who on receiving the repeal of the last Witchcraft Act in England in 1951 became public with their cult of witchcraft that was focused on a horned god of fertility and a great earth goddess.

Gardner received credits for introducing the term Wicca and `Dianic’ Wicca is focussed on the goddess as the Supreme Being, excluding men. The Wiccan share the belief on the importance of the feminine principle, deep respect for nature together with pantheistic and polytheistic view of the world.

 They also practice some form of ritual magic which according to them is considered good or constructive while some are solitary practitioners and others belong to covens.

Wicca – Surviving Folk Tradition/Modern Elements

Wicca is considered a new religion which combines surviving folk traditions with more modern elements and is based on Western European pagan rites as well as rituals which have been performed right down the ages. Presently with the freedom to make a choice on one’s religion, some of the misconception about the old religion is fading away.

The Wiccan or Witch is concerned with the preservation of natural beauty with solutions to the prevailing problems of pollution. The Witch seems to have a deep appreciate for nature and everything in it. The belief in the use of magic and spell work is universal in Wicca since for the Wiccan there is nothing that is supernatural about magic but the redirection and harnessing of natural energy to make a change in the world around.

The magic in Wicca is just another skill, set or tool that most Wiccans use as specific tools in spell crafting like wand, athame, herbs, crystals and candles. Do come back to elixirofknowledge.com for more information on History Mystery