Wicca
Wicca is defined as a religion and not a secular craft path. As such, belief in the God and Goddess (or the Lord and Lady as the Gods are commonly known within the religion) is a requirement. There is no such thing as an atheist Wiccan Witch and here we differentiate between Wiccan witches and Non Wiccan Witches who have no imperative to work with deity and may well be of atheist persuasion.
Contrary to some websites that insist on proclaiming Wicca to be a religion dating back to the pre Christian days, Wicca is actually a very modern religion. It came into being in the 1950s, brought to the attention of the general public by a man called Geradd Gardner who founded what was to become the tradition of Gardenerian Wicca. Later in the mid 1960s another strand of Wicca - Alexandrian Wicca, led by Alex Sanders - (who claimed Gardinerian initiation by his Grandmother) emerged and this Wicca is perhaps the Wicca most commonly understood by the general public today.
Although Wicca itself is a modern religion, the adherents place great importance on the early Pagan beliefs and practises and indeed much of the inspiration for the Wiccan religion can be attributed to roots far older than the twentieth century. The practise of magic and witchcraft intermingled with Wicca does date back to pre Christianity. The important thing to understand is that magic pre-dates Wicca by several hundred years and there are many paths other than Wicca that work with magic. However the structure and the fundamental belief system of Wicca remains that of a modern religion.
Wicca is perhaps the most tightly structured of all the magic paths. In many ways it bears more resemblance to other established religious creeds than it does to the Traditional Witchcraft it is often confused with. Wicca has moral laws and ethical governance that differ greatly from the path of the Traditional Witch. There is no governance in Traditional Witchcraft (except possibly among some very specific Traditional groups). Each Trad Witch forms their own morality. Wicca however is governed by the moral imperative of "harm none" which is basically the law that magic should not be used to cause harm to another. The basis for this can be found in the "Wiccan Rede" (the author of which is disputed but the version we read today has likely had literary input from Doreen Valiente). The summary of the Rede; "An it harm none, do what you will..." is a reworking of Aleister Crowley's famous dictum "Do what thou wilt be the whole of the law" (adopted by LaVeyan Satanism - you notice with no reference to harm none...). A Wiccan using magic with the intent to harm is working against the fundamental tenet of the religion.
Wiccans extend their link between morality and magic with the belief that negative workings will rebound against the caster. This rule (popularly known as the rule of three) of threefold return works in a similar way to the concept of Karma in that ill will can cause harm to the person sending it as well as the intended recipient.
The pentagram is universally recognised as being a symbol of Wicca but again it is important that we recognise this does not make it a purely Wiccan symbol. The pentagram has been documented as a symbol for religious focus since early Mesopotamean times (Ancient Greece) - it has a traditional significance to the Christian religion (namely as a representation of the five sufferings of Christ), the Bah'ai faith, Satanism (popularly depicted as inverted - i.e. standing on its head) and secular Witchcraft. The pentagram represents the five elements - earth, air, fire, water and spirit and can also be used as a representation of the first five planets in the solar system.
As a formal religion, Wicca has a complex system of initiation rites. Generally an individual wishing to practise Wicca is required to study for a year and a day before being initiated into the religion by another Wiccan. The phrase: "It takes a Witch to make a Witch" is a Wiccan saying. Some Wiccans do self dedicate and practise as a solitary but this is met with mixed reactions among Wiccan traditions, some of whom are accepting and some of whom believe a witch cannot be a true Wiccan without formal initiation into an established Wiccan path/coven/tradition. Solitary Wiccans are usually referred to as eclectic Wiccans thought it is often the case that those describing themselves as such are actually Non Wiccan witches with a moral belief in the idea of harm none. This is not in itself a negative thing - solitary Witches can be every bit as effective as their coven initiated counterparts, sometimes even more so as they have the freedom to embrace specifically what works for them.
Again, very unlike Non Wiccan Witches and Traditional witches in particular, Wicca operates a degree system of progression within the religion (the third degree being the highest). Titles are often granted to those reaching third degree, the title High Priest or High priestess being the most commonly employed and often used to denote the leader of a specific coven/group.
The practise of magic in Wicca tends to be formal and ceremonial. Casting a circle is common (some Wiccans will not cast magic outside the protection of a circle) and tools are employed to a greater extent than they would be generally used on the path of a Trad Witch. Magic (and I am generalising a bit here) tends to be something a Wicca sets structured time aside to do. The low key adhoc magics of the Trad Witch are not generally favoured by Wiccans.
Wiccans celebrate the eight Sabbats of the wheel of the year (incorporating the two solstices and the two equinoxes). To a Wiccan each festival is a turning point on the wheel of which there is no beginning and no end. With this in mind many Wiccans will not elevate any one festival to being of primary importance. The festivals are celebrated on specific dates - that only differ by a day or two each way each year - and not on the actual seasonal changes of the given year. This is more prescriptive than the approach of the non Wiccan Witch who is more likely to celebrate the start of the Spring when she feels Spring to be beginning. Wiccans also celebrate the Esbats - the thirteen full moons of each given year. The Sabbats tend to be celebratory festivals while the Esbats are marked to undertake magical workings.
It is neither better nor worse to be a Wiccan or a non Wiccan witch. It is sometimes suggested that there is disharmony between the two paths but with the belief systems as different as they are there is little grounds for conflict.
Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/Wicca-61810037
Contrary to some websites that insist on proclaiming Wicca to be a religion dating back to the pre Christian days, Wicca is actually a very modern religion. It came into being in the 1950s, brought to the attention of the general public by a man called Geradd Gardner who founded what was to become the tradition of Gardenerian Wicca. Later in the mid 1960s another strand of Wicca - Alexandrian Wicca, led by Alex Sanders - (who claimed Gardinerian initiation by his Grandmother) emerged and this Wicca is perhaps the Wicca most commonly understood by the general public today.
Although Wicca itself is a modern religion, the adherents place great importance on the early Pagan beliefs and practises and indeed much of the inspiration for the Wiccan religion can be attributed to roots far older than the twentieth century. The practise of magic and witchcraft intermingled with Wicca does date back to pre Christianity. The important thing to understand is that magic pre-dates Wicca by several hundred years and there are many paths other than Wicca that work with magic. However the structure and the fundamental belief system of Wicca remains that of a modern religion.
Wicca is perhaps the most tightly structured of all the magic paths. In many ways it bears more resemblance to other established religious creeds than it does to the Traditional Witchcraft it is often confused with. Wicca has moral laws and ethical governance that differ greatly from the path of the Traditional Witch. There is no governance in Traditional Witchcraft (except possibly among some very specific Traditional groups). Each Trad Witch forms their own morality. Wicca however is governed by the moral imperative of "harm none" which is basically the law that magic should not be used to cause harm to another. The basis for this can be found in the "Wiccan Rede" (the author of which is disputed but the version we read today has likely had literary input from Doreen Valiente). The summary of the Rede; "An it harm none, do what you will..." is a reworking of Aleister Crowley's famous dictum "Do what thou wilt be the whole of the law" (adopted by LaVeyan Satanism - you notice with no reference to harm none...). A Wiccan using magic with the intent to harm is working against the fundamental tenet of the religion.
Wiccans extend their link between morality and magic with the belief that negative workings will rebound against the caster. This rule (popularly known as the rule of three) of threefold return works in a similar way to the concept of Karma in that ill will can cause harm to the person sending it as well as the intended recipient.
The pentagram is universally recognised as being a symbol of Wicca but again it is important that we recognise this does not make it a purely Wiccan symbol. The pentagram has been documented as a symbol for religious focus since early Mesopotamean times (Ancient Greece) - it has a traditional significance to the Christian religion (namely as a representation of the five sufferings of Christ), the Bah'ai faith, Satanism (popularly depicted as inverted - i.e. standing on its head) and secular Witchcraft. The pentagram represents the five elements - earth, air, fire, water and spirit and can also be used as a representation of the first five planets in the solar system.
As a formal religion, Wicca has a complex system of initiation rites. Generally an individual wishing to practise Wicca is required to study for a year and a day before being initiated into the religion by another Wiccan. The phrase: "It takes a Witch to make a Witch" is a Wiccan saying. Some Wiccans do self dedicate and practise as a solitary but this is met with mixed reactions among Wiccan traditions, some of whom are accepting and some of whom believe a witch cannot be a true Wiccan without formal initiation into an established Wiccan path/coven/tradition. Solitary Wiccans are usually referred to as eclectic Wiccans thought it is often the case that those describing themselves as such are actually Non Wiccan witches with a moral belief in the idea of harm none. This is not in itself a negative thing - solitary Witches can be every bit as effective as their coven initiated counterparts, sometimes even more so as they have the freedom to embrace specifically what works for them.
Again, very unlike Non Wiccan Witches and Traditional witches in particular, Wicca operates a degree system of progression within the religion (the third degree being the highest). Titles are often granted to those reaching third degree, the title High Priest or High priestess being the most commonly employed and often used to denote the leader of a specific coven/group.
The practise of magic in Wicca tends to be formal and ceremonial. Casting a circle is common (some Wiccans will not cast magic outside the protection of a circle) and tools are employed to a greater extent than they would be generally used on the path of a Trad Witch. Magic (and I am generalising a bit here) tends to be something a Wicca sets structured time aside to do. The low key adhoc magics of the Trad Witch are not generally favoured by Wiccans.
Wiccans celebrate the eight Sabbats of the wheel of the year (incorporating the two solstices and the two equinoxes). To a Wiccan each festival is a turning point on the wheel of which there is no beginning and no end. With this in mind many Wiccans will not elevate any one festival to being of primary importance. The festivals are celebrated on specific dates - that only differ by a day or two each way each year - and not on the actual seasonal changes of the given year. This is more prescriptive than the approach of the non Wiccan Witch who is more likely to celebrate the start of the Spring when she feels Spring to be beginning. Wiccans also celebrate the Esbats - the thirteen full moons of each given year. The Sabbats tend to be celebratory festivals while the Esbats are marked to undertake magical workings.
It is neither better nor worse to be a Wiccan or a non Wiccan witch. It is sometimes suggested that there is disharmony between the two paths but with the belief systems as different as they are there is little grounds for conflict.
Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/Wicca-61810037