So what is Wicca?

Wicca is a new religion, started in Britain in the 1950's by a retired civil servant Gerald Gardner after the repeal of the British Witchcraft Act.

Based on certain magical teachings of a well-known magical order of the time as well as the rich folklore of the British people, the system of Wicca evolved. Wiccan practice also involves teachings claiming to go back to ancient shamanic times. As such, Wicca is the modern revival of witchcraft. It falls under the umbrella of Paganism, as it is nature based earth spirituality.

The word Wicca denotes a prophet, seer, magician, and has come to mean 'wise one'. The wise one in the Middle ages was the village woman the healer, the midwife. In ancient times it was the priest, the diviner, the healer, the midwife, male or female. As Patriarchy reached its political zenith with the church as manifestastion, the wise woman went underground or was persecuted. The famous witch burnings took place - the silent female genocide. Some figures are as high as nine million over a period of a few hundred years.

However traditional witchcraft, though silent was not stilled. Practitioners met in dark quiet forests, groves, by standing stones, in silent homes.

Children were taught the inner mysteries form generation to generation. Most of the time nothing was written down and learned by heart. And so it was until The Witchcraft Acts were repealed in Britain and the United States Suddenly covens popped up publicly all over Britain. Initiates grew in number and other traditions developed (much like Christian denominations). Wicca spread to the United States. Festivals were held openly and full moon rites became public knowledge. People were drawn to this gentle religion where both the divine feminine and the divine masculine were honored. . Wiccans are therefore both male and female and come from all walks of life and all ages. They may work in groups, form covens (very dedicated insular groups) or work solitary.

Intrinsically Wicca is a religion of joy and celebration. The words of the goddess are that all acts of pleasure are her ritual. There shall be feasting, making music, love and joy. This does not mean to say we are an orgiastic hedonistic bunch. No, we believe that the bounty of the Earth is ours and it is our playground. We live by a solemn ethic known as the Wiccan rede " An it harm none do as ye will". So we do not have a bunch of 'don'ts as our starting point but one 'do!' Inherent in this law is that we may not harm ourselves either.

We subscribe to a generic god and goddess. However many work with pantheons such as Greek, Roman, Egyptian etc. Some Wiccans single out a single deity from a pantheon such as Isis or Hecate for example. We work with the natural elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth and acknowledge the Fifth, that being Spirit, or Akashic, ether. The pentagram is our sacred symbol representing the five elements with spirit at the top.

Sacred space can be outside or inside. We use an altar with symbols representing the deities and the elements.

Very important to Wiccans is to work with the changing of the season. This is known as the Wheel of the Year. Since we are in the Southern Hemisphere we do not for example celebrate Halloween on31 Oct but at the end of April for it is a winter festival. As the wintertime approach they prepare for it by becoming more introspective and using the symbolism of ritual to transport themselves to another world in order to understand the concomitant changes that will take effect on them. As the summer approaches and a quickening of life force are felt, so this is ritually enacted. We see nature as the manifestation of Deity.

Moon phases are used for working magic. Healing, divination spells for needs are done. Magick practice is based on natural magick - that of working with the 4 elements mentioned. Harnessing these to creative visualization, intent, and will, within the parameters of the Wiccan rede is what is practiced. This can be simple by using a candle and a chant or setting up an elaborate temple space.

Wicca is the fastest growing religion in America today. It is spreading rapidly in South Africa.

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