What is Wicca and who are they?

Studies in 2021 show in America

Based on recent survey data (2021), approximately 800,000 Americans are Wiccans. The increasing

numbers that have been witnessed in surveys and the growth of groups, such as those on TikTok, suggest

that the religion is continuing to grow. As witchcraft becomes a multibillion-dollar business, practitioners’

connection to the natural world is changing. Paganism is an umbrella term that includes religions that view

their practices as returning to those of pre-Christian societies, in which they believe the Goddess was

worshipped along with the gods and the land was seen as sacred. Wicca focuses specifically on the

practice of the British Isles.

Witchcraft has also become a multibillion-dollar business. As someone who has been researching this

religion for more than 30 years, I have witnessed this growing commercialization: Witch kits are commonly

sold by large companies and in stores – something unheard of when I began my research in 1985.

Wicca

Wicca is a polytheistic religion that believes in a God and Goddess. They believe

in reincarnation. Working magick. A love for Nature and all her creatures. A

connection to Gaia. Witches believe in enjoying sensual and sexual pleasures

without guilt.

Depending on your tradition or beliefs, change the view of what a Wiccan looks

like. There is not just one way to practice. You will have to learn what is right for

you and what works best for you. This only comes with education and seeing what

works and doesn’t.

Belief in Magick

One of the Witches’ most important basic beliefs, obviously, is the reality and the

possibility of magick. This involves the idea that the physical world is only part of

reality, the part that we are able to comprehend with our five senses. Beyond are

vaster realms; and in these the witch seeks to venture. This, again, involves a

further belief, namely that human beings have more senses than the usual

reckoning of five. By means of these innate psychic capacities, the realms beyond

the physical are contacted. These powers, say the witch, are perfectly natural; but

latent and inactive in the majority of people. They are powers that have become

overlaid and hidden by the artificialities of civilization; but they can be reawakened.

Within traditions, covens are autonomous, some fiercely so. Each customarily has

a secret Book of Shadows, which includes the tradition’s laws, ethics, rituals,

administrative rules and other material, including personal material and material

relating just to the coven. Most traditions have formal Initiation procedures. It has

become increasingly acceptable to dedicate oneself to the Craft and to practice

alone rather than as part of a coven.

Pagan Witchcraft

Pagan Witchcraft is an autonomous religion. There is no central authority or

liturgy; various traditions have their own rituals, philosophy and beliefs. Most are

derivative of the dominant tradition, Gardnerian. Traditions have undergone

continual evolution, multiplying, changing, even dying, in accordance with

prevailing religious needs. Some have added elements from Eastern, Native

American, Aboriginal and Shamanic systems; others have injected politics into

their traditions. New rituals, songs, chants and poetry are continually created.

Critics say as a result, Witchcraft is an unstable religion. Witches view the change

and flexibility as positive, a guarantee that our religion will never grow stale with

obsolete ideas.

Neo-Pagan Witches

Neo-Pagan Witches define ourselves as healers, servants of the community and

servants of the Goddess and (usually) the Horned God, whom we worship in our

religion. We believe in respecting the sanctity of all life and being in harmony with

all living things and with the forces of the universe. Ideally, we strive to attune

ourselves to nature and the elements, forces we control in the working of magic.

We develop our psychic abilities and seek to raise our spiritual consciousness

through study, the practice of our Craft and observance of a moral and ethical

life-style, in accordance with Craft laws and tenets. “Witches, on the whole, enjoy

ritual – and they are naturally joyous people,” state English Witches Stewart and

Janet Farrar in Eight Sabbats for Witches (1981). “Like worshipers of other

religions, they find that appropriate ritual uplifts and enriches th

Wildcrafting

In addition to growing your own magical herbs in your garden, in many areas you can harvest herbs from their natural

environment -- in the wild. This is known as wildcrafting, and is becoming a popular pastime. Let's look at how to become an

ethical and responsible wildcrafter. em.

”

Magick with a ‘k’

Many Pagans practice magick (often spelled with a ‘k’ to differentiate it from stage magic and the 

fanciful magic of fantasy novels). In Paganism, magick is a spiritual practice aimed at creating 

change in the individual and in the world. Magick functions somewhat like prayer in other traditions, 

but it tends to have more of a physical component than prayer usually does in the West. When 

Pagans do magick, they begin by stating a clear intention and then raise energy to support that 

intention. This might be done, for instance, through chanting and dancing, breath exercises, or 

concentration. The energy is then released, either out into the world or sometimes into an object 

that will serve as a focus for the intention. The latter could be a candle, a piece of jewelry, or an 

altar object. Pagans often feel that magick cannot be successful without a practical component. 

Successful job magick, for instance, involves filling out job applications, not just setting intention 

and raising energy.