Wicca

Wicca (English pronunciation: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ˈ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >w</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ɪ</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >k</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Help:IPA for English" >ə</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English" >/</a>) is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_paganism" title="Modern paganism" >modern pagan</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft(contemporary)" title="Witchcraft (contemporary)" >witchcraft</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion" title="Religion" >religion</a>. It was developed in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England" title="England" >England</a> during the first half of the 20th century and it was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft_Today" title="Witchcraft Today" >introduced to the public</a> in 1954 by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Gardner(Wiccan)" title="Gerald Gardner (Wiccan)" >Gerald Gardner</a>, a retired <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom" >British</a> civil servant. It draws upon a diverse set of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism" title="Paganism" >ancient pagan</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Order_of_the_Golden_Dawn" title="Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn" >20th century hermetic</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motif_(folkloristics)" title="Motif (folkloristics)" >motifs</a> for its theological structure and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual" title="Ritual" >ritual</a> practice. The wordwitch derives from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English" title="Middle English" >Middle English</a> wicche, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English" >Old English</a> <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wicce" class="extiw" title="wikt:wicce" >wicce</a> (/ˈwɪttʃe/) (feminine) "witch" and <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wicca" class="extiw" title="wikt:wicca" >wicca</a> (/ˈwɪttʃɑ/) (masculine) "wizard".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca#cite_note-1" >[1]</a>

Wicca is a diverse religion with no central authority or figure defining it. It is divided into various lineages and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_denomination" title="Religious denomination" >denominations</a>, referred to as traditions, each with its own <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisational_structure" title="Organisational structure" class="mw-redirect" >organisational structure</a> and level of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralisation" title="Centralisation" >centralisation</a>. Due to its decentralized nature, there is some disagreement over what actually constitutes Wicca. Some traditions, collectively referred to as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Traditional_Wicca" title="British Traditional Wicca" >British Traditional Wicca</a>, strictly follow the initiatory lineage of Gardner and consider the term Wicca to apply only to such lineaged traditions, while other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca#Eclectic_Wicca" >eclectic</a> traditions do not.

Wicca is typically <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duotheism" title="Duotheism" class="mw-redirect" >duotheistic</a>, worshipping a god and goddess traditionally viewed as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiccan_views_of_divinity#The_Goddess" title="Wiccan views of divinity" >mother goddess</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_god" title="Horned god" class="mw-redirect" >horned god</a>. These two deities are sometimes viewed as facets of a greater <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheism" title="Pantheism" >pantheistic</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity" title="Deity" >godhead</a>. However, beliefs range from hard<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheism" title="Polytheism" >polytheism</a> to even <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheism" title="Monotheism" >monotheism</a>. Wiccan celebration follows approximately eight <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_year" title="Wheel of the year" class="mw-redirect" >seasonally based festivals</a> known as<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbat" title="Sabbat" class="mw-redirect" >Sabbats</a>. An unattributed statement known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiccan_Rede" title="Wiccan Rede" >Wiccan Rede</a> is the traditional basis of Wiccan morality. Wicca often involves the ritual practice of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_(paranormal)" title="Magic (paranormal)" >magic</a>, though it is not always necessary.

Wicca

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