What Is Wicca?
http://www.starkindler.org/wicca.html
Wicca is an Initiatory, Oathbound, Magick-using, Pagan Mystery Priesthood
celebrating the Mysteries revealed in the "Legend of the Descent of the Goddess"
and in the "Charge of the Goddess".
The word wicca was originally the Old English word meaning "a male witch"; "a
female witch" was a wicce; the craft of witches, or "witchcraft", was
wiccecraeft; and "to bewitch" was wiccian. Just as the Old English words wicca
and wicce evolved into the modern English word "witch", so too the word
wiccecraeft evolved into the modern English word "witchcraft".
Our modern English word "witch" is the correct term for anyone who practices
witchcraft, the magickal arts of a witch. Nevertheless, there are people who
practice the magickal side of witchcraft but not the religious; such folk may be
called witches, but they are not Witches. The use of Witch as a proper noun
denotes a religious practitioner, of whom Wiccans are a proper subset: "All
Wiccans are Witches, but not all Witches are Wiccan."
The word Wicca refers to British Traditional Witchcraft, also called English
Traditional Witchcraft: a specific magickal Mystery tradition that evolved down
through the centuries along with the evolution of the English people and the
English language. The use of the Old English word Wicca distinguishes British
Traditional Witchcraft from the many other forms of religious Witchcraft that
exist.
While it might seem odd that the Old English word for "male witch" is used today
for a kind of Witchcraft, the English language has often used the masculine
gender for a mixed gender plural. For example, the word brethren is used of a
mixed-gender group of people related by blood, faith, philosophy, or other
affiliation; in other words, "brethren" is used as a synonym for "brothers and
sisters". The Wiccan Law of the Craft speaks of "the Brethren", "Brothers and
Sisters", "the Craft", and "the Wicca"; clearly, all of these terms are
mixed-gender plurals including both male and female. So while the Old English
form was "wiccecraeft", the modern usage has become "Wicca Craft": The Craft of
the Wicca.
The following paragraphs explain the terms used in the definition of Wicca in
more detail:
Initiatory - The term Initiatory refers both to the Spiritual Initiation
that can only be received from the Gods, and to the ritual of Initiation by
which an individual is brought into Wicca and consecrated as a Priest(ess) and
Witch.
Oathbound - The term Oathbound refers to the Oath of secrecy regarding
the "Secrets of the Art" which the Initiate swears during their Initiation. The
concept of Initiation, involving an Oath of secrecy, has always been a hallmark
of the Pagan Mysteries, for example the Mysteries of Isis and the Eleusinian
Mysteries.
Magick-using - The term Magick-using refers to the fact that Wicca is a
form of Witchcraft, and therefore all Wiccans are Witches. As such, they
practice the Magickal Art which is part of the Witches' traditional Craft.
Magick may be defined as "causing change to occur in conformity to will, through
the proper direction of the proper force, in the proper degree, in the proper
manner, to achieve the desired result." There are some modern Pagans who call
themselves Wiccan, but who deny that the word Wicca has anything to do with
Witchcraft or the practice of Magickal Arts; but as we have seen, the
etymological and historical evidence clearly proves otherwise. "All Wiccans are
Witches, but not all Witches are Wiccan."
Pagan - The term Pagan refers to the fact that Wicca is one of the Pagan
religions that have always existed in the world, religions which affirm that
Nature is not apart from, but is a living part of the Divine, and that the
Universe is a many-layered Reality in which the ancient Goddesses and Gods
worshipped from the earliest times live, move, and have Their Being. The
medieval Church insisted those Pagan Deities were "the Devil", and that the
Priests and Priestesses who served those Deities were "servants of the Devil".
And so those who called themselves the Wicca, the Witches, were viewed by the
Church as devil-worshippers, the servants of evil. While there are those who
deny that the word Witch was ever connected with the worship of Pagan Deities,
the etymological and historical evidence clearly proves otherwise. "All Wiccans
are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan."
Mystery - The term Mystery refers to a "Divine Secret" or spiritual truth
conveyed to the Initiate by means of a secret rite; for the Mysteries themselves
cannot be fully expressed in words, since even if that spiritual truth could be
fully expressed verbally, it is the inner spiritual experience of that truth
which conveys full comprehension and accomplishes the spiritual Initiation.
Priesthood - Etymologists derive the Old English words wicce and wicca from the
Indo-European root weik, which according to Webster's New World Dictionary meant
"to separate (hence set aside for religious worship)." In other words, "to
consecrate". That original meaning, in reference to people rather than to places
or things, clearly indicates consecration to a specific Priesthood. In Wicca,
the Initiate is consecrated as both Priest(ess) and Witch, thus the word Wicca
unites the concepts of "specific consecrated Priesthood", and of "practitioner
of the witches' magickal craft", in a single word.
The Law of Power
The Power shall not be used to bring harm, to injure, or control others. But if
the need arises, the Power shall be used to protect your life or the lives of
others.
The Power is used only as need dictates.
The Power can be used for your own gain, as long as by doing so, you harm none.
It is unwise to accept money for use of the Power for it quickly controls its
taker.
Use not the Power for prideful gain, for such cheapens the mysteries of Wicca
and Magick.
Ever remember that the Power is the sacred gift of the Goddess and God, and
should never be misused or abused.
Thirteen Goals of a Witch
(Unsure Of Origins Or Author)
Know yourself.
Know your Craft (Wicca).
Learn.
Apply knowledge with wisdom.
Achieve balance.
Keep your words in good order.
Keep your thoughts in good order.
Celebrate life.
Attune with the cycles of the earth.
Breathe and eat correctly.
Exercise the body.
Meditate.
Honor the Goddess and God.