what is wicca

In Australia the religion “Wicca” doesn’t exist... um, sorta. I mean, there’re only a few people in Oz who follow that religion. But if you go to a country like America or England, you’d find that religion’s rather popular ov’r there. Ever seen the symbol of a star within a circle? The one people correspond with “evil”? If you’ve had, then that’s the emblem for Wicca. Wow: you just learnt something. Or not.
So before I get carried away with something else, the purpose of this blog post is to tell you ‘bout Wicca. If you click’d on the direct link to this post from Random Rawr’s blog, then you’ve arrived to the right place. I'm gonna tell you most of all the things I know ‘bout Wicca.

So... what is Wicca?

I can’t explain what Wicca is in my own words without getting a headache, so I copy+pasted this from Microsoft Encarta:
In the second half of the 20th century, a self-conscious revival of pre-Christian paganism occurred in the United States and Europe. The foundation of this revival was witchcraft, or Wicca (said to be an early Anglo-Saxon word for witchcraft). Wicca is interpreted simply as the nature and fertility religion of pre-Christian Europe, which has been explored in books such as Charles Leland’s Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches (1899), Margaret Murray’s The Witch-Cult in Western Europe (1921), and Robert Graves’s The White Goddess (1948). Although they are now considered unreliable by scholars, such books gave inspiration to some people seeking spiritual alternatives. The writings of Englishman Gerald Gardner, who in his book Witchcraft Today (1954) claimed that he was a witch initiated by a surviving coven, imparted much of the alleged lore and rituals of English witches. Although his claims have been questioned, covens of modern witches sprang up under Gardner’s inspiration and spread to the United States in the 1960s. This form of witchcraft—with its feeling for nature, its colourful rituals, and its challenge of conventional religion and society—harmonized well with the countercultural mood of the 1960s and grew rapidly during that decade.

Wiccan Sabbats:

Yule
Imbolc
Ostara
Beltane
Litha
Lammas
Mabon
Samhain

Branches of Wicca:

Pecti – Wita
Caledonii
Celtic
Teutonic
Strega
— & more that I don’t know

Wiccan runes:

Daeg or Dagaz: for awakening and clarity.
Eoh or Ehwaz: the horse; means change of some kind.
Eolh or Eihwaz: for protection; very positive.
Feoh or Fehu: for wealth, prosperity, increase, success; things turning out well.
Geofu or Gebo: stands for gift or partnership; strengthening friendships or other relationships; the joining of the God & the Goddess.
Othel or Othala: for birthright, inheritance.
Peorth or Perthro: hidden things revealed.
Wyrd: (left blank) signifies something you oughtn’t know: dangerous or hurtful knowledge; a path you should not take; the undrawn one.
Yr: death; the ending of something & the beginning of something new; the importance of endings.

Other Wiccan things you might wanna know: (some may be random)

aett (aettir, plural) = runes that are broken up in 3 sections, or groups of eight
futhark = a common runic alphabet
sigil = a spelled rune
whiddershins = anticlockwise
deasil = clockwise
esbat = gathering where magic is done
muìrn beatha dàn = sole mate
Book Of Shadows = witch’s journal (where magick things are explained, their everyday life etc; to pass on to the next generation)
magesight = a power to see in the dark
scry = a spell done to see either the past, the present, or the future. Usually through water or fire or stones.

About the Seven Great Clans of Wicca:

Woodbane were considered evil.
Vikroth were warrior types. Were related to the Vikings.
Leapraughn were mischievous & humorous & sometimes pretty awful.
Wyndenkell were expert spell writers.
Burnhide specialised in gem, crystal, & metal magic.
Brightendale worked mostly with plants & were sort of doctors.
Rowanwand were ever good, ever peaceful. Known for being the repository of much magical knowledge.

+ For more information on Wicca I recommend you search the web (it’s easier & faster!). xx Peppercorn Swirls