Wicca, sometimes called Witchcraft, is the "Old Religion" of the indigenous tribal peoples of what has become Northern Europe, and is an ancient, pre-Christian worship of the forces of nature, anthropomorphized into a Mother Goddess and Her consort, the Horned God. The Goddess is seen as primary, the Earth Mother figure, and is often equated with the moon. The Horned God, often depicted as a man with antlers, is representative of the forest creatures and the forces of decay and regeneration, of death and rebirth. (To equate Him with a Satanic or devil figure because of His horns or antlers would be most incorrect, as Wiccan philosophy contains no personification of evil, as do the Judeo-Christian traditions.) Because Wicca is an earth-centered religion, anthropologists classify it as a nature or fertility spirituality. The name Wicca comes from the old Anglo-Saxon term wicce, which is generally taken as meaning, "to bend." Wiccans practice focusing their mental efforts on a goal, "bending" their will to the task. Wicca is considered a magical based experiential philosophy, a mystery religion, rather than a revealed one based on holy writ or scripture. While the movement today is toward formally trained and ordained ministerial clergy (priestess and priest), every Wiccan is considered a priestess or priest unto themselves, and an intermediary between the individual and the Gods is not essential. Anyone may conduct a worship ceremony, alone or in a small group.
Wicca is not a religion that worships or even acknowledges the devil. The Gods of Wicca are in no way related to Satan, the devil, or any such personification of evil. Wiccans and Witches believe in the primacy of personal responsibility. They do not believe in such a concept to avoid responsibility for their own actions, and certainly do not offer homage to it.
The roots of Wicca go back to the early Stone Age peoples of what is now Northern and Central Europe. Over 1,400 figurines, objects of worship, in the form of a plump and obviously pregnant Mother Goddess figure have been found in the area. The oldest, dated back to 28,000 B.C.E., is known as "The Venus of Willendorf," after the Augrian village near which it was unearthed. For almost 1,200 years after the spread of Christianity across Europe, witchcraft was considered heresy; many thousands were condemned to death by hanging, strangling, drowning, or burning for following this benign, nature-oriented spirituality. Historically, conversion efforts frequently included strong measures to stamp out competing indigenous nature religions. In Germany, there are records of the entire female population of several villages being exterminated during the Witch Craze.
In modern times, the scholarly writings of anthropologist Margaret Murray in the '20s and '30s helped to publicize the practices of modern-day witches, who considered themselves the spiritual (though not literal) descendants of the older European witches. After the repeal of the laws against witchcraft in England in 1956, the religion has re-emerged, mainly through the reconstructionist efforts of Gerald Gardner (the famous "Witch of the Isle of Mann" and originator of the Gardnerian tradition of Wicca). Many modern-day authors have made strong contributions, including Janet and Stewart Farrar, Doreen Valiente, Starhawk (Mirian Simos), Laurie Cabot, Erica Jong, and many, many others.
Wiccans are nothing to be feared, ridiculed, or even singled out. Wiccans are simply a little different in their approach to personal spirituality. Their religion is based on humanity’s first stirring to spirituality, of reverence toward the earth as a living, breathing entity. They honor all living things, pratice ecology, and are tolerant of those who follow a different path from their own. They often amass personal journals, or "Books of Shadows," containing materials used in worship, healing, divination, and the like, since there is no single book of scripture. The religious literature of Wicca consists of literally hundreds of volumes, with more being written and published almost daily.
Today, because of an intentional lack of central hierarchy and dogma, there exist many traditions within Wicca, even more than the number of traditions existing within Christianity. Wicca does not have charismatic leaders and actually avoids large central governing structures. Although there is usually a hierarchical structure within a given tradition, there is no central governance for Wicca, and each tradition is independent of the others. Because of this diversity, Wiccans can better be defined by the beliefs they hold in common, rather than by their differences.
