"An it harm none, do what you will"

This is an excerpt from the Wiccan Rede.
The code of practice that Wiccans follow and for 8 small words it contains a very deep and powerful message.

The terms Wicca and Witchcraft can be used interchangeably, but there is a subtle distinction.
Wicca is a contemporary Neo-Pagan religion and Witchcraft is the practice of natural magic.
Not all Wiccans are witches, and not all witches are Wiccan.


What Wicca Is:
Firstly the word Wicca is an Old English word, it is a masculine noun
and usually appears with the following meaning:
"The Wise Ones" or "The Keepers of the Knowledge".
The feminine form of the noun is Wicce.

This brings me to the first myth that I want to dispell.
A Male Witch is a Witch and not as popularised by TV and other sources a Warlock.
Warlock is a term that means traitor.
It was actually a male person who during the time of the Inquisition would seek out Witches and report them to the authorities.
So a Male Witch is not very likely to want to refer to themselves as a Warlock.

Wicca is a Neo-Pagan religion with many traditions that date to pre-Christian (and prehistoric) Earth religions.
Some research indicates that these links go back some 30,000+ years.
It is based on a deep respect for nature and the certain knowledge that we do not have the right to exploit it for our own gain.
Wiccans are deeply concerned with conservation and ecology, and as in all Neo-Pagan religions,
Wiccans believe that both animate and inanimate objects possess a spirit which forms part of the Whole,
also known as "The Cosmic Web".

Note that we do not use the term "spirit" in the Judeo-Christian sense of a "ghost,"
but rather that essence which every object possesses
that links it to nature and makes it an inalienable part of the universe.
Although Wicca has ancient roots it is also fairly modern
in the sense that it is largely a result of one man's work,
Gerald Gardner, who in the 1950's brought then ancient practices out into the public eye
after the last law against Witchcraft practice was repealed in England.

Wicca is a celebration of the life-forces of nature as personified by the Goddess and her consort, the God.
Wicca may includes the practice of magic, usually spelt magick amongst practioners,
to differentiate from stageshow illusionists.
Magick is defined as the process of causing change through the focusing of our natural powers.
There is also a principle involved which states
"What you put into something you get out of it"
the application of this is that minor changes are relatively easy to cause
but the larger an affect desired the more 'power' required.

It is important to note that magic is natural.
There is nothing supernatural about it.
We use certain tools such as spells, visualization, chants, candles, amulets and meditation to help us focus our power,
but the power comes from within — it is not in the tools.
Our ancestors knew how to use it effectively, but it is a largely forgotten art in modern times.

Wiccans generally believe in the idea of reincarnation
and that their essence or spirit is on an evolutionary journey that takes multiple lifetimes to complete.



What Wicca Is Not:
Wicca is not a "cult."
A cult presupposes blind faith in a central figure whose every word is regarded as ultimate truth,
and the utter conviction that no other way or philosophy will lead to this truth.

You would be very hard pressed to find a Wiccan anywhere who would blindly follow anyone else.
Wiccans are historically very independent people who seek truth from within through rituals,
meditation, magic, studying and communing with nature.
Wiccans respect the right of everyone to worship in their own way.
We do not feel that Wicca is the only way — only that it is our way.

Wicca is not synonymous with Satan worship.
The very concept of a supreme evil spirit is alien to Wicca.
In fact, most Wiccans do not even believe in Satan.
The devil is a Judeo-Christian construct and as such, it has nothing to do with Wicca.
The notion that witches worship Satan was propounded by the Roman Catholic Church as it made its way across Europe,
in an effort to suppress the native earth-based religions prevalent at the time.
They succeeded to the extent that they drove the practitioners of these religions underground
where much of their knowledge and traditions were lost.

Through the work of the Golden Dawn, as well as anthropological and archeological research,
many of these traditions have been rediscovered and incorporated into Neo-Paganism,
an umbrella term for most modern earth-based and shamanistic religions.
Unfortunately though there is a great deal of information that has been lost due to this persecution.
Research suggests that Satanism is actually a rebellion that sprung up inside the Christian Church
by followers who were very disgruntled and perceived that the Pagan were having a lot more fun than they were.
It is basically a desire for the opposite of what they were being taught.

Wiccans do not fly on broomsticks.
There are many rituals which include brooms, however, and these may be the source of the flying-broomstick stories.
In parts of Europe, some people run across their fields astride a broom to coax the grain to grow.
They may also jump over a broom handle asking the grain to grow as high as their highest leap.
It is also common for a ceremonial broom to be used to sweep away negative forces from any area one wishes to cleanse.

The other association for this symbol is that because of its protective properties
the broom would go with the Witch while they travelled in the Astral Realm.