Wicca \Wic"ca\ (w[i^]k"k[.a]), prop. n. [OE. wicche wizard, AS. wicce, fem., wicca, masc.; see also {witch} and {wicked}.] 1. A religion derived from pre-Christian times, also called {Witchcraft}[4], which practices a benevolent reverence for nature, and recognizes two deities, variously viewed as Mother & Father, Goddess & God, Female & Male, etc.; its practitioners are called Wiccans, Wiccas, or witches. Since there is no central authority to propagate dogma, the beliefs and practices of Wiccans vary significantly. [PJC]
Encouraged by court rulings recognizing witchcraft as a legal religion, an increasing number of books related to the subject, and the continuing cultural concern for the environment, Wicca -- as contemporary witchcraft is often called -- has been growing in the United States and abroad. It is a major element in the expanding ``neo-pagan'' movement whose members regard nature itself as charged with divinity. --Gustav Niebuhr (N. Y. Times, Oct. 31, 1999, p. 1) [PJC]
``I don't worship Satan, who I don't think exists, but I do pray to the Goddess of Creation.'' said Margot S. Adler, a New York correspondent for National Public Radio and a Wiccan practitioner. ``Wicca is not anti-Christian or pro-Christian, it's pre-Christian.'' --Anthony Ramirez (N. Y. Times Aug. 22, 1999, p. wk 2) [PJC]
Note: Wicca is a ditheistic religion, also called Witchcraft, founded on the beliefs and doctrines of pre-Roman Celts, including the reverence for nature and the belief in a universal balance. Though frequently practiced in covens, solitary practitioners do exist. The modern form of the religion was popularized in 1954 by Gerald Gardener's Witchcraft Today. It is viewed as a form of neo-paganism. Wicca recognizes two deities, visualized as Mother & Father, Goddess & God, Female & Male, etc. These dieties are nameless, but many Wiccans adopt a name with which they refer to the two: Diana is a popular name for the Goddess to take, among others such as Artemis, Isis, Morrigan, etc. Some of her symbols are: the moon; the ocean; a cauldron; and the labrys (two-headed axe), among others. The God is of equal power to the Goddess, and takes on names such as Apollo, Odin, Lugh, etc. A small number of his symbols are: the sun; the sky; a horn (or two horns); and others. Witchcraft is not a Christian denomination; there is no devil in its mythos, thus the devil cannot be worshiped, and the medieval view of Witches as Satan-worshipers is erroneous. Satanists are not Witches and Witches are not Satanists. Both have a tendency to be offended when the two are confused. In the Wiccan religion male Witches are not ``Warlocks''. The term Warlock comes from Scottish, meaning 'oathbreaker', 'traitor', or 'devil'. Its application to male witches is of uncertain origin. The Wiccan Rede, ``An it harm none, do what thou wilt'' comes in many variations. All of them say the same thing, ``Do as you wish, just don't do anything to harm anyone.'' It is implied that 'anyone' includes one's self. Witches practice in groups called Covens or as solitary practitioners, and some practice ``magic'', which is to say, they pray. Since the one rule that Witches have requires that they can not do harm, harmful magic does not exist in Wicca. In Wicca, ``magic'' is simply subtly altering small things, to gain a desired effect. Wicca, sometimes called Neo-Witchcraft, was revived in the 1950s, when the last laws against Witchcraft were repealed. Gerald Gardner founded Gardnerian Wicca sometime after his book, Witchcraft Today, was published in 1954. Raymond Buckland, in America, did much the same that Gardner did in Europe -- stood up to the misconceptions about Witchcraft. Two other books describing the modern practice of Wicca are: Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, by Scott Cunningham, Llewellyn Publications, 1988. Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, by Raymond Buckland, Llewellyn Publications, 1975. [PJC]
2. A practitioner of Wicca, also commonly called a {Wiccan}, {Wicca}, or {witch} . [PJC]
For at least one person who has seen ``The Blair Witch Project'', the surprise hit movie of the summer did not so much terrify as infuriate. One long slur against witches, said Selena Fox, a witch, or Wicca, as male and female American witches prefer to call themselves. --Anthony Ramirez (N. Y. Times, Aug. 22, 1999, p. wk 2) [PJC]
witchcraft \witch"craft`\ (w[i^]ch"kr[a^]ft), n. [AS. wiccecr[ae]ft.] 1. The practices or art of witches.
3. Power more than natural; irresistible influence.
He hath a witchcraft Over the king in 's tongue. --Shak.
4. Adherence to or the practice of {Wicca}. In this sense the term does not necessarily include attempts at practice of magic, other than by prayers to the deities. [PJC]
It is not limited to England: in Sweden magpies are connected with witchcraft and in Scotland if they fly near your window it heralds a death.
State Chief Minister Jyoti Basu said at least 20 women were killed in West Bengal in 1987 on suspicion of practicing witchcraft.
She speaks at colleges and elsewhere, explaining that witchcraft is pre-Christian nature religion, not Satanism or black magic.
The pope has urged Roman Catholics to shun such practices as witchcraft and polygamy, stressing that the basic tenets of the faith cannot be compromised.
He reported a 1983 incident that he said was witnessed by his family, in which Jamba residents were gathered around a bonfire and a family was doused with gasoline and burned for witchcraft.
The church has also been hard pressed to interpret the relationship between superstition and religion in a continent where some church ministers have been accused of practicing witchcraft and voodoo.
The parent's complaint stemmed from a publication, Intuitive Directory, that listed Ms. Dick as one of several people in the Kansas City area who practice witchcraft.
The most frequent objections, the report said, were to materials seen as containing "offensive language" and those perceived as touching on "satanism, witchcraft and the occult."
Other Spaniards see Galicians (or Gallegos) as melancholy, broodingly pessimistic people, obsessed with death and witchcraft.
Investigators went to a Berkeley religion expert with the items. They also presented the expert with desperate letters Toussaint mailed before his suicide blaming Rubia and her "witchcraft" for his bad health and business failures.
Producer John Purdie says 'Despite the language problems, Malawian audiences are weaned on an oral story-telling tradition and live in a world where witchcraft and power politics are daily realities.
She smiled suddenly, her mouth describing a great V. 'It has nothing to do with magic or witchcraft.
Coelho, a new-wave sorcerer with a touch for turning yarns of witchcraft and mysticism into best-selling books, has in one magic leap become Brazil's No. 1 literary sensation.
Ms. Dick resigned from the tenured teaching position she had held for seven years in February after complaints from a parent that she practiced witchcraft.
The practice of witchcraft is fairly widespread in the United States, but precise numbers are hard to come by.
Despite the mystery, witchcraft and violence of his books, Hillerman bristles at any suggestion the reservation might be a dangerous place.
A prosecutor calls it "witchcraft" and a psychologist says it's as reliable as a coin toss.
The problem is, people see witchcraft, Satanism and the occult as all the same thing."
A Dallas televangelist is enlisting "prayer warriors" for a Halloween attack on what he calls the satanic forces of witchcraft, drugs and perversion in San Francisco.
Similarly, the traditional witchcraft the colonists had brought from England bore little relation to modern imitations.
Fountain, who has claimed to be a former heroin addict and witchcraft practitioner, has said he had as many as 120 children living at his 28-acre compound outside Lucedale.
"Our smugglers do not pray to the devil," said one resident, Ala Rosa Garza. "This (witchcraft and drugs) is something imported.
In the 16th and 17th centuries there were many cases against people accused of lycanthropy, which was associated with witchcraft.
But witchcraft and other "pagan" religions began long before Christianity.
"She told me several times about witchcraft and things she believed in like curses and things like that," said Mrs. Antillon. "She used to tell me that she felt her mother-in-law had cursed her.
Ms. Nussbaum, a children's book editor, denied that she was interested in satanic cults and witchcraft.