Wicca is a religion that was "created", or at least brought into the light, in the 1950's
by Gerald Gardner. It was based on pre-Christian Pagan beliefs, ideas from Crowley's
Order Templis Orientis, some Eastern philosophy and just a dash of Freemasonry. He called
this Wicca, and created the Gardnerian Tradition.
Wicca is not the same thing as Witchcraft. There are similarities and there are
differences, a few of which I plan to lay out in a moment. I will agree with most Witches
and say that the two terms should not be interchanged, as they commonly are. It would be
like calling a Roman Catholic a Protestant or a Baptist - they believe in the same basic
tenants, however they go about it in a totally different way. One thing to remember when
you read this is that these are generalities about Wicca and Witchcraft. Not all Wiccans
follow the same beliefs, and not all Witches follow the same beliefs as other
Witches.
Most Wiccans follow the Wiccan Rede as one their basic tenants. This is a poem written by
Adriana Porter and Lady Gwen Thompson, sometime in the 20th century. The shortened
version of this is "An it harm none, do what you will", which is pretty much
self-explanatory. Along the same lines, (most) Wiccans also follow the Law of Power or
Three-Fold Law. This is rather along the lines of Karma - whatever force you send out
will return to you three times as strong. Witches, on the other hand, do not follow any
such redes, rules or tenants - unless they are a specific part of the Tradition they
follow. From what I understand most find the Three-Fold Law illogical.
The other main difference between Wicca and Witchcraft, is how magick is practiced.
Wiccans generally cast a circle before doing any magickal rites or rituals. This merely
consists of creating a sphere of energy that surrounds yourself and anything that will be
used in the rite or spell. Whereas some Traditions of Witchcraft may use circle casting
occasionally, to most Witches all space is sacred and circles are not needed for
rites.
Wiccans tend to place heavy emphasis on rhyming chants and ceremony (or ritual), such as
having corresponding colours and herbs for a certain spell - or casting a spell on a
Tuesday when the moon is full. Witches, however, more often use whatever they have when
they feel the time is right.
Those are a few of the differences, and hopefully have helped to straighten out the
interchangeable Witchcraft/Wicca.
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