1. ^  Old English wicce, feminine, corresponding to wicca, witch n.1, both of which are app. derivatives of wiccian, witch v.1. (definition) 1. a. A female magician, sorceress; in later use esp. a woman supposed to have dealings with the devil or evil spirits and to be able by their co-operation to perform supernatural acts. (oldest attested use in Old English) c1000 ÆLFRIC Saints' Lives vii. 209: "Animað...þa reðan wiccan, Seo þe ðus awent þurh wiccecræft ...

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Wicca, Wicca - Definition, Wicca - History of Wicca, Wicca - Origins, Wicca - Later developments, Wicca - Beliefs and practices, Wicca - Morality, Wicca - Discrimination and persecution of Wiccans, Wicca - United States, Wicca - Wiccan traditions, Wicca - Notes, Wicca - Bibliographical and Encyclopedic Sources, Wicca - Academic Studies

Read more here: » Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Wicca - Notes

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Wicca, Wicca - Definition, Wicca - History of Wicca, Wicca - Origins, Wicca - Later developments, Wicca - Beliefs and practices, Wicca - Morality, Wicca - Discrimination and persecution of Wiccans, Wicca - United States, Wicca - Wiccan traditions, Wicca - Notes, Wicca - Bibliographical and Encyclopedic Sources, Wicca - Academic Studies

Read more here: » Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Wicca - Wiccan traditions

There are many traditions, sub-traditions, and lineages of Wicca; among these is Solitary Wicca, which is Wicca practiced by oneself and often in secret. Other Wiccan traditions include: Alexandrian Wicca Blue Star Wicca Celtic Wicca Christian Wicca Correllian Nativist Church (Correllian Wicca) Dianic or Feminist Wicca Eclectic Wicca Faery Wicca Feri Tradition Gardnerian Wicca Kemetic Wicca Odyssean Wicca Pagans for Peace Tradition Seax-Wica Shakti Wicca Stregher ...

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Wicca, Wicca - Definition, Wicca - History of Wicca, Wicca - Origins, Wicca - Later developments, Wicca - Beliefs and practices, Wicca - Morality, Wicca - Discrimination and persecution of Wiccans, Wicca - United States, Wicca - Wiccan traditions, Wicca - Notes

Read more here: » Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Wicca - Wiccan traditions

Wicca is a Neopagan religious movement found in many different countries, though most commonly in English-speaking cultures. Wicca was first publicised in 1954 by a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner after the British Witchcraft Act was repealed. He claimed that the religion, of which he was an initiate, was a modern survival of an old witch cult, which had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-Christian Paganism of Europe. Wicca is thus sometimes referred to as the Old Religion. The veracity o ...

Including:

Wicca - Definition Wicca - History of Wicca
Wicca - Origins Wicca - Later developments
Wicca - Beliefs and practices Wicca - Morality Wicca - Discrimination and persecution of Wiccans
Wicca - United States
Wicca - Wiccan traditions Wicca - Notes

Read more here: » Wicca: Encyclopedia - Wicca

Reflections on OLD GUARD PAGANISM

'Old Guard Paganism'. The phrase started out as a joke, but then caught on. This tells us something. It tells us there is a NEED for such a term. It also implies its own antithesis, 'New Guard Paganism'. And it indicates that there is some difference between the two -- a 'difference that makes a difference' -- and thus requires differentiating labels. (It should perhaps be noted that the word 'Paganism' is used in the present context -- however inaccurately -- to refer to modern Neo-Pagan Witchcraft, or Wicca. With grave misgivings, I have adopted this usage here.)

Read more here: » Paganism: Reflections on OLD GUARD PAGANISM

Blue Star Wicca is one of a number of Wiccan traditions created in the United States in the 1970s based loosely on the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions. It continues to be practiced today in areas of the United States (including Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington, and others), as well as having members in the United Kingdom and Canada. Blue Star Wicca - Origins and history. The "Coven of the Blue Star", established in Philadelphia in 1975 by Franque D "the Wizard", gave birth to both the na ...

Including:

Blue Star Wicca - Origins and history Blue Star Wicca - Practices Blue Star Wicca - Ranks and degrees Blue Star Wicca - Relationship to other traditions Blue Star Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Blue Star Wicca: Encyclopedia - Blue Star Wicca

Gerald Brosseau Gardner (June 13, 1884 - February 13, 1964) was a British civil servant, amateur anthropologist, writer, and occultist who published some of the definitive texts for modern Wicca, which he was instrumental in founding. Gerald Gardner - Life. Gardner was born in England to a relatively well-off family who had in their service Josephine "Com" McCombie, an Irish nursemaid[1]. Gardner, who had asthma at the ...

Including:

Gerald Gardner - Life Gerald Gardner - Wicca
Gerald Gardner - Etymology
Gerald Gardner - Bibliography Gerald Gardner - Notes and references

Read more here: » Gerald Gardner: Encyclopedia - Gerald Gardner

Stewart Farrar (June 28, 1916 - February 7, 2000) was a British author of books on Alexandrian Wicca. Along with his wife, Janet Farrar, he was an influential Neopagan author and teacher. According to George Knowles, "some seventy five percent of Wiccans both in the Republic and North of Ireland can trace their roots back to the Farrar's [sic]"[1]. A journalist, scriptwriter, and World War II veteran, Farrar also published a number o ...

Including:

Stewart Farrar - Early life and career Stewart Farrar - Involvement in Wicca Stewart Farrar - Bibliography
Stewart Farrar - With Janet Farrar Stewart Farrar - With Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone
Stewart Farrar - Notes and references

Read more here: » Stewart Farrar: Encyclopedia - Stewart Farrar

Alexandrian Wicca is a tradition of the Neopagan religion of Wicca, founded by Alex Sanders (also known as "King of the Witches"[1]) who, with his wife Maxine Sanders, established the tradition in the 1960s. Alexandrian Wicca is similar in many ways to Gardnerian Wicca, and receives regular mention in books on Wicca as one of the religion's most widely-recognized traditions^Including:

Alexandrian Wicca - Origins and history Alexandrian Wicca - Practices Alexandrian Wicca - Ranks and degrees Alexandrian Wicca - Relationship to other traditions Alexandrian Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Alexandrian Wicca: Encyclopedia - Alexandrian Wicca

Witchcraft Today is a non-fiction book written by the founder of the Wicca religion, Gerald Gardner. Published in 1954, Witchcraft Today recounts Gardner's thoughts on the history of witchcraft, and details his disputed[1] claim to have met practicing Witches in 1950s England. Witchcraft Today is one of the foundational texts for the religion of Wicca, along with Gardner's second book o ...

Including:

Witchcraft Today - Notes and references

Read more here: » Witchcraft Today: Encyclopedia - Witchcraft Today

Aradia, according to Charles Godfrey Leland's Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, is the messianic daughter of the goddess Diana who came to Earth to teach witchcraft to her oppressed worshippers. Aradia has become an important mythical figure in Wicca and in some other forms of Neo-paganism. Aradia goddess - Aradia in Leland. Leland claimed that the majority of the book was based upon a manuscript given to him detailing the beliefs of an undiscovered religious witchcraft tradition in Tuscan ...

Including:

Aradia goddess - Aradia in Leland Aradia goddess - Aradia in Neo-paganism Aradia goddess - Notes and references

Read more here: » Aradia goddess: Encyclopedia - Aradia goddess

Alexandrian Wicca, in similarity with other traditional Wiccan practices, emphasizes gender polarity. This emphasis can be seen in the sabbat rituals, which focus on the relationship between the Wiccan Goddess and God. As compared to Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca is "somewhat more eclectic", according to The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism[3]. Maxine Sanders notes that Alexandrians, as opposed to "a few fuddy-duddies" take the attitude "If ...

See also:

Alexandrian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca - Origins and history, Alexandrian Wicca - Practices, Alexandrian Wicca - Ranks and degrees, Alexandrian Wicca - Relationship to other traditions, Alexandrian Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Alexandrian Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Alexandrian Wicca - Practices

As mentioned above, Odyssean Wicca was inspired at least in part by the Gardnerian, Alexandrian, and Continental traditions. Blue Star Wicca has a special relationship to the Odyssean tradition, as a "sister" or "cousin" tradition[3][4]. Odysseans have an increased amount of exposure to other ...

See also:

Odyssean Wicca, Odyssean Wicca - Origins and history, Odyssean Wicca - Practices, Odyssean Wicca - Ranks and degrees, Odyssean Wicca - Relationship with other traditions, Odyssean Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Odyssean Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Odyssean Wicca - Relationship with other traditions

The tradition is based largely upon Gardnerian Wicca, in which Sanders was trained to the first degree of initiation[3], and also contains elements of ceremonial magic and Qabalah, which Sanders had studied independently. The Tradition is named after the ancient library of Alexandria[3], which was one of the first libraries in the world. The choice of name was inspired by a view o ...

See also:

Alexandrian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca - Origins and history, Alexandrian Wicca - Practices, Alexandrian Wicca - Ranks and degrees, Alexandrian Wicca - Relationship to other traditions, Alexandrian Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Alexandrian Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Alexandrian Wicca - Origins and history

Scholar Ronald Hutton records comments from British practitioners of Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca that distinctions between the two traditions have blurred in the last couple of decades, and some initiates of both traditions have recognized initiation within one as qualification for the other[7]. Author Vivianne Crowley often trains her students in both traditions[3]. In the United States ...

See also:

Alexandrian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca - Origins and history, Alexandrian Wicca - Practices, Alexandrian Wicca - Ranks and degrees, Alexandrian Wicca - Relationship to other traditions, Alexandrian Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Alexandrian Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Alexandrian Wicca - Relationship to other traditions

The Odyssean Tradition of Wicca was founded by Richard and Tamara James in 1979, along with other members of their coven. The name of the tradition was inspired by Homer's Odyssey, and is meant to emphasize a belief in life as a "spiritual journey"[3]. The tradition grew out of the James' creation of the Wiccan Church of Canada, with which the tradition is still closely associated. While the Jameses and their coven members had background ...

See also:

Odyssean Wicca, Odyssean Wicca - Origins and history, Odyssean Wicca - Practices, Odyssean Wicca - Ranks and degrees, Odyssean Wicca - Relationship with other traditions, Odyssean Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Odyssean Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Odyssean Wicca - Origins and history

Alexandrian Wicca shares with other traditional Wicca systems the belief that "only a witch can make another witch"[4]. The process through which an individual is made a witch is called "initiation". As in Gardnerian Wicca, there are three levels, or "degrees", of initiation, commonly referred to as "first", "second", and "third" degree. Only a second or third degree witch can initiate another into witchcraft, and only a third degree witch can initiate another to third degree. A third de ...

See also:

Alexandrian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca - Origins and history, Alexandrian Wicca - Practices, Alexandrian Wicca - Ranks and degrees, Alexandrian Wicca - Relationship to other traditions, Alexandrian Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Alexandrian Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Alexandrian Wicca - Ranks and degrees

The "Coven of the Blue Star", established in Philadelphia in 1975 by Franque D "the Wizard", gave birth to both the name and the original membership of what would eventually become the Blue Star tradition. In 1980, on its membership application to the Covenant of the Goddess, the coven described itself (with tongue in cheek) as practicing "Great American Nontraditional Collective Eclectic Wicca". Tzipora Klein, who had joined the coven in 1977, and her then-husband Kenny Klein, left on a folk music tour after the 1983 release of their ...

See also:

Blue Star Wicca, Blue Star Wicca - Origins and history, Blue Star Wicca - Practices, Blue Star Wicca - Ranks and degrees, Blue Star Wicca - Relationship to other traditions, Blue Star Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Blue Star Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Blue Star Wicca - Origins and history

Blue Star is unsual for having a five-part rank system, as opposed to the three degree system of most initiatory Wiccan traditions. Dedication is the first rite of passage within the Blue Star tradition, and indicates a commitment to a Pagan spirituality generally and a loose commitment to the tradition specifically. Those who have been through this ceremony are referred to as "Dedicants". Neophyte marks an intermediary step between Dedication and Initiation, and indicates both a level of facility with Blue Star p ...

See also:

Blue Star Wicca, Blue Star Wicca - Origins and history, Blue Star Wicca - Practices, Blue Star Wicca - Ranks and degrees, Blue Star Wicca - Relationship to other traditions, Blue Star Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Blue Star Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Blue Star Wicca - Ranks and degrees

Blue Star remains a predominantly initiatory coven-based tradition in the model of the Gardnerian or Alexandrian traditions, but a number of "solitary" practitioners exist. Blue Star practitioners are known primarily for an unusual (amongst traditional Wiccans) focus on music in their ritual and liturgy, the importance placed upon a ritual feast, and for initiatory tattooing[1]. The use of a septegram as a symbol, instead of a pentagram, is also unusual. Blue Star and the Fa ...

See also:

Blue Star Wicca, Blue Star Wicca - Origins and history, Blue Star Wicca - Practices, Blue Star Wicca - Ranks and degrees, Blue Star Wicca - Relationship to other traditions, Blue Star Wicca - Notes and references

Read more here: » Blue Star Wicca: Encyclopedia II - Blue Star Wicca - Practices