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'''Wicca''' is a nature-based religion popularised in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired [[United Kingdom|British]] civil servant.<ref name="WitchcraftToday">{{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Gerald B |authorlink=Gerald Gardner |title=Witchcraft Today |publisher=Mercury Publishing |location=Lake Toxaway, NC |year=1999 |origyear=1954 |oclc=44936549}}</ref> He said that the religion, of which he was an initiate, was a modern survival of an old witchcraft religion which had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-[[Christianity|Christian]] paganism of [[Europe]].<ref name="WitchcraftToday"/> The veracity of Gardner's statements cannot be independently proven, however, and it is possible that Wiccan theology began to be compiled no earlier than the 1920s.<ref name="WiccanRoots">{{cite book |title=Wiccan Roots: Gerald Gardner and the Modern Witchcraft Revival |first=Philip |last=Heselton |authorlink=Philip Heselton |publisher=Capall Bann Pub. |location=Freshfields, Chieveley, [[Berkshire]] |month=November |year=2001 |isbn=1861631103 |oclc=46955899}}.  See also Nevill Drury. "Why Does Aleister Crowley Still Matter?" Richard Metzger, ed. ''Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult.''  Disinformation Books, 2003.</ref>

Various Wiccan traditions have since evolved from that established by Gardner, which came to be called Gardnerian Wicca. These other traditions have distinctive beliefs, rituals, and practices. Many traditions of Wicca remain secretive and require that members be initiated. There is also a movement of ''Eclectic Wiccans'' who do not believe that any doctrine or traditional initiation is necessary in order to practice Wicca.<ref name="DrawingDownMoon">{{cite book |last=Adler |first=Margot |authorlink=Margot Adler |title=Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today |publisher=Beacon Press |location=Boston |year=1979 |isbn=0-8070-3237-9 |oclc=6918454}}</ref>

==Core concepts==
Wicca is one variety of pagan [[witchcraft]], with distinctive [[ritual]] forms, seasonal observances and [[religion|religious]], [[magic (paranormal)|magical]]<ref>The term [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] is sometimes spelt [[magick]]; this spelling has a specific meaning within the context of [[Thelema]].</ref> and ethical precepts. Other forms of witchcraft exist within many cultures, with widely varying practices. Many Wiccans, though not all, call themselves Pagans, though the [[umbrella term]] [[Paganism|''Paganism'']] encompasses many faiths that have nothing to do with Wicca or witchcraft. Wicca has also been described as a [[Neopaganism|Neopagan]] or a [[Paganism#Pagan classifications|Mesopagan]] path.<ref> [http://www.neopagan.net/PaganDefs.html "Defining Paganism: Paleo-, Meso-, and Neo-"] (Version 2.5.1) 1979, 2007 c.e., Isaac Bonewits</ref> Because there is no centralised organisation in Wicca, and no single orthodoxy, the beliefs and practices of Wiccans can vary substantially, both among individuals and among traditions. Typically, the main religious principles, ethics, and ritual structures are shared, since they are key elements of traditional teachings and published works on the subject.

As practised by initiates in the lineage of Gerald Gardner, Wicca is a variety of witchcraft founded on religious and magical concepts. As such it is distinguished not only by its beliefs, but by its practice of magic, its [[#Morality|ethical philosophy]], initiatory system, organisational structure and secrecy.<ref name="NWCFAQ"/> Some of these beliefs and practices have also been adopted by others outside of this lineage, often termed Eclectic Wiccans, who generally discard the institutions of initiation, secrecy and hierarchy, and have more widely varying beliefs. Some Eclectic Wiccans neither perform magic nor identify as witches. Within traditional forms of Wicca there are three degrees of initiation. First degree is required to become a witch and gain membership of a coven; those who aspire to teach may eventually undergo second and third degree initiations, conferring the title of "High Priest" or "High Priestess" and allowing them to establish new covens.<ref name="NWCFAQ"/> At initiation, some Wiccans adopt a [[Craft name|craft name]] to symbolise their spiritual "rebirth", to act as a magical alter-ego, or simply to provide anonymity when appearing as a witch in public (see ''[[#Acceptance of Wiccans|Acceptance of Wiccans]]'' below).

===Beliefs===
{{main|Wiccan views of divinity}}
For most Wiccans, Wicca is a [[Dualism|duotheistic]] religion worshipping a God and a Goddess, who are seen as complementary polarities, and "embodiments of a life-force manifest in nature."<ref name="NatureRelToday">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=rLYCOOUlsBcC&pg=PA6&sig=RyQgiPle57NcIUAQCY0CAoEIsAM#PPA6,M1 |title=Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World |first=Joanne |last=Pearson |coauthors=Roberts, Richard H; Samuel, Geoffrey |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |pages=p. 6 |month=December |year=1998 |isbn=0-748-61057-X |oclc=39533917}}</ref> They are sometimes symbolised as the Sun and Moon, and from her lunar associations the Goddess becomes a [[Triple Goddess]] with aspects of "Maiden", "Mother" and "Crone". Some Wiccans see the Goddess as pre-eminent, since she contains and conceives all; the God is the spark of life and inspiration within her, simultaneously her lover and her child. This is reflected in the traditional structure of the coven.<ref name="WitchesBible">{{cite book |title=A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches Handbook |first=Janet |last=Farrar |authorlink=Janet Farrar |coauthors=and [[Stewart Farrar]] |publisher=Phoenix Publishing |location=London |pages=pp. 181-182 |year=1981 |isbn=0919345921 |oclc=62866821}}</ref> In some traditions, notably feminist [[Dianic Wicca]], the Goddess is seen as complete unto herself, and the God is not worshipped at all. Wicca is essentially an [[Immanence|immanent]] religion, and for some Wiccans, this idea also involves elements of [[animism]]. A key belief in Wicca is that the goddesses and gods are able to manifest in personal form, most importantly through the bodies of Priestesses and Priests via the ritual of [[Drawing down the Moon (ritual)|Drawing down the Moon]] (or Drawing down the Sun).

According to Gardner, the gods of Wicca are ancient gods of the British Isles: a [[Horned God]] and a [[Great Mother]] goddess.<ref name="MeaningWitchcraft1">{{cite book |title=The Meaning of Witchcraft |last=Gardner |first=Gerald B |authorlink=Gerald Gardner |publisher=Copple House Books |location=Lakemont, GA |pages=pp. 260-261 |year=1988 |origyear=1959}}</ref> Gardner also states that a being higher than any of these tribal gods is recognised by the witches as [[Cosmological argument|Prime Mover]], but remains unknowable.<ref name="MeaningWitchcraft2">{{cite book |title=The Meaning of Witchcraft |last=Gardner |first=Gerald B |authorlink=Gerald Gardner |publisher=Copple House Books |location=Lakemont, GA |pages=pp. 26-27 |year=1988 |origyear=1959}}</ref> [[Patricia Crowther (Wiccan)|Patricia Crowther]] has called this supreme godhead ''Dryghten''.<ref name="WitchBlood">{{cite book |title=Witch Blood! The Diary of a Witch High Priestess! |first=Patricia |last=Crowther |authorlink=Patricia Crowther (Wiccan) |publisher=House of Collectibles |location=New York City |year=1974 |isbn=0876371616 |oclc=1009193}}</ref> 

Some Wiccans have a [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] belief in the Goddess and God as One.  Many have a [[Dualism#Ditheism/Bitheism|duotheistic]] conception of deity as a Goddess (of Moon, Earth and sea) and a God (of forest, hunting and the animal realm). This concept is often extended into a kind of [[polytheism]] by the belief that the gods and goddesses of all cultures are aspects of this pair (or of the Goddess alone). Others hold the various gods and goddesses to be separate and distinct.  Still others do not believe in the gods as real personalities, but see them as [[archetype]]s or [[thoughtform]]s.<ref name="DrawingDownMoon2">{{cite book |last=Adler |first=Margot |authorlink=Margot Adler |title=Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today |pages=pp. 25, 34-35 |publisher=Beacon Press |location=Boston |year=1979 |isbn=0-8070-3237-9 |oclc=6918454}}</ref> [[Janet Farrar]] and [[Gavin Bone]] have observed that Wicca is becoming more polytheistic as it matures, and embracing a more traditional pagan world-view.<ref name="ProgressiveWitchcraft">{{cite book |title=Progressive Witchcraft: Spirituality, Mysteries, and Training in Modern Wicca |first=Janet |last=Farrar |authorlink=Janet Farrar |coauthors=and [[Gavin Bone]] |publisher=New Age Books |location=Franklin Lakes, NJ |month=January |year=2004 |isbn=1564147193 |oclc=53223741}}</ref>

Beliefs in the afterlife vary among Wiccans, though some support reincarnation.  Reincarnation is a traditional Wiccan teaching - [[Raymond Buckland]] holds that a soul always reincarnates into the same species,<ref name="CompleteBookByRayBucks" /> though this belief is not universal.

===Morality===
{{main|Wiccan morality|Homosexuality and Wicca}}
Wiccan morality is largely based on the [[Wiccan Rede]]: ''An it harm none, do what ye will'', which is usually interpreted as a declaration of the freedom to act, along with the necessity of taking responsibility for what follows from one's actions and minimising harm to oneself and others.<ref name="ExegesisRede">{{cite journal |url=http://www.draknet.com/proteus/rede.htm |title=Exegesis on the ''Rede'' |journal=[[Harvest (Neopagan magazine)|Harvest]] |first=Judy |last=Harrow |volume=5 |issue=3 |month=[[Oimelc]] |year=1985 |accessdate=2007-02-26}}</ref> Another common element of Wiccan morality is the [[Rule of Three (Wiccan)|Law of Threefold Return]] which holds that whatever benevolent or malevolent actions a person performs will return to that person with triple force.<ref name="Lembke3fold">Lembke, Karl (2002) [http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usca&c=words&id=3801 ''The Threefold Law''].</ref>

Many Wiccans also seek to cultivate a set of eight virtues mentioned in [[Doreen Valiente]]'s ''[[Charge of the Goddess]]'',<ref name="EightSabbats">{{cite book |title=Eight Sabbats for Witches |first=Janet |last=Farrar |authorlink=Janet Farrar |coauthors=and [[Stewart Farrar]] |publisher=Robert Hale Publishing |location=London |month=May |year=1992 |origyear=1981 |isbn=0709047789 |oclc=26673966}}</ref> these being mirth, reverence, honour, humility, strength, beauty, power and compassion. In Valiente's poem, they are ordered in pairs of complementary opposites, reflecting a [[dualism]] that is common throughout Wiccan philosophy. Some lineaged Wiccans also observe a set of 161 [[Wiccan Laws]], commonly called the ''Craft Laws'' or ''Ardanes''. Valiente, one of Gardner's original high priestesses, argued that these rules were most likely invented by Gardner himself in mock-archaic language as the by-product of inner conflict within his Bricket Wood coven.<ref name="RebirthofWitchcraft">{{cite book |title=The Rebirth of Witchcraft |first=Doreen |last=Valiente |authorlink=Doreen Valiente |publisher=Robert Hale Publishing |location=London |year=1989 |pages=pp. 70-71 |isbn=0709037155 |oclc=59694320}}</ref><ref name="TriumphoftheMoon">{{cite book |title=The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft |first=Ronald |last=Hutton |authorlink=Ronald Hutton |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York City |date=[[2005-05-24]] |origyear=1999 |isbn=0198207441 |oclc=41452625}}</ref>

Although Gardner initially demonstrated an aversion to [[homosexuality]], claiming that it brought down "the curse of the goddess",<ref name="WitchcraftToday2">{{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Gerald B |authorlink=Gerald Gardner |title=Witchcraft Today |publisher=Rider and Company |location=London |year=1954 |pages=pp. 69, 75 |oclc=1059746}}</ref> it is now accepted in many traditions of Wicca.

[[Image:Paganavebury.jpg|thumb|175px|A handfasting ceremony at [[Avebury]] in [[England]], which occurred during [[Beltane]] of 2005.]]

===Ritual practices===
When practising magic and casting spells, as well as when celebrating various festivals, Wiccans use a variety of rituals. In typical rites, the coven or solitary assembles inside a ritually cast and purified [[Magic circle (Wicca)|magic circle]]. Casting the circle may involve the [[invocation]] of the "Guardians" of the cardinal points: East ([[Air (classical element)|Air]]), South ([[Fire (classical element)|Fire]]), West ([[Water (classical element)|Water]]) and North ([[Earth (classical element)|Earth]]). This use of the [[classical element]]s is a key feature of the Wiccan world-view. Every manifest force or form is seen to express one or more of the four elements. Some add a fifth or quintessential element called Spirit (also called [[Aether (classical element)|aether]] or [[akasha]]). The five points of the frequently worn [[pentagram]] symbolise, among other things, the four elements with spirit presiding at the top.<ref name="ABCwitchcraft">{{cite book |title=An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present |first=Doreen |last=Valiente |authorlink=Doreen Valiente |publisher=Phoenix Publishing |Custer, WA |month=July |year=1988 |origyear=1973 |pages=p. 264 |isbn=0-919345-77-8 |oclc=18547421}}</ref> Once the circle is cast, a seasonal ritual may be performed, prayers to the God and Goddess are said, and spells are sometimes worked.

[[Image:Athame and Boline.JPG|thumb|75px|left|An [[athame]] (black handle) and [[boline]].]]Many Wiccans use a special set of [[Magical tools in Wicca|magical tools]] in their rituals. These can include a [[broom]] (besom), [[cauldron]], [[chalice (cup)|chalice]], [[wand]], [[Book of Shadows]], [[altar cloth]], [[athame]], [[boline]], [[candle]]s, [[crystal]]s, [[pentacle]] and/or [[incense]].  An altar is usually present in the circle, on which ritual tools are placed and representations of the [[God]]/[[Goddess]] may be displayed.<ref>Crowley, Vivianne. ''Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Age'' (1989) London: The Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-737-6</ref>. Before entering the circle, some traditions fast for the day, and/or ritually bathe.  After a ritual has finished, the God, Goddess and Guardians are thanked and the circle is closed.

A sensationalised aspect of Wicca, particularly in Gardnerian Wicca, is the traditional practice of working in the nude, also known as ''[[Skyclad (Neopaganism)|skyclad]]''. This practice seemingly derives from a line in ''[[Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches#Influence on Wicca and Neopaganism|Aradia]]'', [[Charles Leland]]'s supposed record of Italian witchcraft. Skyclad working is mostly the province of Initiatory Wiccans, who are outnumbered by the less strictly observant Eclectics. When they work clothed, Wiccans may wear robes with cords tied around the waist, "Renaissance-faire"-type clothing or normal street clothes.

===Special occasions===
Wiccans hold a wide range of occasions with religious significance. Each full moon, and in some cases a new moon, is marked with a ritual called an [[Esbat]]. Wiccans also follow the ''[[Wheel of the Year]]'' and celebrate its eight festivals known as Sabbats.<ref>[[Janet Farrar|Farrar, Janet]] and [[Stewart Farrar|Farrar, Stewart]]. ''Eight Sabbats for Witches'' (1981) (published as Part 1 of ''A Witches' Bible'', 1996) Custer, Washington, USA: Phoenix Publishing Inc. ISBN 0-919345-92-1</ref> Four of these, the [[cross-quarter day]]s, are greater festivals, coinciding with old [[Celts|Celtic]] fire festivals. These are [[Samhain]], [[Beltane]] or May Eve, [[Imbolc]], and [[Lammas]] or [[Lughnasadh#Wicca|Lughnasadh]]. The four lesser festivals are the [[midsummer|Summer]] and [[Winter solstice|Winter]] [[solstice]]s, and the Spring and Autumn [[Equinox]]es, which are referred to by some groups as [[Litha#Wicca|Litha]], [[Yule#Wicca|Yule]], [[Ostara]] and [[Mabon]], respectively. The names of these holidays are often taken from [[Germanic paganism|Germanic pagan]] and [[Celtic polytheism|Celtic polytheistic]] holidays. However, the festivals are not reconstructive in nature nor do they often resemble their historical counterparts, instead exhibiting a form of [[universalism]]. Ritual observations may display cultural influence from the holidays from which they take their name as well as influence from other unrelated cultures.<ref>Crowley, Vivianne. ''Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Age'' (1989) London: The Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-737-6 p.23</ref>

[[Handfasting]] is another celebration held by Wiccans, and is the commonly used term for their weddings. Some Wiccans observe the practice of a trial marriage for a year and a day, which some traditions hold should be contracted on Lammas (Lughnasadh), as this was the traditional time for trial, "[[Telltown]] marriages" among the Irish. Infants in Wiccan families may be involved in a ritual called a [[Wiccaning]], which is analogous to a [[Infant baptism|Christening]].  The purpose of this is to present the infant to the God and Goddess for protection.  Despite this, in accordance with the importance put on free will in Wicca, the child is not necessarily expected or required to follow a Pagan path should they not wish to do so when they get older.

===Book of Shadows===
In Wicca a private journal, history or core religious text known as a [[Book of Shadows]] is kept by practitioners, similar to a [[grimoire]].<ref>Crowley, Vivianne. ''Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Age'' (1989) London: The Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-737-6, pp 14-15</ref> In lineaged groups, such as [[Gardnerian Wicca]], the Book's contents are kept secret from anyone but the members of the lineage concerned (i.e., those initiating and initiated by a particular coven). However, several proposed versions of the Book have been published.<ref>[[Janet Farrar|Farrar, Janet]] and [[Stewart Farrar|Farrar, Stewart]]. ''A Witches' Bible'', (1996) Custer, Washington, USA: Phoenix Publishing Inc. ISBN 0-919345-92-1</ref><ref>[[Gerald Gardner|Gardner, Gerald]]. Witchcraft and the Book of Shadows'' (2004). Edited by Naylor, A.R. Thame, England: I-H-O Books.</ref> Sections of these published versions, such as the "[[Wiccan Rede]]" and the "[[Charge of the Goddess]]", as well as other published writings about Wicca, have been adopted by non-initiates, or eclectic Wiccans. For many eclectics, they create their own personal books, whose contents are often only known by themselves.

==Traditions==
{{see also|List of Neopagan movements#Wicca|l1=List of Wiccan organisations|Category:Wiccan traditions|Denominations in Wicca}}
A "tradition" in Wicca usually implies the transfer of a lineage by initiation. There are many such traditions<ref name="BeaufortIndex">{{cite web |url=http://beaufort.bravepages.com/ |title=Beaufort House Index of English Traditional Witchcraft |work=Beaufort House Association |date=[[1999-01-15]] |accessdate=2007-04-02}}</ref><ref name="DiffTypesCraft">{{cite web |url=http://www.hexarchive.com/wicca/witchcraft.htm |title=Different types of Witchcraft |work=Hex Archive |accessdate=2007-04-02}}</ref> and there are also many [[Solitary practitioners|solitary]] or Eclectic Wiccans who do not align themselves with any particular lineage, some working alone, some joining in covens. There are also other forms of witchcraft which do not claim origins in Wicca. Traditions within the [[United States of America|United States]] are well described in [[Margot Adler]]'s ''[[Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today|Drawing Down the Moon]]'', [[Starhawk]]'s ''[[The Spiral Dance]]'', and Chas S. Clifton's ''Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America''<ref>Clifton, Chas. S. ''Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America'', Lanham, MD: Rowman Altamira, 2006,  ISBN 07591020023</ref>.

The lack of consensus in establishing definitive categories in Wiccan communities has often resulted in confusion between Lineaged Wicca and the emergence of Eclectic traditions. This can be seen in the common description of many Eclectic traditions as traditional/initiatory/lineaged as well. In the United States, where the confusion usually arises, Wiccans in the various linages extending from Gardner may describe themselves as [[British Traditional Wicca]]ns.

===Covens and Solitary Wiccans===
Lineaged Wicca is organised into covens of initiated priests and priestesses. Covens are autonomous, and are generally headed by a High Priest and a High Priestess working in partnership, being a couple who have each been through their first, second and third degrees of initiation. Occasionally the leaders of a coven are only second-degree initiates, in which case they come under the rule of the parent coven. Initiation and training of new priesthood is most often performed within a coven environment, but this is not a necessity, and a few initiated Wiccans are unaffiliated with any coven.
<ref name="CompleteBookByRayBucks">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=fr0pse0LBK0C&printsec=frontcover |title=Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft |publisher=Llewellyn |location=[[Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]] |first=Raymond |last=Buckland |pages=pp. 17, 18, 53 |year=1986 |isbn=0-87542-050-8 |oclc=14167961}}</ref>

A commonly quoted Wiccan tradition holds that the ideal number of members for a coven is [[13 (number)|thirteen]], though this is not held as a hard-and-fast rule.<ref name="CompleteBookByRayBucks" /> Indeed, many U.S. covens are far smaller, though the membership may be augmented by unaffiliated Wiccans at "open" rituals. When covens grow beyond their ideal number of members, they often split (or "hive") into multiple covens, yet remain connected as a group. A grouping of multiple covens is known as a grove in many traditions.

Initiation into a coven is traditionally preceded by a waiting period of at least a year and a day. A course of study may be set during this period. In some covens a "dedication" ceremony may be performed during this period, some time before the initiation proper, allowing the person to attend certain rituals on a probationary basis. Some solitary Wiccans also choose to study for a year and a day before their self-dedication to the religion.

In contrast, Eclectic Wiccans are more often than not solitary practitioners. Some of these "solitaries" do, however, attend gatherings and other community events, but reserve their spiritual practices (Sabbats, Esbats, spell-casting, [[worship]], magical work, etc.) for when they are alone. Eclectic Wiccans now significantly outnumber lineaged Wiccans, and their beliefs and practices tend to be much more varied.<ref name="NWCFAQ">{{cite web |url=http://www.newwiccanchurch.net/articles/btwfaq.htm |title=British Traditional Wicca F.A.Q. |publisher=New Wiccan Church International |location=Sacramento, CA |accessdate=2007-04-02}}</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of Wicca}}
===Origins===
The history of Wicca is much debated. Gardner claimed that the religion was a survival of matriarchal [[Paganism|Pagan]] religions of pre-historic Europe, taught to him by members of the [[New Forest Coven]]; their rites were fragmentary, and he had substantially rewritten them. It has been posited by authors such as [[Aidan Kelly]] and [[Francis X. King]] that Gardner invented the rites in their entirety,<ref name="CraftingArtMagic">{{cite book |title=Crafting the Art of Magic, Book I: A History of Modern Witchcraft, 1939-1964 |first=Aidan |last=Kelly |authorlink=Aidan Kelly |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |location=St. Paul, MN |month=May |year=1991 |pages=pp. 41-42 |isbn=0875423701 |oclc=22891894}}</ref> incorporating elements from the thesis of [[Margaret Murray|Dr. Margaret Murray]], incantations from ''[[Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches|Aradia]]''<ref name="Aradia">{{cite book |title=Aradia, or, the Gospel of the Witches |first=Charles G |last=Leland |authorlink=Charles Godfrey Leland |publisher=Phoenix Publishing |location=Blaine, WA |year=1998 |origyear=1899 |isbn=0-919345-34-4 |oclc=44483420}}</ref> and practices of [[ceremonial magic]].<ref name="CraftingArtMagic-Review">Aidan Kelly's theories have been critiqued in detail: {{cite web |url=http://www.wildideas.net/temple/library/frew.html |title=Crafting the Art of Magic: A Critical Review |first=Donald Hudson |last=Frew |work=WildIdeas.net |year=1991 |accessdate=2007-06-05}}</ref> Philip Heselton concludes that while Gardner may have been mistaken about the ancient origins of the religion, his statements about it were largely made in good faith. Gardner's account is as follows: After retiring from adventuring around the globe, Gardner encountered the [[New Forest coven]]. Subsequently fearing that the Craft would die out,<ref name="WitchcraftToday3">{{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Gerald B |authorlink=Gerald Gardner |title=Witchcraft Today |publisher=Rider and Company |location=London |year=1954 |pages=pp. 18-19 |oclc=1059746}}</ref> he worked on his book ''[[Witchcraft Today]]'', releasing it in 1954, followed by ''[[The Meaning of Witchcraft]]'' in 1959. These books formed the basis for the growth of Wicca from the 1960s onwards. Many of Gardner's rites and precepts can be shown to have come from the writings of earlier occultists and other extant sources, and the remaining original material is uncohesive and mostly takes the form of substitutions or expansions within unoriginal material. Roger Dearnaley describes it as a patchwork.<ref name="AnnotatedChrono">{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprian.org/Articles/gardchron.htm |title=An Annotated Chronology and Bibliography of the Early Gardnerian Craft |first=Roger |last=Dearnaley |work=Cyprian.org |year=2000 |accessdate=2005-12-09 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060424045404/http://www.cyprian.org/Articles/gardchron.htm |archivedate=2006-04-24}}</ref>

Some, such as [[Isaac Bonewits]], have argued that Valiente and Heselton's evidence points to an early 20th century revival pre-dating Gardner, rather than an intact old Pagan religion. This argument points to some of Gardner's historical claims which agree with the scholarship of that period but contradict later scholarship. Bonewits writes, "Somewhere between 1920 and 1925 in England some folklorists appear to have gotten together with some Golden Dawn Rosicrucians and a few supposed Fam-Trads to produce the first modern covens in England; grabbing eclectically from any source they could find in order to try and reconstruct the shards of their Pagan past."<ref name="VeryBriefHistory">{{cite web |url=http://www.spiritualitea.com/articles/briefhistory.shtml |title=A Very Brief History of Witchcraft 1.0 |work=Spiritualitea.com |first=Isaac |last=Bonewits |authorlink=Isaac Bonewits |year=1971 |accessdate=2007-06-05}}</ref> The idea of a supreme [[Mother Goddess]] was common in Victorian and [[Edwardian period|Edwardian]] literature: the concept of a [[Horned God]] — especially related to the gods [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]] or Faunus — was less common, but still significant.<ref name="TriumphoftheMoon2">{{cite book |title=The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft |first=Ronald |last=Hutton |authorlink=Ronald Hutton |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York City |date=[[2005-05-24]] |origyear=1999 |pages=pp. 33-51 |isbn=0198207441 |oclc=41452625}}</ref> Both of these ideas were widely accepted in academic literature and the popular press at the time.<ref name="TriumphoftheMoon3">{{cite book |title=The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft |first=Ronald |last=Hutton |authorlink=Ronald Hutton |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York City |date=[[2005-05-24]] |origyear=1999 |pages=pp. 151-170 |isbn=0198207441 |oclc=41452625}}</ref>

===Later developments===
Gardnerian Wicca was an initiatory [[mystery religion]], admission to which was limited to those who were initiated into a pre-existing coven. Wicca was introduced to North America by [[Raymond Buckland]], an expatriate Briton who visited Gardner's Isle of Man coven to gain initiation. Interest in the USA spread quickly, and while many were initiated, many more non-initiates compiled their own rituals based on published sources or their own fancy.<ref name="NewPagans">{{cite book |title=The New Pagans |first=Hans |last=Holzer |authorlink=Hans Holzer |publisher=Doubleday |location=Garden City, NY |year=1972 |oclc=281240}}</ref>

Another significant development was the creation by feminists in the late sixties and seventies of an eclectic movement known as [[Dianic Wicca]], or feminist Dianic Witchcraft. Dianic Wicca has no connection of lineage to traditional Wicca, and creatively interprets published materials on Wicca as a basis for their ritual structure. This specifically feminist, Goddess-oriented faith had no interest in the Horned God, and discarded Gardnerian-style hierarchy and lineage as irrelevant. Rituals were created for self-initiation to allow people to identify with and join the religion without first contacting an existing coven. This contrasts with the Gardnerian belief that only a witch of opposite gender can initiate another witch.

In the United Kingdom, initiates of Gardner had begun to perform their own initiations, and a number of lines of Gardnerian descent began to arise. From one of these (although it was originally claimed to derive from a traditional, non-Gardnerian source) came the line known as [[Alexandrian Wicca]]. Increasing popularity on both sides of the Atlantic, and in other countries, along with the increasing availability of published material, meant that many people started to practice a form of Wicca without being part of a coven or having participated in an initiation. In response to this, traditionally initiated Wiccans in North America began to describe their version as [[British Traditional Wicca]].

===Demographics===
Isaac Bonewits points out some of the practical problems in establishing the numbers of any neopagan group.<ref>Bonewits, I (2005)[http://www.neopagan.net/HowManyPagans.html How Many "Pagans" Are There?</ref> Nevertheless some estimates have been attempted. The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey estimated that at least 134,000 adults identified themselves as Wiccans in the [[United States of America|United States]], compared to 8,000 in 1990.<ref name="ARIS">{{cite web |url=http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm |title=American Religious Identification Survey |publisher=City University of New York |location=New York City |accessdate=2007-06-05}}</ref> In the UK, census figures do not allow an accurate breakdown of traditions within the Pagan heading, as a campaign by the [[Pagan Federation]] before the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 Census]] encouraged Wiccans, Heathens, Druids and others all to use the same write-in term 'Pagan' in order to maximise the numbers reported. For the first time, respondents were able to write in an affiliation not covered by the checklist of common religions, and a total of 42,262 people from England, Scotland and Wales declared themselves to be Pagans by this method. These figures were not immediately analysed by the [[Office of National Statistics]], but were released after an application by the [[Pagan Federation]] of Scotland.<ref
 name="PFScotland">[http://www.scottishpf.org/census.html Pagans and the Scottish Census of 2001] Accessed 18 October 2007</ref>
[[Adherents.com]], an independent website which specialises in collecting estimates of world religions, cites over 30 sources with estimates of numbers of Wiccans (principally from the USA and UK.).<ref>Adherents.com [http://www.adherents.com/Na/i_w.html Statistical summary pages: W] Accessed [[12 December]] [[2007]]</ref> Their median estimate for Wiccan numbers is 800,000 worldwide.

==Etymology==
{{see also|Witch (etymology)}}
The spelling ''Wica''<!--This is not a misspelling, but the term used by Gardner.--> first appears in the writings of Gerald Gardner (''Witchcraft Today'', 1954, and ''The Meaning of Witchcraft'', 1959). He used the word as a [[mass noun]] referring to the adherents of his tradition of witchcraft ('the Wica'), rather than the religion itself. He referred to the religion as ''witchcraft'', never ''Wica''. The word seems to be based on the [[Old English]] word ''[[:wikt:wicca|wicca]]'' {{IPA3|ˈwɪʧɑː}}; similarly, ''wicca'' and its feminine form ''wice'' are the predecessors of the [[modern English]] ''[[wikt:witch|witch]]''. 

Gardner himself claimed he learned the term from existing members of the group who initiated him into witchcraft in 1939: "I realised I had stumbled on something interesting; but I was half-initiated before the word ''Wica'' which they used hit me like a thunderbolt, and I knew where I was, and that the Old Religion still existed."<ref name="MeaningWitchcraft3">{{cite book |title=The Meaning of Witchcraft |last=Gardner |first=Gerald B |authorlink=Gerald Gardner |publisher=Aquarian Press |location=London |pages=p. 11 |year=1959 |oclc=2378484}}</ref><ref name="GardnerWitch">{{cite book |title=Gerald Gardner: Witch |first=Jack L |last=Bracelin |publisher=Octagon Press |location=London |year=1960 |pages=p. 151 |oclc=2792799}} 1999 reprint, Thame, Oxfordshire: [[Mandrake Press|I-H-O Books]].</ref>

The spelling ''Wicca'' was not used by Gardner and the term ''Wiccan'' (both as an adjective and a noun) was not used until much later, but it is now the prevalent term to refer to followers of Wicca.<ref name="wiccandef">{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wiccan |title=Definition of "Wiccan" |work=Dictionary.com |accessdate=2007-05-13}}</ref>

==Acceptance of Wiccans==
{{main|Religious discrimination against Neopagans#Wicca}}

In the United States, a number of legal decisions have improved and validated the status of Wiccans in that country, especially ''[[Dettmer v. Landon]]'' in 1985. However, there is still hostility from some politicians and Christian organisations.<ref name="SatanicArmy">{{cite press release |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20020617210538/http://www.freecongress.org/press/releases/990609.htm |title='Satanic' Army Unworthy of Representing United States |publisher=Free Congress Foundation |date=[[1999-06-09]] |accessdate=2007-07-11}}</ref><ref name="RISwiccan">{{cite journal |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070524174633/http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol2No2/wicca.htm |title=Something Wiccan This Way Comes |journal=Religion in the News |first=Mark |last=Silk |month=Summer |year=1999 |volume=2 |issue=2 |issn=1525-7207}}</ref><ref name="BarrProject">{{cite news |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20000229034145/http://www.lawstreet.com/journal/art991101wiccan.html |title=Barr's Witch Project: Lawmaker Wants to Ban Witches from the Military |work=LawStreet Journal |date=[[1999-11-01]] |accessdate=2007-07-11}}</ref>

According to the traditional history of Wicca as given by Gerald Gardner, Wicca is a survival of the European witch-cult that was persecuted during the [[witch trial]]s (sometimes called the ''[[Witch-hunt#The Burning Times|Burning Times]]''). Since then theories of an organised pan-European witch-cult have been largely discredited, but it is still common for Wiccans to feel solidarity with the victims of the witch trials.<ref name="WitchcraftInside">{{cite book |title=Witchcraft From The Inside: Origins of the Fastest Growing Religious Movement in America |first=Raymond |last=Buckland |authorlink=Raymond Buckland |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |location=St. Paul, MN |date=[[2002-09-01]] |origyear=1971 |edition=3rd edition |isbn=1-56718-101-5 |oclc=31781774}}</ref>

There are occasional accusations that Wicca is a form of [[black magic]] and [[Satanism]], especially in connection with [[Satanic Ritual Abuse]] hysteria, although Wiccans deny any association with either of these.<ref>Prominent claimants of Wiccan involvement in a Satanic conspiracy include [[Jack Chick]] (see {{cite web |url=http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=cabc&c=whs&id=4638 |title=Jack Chick |work=WitchVox.com |first=Kerr |last=Cuhulain |date=[[2002-08-26]] |accessdate=2006-11-01}}) and, in the late 1980s, Lieutenant Larry Jones of the [[Boise, Idaho|Boise]] Police Department (see {{cite web |url=http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/file18.htm |title=The Vile "File 18" |work=HolySmoke.org |accessdate=2006-11-01}}). A hoax document quoted by Jones and others is "The Seven W.I.C.C.A. Letters" (strongly resembling the "[[Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion]]" hoax), which details the supposed Satanic conspiracy (see {{cite web |url=http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/wicca-letters-hoax.htm |title=The Seven W.I.C.C.A. Letters |work=HolySmoke.org |accessdate=2006-11-01}}).</ref> Because of the popular negative connotations associated with witchcraft, many Wiccans continue the traditional practice of secrecy, concealing their faith for fear of persecution. Revealing oneself as Wiccan to family, friends or colleagues is often termed "coming out of the broom-closet".


==References and footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==

* Nikki Bado-Fralick, ''Coming to the Edge of the Circle: A Wiccan Initiation Ritual'' (Oxford University Press, 2005).
* Raymond Buckland, ''The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-paganism'' (Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 2002).
* Helen A. Berger, ''A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States'' (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1999).
* Jon P. Bloch, ''New Spirituality, Self, and Belonging: How New Agers and Neo-Pagans Talk About Themselves'' (Westport: Praeger, 1998).
* Anne Carson, ''Goddesses and Wise Women: The Literature of Feminist Spirituality 1980-1992 An Annotated Bibliography'' (Freedom, California: Crossing Press, 1992).
* Chas S. Clifton and Graham Harvey, ''The Paganism Reader'', New York and London: Routledge, 2004.
* James R. Lewis, ''Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and Neopagan Traditions'' (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1999).
* Graham Harvey, ''Contemporary Paganism: Listening People, Speaking Earth'' (New York: New York University Press, 1997).
* Lynne Hume, ''Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia'' (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1997).
* James R. Lewis, ed., ''Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft'' (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996).
* T. M. Luhrmann, ''Persuasions of the Witch's Craft: Ritual Magic in Contemporary England'' (London: Picador, 1994).
* Sabina Magliocco, ''Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004)
* J. Gordon Melton and Isotta Poggi, ''Magic, Witchcraft, and Paganism in America: A Bibliography'', 2nd ed., (New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1992).
* Sarah M. Pike, ''Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves: Contemporary Pagans and the Search for Community'' (Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2001).
* Shelly Rabinovitch and James R. Lewis, eds., ''The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism'' (New York: Kensington Publishing, 2002).
* Kathryn Rountree, ''Embracing the witch and the goddess: Feminist Ritual-Makers in New Zealand'' (London and New York: Routledge, 2004).
* Jone Salomonsen, ''Enchanted Feminism: The Reclaiming Witches of San Francisco'' (London and New York: Routledge, 2002).
* Allen Scarboro, Nancy Campbell, Shirely Stave, ''Living Witchcraft: A Contemporary American Coven '' (Praeger Publishers, 1994). [http://dx.linkstorms.com/10.1336/0275946886 DOI 10.1336/275946886].

==External links==
{{wiktionary|wicca}}
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* [http://www.witchvox.org The Witches' Voice]: Neopagan news and networking site.
* [http://www.cog.org Covenant of the Goddess (USA)]
* The [[Pagan Federation]] - [http://www.paganfed.org UK], [http://www.pfpc.ca Canada] - Organisation whose stated mission is "To Promote and Defend the Pagan Traditions".
* [http://www.equinoxpub.com/journals/main.asp?jref=51 ''The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies''] - Official site for this scholarly journal; includes online articles from 2004 onward.