Wicca

==Practices==
[[File:Wiccan altar (1).PNG|thumb|right|A Wiccan altar erected at [[Beltane]].]]

The Wiccan high priestess and journalist [[Margot Adler]] stated that Wiccan rituals were not "dry, formalised, repetitive experiences", but performed with the intent of inducing a [[religious experience]] in the participants, thereby altering their consciousness.{{sfn|Adler|2005|p=164}} She noted that many Wiccans remain skeptical about the existence of the supernatural but remain involved in Wicca because of its ritual experiences: she quoted one as saying that "I love myth, dream, visionary art. The Craft is a place where all of these things fit together – beauty, pageantry, music, dance, song, dream".{{sfn|Adler|2005|p=172}} The Wiccan practitioner and historian [[Aidan Kelly]] claimed that the practices and experiences within Wicca were more important than the beliefs, stating: "it's a religion of ritual rather than theology. The ritual is first; the myth is second".{{sfn|Adler|2005|p=173}} Similarly, Adler stated that Wicca permits "total skepticism about even its own methods, myths and rituals".{{sfn|Adler|2005|p=174}}

The anthropologist Susan Greenwood characterised Wiccan rituals as "a form of resistance to mainstream culture".{{sfn|Greenwood|1998|p=106}} She saw these rituals as "a healing space away from the ills of the wider culture", one in which female practitioners can "redefine and empower themselves".{{sfn|Greenwood|1998|pp=101–102}}

Wiccan rituals usually take place in private.{{sfn|Hanegraaff|2002|p=305}} The Reclaiming tradition has utilised its rituals for political purposes.{{sfn|Hanegraaff|2002|p=306}}

Practice in Wicca (including, as an example, matters such as the varying attributions of the elements to different directions discussed in the preceding section) varies widely due to the Craft's emphasis on individual expression in one's spiritual/magical path.<ref>{{cite conference |first=Matt |last=McDermott |date=2023 |url=https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1104&context=southernanthro_proceedings |title=Casting Your Own Spell: The Role of Individualism in Wiccan Beliefs |conference=Proceedings of the annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society |volume=47 |number=1}}</ref>

===Ritual practices===
[[File:Athame.JPG|thumb|[[Athame]], ritual knife or dagger used in Wiccan practices]]
{{Main|Magical tools in Wicca}}
Many rituals within Wicca are used when celebrating the [[Sabbat]]s, worshipping the deities, and working magic. Often these take place on a [[full moon]], or in some cases a new moon, which is known as an [[Esbat]]. In typical rites, the coven or solitary assembles inside a ritually cast and purified [[magic circle]]. Casting the circle may involve the [[invocation]] of the "Guardians" of the cardinal points, alongside their respective classical elements; air, fire, water, and earth. Once the circle is cast, a seasonal ritual may be performed, prayers to the God and Goddess are said, and spells are sometimes worked; these may include various forms of 'raising energy', including raising a [[cone of power]] to send healing or other magic to persons outside of the sacred space.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

In constructing his ritual system, Gardner drew upon older forms of ceremonial magic, in particular, those found in the writings of Aleister Crowley.{{sfn|Pearson|2007|p=5}}

The classical ritual scheme in [[British Traditional Wicca]] traditions is:{{sfn|Farrar|Farrar|1981}}
# Purification of the sacred space and the participants
# Casting the circle
# Calling of the elemental quarters
# Cone of power
# Drawing down the Gods
# Spellcasting
# Great Rite
# Wine, cakes, chanting, dancing, games
# Farewell to the quarters and participants

These rites often include a special set of [[Magical tools in Wicca|magical tools]]. These usually include a knife called an [[athame]], a [[wand]], a [[pentacle]] and a [[chalice]], but other tools include a broomstick known as a [[Besom broom#In Wicca|besom]], a [[cauldron]], [[candle]]s, [[incense]] and a curved blade known as a [[boline]]. An altar is usually present in the circle, on which ritual tools are placed and representations of the [[God]] and the [[Goddess]] may be displayed.{{sfn|Crowley|1989}} 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, the directions are dismissed and the circle is closed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bado-Fralick|first=Nikki|date=1998|title=A Turning on the Wheel of Life: Wiccan Rites of Death|url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/2491|journal=Folklore Forum|volume=29|pages=22|via=IUScholarWorks}}</ref>

A central aspect of Wicca (particularly in Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca), often sensationalised by the media is the traditional practice of working in the nude, also known as ''[[Skyclad (Neopaganism)|skyclad]]''. Although no longer widely used, this practice seemingly derives from a line in ''[[Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches#Influence on Wicca and Stregheria|Aradia]]'', [[Charles Godfrey Leland|Charles Leland]]'s supposed record of Italian witchcraft.<ref>{{cite book |title=Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches |publisher=David Nutt |first=Charles |last=Leland |author-link=Charles Leland |page=7 |year=1899|title-link=Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches }}</ref> Many Wiccans believe that performing rituals skyclad allows "power" to flow from the body in a manner unimpeded by clothes.{{sfn|Pearson|2002b|p=157}} Some also note that it removes signs of social rank and differentiation and thus encourages unity among the practitioners.{{sfn|Pearson|2002b|p=157}} Some Wiccans seek legitimacy for the practice by stating that various ancient societies performed their rituals while nude.{{sfn|Pearson|2002b|p=157}}

One of Wicca's best known liturgical texts is "The [[Charge of the Goddess]]".<ref name="Pearson 2005 9730"/> The most commonly used version used by Wiccans today is the rescension of [[Doreen Valiente]],<ref name="Pearson 2005 9730"/> who developed it from Gardner's version. Gardner's wording of the original "Charge" added extracts from Aleister Crowley's work, including ''[[The Book of the Law]]'', (especially from Ch 1, spoken by Nuit, the Star Goddess) thus linking modern Wicca irrevocably to the principles of [[Thelema]]. Valiente rewrote Gardner's version in verse, keeping the material derived from ''Aradia'', but removing the material from Crowley.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Guiley |first1=Rosemary Ellen |author-link1=Rosemary Ellen Guiley |title=The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft |edition=2nd |year=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |location=New York |isbn=0-8160-3849-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwi00guil/page/52 52] |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwi00guil/page/52 }}</ref>

===Sex magic===

Other traditions wear robes with cords tied around the waist or even normal street clothes. In certain traditions, ritualised [[sex magic]] is performed in the form of the [[Great Rite]], whereby a High Priest and High Priestess invoke the God and Goddess to possess them before performing [[sexual intercourse]] to raise magical energy for use in spellwork. In nearly all cases it is instead performed "in token", thereby merely symbolically, using the athame to symbolise the penis and the chalice to symbolise the womb.{{sfn|Farrar|Farrar|1984|pp=156–174}}

[[Gerald Gardner]], the man many consider the father of Wicca, believed strongly in sex magic. Much of Gardner's witch practice centered around the power of sex and its liberation, and that one of the most important aspects of the neo-Pagan revival has been its ties, not just to sexual liberation, but also to [[feminism]] and women's liberation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Urban |first=Hugh B. |date=2006-10-04 |title=The Goddess and the Great Rite: Sex Magic and Feminism in the Neo-Pagan Revival |chapter=The Goddess and the Great Rite ''Sex'' Magic and Feminism in the Neo-Pagan Revival |pages=162–190 |chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/california-scholarship-online/book/28586/chapter/238856112 |language=en |doi=10.1525/california/9780520247765.003.0008|isbn=9780520247765 }}</ref>

For some Wiccans, the ritual space is a "space of resistance, in which the sexual morals of Christianity and patriarchy can be subverted", and for this reason they have adopted techniques from the [[BDSM]] subculture into their rituals.{{sfn|Pearson|2005a|p=36}}

Publicly, many Wiccan groups have tended to excise the role of sex magic from their image.{{sfn|Pearson|2005a|p=32}} This has served both to escape the tabloid [[sensationalism]] that has targeted the religion since the 1950s and the concerns surrounding the [[Satanic ritual abuse]] hysteria in the 1980s and 1990s.{{sfn|Pearson|2005a|p=32}}

Some Wiccan Traditions substitute a Communion style rite in honor of the God and Goddess rather than the symbolic Great Rite in their Esbat ritual.

===Wheel of the Year===
[[File:Wheel of the Year.JPG|upright|thumb|right|Painted Wheel of the Year at the [[Museum of Witchcraft]], [[Boscastle]], [[Cornwall]], displaying all eight of the Sabbats]]

{{Main|Wheel of the Year}}

Wiccans celebrate several seasonal festivals of the year, commonly known as [[Sabbats]]. Collectively, these occasions are termed the Wheel of the Year.{{sfn|Farrar|Farrar|1992}} Most Wiccans celebrate a set of eight of these Sabbats; however, other groups such as those associated with the [[Clan of Tubal Cain]] only follow four. In the rare case of the Ros an Bucca group from [[Cornwall]], only six are adhered to.<ref>{{cite book |title=Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways |publisher=Troy Books |first=Gemma |last=Gary |page=147 |year=2008 |oclc=935742668}}</ref> The four Sabbats that are common to all British derived groups are the [[cross-quarter day]]s, sometimes referred to as ''Greater Sabbats''. The names of these festivals are in some cases taken from the Old [[Ireland|Irish]] fire festivals and the Welsh God Mabon,<ref>{{cite book |chapter=The Celts |title=Mythology |publisher=Little Brown & Company |location=New York |first=Emrys |last=Evans |editor1-first=Richard |editor1-last=Cavendish |editor2-first=Trevor O. |editor2-last=Ling |page=170 |year=1992 |isbn=0-316-84763-1}}</ref> though in most traditional Wiccan covens the only commonality with the [[Celts|Celtic]] festival is the name. Gardner himself made use of the English names of these holidays, stating that "the four great Sabbats are [[Candlemas]] {{sic}}, [[May Eve]], [[Lammas]], and [[Halloween]]; the equinoxes and solstices are celebrated also".{{sfn|Gardner|2004|p=10}} In the Egyptologist [[Margaret Murray]]'s ''The Witch-Cult in Western Europe'' (1921) and ''The God of the Witches'' (1933), in which she dealt with what she believed had been a historical [[Witch-cult hypothesis|Witch-Cult]], she stated that the four main festivals had survived Christianisation and had been celebrated in the Pagan Witchcraft religion. Subsequently, when Wicca was first developing in the 1930s through to the 1960s, many of the early groups, such as [[Robert Cochrane (witch)|Robert Cochrane]]'s Clan of Tubal Cain and [[Gerald Gardner]]'s [[Bricket Wood coven]] adopted the commemoration of these four Sabbats as described by Murray.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}}

The other four festivals commemorated by many Wiccans are known as ''Lesser Sabbats''. They are the [[solstice]]s and the [[equinox]]es, and they were only adopted in 1958 by members of the Bricket Wood coven,{{sfn|Lamond|2004|pp=16-17}} before they were subsequently adopted by other followers of the Gardnerian tradition. They were eventually adopted by followers of other traditions like [[Alexandrian Wicca]] and the [[Dianic Wicca|Dianic]] tradition. The names of these holidays that are commonly used today are often taken from [[Germanic paganism|Germanic pagan]] holidays. However, the festivals are not reconstructive in nature nor do they often resemble their historical counterparts, instead, they exhibit a form of [[universalism]]. The rituals that are observed may display cultural influences from the holidays from which they take their names as well as influences from other unrelated cultures.{{sfn|Crowley|1989|p=23}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%; width: 100%"
|-
!Sabbat
!Northern Hemisphere
!Southern Hemisphere
!Origin of Name
!Associations
|-
|[[Samhain]]
|31 October to 1 November
|30 April to 1 May
|[[Celtic polytheism]]
|Death and the ancestors
|-
|[[Yule]]tide
|21 or 22 December
|21 June
|[[Germanic paganism]]
|[[Winter solstice]] and the rebirth of the [[Sun]]
|-
|[[Imbolc]], a.k.a. [[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple|Candlemas]]
|1 or 2 February
|1 August
|[[Celtic polytheism]]
|First signs of [[spring (season)|spring]]
|-
|[[Ēostre|Ostara]]
|21 or 22 March
|21 or 22 September
|[[Germanic paganism]]
|[[March equinox|Vernal equinox]] and the beginning of [[spring (season)|spring]]
|-
|[[Beltane]], a.k.a. [[May Eve]] or [[May Day]]
|30 April to 1 May
|31 October to 1 November
|[[Celtic polytheism]]
|The full flowering of [[spring (season)|spring]]; [[fairy|fairy folk]]{{sfn|Gallagher|2005|p=67}}
|-
|[[Midsummer|Litha]]
|21 or 22 June
|21 December
|[[Early Germanic calendar]]
|[[Summer solstice]]
|-
|[[Lughnasadh]], a.k.a. [[Lammas]]
|31 July or 1 August
|1 February
|[[Celtic polytheism]]
|First fruits
|-
|[[Mabon ap Modron|Mabon]], a.k.a. [[Modron]]{{sfn|Gallagher|2005|p=72}}
|21 or 22 September
|21 March
|No historical pagan equivalent.
|[[September equinox|Autumnal equinox]]; the harvest of grain
|}

===Rites of passage===
[[File:Falguiere Diana p1070131.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Bust of [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] wearing a moon crown]]
Various [[rites of passage]] can be found within Wicca. Perhaps the most significant of these is an [[initiation]] ritual, through which somebody joins the Craft and becomes a Wiccan. In [[British Traditional Wicca]]n (BTW) traditions, there is a line of initiatory descent that goes back to [[Gerald Gardner]], and from him is said to go back to the [[New Forest coven]]; however, the existence of this coven remains unproven.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simpson |first1=Jacqueline |year=2005 |title=Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America |journal=Folklore |volume=116}}</ref> Gardner himself claimed that there was a traditional length of "a year and a day" between when a person began studying the Craft and when they were initiated, although he frequently broke this rule with initiates.

In BTW, initiation only accepts someone into the first degree. To proceed to the second degree, an initiate has to go through another ceremony, in which they name and describe the uses of [[Magical tools in Wicca|the ritual tools and implements]]. It is also at this ceremony that they are given their [[craft name]]. By holding the rank of second degree, a BTW is considered capable of initiating others into the Craft, or founding their own semi-autonomous covens. The third degree is the highest in BTW, and it involves the participation of the [[Great Rite]], either actual or symbolically, and in some cases ritual [[flagellation]], which is a rite often dispensed with due to its sado-masochistic overtones. By holding this rank, an initiate is considered capable of forming covens that are entirely autonomous of their parent coven.{{sfn|Farrar|Farrar|1984|loc=Chapter II – Second Degree Initiation}}{{sfn|Farrar|Farrar|1984|loc=Chapter III – Third Degree Initiation}}

According to new-age religious scholar [[James R. Lewis (scholar)|James R. Lewis]], in his book ''Witchcraft today: an encyclopaedia of Wiccan and neopagan traditions'', a high priestess becomes a queen when she has successfully hived off her first new coven under a new third-degree high priestess (in the orthodox Gardnerian system). She then becomes eligible to wear the "moon crown". The sequence of high priestess and queens traced back to Gerald Gardner is known as a lineage, and every orthodox Gardnerian High Priestess has a set of "lineage papers" proving the authenticity of her status.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/witchcrafttodaye0000lewi |url-access=registration |title=Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and Neopagan Traditions |publisher=ABC-CLIO |first=James R. |last=Lewis |page=[https://archive.org/details/witchcrafttodaye0000lewi/page/238 238] |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-57607-134-2}}</ref>

[[File:Paganavebury.jpg|thumb|Handfasting ceremony at [[Avebury]] in [[England]], [[Beltane]] 2005]]

This three-tier degree system following initiation is largely unique to BTW, and traditions heavily based upon it. The [[Cochrane's Craft|Cochranian tradition]], which is not BTW, but based upon the teachings of [[Robert Cochrane (witch)|Robert Cochrane]], does not have the three degrees of initiation, merely having the stages of novice and initiate.

Some solitary Wiccans also perform self-initiation rituals, to dedicate themselves to becoming a Wiccan. The first of these to be published was in [[Paul Huson]]'s ''[[Mastering Witchcraft]]'' (1970), and unusually involved recitation of the [[Lord's Prayer]] backwards as a symbol of defiance against the historical [[Witch-hunt|Witch Hunt]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks and Covens |publisher=Putnum |location=New York |first=Paul |last=Huson |year=1970 |pages=22–23 |oclc=79263 |isbn=0-595-42006-0}}</ref> Subsequent, more overtly pagan self-initiation rituals have since been published in books designed for solitary Wiccans by authors like [[Doreen Valiente]], [[Scott Cunningham]] and [[Silver RavenWolf]].

[[Handfasting (Neopaganism)|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 the Sabbat of Lughnasadh, as this was the traditional time for trial, "[[Telltown]] marriages" among the Irish. A common marriage vow in Wicca is "for as long as love lasts" instead of the traditional Christian "till death do us part".{{sfn|Gallagher|2005|p=370}} The first known Wiccan wedding ceremony took part in 1960 amongst the [[Bricket Wood coven]], between [[Frederic Lamond (Wiccan)|Frederic Lamond]] and his first wife, Gillian.{{sfn|Hutton|1999}}

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. Parents are advised to "give {{interp|their}} children the gift of Wicca" in a manner suitable to their age. In accordance with the importance put on free will in Wicca, the child is not expected or required to adhere to Wicca or other forms of paganism should they not wish to do so when they reach adulthood.<ref name="AmberK1998">{{cite book |title=Coven Craft: Witchcraft for Three or More |publisher=Llewellyn |first=Amber |last=K. |page=280 |year=1998 |isbn=1-56718-018-3}}</ref>

===Book of Shadows===
{{Main|Book of Shadows}}
[[File: Wiccan 'Book of Shadows'.jpg|thumb|A 'Book of Shadows', sitting on a Wiccan altar, alongside plants and crystals.]]
In Wicca, there is no set sacred text such as the Christian [[Bible]], Jewish [[Tanakh]], or Islamic [[Quran]], although there are certain scriptures and texts that various traditions hold to be important and influence their beliefs and practices. Gerald Gardner used a book containing many different texts in his covens, known as the [[Book of Shadows]] (among other names), which he would frequently add to and adapt. In his Book of Shadows, there are texts taken from various sources, including [[Charles Godfrey Leland]]'s ''[[Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches]]'' (1899) and the works of 19th–20th century [[occultism|occultist]] [[Aleister Crowley]], whom Gardner knew personally. Also in the Book are examples of poetry largely composed by Gardner and his High Priestess [[Doreen Valiente]], the most notable of which is the ''[[Charge of the Goddess]]''.

{{Quote box|width=246px|align=left|quote=The Book of Shadows is not a Bible or Quran. It is a personal cookbook of spells that have worked for the owner. I am giving you mine to copy to get you started: as you gain experience discard those spells that don't work for you and substitute those that you have thought of yourselves.|source=[[Gerald Gardner]] to his followers{{sfn|Lamond|2004|p=14}}}}

Similar in use to the [[grimoire]]s of [[Magician (paranormal)|ceremonial magicians]],{{sfn|Crowley|1989|pp=14-15}} the Book contained instructions for how to perform rituals and spells, as well as religious poetry and chants like ''[[Eko Eko Azarak]]'' to use in those rituals. Gardner's original intention was that every copy of the book would be different because a student would copy from their initiators, but changing things which they felt to be personally ineffective, however amongst many Gardnerian Witches today, particularly in the [[United States]], all copies of the Book are kept identical to the version that the High Priestess [[Monique Wilson (witch)|Monique Wilson]] copied from Gardner, with nothing being altered. The Book of Shadows was originally meant to be kept a secret from non-initiates into BTW, but parts of the Book have been published by authors including [[Charles Cardell]], Lady Sheba, [[Janet Farrar]] and [[Stewart Farrar]].{{sfn|Farrar|Farrar|1981}}<ref name="witch-boy-2004">{{cite book |title=Witchcraft and the Book of Shadows |publisher=I-H-O Books |location=Thame |first=Gerald |last=Gardner |author-link=Gerald Gardner |editor=Naylor, A. R. |year=2004a |isbn=1-872189-52-0}}</ref>

===Symbolism===

The [[pentacle]] is a symbol commonly used by Wiccans.{{sfn|Pearson|1998|p=49}} Wiccans often understand the pentacle's five points as representing each of the five elements: earth, air, fire, water, and aether/spirit.{{sfn|Pearson|1998|p=49}} It is also regarded as a symbol of the human, with the five points representing the head, arms, and legs.{{sfn|Pearson|1998|p=49}}