by Terri Kleinberg

Created on: April 27, 2009

"Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill,

And harming none, do as ye will."
This is the Wiccan Rede, the guiding principle for practicing Wiccans. The etymology of the word Wicca is unclear. It may have come from an old English word witta or wice which are terms for wise one or witch. Another source credits it to a word which means 'to bend' , meaning the early practitioners were flexible in order to survive the Burning Times, when the Church tried to destroy them. It is literally the Craft of the Wise or the Old Religion. A nature based religion patterned after the old polytheistic religions of ancient man. The Goddesses are worshiped as the creators of life, and the source of fertility.

Wicca is not synonymous with Witchcraft, which is a system of Magick. The spelling of this word is deliberate, magic is sleight of hand, tricks with cards, coins, and a rabbit in a hat. Witchcraft, which is as old as mankind, is defined as the use of natural energy and directed personal will to bring about a change in one's reality. The fact is most Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccan. Anyone can practice witchcraft or Magick, it isn't a religious thing. However, the early Christians were taught to fear it, even though they may have practiced in secret.

The shift of Rome to Christianity was more political than spiritual and when the Holy Roman Empire conquered much of Europe the Church was the actual government of Rome. The warriors of the Celts were feared and respected on the battlefield, but the sheer numbers of the Roman legions overpowered them. Julius Caesar claimed the teachings of the Druids, particularly the belief in reincarnation, made the woad painted fighters fearless. The Druids, who were considered the spiritual leaders of the Celts, (Celt is pronounced with a hard C) were virtually wiped out and the survivors went underground. The Old Religion was practiced in secret, being handed down in stories from generation to generation.

The Gods of the Old Religion became the devil of the new. Pictures showing the devil or Lucifer as part man and part animal, with horns and cloven hooves began to show up during the Crusades. This is when many of the Christian soldiers and knights were exposed to the old gods of Greece for the first time. It isn't a coincidence that they look like Pan. He was the God of the fields and associated with the Springtime, a time of new birth. His likeness was connected to sex, and he was often shown with an erection in old paintings.

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