by Maria Potar

Created on: December 13, 2010

Wicca is a modern religion that began mid-twentieth century.  Its roots derive from the old traditions of Pre-Christian Pagans.

Man recognized a Divine Power due to the forced reliance placed upon him for survival.  Death would come if there were no animals to hunt or if crops failed.  Nature became their dependent; they learned to become accustomed to the cycles and seasons, and had to be guided by planetary movements.  The calculations retrieved by this familiarity with nature allowed them to predict weather conditions, animal behavior and other methods allowing them to survive.

 Deities were female because of the lack of understanding of conception and that only women could have children.  This Deity was a womanly figure with large breasts, wide hips, which expressed fertility and her ability to create life.  This Goddess also represented the Earth because the first food gatherers and farmers were mainly women.  Other duties were left to the men, such as hunting and protection.  The discovery of the relationship between sex and pregnancies led to the realization that both sexes were needed to produce offspring.  As humans diversified so did the Deities.

 As centuries passed a new rise of modern witchcraft flourished and a need to educate as well as enlighten people of the old craft began to surface.

 Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft states, “Since the 1950’s, Witchcraft has been reconstructed as a Pagan mystery religion.  The father of this movement was Gerald B. Gardner, and English civil servant who said his interest in the occult led to his initiation in 1939 into a coven of witches in England."

 Gerald B. Gardner wrote the first positive book about Witchcraft, “Witchcraft Today”.  He was the first to call Witchcraft Wicca.

 Wiccan adherents consist of both sexes that include a broad age range and have a high rate of teenage girls.  This probably is due to the strong urge to become a non-conformist as well as to stray away from portraying a typical easily influenced follower so they can be part of the “in crowd”, as is popular among the adolescence and teenagers.  The allure of a religion derived from an ancient practice that is not as common or as readily accepted by their peers, creates an attraction they are willing to explore, and thus bringing them onto a journey of self-exploration and appreciation

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>