THE NEW WICCANS
By Marcia Montenegro.

Wicca is growing and changing in the UK (which very much influences Wicca in the U.S. since Wicca started in the UK). Gerald Gardner, (1884-1964), considered the founder of Wicca (though he had a lot of help and drew on other resources), claimed he was reviving ancient witchcraft and this idea has flourished and expanded over time.

==It [Wicca] seeks to engage the ‘old ways’ of pagan pre-Roman Britain, and its practices date back thousands of years.==From goo.gl/NfYvqv
H/T Mary Beth Sutter

Comments:

Hold your wands just a minute! This is not entirely true. Although there has always been pagan worship and magical arts, there is a lot of myth and inconsistent information about the so-called history of Wicca and witchcraft.

The term “witchcraft” itself is generic and usually refers to practicing certain forms of the “black arts” (the occult) such as casting spells, making magical potions, and divination. It was never a religion until the 20th century.

Notice that some Bible versions translate 1 Samuel 15:23 as “rebellion is the sin of divination” and others render it as “rebellion is the sin of witchcraft.” This is because there is not always a one-on-one translation of the Hebrew words for the occult, and context and usage determine meaning, as well as gleaning how these words were used at the time external to the Bible. There is no Hebrew word for “witchcraft” since it is a modern word. [See my book, “SpellBound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids,” which goes into the Hebrew words for occult practices and where we see these practices today].

While occult practices existed a long time ago, they were not necessarily similar to modern day Wicca, which is a modern religion, and many Wiccan practices and beliefs today only go back to the time of Gardner and a generation before him. Pagan worship of false gods did exist in ancient times and is still part of Wicca although the gods and goddesses are not always seen as real, but rather viewed as symbolic, as “energies”, or as part of the inner self.

==The main thing that sets it apart from traditional religious practices is that it resists hierarchy and encourages people to take control of their lives by channelling the magic that is deeply rooted within us all==From article

Comments
Much of the language and ideas of Wicca today differ from Gardner’s Wicca, and incorporate New Age concepts and tools from psychology. The supernatural is often downgraded, and deemed natural. Since Wicca has no doctrinal standards or teachings, it is fluid and can take on other ideas, morphing into many forms. Now it seems to be incorporating New Age beliefs more and more, partly leaving it’s original moorings, though I would say that not all Wiccans would be on board with this. Many will stick to the more clear-cut earth-centered ritualistic Neo-pagan roots of Wicca.

There is not always a clear-cut line between Neo-pagan Wicca, the Witchcraft religion (seen as distinct from Wicca by its adherents), New Age beliefs, environtmentally-oriented paganism, Goddess worship, Goddess feminism, and combinations of the above. These areas are fluid and cannot always be categorized. A recent example of a mixture of these can be seen in the popular film, “Avatar.”
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To learn more:

CANA article on Witchcraft and Wicca
goo.gl/v3sdU7

CANA Article on James Cameron’s film “Avatar”
goo.gl/vEcujf

Chapter on Witchcraft and Wicca by Marcia in World Religion and Cults, Volume 2 (this chapter has the most extensive information of anything I’ve written on this topic)
goo.gl/wnXJX2

goo.gl/MzLzuX

SpellBound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids, by Marcia Montenegro
goo.gl/3HNSnV

CANA posts
A Witchy Trend
goo.gl/C4jVfH

Astrology and Millennials
goo.gl/ivnPv9