Wiccan Witchcraft

Witches and Wiccans are commonly mistaken for one another, due to their similar names and practices. The word “witch” comes from the Old English words “wicca” and “wicce”, referring to male and female persons who did witchcraft. What we know as Wicca now is a religion, whereas witchcraft is a spiritual practice. Due to the fact that they are commonly confused (there are sometimes even Wiccans who are confused about the distinction), I stopped calling myself a Wiccan. I have most of the beliefs of Wicca, but I call myself, simply, a pagan. Many of the books you will find on Wicca are also written by witches who are Wiccans, which means that their view of Wicca usually involves witchcraft. The closest thing that Wiccans get to witchcraft is

Wicca was founded in 1954 by Gerald B. Gardner, who created the religion after he was accepted into a coven of witches in England and migrated to America. The religion is based in part off of the Northern European pagan religion, referring to the worship of a Goddess of fertility and her consort, a Horned God. The Gods are not given names, but they are often called The Lord and The Lady. The religion of Wicca has two deities, one male and one female. The two Gods create what is known to Wiccans as “The Divine”. Everything on Earth is composed of The Divine, and we all have the Divine in us. Some people say that everyone has a little bit of both Gods inside their souls, which makes up the balance of life. Since Wicca is so based in balance and talks about the Divine in everything, it is not a far stretch to say that it’s a nature-based religion, which it is. The religion of Wicca is all about living in harmony with everything around you, which is something that is talked about a great deal in the “laws” of the religion, called the Wiccan Rede. The Wiccan Rede is a set of rules that all Wiccans must live by in order to be Wiccans. A famous and frequently quoted part of the Wiccan Rede states that “An it harm none, do as ye will,” which is where one of the biggest distinctions between Wicca and witchcraft comes: Wiccans have a pacifist

If you hurt someone or something, you’re putting negative energy out, and that same negative energy will come back to you three-fold. Likewise, if you help someone, the positive energy will come back to you times three. Wiccans are also forbidden from harming the Elder tree, as it is the tree of The Lady, and Wiccans will be cursed for harming something so sacred to the