The Real Spirit of Wicca: Its Philosophy and Practices

The modern images that cling to witchcraft - popularized by fantasy films and TV shows, and such books as Harry Potter and Sabrina the Teenage Witch - have brought certain superficial aspects of paganism into the spotlight whilst creating a lot of misunderstanding amongst people insofar as its real tenets are concerned. One of the chief consequences has been the association of Wicca, a belief system within paganism that stresses honoring and living in accord with nature, with witchcraft, which is commonly understood as techniques for using magic to dominate others or satisfy one's desires in other ways.

The persecution of witches in England and in Colonial America has become a part of our folklore, an embarrassing reminder of one of the most gruesome and fear-based epochs in our history. The impact of the European witch-hunts, the Salem witch trials, the Inquisition, and such propagandist books as the Malleus Maleficarum painted an image of paganism as being Satanic and distinctly anti-Christian - ignoring the fact that the religion and its various branches all pre-dated the advent of Christianity. The Church made a concerted effort to stamp these practices out; and what could not be abolished was assimilated (we can see this influence in much of our modern holiday practices such as decorating the Christmas tree, burning the Yule log, the Easter egg with its fertility rite overtones, and Halloween).

In truth, Wicca was not a reaction against Christianity at all because (1) it had been in existence long before the birth of Christ - it is its own religion, not a heresy, and (2) Wiccans do not share the same symbolism and belief systems as Christians - i.e., they cannot be Satanic, as they do not believe in Satan.