The term “Wicca” refers to a religion associated with neopaganism. It is also a modern type of witchcraft. The followers of this witchcraft based religion are known as Witches or wiccans. The origin of the Wicca religion can be traced back to the early years of the twentieth century and is assumed to be originated in England. However, there is a dispute regarding the origin of Wicca. The popularisation of Wicca religion was done in the 1950s by Mr. Gerald Gardner, who was from Britain. During that time, terms such as witchcraft and witch cult were used to describe it. Later, in the 1960s, the religion got its current name “Wicca”.

The most important aspect that should be mentioned when talking about the Wiccan witchcraft religion is that they follow their moral values strictly, and that act as a motivation for a large number of people to know more about the religion. The people who perform witchcraft carry them out in such a way that the values are taken into account. They do not believe in causing harm to other people and strongly oppose such activities. They worship a female and male deity equally. They belong to the category of “duo theistic religions”. They also believe that all the inhabitants of the world deserve respect and are equal. They perform magic only with rituals, and morality is given high importance.

They also celebrate several wiccan holidays that are based on the seasonal changes in nature. The most important festival for them is the Sabbats. They associate God with the cycle of life, hunting, wilderness, nature and sexuality. Also, God is given several names such as: Pan, Cernunnos, Karnayna, etc. The Goddess whom the Wiccans worship is regarded as “Moon Goddess” by some. She is said to contain all.

An important thing to be mentioned is their belief in life after death. There is a difference of opinion among the wiccans regarding this. Reincarnation has been a part of traditional teaching for them since the 1930s. There is a popular saying among the wiccans that conveys that if a person became a witch once, he or she is sure to remain so. This indicates the belief of wiccans in reincarnations. They believe that the witches were witches in their previous birth also.

However, some wiccans do not believe much in afterlife. For them what is of utmost importance is the present. A large number of wiccans also have belief in magic. For them, magic is something that has an ability to manipulate, and they perform this through sorcery or witchcraft.

Spell casting is done by witches by following certain rituals. The process is conducted within a circle. The creation of the magic circle is done in such a way that the required changes are brought about in the surrounding physical world. They cast wicca spells for various purposes such as protection, healing, removing negative influences or for increasing fertility. They make sure that the spell casting process done by them belongs to the category of “white magic”. Some of the early wiccans who practised white magic include: Doreen Valiente and Alex Sanders. They were against the use of “black magic” as they considered it to be associated with Satanism or evil. However, you can come across wiccans who do not believe in the term black magic in the present times. According to them, the term ‘black’ may not always indicate association with Satanism. They use different types of symbols and the most commonly used one is the “Pentagram”.

A group of wiccans is known by the name covens, which generally consist of thirteen members. However, there are covens that contain less than thirteen members.