WICCA, WICCE, WICCAN Almost without exception, Pagans are intelligent, thinking people. Paganism is a way of life that makes these demands. And yet, because of severe Christian suppression, so many of the Old Ways have been perverted. We must look in many directions to unearth the roots all Pagans consider their legacy. One of the most interesting methods of researching our roots is Etymology. For, indeed, an understanding of our literary heritage is vital. It is unfortunate that so often this type of research is woefully neglected. How sad that one of the most important words in modern Pagan parlance, Wicca, is so often misused. For every time the word is misused there is a probability that someone who has just been introduced to Paganism will pick it up and, in turn, use it incorrectly, simply because they heard it used that way and did not bother to do their own fact finding. This is sad, for if we can not be grammatically correct we leave the impression that we don't know what we are talking about. If we are erroneous about something so elementary why should a non-Pagan (who just might know the correct grammatical use of our terms) put any credence in anything we have to say. And, if they don't know the correct terminology, we should not expose them to incorrect terminology as their introduction to Paganism. WIC - An Old English word which means - to bend, to manipulate WICCA - An Old English word which means - a male who bends or manipulates WICCE - An Old English word which means - a female who bends or manipulates WICCAN - An Old English word which means - both males or females who bend or manipulate, the plural of Wicca or Wicce. These are Old English terms, terms that the Christian populace used to label the practioners of the Old Ways. These were not terms the Pagans of Old gave themselves. They began referring to themselves as Pagans only after Christianity emerged and gained a strong hold on urban centers, and in order to distinguish between their "old country ways" and the ways of the new wave of Christian beliefs. PAGAN - Derived from the Latin Paganus (peasants, country folk, rural people). A Pagan is one who practices "country ways". ŠSpecifically, Pagan refers to old country practices originating before the Christian era (Pre-Christian.) Wicca, Wicce, Wiccan, as used by the Christians to label the non-Christians, or Pagans, were not meant, originally, as compliments. They were used sarcastically and in a derogatory manner. After being labeled thusly for a period of time, most Pagans realized that, indeed, they did bend and manipulate energy. They understood the Law of Cause & Effect and did practice magick, although their religion encompassed far more than performing magick. With the coming of Christianity and the resulting Dark Ages, the non-Pagans has lost the old knowledge and could no longed effectively practice magick. Therefore, the Pagans joyfully adopted the labels that had been given them. With the Persecutions they could not use these terms publicly for themselves without severe repercussions, but use them they did. When Old English was in use there was very little problem with correct grammar concerning Wicca, Wicce and Wiccan. These words were understood. These Old English words evolved into the modern English terms Witch and Witches, Witch being applied to either male or female and Witches, of course, being plural. When people attempt to use Old English terms without understanding them they have a tendency to misuse them, particularly Wicca and Wiccan. They tend to use Wicca the same way you would use Witch, applying it to either male or female, when Wicca only applies to males; or, they will attempt to use the one masculine word to refer to all Witches, males and females, when they should be using Wiccan, which does apply to both. Often, they even forget, or ignore, the existence of the feminine Wicce totally. And, frequently, they attempt to make the already plural Wiccan even more so by saying Wiccans, which is rather like saying Witcheses! He is a Wicca. She is a Wicce. They are Wiccan. In the time that these words were coined and came into accepted use, it was understood that there was no religious connotation necessarily intended, but that they referred to and/or were an admission of the fact that certain people did practice magick. With the public revival of the Old Pagan religions, it became necessary to re-examine the labels which distinguished the Pagan from the Christian. It was obvious that the Pagans of Old were more than just practioners of magick, although they had, themselves, accepted the terms Wicce, Wicca, Wiccan and, finally, Witch. In an attempt to explain themselves to the non-Pagan, Witches now began to incorporate religious meaning into these terms. The general public had no trouble accepting the fact that a Witch practiced magick but found it hard to comprehend that the term Witch had anything to do with a religion. As a result, Witches Šbecame more emphatic. As they were 'Witches', they labeled their way of life 'Witchcraft'. This included not only the magickal (Law of Cause & Effect), the moral (Law of Retribution) but also their belief in specific deities. In other words, their Craft was the art of living as practiced by a Witch. The Witches' art of living is their religion. And, so, there evolved a modern term, Witchcraft, meaning 'a Witche's religion'. Because of the Christian suppression over the years, the terms Witch and Witchcraft invited ridicule and persecutions. Wishing to avoid the negative connotations they were sure to encounter before they could explain what they were all about, the modern Witches began to adopt a term made popular by Gerald Gardner, Wicca, rather than use the better known (and non-respected) terms. Adopting this term without bothering to research it led to blatant inaccuracies (such as, referring to the religion itself as Wicca, referring to female Witches as Wicca, and so forth). There have even been churches, groups and organizations legally incorporated using the term Wicca in their Official name. There are times when this could be correct usage, for example, if a male established a church, with his own rules and regulations, and called himself the sole leader, and chose to call it "The Temple of the Wicca' this could be considered correct, for it would be his temple, a temple of a male Witch. If a temple were established for male practitioners only, it would be a 'Wicca Temple'. If, however, the temple were attended by both males and females, it would not only be incorrect to call it a 'Wicca Temple', but sexist and prejudiced to do so. Females who understand the correct usage of these terms, generally, resent having someone ask them is they are 'Wicca'. Considering that the ancient traditions of this religion are Matriarchical and that the Goddess is supreme, it makes no sense that some refer to the entire Witchcraft community by a masculine term. While it is true that not all Neo-Pagans (those who practice Pagan ways with a very modern slant and usually without benefit of training in the Old Traditions) observe the Old Traditions, they should, at least, strive to use correct linguistics. It is understood that the problems inherent in changing an incorporated name are traumatic and, technically, if you own something you can call it whatever you choose and be correct for yourself, however, it is very confusing if you call your banana an apple when everyone else calls their banana a banana. This has opened the entire Pagan community to a new ridicule. Will it be long before the old terms are as undesirable as the modern terms? If so, it will be our own fault this time! We respectfully ask that you join us in our struggle to correct the general usage of these words. Only when we, ourselves, Šunderstand our heritage can we, again, become a viable force in society. Blessed Be! PRONUNCIATIONS WICCA = WICK-CHA (AH not A) WICCE = WICK-CHE (EH not E) WICCAN = WICK-CHAN The Anglo-Saxons spoke a very guttural language basically. If these pronunciations give you trouble, you may try: WICCA = WITCH-AH WICCE = WITCH-EH WICCAN = WITCH-AHN EARTH-RITE/ Mission San Jose, CA/ 415-651-9496 Copyright (c) 1980 by The Witching Well Education and Research Center. Used by permission.