A Brief History of Wicca
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Wicca was publicly introduced in the 1950's by Gerald Gardner, a British civil servant. Its ritual and initiatory structure consists of elements from Masonic ritual and other occult and ceremonial magick systems, and regional witchcraft. Gardner originally named his new religion "Wica" (pronounced "WEE-cha"); an extra "c" was later added to create the term Wicca used today. Formerly a lineage-only religion, Wicca has evolved to include non-Gardnerian Traditions, along with eclectic and solitary practitioners.

It is not ancient, nor based on pre-Christian matriarchal societies. Much of Gardner's "history" was based on the then-popular theories of Margaret Murray, whose "witch-cult" theories have since been discredited. This does not render Wicca any less valid, but it does mean that older historical conceptions are not necessarily viable. The most recent and well-researched book on Wicca currently is "The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft" by Ronald Hutton. I highly recommend it as the first source of information for anyone interested in learning more, newbies and experienced practitioners alike.

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The "Burning Times." There was NOT a mass persecution and repression of women and/or witches by the church. In fact, current studies are showing that secular, NOT church, courts did the vast majority of executions. You can find out some valuable statistics gleaned from recent historical records. There were not 9 million women killed; the current figures suggest more like 40,000 to 100,000, mostly Christians who pissed someone off. There are emerging theories that some were magickal practitioners turned in by fellow practitioners to get rid of the competition.

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"Wicca is Celtic." No, it's not. The Celts were a motley crew, merging with a number of cultures throughout Europe. There is no one purely "Celtic" religion. If you think Wicca is Celtic, try finding the Celtic cult of the severed head in a modern-day Sabbat and get back to me.

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"Wicca is Goddess worship, Goddess-oriented, a women's religion." Actually, Gardner's Wicca was more male-oriented. Doreen Valiente brought more of the Goddess aspects into practice. The Goddess focus came much more into prominence with the American womens' movement.

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"Wicca is a continuation of the old religion of paganism." There was no organized, universal "religion of paganism." Paganism is a very umbrella term, defined usually as either any non-Abrahamic religion or belief system, or any pre-Christian religion or belief system of Europe. The formal structure of Wicca the religion was developed in the early 20th century. It's a young faith. Margaret Murray's theory of an underground witchcraft religion has been discredited by modern scholars for 20+ years.

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Gardner put forth 161 "Old Laws," which advocate such things as binding, etc. Most Wiccans today would not only be surprised, but shocked, that these were included in Wicca's original structure. This is one reason I emphasize that Wicca is an evolving faith, discarding that which is no longer useful or relevant.

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The "Rede of the Wiccae" is NOT the Wiccan Rede. It is a separate, copyrighted document that happens to have the 8 words of the Rede included. It was first published in Green Egg Magazine, Vol. III. No. 69 (Ostara 1975), attributed to Lady Gwen Thompson & Adriana Porter.